The Organizational Psychology of Sport

Key Issues and Practical Applications

Christopher R. D. Wagstaff

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781317355397
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Applied Psychology
• Index: Psychology

This ground-breaking book is the first to provide a comprehensive overview of how organizational psychology can be used to understand and improve performance in elite sport. Using recent theoretical advances from this burgeoning area of research, each chapter offers key conceptual issues and practical insights across a range of topics.

The book is structured into four constituent parts,

• Attitudes and emotions in sports organizations
• Stress and well-being in sports organizations
• Behaviors in sports organizations
• Environments in sports organizations

Covering key areas such as attitudes to employment, conflict and change management, leadership, and relationships with the mass media, the book shines a spotlight on how organizational issues play a fundamental role in the experience of individuals and teams.

In an era of ever-increasing professionalism in sport, the book provides an invaluable new perspective on performance at the elite level. Including contributions from an international range of academics and practitioners, it will be essential reading for any student or practitioners within sport and exercise psychology.

1
Organizational Psychology in Sport

An introduction

Christopher R. D. Wagstaff

In the latter part of the twentieth century, elite sport was host to substantial commercialization and globalization (see de Bosscher, Bingham, Shibli, van Bottenburg, & De Knop, 2008; Fletcher & Wagstaff, 2009; Houlihan & Green, 2008). Thus far, during the twenty-first century there has been little indication that these changes will slow or desist. Indeed, the future of elite sport is likely to be more complex, turbulent, and volatile. The implication of such changes has been a growing demand for the establishment of organizational systems that instantly and consistently deliver success. In response to such requirements, there has been an increasing technologicalization, medicalization, and scientization of elite sport performance environments as organizations seek a competitive edge (Wagstaff, Thelwell, & Gilmore, 2016). Such actions echo the observations of sport management scholars who have described the current state of unrest as a “global sporting arms race” (see de Bosscher et al., 2008), defined by the creation of isomorphic institutions characterized by coordinated policies and processes, hierarchically-structured bodies, with democratized authority and shared collective goals. Given the changing landscape of elite sport, scholars have increasingly emphasized the importance of exploring the organizational contexts in which elite sport performers operate (see, for reviews, Fletcher & Wagstaff, 2009; Wagstaff, Fletcher, & Hanton, 2012a; Wagstaff & Larner, 2015). Indeed, in view of the pivotal role of human performance for optimizing the functioning of these organizations (see Wagstaff, Fletcher, & Hanton, 2012b), the domain of organizational psychology has much to contribute to the changing face of elite sport (see Fletcher & Wagstaff, 2009).

What is organizational psychology in sport?

The foundations of organizational psychology lie with the confluence of industrial and organizational (I/O) and the changing landscape of elite sport environments. Wagstaff et al., (2012a) described I/O psychology as “a general practice specialty of professional psychology with a focus on scientifically-based solutions to human problems in work and other organizational settings. In these contexts, I/O psychologists assess and enhance the effectiveness of individuals, groups, and organizations” (American Psychological Association, 2011). I/O psychologists recognize the interdependence of individuals, organizations and society and consider problems such as employee turnover, absenteeism and productivity; succession planning and development of managers and executives; organizational restructuring; workplace stress and safety; and worker motivation and performance (Wagstaff et al., 2012a).

Scholars have typically distinguished between three concentrations of I/O psychology (e.g., Landy & Conte, 2009): personnel psychology, organizational psychology, and human engineering. Personnel psychology (often integrated within human resources in many workplaces) addresses issues such as recruitment, selection, training, performance appraisal, promotion, transfer, and termination. This work typically relates to the methods and principles used to select and evaluate potential employees and overlaps with talent identification and team composition procedures in sport organizations. Nevertheless, traditionally such roles have been performed by individuals responsible for the performance department (e.g., manager, performance director, director of sport), with input from scouts and performance analysts. The value of psychological input regarding these issues lies in the view that individuals have fluctuating work behaviors and attitudes and that information relating to these changes can help predict, maintain, and increase performance and satisfaction.

Organizational psychology integrates research foundations in social psychology and organizational behavior to address emotional and motivational aspects of organizational life. The main aim of this work is the evaluation of what motivates employees to have a successful, productive, satisfying work environment. Consequently, organizational psychologists commonly focus on topics such as attitudes, fairness, motivation, stress, leadership, teams, and broader aspects of organizational and work design. Given its emphasis on the reactions of people to work and their resultant action, tendencies and responses, both the organization and the people within its sphere of influence are of importance. Hence, organizational psychologists might also seek to achieve a fit between people, the work demands they might face and the organization’s idiosyncratic characteristics. Therefore, the principal purpose of organizational psychology is to provide applied knowledge to help organizations function more effectively. Indeed, to reiterate the sentiments of Wagstaff et al. (2012a) in their call for a positive research agenda for organizational psychology in sport, “there appears to be scope for sport psychologists to better understand the key variables which improve the way in which operators work together to accomplish their tasks through the medium of organizational psychology” (p. 89). Moreover, Wagstaff and Larner (2015) proposed that organizational psychology principles could advance sport performance through two means: the development of optimally functioning sport organizations and via the enhancement of the quality of work life for those that operate with their sphere of influence.

Human engineering refers to the study of human limitations with respect to their organizational environment and relates to the design of products, technology, systems, and environments that optimize performance. Whilst personnel psychology aims to find the best individual for the work, and organizational psychology aims to match the best person to relevant roles, human engineering aims to develop environments and systems that are compatible with the characteristics of the worker. According to Landy and Conte (2009) the diverse environmental aspects of this work may include tools, work spaces, information display, shift work, work pace, machine controls, and safety. This approach integrates cognitive science, ergonomics, physiology, anatomy, and biomechanics. The role of human engineering psychologists in sport could incorporate the optimal understanding, functionality, and integration of medical, technological, and scientific advances by sport performers.

Although I perceive value in each of the three concentrations or sub-disciplines of general I/O psychology, it is my belief that the biggest potential benefit to sport organizations is the optimization of organizational psychology factors, under the rubric of positive organizational psychology in sport (POPS; Wagstaff et al., 2012a). Hence, the predominant focus of this book is on topics aligned with the second concentration outlined above. Nevertheless, to enable a full appreciation of the salience of this area, it is important to give further consideration to its value for elite sport performance.

Vacuums and the myth of individualism

Advocates of organizational psychology in sport (see, e.g., Fletcher & Wagstaff, 2009; Wagstaff & Larner, 2015) have frequently referred to an oft-quoted passage from Hardy, Jones, and Gould’s (1996) early sport psychology text: borrowing from Shaw’s work on social environments (1981) they concluded their book by noting that “elite athletes do not live in a vacuum; they function within a highly complex social and organizational environment, which exerts major influences on them and their performances” (pp. 239–240). Allied with Hardy et al.’s vacuum analogy of the environments in which elite sport performers prepare and perform, there are many dangers of what I would label a “myth of individualism”. That is, a fallacy that sporting success or failure is wholly determined by individual effort or ability has prevailed for some time in society. The power of this myth lies in its promotion of a social fixation on talent and eliding of the salience of a wealth of interpersonal, group, and organizational factors that impact performance. This is not to say that elite sport performers do not require talent, or that this cannot be nurtured and supplemented with individual effort; indeed, such factors are pivotal for initial success and might be largely responsible for fugacious underdog triumphs. Nevertheless, sustained success in high performance domains is predicated on looking beyond a perspective that individualism or related ephemeral factors (e.g., talent, deliberate practice, religious dogma, effort, luck, physical prowess) alone can result in ongoing success. That is, recurrent success in elite sport is not solely dependent on the talent (i.e., embodied competence) of individual performers, but on how effectively these individuals build and maintain working relationships with a systematic collective of stakeholders (e.g., coaches, managers, performers), supports (e.g., scientific, medical, and technological expertise), networks (e.g., social support), and bodies (e.g., sport organizations, commercial sponsors) to optimize day-to-day productivity in preparation for and performance at major competitions (see Wagstaff et al., 2012b).

In addition to the importance of dispelling the myth of individualism for sporting success, there is also a need to view sport organizations as more than systematized collectives aimed at promoting success, but as a workplace that must ensure the well-being of its employees. That is, examining the psychological states of individuals during their engagement with organizations and at home (i.e., their work–life balance) might allow for a better understanding of the well-being of sport performers. Well-being considers a wide range of experiences including the demands (e.g., stressors) and functioning (e.g., success factors). Indeed, such concepts consider positive (e.g., enthusiasm) and negative (e.g., anxiety) affective states, outcomes such as work-related well-being (e.g., psychosomatic health, job satisfaction), as well as the processes (e.g., communication) that facilitate these ends. Hence, the value of organizational psychology in sport lies with its examination and facilitation of factors to debunk the erroneous belief that talent alone prevails and its acknowledgment that elite sport environments are places of work requiring considerations for sportspeople as employees with requisite rights, needs, and expectations.

In line with the growing acknowledgement of the importance of organizational issues in elite sport, three recent reviews have summarized the emergence, application, and potential futures for this domain. Specifically, in 2009 an article by Fletcher and Wagstaff was published in Psychology of Sport and Exercise that reviewed a (then) nascent body of research concerned with the emergence of organizational issues in elite sport. Fletcher and Wagstaff (2009) reviewed six lines of inquiry pointing to the salience of these issues: factors affecting Olympic performance; organizational stress; perceptions of roles; organizational success factors; performance environments in elite sport; and organizational citizenship behavior. Wagstaff et al. (2012a) reviewed the literature relating to the positive aspects of organizational psychology research in sport. Within their review, Wagstaff et al. defined and delimited relevant concepts, including organizational psychology and positive organizing, with a particular emphasis on extant research relating to organizational functioning in sport (i.e., positive environments, positive behaviors, and positive outcomes) and a call for attention to be paid to topics such as culture, climate and change, in addition to those aligned with positive organizational behavior and scholarship (see Wagstaff et al., 2012a). More recently, Wagstaff and Larner (2015) provided a review of the recent developments in the literature relating to organizational psychology in sport. In doing so, they delimited and demystified organizational psychology from similar concentrations of I/O psychology. Moreover, they provided an organizing structure to align extant and potential future lines of inquiry within organizational psychology in sport. It is this framework that provides the backbone of this text, which has parts dedicated to attitudes and emotions; stress and well-being; behaviors; and environments.

Conclusion

The changing landscape of elite sport environments has stimulated a burgeoning body of research examining organizational psychology in sport. Indeed, particular strengths within this domain relate to the elucidation of an understanding of emotion- and attitude-related phenomena, stress and well-being in athletes, coaches, support staff, and parents, key behaviors associated with optimal functioning, and environments which facilitate elite performance. Indeed, the chapters in this text review some of the excellent work that has begun to provide insights into the predictors of sustained organizational performance in sport that might be controlled and influenced through empirically grounded interventions. Despite these fruitful endeavors, there remains much to be understood regarding organizational psychology in sport and further research is required to expand extant and incorporate new lines of inquiry.

A salient point for consideration as you read this book relates to the complexity of organizational dynamics, and the apparent intertwined nature of the core dimensions and topics they encompass (Wagstaff & Larner, 2015). For example, the chapters included here highlight many variables of interest that appear to transcend dimensions through level of analysis or influence (e.g., stress, leadership). Hence, an important obligation for researchers in this domain is to provide conceptual clarity to demystify the hierarchical, correlational or causal nature of their variables of interest others of relevance. Therefore, and in line with the suggestions of Wagstaff et al. (2013), researchers must be cognizant of levels of analysis (i.e., individual, dyadic, team, organizational) within organizational psychology.

In this book, much of the focus is on research aligned with organizational psychology. Nevertheless, as alluded to in my introductory sentiments, this reflects just one of three general I/O psychology concentrations with limited space dedicated to a discourse on the importance of personnel psychology or human engineering factors. Research on such concentrations includes employment practices within sport organizations and their implications for the performance and well-being of employees (see Chapter 4). Such research might benefit by using techniques commonly associated with personnel psychology, including the use of exit interviews when seeking to make improvements in organizational functioning. Human engineering research within sport organizations might prove the most problematic of the three, given the advanced development of sport biomechanics and technology and the work of practitioners to enhance the interface between individuals in organizations and these supports. Nevertheless, it is possible that psychologists can optimize the understanding and integration of such supports if they are afforded such a role by organizations.

Finally, it is important to note that despite the nascent state of some of the areas of inquiry within this domain, much of the research reviewed here has used inductive research designs, grounded in the sport context to examine phenomena with divergent origins. Indeed, the recent use of ecologically valid and representative designs to examine organizational psychology concepts in sport such as ethnography (e.g., Wagstaff et al., 2012b), action research (e.g., Wagstaff et al., 2013), and case studies (Cruickshank, Collins, & Minten, 2013) are highly suitable for research in its infancy. Moreover, it is reassuring to observe that researchers have begun to develop sport specific measures of organizational-related variables (e.g., Arnold, Fletcher & Daniels, 2013; Jackson, Gucciardi & Dimmock, 2014) as these lines of inquiry have blossomed. I hope future research in this domain will continue these good practices of scientific study.

References

American Psychological Association. (2011). Defining the practice of sport and performance psychology. Washington DC: Division 47, Exercise and Sport Psychology, Practice Committee.

Arnold, R., Fletcher, D., & Daniels, K. (2013). Development and validation of the organizational stressor indicator for sport performers (OSI-SP). Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 35, 180–196.

Cruickshank, A., Collins, D., & Minten, S. (2013). Culture change in a professional sports team: Shaping environmental contexts and regulating power. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, 8(2), 271–290.

De Bosscher, V., Bingham, J., Shibli, S., Van Bottenburg, M., & De Knop, P. (2008). The global sporting arms race. An international comparative study on sports policy factors leading to international sporting success. Aachen: Meyer & Meyer.

Fletcher, D., & Wagstaff, C. R. D. (2009). Organizational psychology in elite sport: Its emergence, application and future. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10(4), 427–434. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2009.03.009

Hardy, L. J., Jones, G., & Gould, D. (1996). Understanding psychological preparation for sport: Theory and practice of elite performers. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Houlihan, B., & Green, M. (2008). Comparative elite sport development. Systems structures and public policy. London: Elsevier.

Jackson, B., Gucciardi, D. F., & Dimmock, J. A. (2014). Toward a multidimensional model of athletes’ commitment to coach-athlete relationships and interdependent sport teams: A substantive-methodological synergy. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 36, 52–68.

Landy, F. J., & Conte, J. M. (2009). Work in the 21st century: An introduction to industrial and organizational psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Shaw, M. E. (1981). Group dynamics: The psychology of small group behavior. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Wagstaff, C. R. D., Fletcher, D., & Hanton, S. (2012a). Positive organizational psychology in sport. Internation...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• Figures and tables
• About the editor
• List of Contributors
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Organizational psychology in sport: an introduction
• PART I Attitudes and emotions in sport organizations
• PART II Stress and well-being in sport organizations
• PART III Behaviors in sport organizations
• PART IV Environments in sport organizations
• Index