Special Issue of Journal of Applied Sport Management
The Political Arena: Power and Political Behavior in Sport Organizations
Guest Editors:
- Marshall J. Magnusen, PhD, Baylor University
- Samuel Todd, PhD, Georgia Southern University
Politics is about influence and those who influence. From Fortune 500 companies to collegiate athletic departments and professional sport organizations, power and organizational politics are an entrenched component of nearly all work settings. Organizations tend to be political because they are social systems wherein members compete for limited resources in order to get ahead. Political behaviors, for example, represent activities in an organization that are not part of an individual’s formal job role but that can still influence, either positively or negatively, the achievement of individual and/or organizational goals whereas political skill refers to an individual’s ability to effectively understand others in the workplace and use such knowledge to influence others to behave in ways that enhance one’s personal and/or organizational objectives. The goal of this special issue is to act as a catalyst by providing a platform for the examination of various aspects of power, politics, and social influence processes in sport organizations from a management research perspective, and therefore to foster advancement in these areas awareness, investigation, and sport industry-specific managerial applications.
Possible topics include (but are not limited to):
- Social dynamics of interpersonal and group processes in sport organizations
- Social influence and effectiveness competencies of sport coaches and administrative personnel
- Organizational power and the use of power through influence tactics in sport organizations
- Recruiting and personnel selection in college and professional sports
- Political skill and resource leveraging in college, professional, and international sports
- Experiences and perceptions of organizational political behavior in the sport industry
- Leadership styles and leader-member exchanges in the political sports arena
- Generational effects on politics perceptions and political behavior in the sport industry
- Power, performance, and career success in the sport industry
- The formation of human resources policies and systems in sport businesses
- Changes in technology on social network structure and power dynamics in sport
- Strategic collaboration among rivals in the global sport marketplace
Empirical and conceptual research that advances collective understanding about power and politics in collegiate and professional sport contexts are being sought. Critical review pieces will be considered. Review ideas should be sent to the guest editors for evaluation prior to being written and submitted to JASM. Research should incorporate either a derivative model or sport-focused model. Research aligned with the derivative model should be inspired by mainstream management scholarship and seek to affirm existing theory and research evidence in sport contexts or identify sport as a (potential) boundary condition. Research aligned with the sport-focused model should search for theory and research evidence that is grounded in the phenomena of sport and either promotes the creation of new theory or demonstrates the relevancies of existing theory and research evidence. Quantitative research is preferred; however, qualitative approaches are welcomed. Note: research papers are not limited to collegiate and professional sports in North America. International submissions will be given strong consideration if they can demonstrate practical value to students, instructors, and practitioners in North America and abroad.
Only manuscripts that strongly contribute to sport management practice, based on the practical, conceptual, philosophical, and empirical grounding of the piece, will be considered for publication. Authors are required to submit both a scholarly manuscript (reviewed by academicians) and a corresponding management white paper (reviewed by practitioners). The style guidelines for scholarly manuscripts and management white papers are posted at http://js.sagamorepub.com/jasm/about/submissions.
Authors should direct submissions through the online submission system for JASM at http://js.sagamorepub.com/jasm/about/submissions. This system manages the electronic transfer of manuscripts throughout the article review process and provides step-by-step instructions and a user-friendly design. Please note that a blind review process is used to evaluate manuscripts. As such, any clues to the author’s identity should be eliminated from the manuscript prior to submission. Questions about JASM or manuscript submission should be directed to the associate editor of JASM, Dr. Matthew Walker, at matt.walker@hlkn.tamu.edu
Submission Deadline: January 1, 2015
