Organizational Behavior in Sport Management

The desire of any organization is to have the entire staff working from the same playbook toward a common goal (i.e., “the championship”). Given individuals’ varying attitudes, beliefs, skills, and motivations, it’s a goal not easily achieved. Organizational Behavior in Sport Management, Second Edition, examines the individual, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and organizational processes fundamental to working within sport organizations, placing equal emphasis on what managers need to understand about human behavior and what each employee brings to the workplace.

This updated second edition blends classical research in the field of organizational behavior with the latest knowledge and best practices in the field of sport management. Organized into four major parts—Organizational Behavior in Sport Organizations, Managing the Individual, Managing the Group, and Managing the Organization—the text provides a foundational and contemporary examination of the inner workings of sport organizations. It offers a deep study of how all who work in sport organizations—whether they are administrators, executives, employees, players, coaches, or volunteers—operate independently, and it explores how these individuals interact with each other in the work setting.

Highlighted throughout the text are recent examples of how COVID-19; social movements; remote work; and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives have changed the nature of work and moved organizations to place greater emphasis on employees’ individual needs, desires, interests, empowerment, and satisfaction in their roles. In addition, numerous real-life examples from sport organizations in the United States and throughout the world provide practical application and underscore key concepts.

Each chapter features In the Boardroom sidebars, discussion questions, and a case study designed to help illustrate particular topics and facilitate focused discussion in class. The case studies are also included in the instructor guide for ease of assigning to students. New to this edition, a test package, chapter quizzes, and presentation package will aid in classroom preparation.

Organizational Behavior in Sport Management answers the key questions of why people do what they do at work, why others behave as they do, and how a person’s interpretation of events and behaviors is subject to their own biases. Students will gain an understanding of the most important organizational behavior concepts and a glimpse of how they might see themselves functioning in a sport organization today.

Eric MacIntosh, PhD, is a professor of sport management at the University of Ottawa in Canada. He researches and teaches on various organizational behavior topics, covering concepts such as culture, leadership, satisfaction, and socialization. His principal research interests are the functioning of organizations and how a favorable culture can transmit positively internally and outwardly into the marketplace. He is well published in leading peer-reviewed sport management journals and is a member of several prominent editorial boards. He is also the coeditor of the book International Sport Management.

Laura J. Burton, PhD, is a professor of sport management and head of the educational leadership department within the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. Her research interests include understanding leadership in organizations (particularly sport organizations) and exploring development, access, and success in leadership. Her work focuses on issues of gender in leadership contexts, specifically how stereotypes and discrimination affect women in sport leadership. She has served as the editor of the Journal of Intercollegiate Sport and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Sport Management. She has been published in the Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, and Sex Roles. She is coeditor of Women in Sport Leadership: Research and Practice for Change, published in 2017, and the textbook Sport Leadership in the 21st Century, published in 2014.