TY - JOUR

T1 - A Longitudinal Study of Power Relations in a British Olympic Sport Organization

AU - Feddersen, NB

AU - Morris, R

AU - Storm, LK

AU - Littlewood, MA

AU - Richardson, DJ

N1 - Accepted author manuscript version reprinted, by permission, from Journal of Sport Management , 2021, 35 (4):312?324 pp-pp, https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2020-0119. copyright Human Kinetics, Inc.

PY - 2021/12/1

Y1 - 2021/12/1

N2 - The purpose was to examine the power relations during a change of culture in an Olympic sports organization in the United Kingdom. The authors conducted a 16-month longitudinal study combining action research and grounded theory. The data collection included ethnography and a focus group discussion (n = 10) with athletes, coaches, parents, and the national governing body. The authors supplemented these with 26 interviews with stakeholders, and we analyzed the data using grounded theory. The core concept found was that power relations were further divided into systemic power and informational power. Systemic power (e.g., formal authority to reward or punish) denotes how the national governing bodies sought to implement change from the top-down and impose new strategies on the organization. The informational power (e.g., tacit feeling of oneness and belonging) represented how individuals and subunits mobilized coalitions to support or obstruct the sports organization?s agenda. Olympic sports organizations should consider the influence of power when undertaking a change of culture.

AB - The purpose was to examine the power relations during a change of culture in an Olympic sports organization in the United Kingdom. The authors conducted a 16-month longitudinal study combining action research and grounded theory. The data collection included ethnography and a focus group discussion (n = 10) with athletes, coaches, parents, and the national governing body. The authors supplemented these with 26 interviews with stakeholders, and we analyzed the data using grounded theory. The core concept found was that power relations were further divided into systemic power and informational power. Systemic power (e.g., formal authority to reward or punish) denotes how the national governing bodies sought to implement change from the top-down and impose new strategies on the organization. The informational power (e.g., tacit feeling of oneness and belonging) represented how individuals and subunits mobilized coalitions to support or obstruct the sports organization?s agenda. Olympic sports organizations should consider the influence of power when undertaking a change of culture.

KW - 1503 Business and Management

KW - 1504 Commercial Services

KW - 1505 Marketing

U2 - 10.1123/jsm.2020-0119

DO - 10.1123/jsm.2020-0119

M3 - Article

VL - 35

SP - 312

EP - 324

JO - Journal of Sport Management

JF - Journal of Sport Management

IS - 4

ER -