Exploring new playing fields: sports settings and management theorizing
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
This Special Research Forum (SRF) explores the evolving landscape of modern organizations through the unique empirical lens of sports. In a rapidly changing world marked by digital transformation, social activism, and technological innovation, management scholars face challenges in capturing complex organizational dynamics. Sports, as a microcosm of society, offer compelling research settings—featuring rich, high-stakes data on leadership, team dynamics, strategy, ethics, and innovation. The articles selected for this SRF showcase the potential of sports-based research to generate broader organizational insights. They explore critical themes such as the role of social capital in talent management, the impact of illicit behavior on competitive performance, the influence of biometric data on professional relationships, and the impact of business travel on decision-making. The forum highlights how sports settings can extend management theory beyond industry-specific findings, offering novel perspectives on human interaction, technology integration, and organizational governance. While this SRF attracted diverse submissions, it also revealed underexplored areas such as fan behavior, globalization, and sustainability. This piece encourages future research to leverage the wealth of sports data to address these gaps and further develop management theories applicable across industries. Like athletes pushing boundaries, we invite scholars to harness sports as a field for discovery.
Date Issued
2025-06-01
Date Acceptance
2025-03-21
Citation
Academy of Management Discoveries, 2025, 11 (2), pp.145-151
ISSN
2168-1007
Publisher
Academy of Management
Start Page
145
End Page
151
Journal / Book Title
Academy of Management Discoveries
Volume
11
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
Copyright © Academy of Management Discoveries. This is the author’s accepted manuscript made available under a CC-BY licence in accordance with Imperial’s Research Publications Open Access policy (www.imperial.ac.uk/oa-policy)
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2025-06-03