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Institutional theory, now a dominant approach in sport management research, is used to explore the relationship between sport organizations and their environment, highlighting how social, political, and economic forces shape practices within sport. This special issue’s contributions aim to bridge the gap between sport management and broader management studies, advancing institutional theory. The papers suggest that sport management can both benefit from and contribute to the development of institutional theory, calling for future research that re-emphasizes the original concepts of the theory while appreciating the unique context of sport.
Institutional theory has become a key research tradition in sport management, focusing on the impact of institutions—cultural, normative, and regulatory structures—on social behavior within the sports industry. This approach explores the complex relationships between sports organizations and their broader environments, highlighting how individuals and organizations in sport are influenced by, and in turn influence, social, political, and economic forces. Institutional theory is not a single perspective but rather a collection of concepts like legitimacy, change, isomorphism, and institutional work, which help explain the dynamics of sport.
The theory’s evolution, from early structural determinism to more recent emphases on agency, marks a shift in understanding how individuals and organizations actively shape institutions. This “agency turn” has opened new avenues for sport management research, focusing on the purposeful actions of individuals and organizations in creating, maintaining, and disrupting institutional norms. Contemporary studies on agency offer opportunities for sport management scholars to extend theoretical frameworks by examining sports as institutions governed by agreed-upon rules and reflecting broader societal issues. This special issue aims to advance the understanding of agency in institutions, bridging the gap between mainstream management and sport management scholarship, and fostering the diffusion of ideas between these fields.
McSweeney et al. explored the link between emotions from forced migration, the work of a Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) organization, and refugees’ ability to challenge social inequality. Partnering with YARID, an NGO in Uganda, they used participatory action research to co-create knowledge with participants. Their findings revealed that emotions, both positive and negative, influence the institutional work of SDP organizations and the refugees’ impact on social inequalities, highlighting the role of collective emotions in institutional change.
Flaherty employed autoethnography to study gendered institutional logics in elite US sports. She identified four dominant logics, illustrating how gendered discourses shape and are reproduced by individuals, affecting the co-construction of gendered norms in sports.
Rich et al. examined multi-level governance in amateur sport in Ontario, Canada, finding that regional policy and economic accountability influence field structuration and policy implementation. Their study emphasizes the role of policy and actor agency in shaping governance at different levels.
Zheng and Mason investigated the role of emotion in the emergence of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as a legitimate sport, focusing on emotion-specific discursive work. They identified various strategies to manage negative emotions and create positive ones during the sport’s development, underscoring the importance of emotion in institutional legitimacy.
Oja and colleagues studied the impact of institutionalized work practices on employee agency in the NCAA. They found that workplace norms and bureaucracy limit employees’ ability to enact change, questioning the sustainability of current practices in sport organizations.
Finally, Nite et al. examined the rivalry between LIV Golf and the PGA, focusing on how legitimacy work and emotions are used by dominant organizations to influence perceptions. Their study shows how the PGA framed itself as “true golf” to delegitimize its rival, demonstrating the role of emotions in shaping legitimacy.
The special issue highlights the potential of integrating institutional theory with sport management to enhance both fields. The editors initially proposed research areas such as the role of individuals and emotions in sports institutions, and combining institutional theory with other perspectives. While some topics, like the origins of sport institutions and societal consequences, were less addressed, the articles successfully explored many of the suggested themes.
The editors propose three future research directions to further advance institutional theory through sport management. First, they recommend revisiting the original motivations of institutional theory, suggesting that sport management can help address broader institutional questions by focusing on specific issues within the sport domain. Second, they encourage reconnecting neo-institutionalism with its foundational concepts, such as field-level contestation and institutional leadership, using sport as a context to study these dynamics. Lastly, they urge scholars to explore why sport is a unique context for studying institutional arrangements, emphasizing its visibility, emotional intensity, and the potential for theoretical plurality.
In conclusion, the editorial team expresses gratitude to all contributors and reviewers for their efforts in producing this special issue, which aims to advance both sport management and institutional theory.
Source:
Dowling, M., Robertson, J., Washington, M., Leopkey, B., & Ellis, D. (2024). Agency and institutions in sport. European Sport Management Quarterly, 24(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2023.2292102