International Journal of Sport Management

Multidimensional Innovations of Mega-Sport Events Organizing Committees: A Pre-Event Analysis

Kristina Hoff, Becca Leopkey

Abstract
Mega-sport event organizers are experiencing pressure to innovate due to technological advancements, increased competition for consumers, and the need to reduce costs. Yet, little is known about innovation in the mega-sport event context. When exploring innovation in an understudied area, it is imperative to understand the types of innovations being implemented (Crossan & Apaydin, 2010). To fill this gap, this paper assesses the types of innovations mega-sport event organizing committees are implementing (i.e., Paris 2024, Los Angeles 2028, and United 26) in the pre-event phase. Analysis of archives and interviews suggests that such committees pursue six multidimensional types of innovations, revealing similar and different innovative practices among committees. This study thus advances understanding of the multidimensional nature of innovation, and how context influences innovation outcomes. Findings from this study help mega-sport event organizers better understand and explain the types of innovations they are looking to implement, including where innovation is lacking.

Keywords: innovation types, multidimensional innovations, 3D model of innovation, organizing committees, Olympics, FIFA World Cup

Citation: Hoff, K., & Leopkey, B. (2023). Multidimensional innovations of mega-sport events organizing committees: A pre-event analysis. International Journal of Sport Management, 24(1), 87-114.

References

  • Annamalai, B., Yoshida, M., Varshney, S., Pathak, A. A., & Venugopal, P. (2021). Social media content strategy for sport clubs to drive fan engagement. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 62, 1–13.
  • Bantel, K. A., & Jackson, S. E. (1989). Top management and innovations in banking: Does the composition of the top team make a difference? Strategic Management Journal, 10(1), 107–124.
  • Barnhill, C. R., & Smith, N. L. (2019). Psychological contract fulfilment and innovative work behaviours of employees in sport-based SBEs: The mediating role of organisational citizenship. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 19(1-2), 106-128.
  • Brown, T. (2008). Design thinking. Harvard Business Review, 86(6), 84-92.
  • Bruton, M. (2021, July 20). Vast majority of team USA athletes don’t have agent. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/michellebruton/2021/07/20/vast-majority-of-team-usa-athletes-dont-have-agents-new-athlete-marketing-platform-is-getting-them-paid/?sh=4b714c933842
  • Byers, T., Hayday, E., & Pappous, A. S. (2020). A new conceptualization of mega sports event legacy delivery: Wicked problems and critical realist solution. Sport Management Review, 23(2), 171–182.
  • Camisón-Zornoza, C., Lapiedra-Alcamí, R., Segarra-Ciprés, M., & Boronat-Navarro, M. (2004). A meta-analysis of innovation and organizational size. Organization Studies, 25(3), 331–361.
  • Carlson, J. A. (2010). Avoiding traps in member checking. Qualitative Report, 15(5), 1102–1113.
  • Caza, A. (2000). Context receptivity: Innovation in an amateur sport organization. Journal of Sport Management, 14(3), 227–242.
  • Chutiphongdech, T., & Kampitak, T. (2021). A systematic review of the key success factors of sports event management: A resource-based view approach. Annals of Applied Sport Science, 1–10.
  • Corthouts, J., Winand, M., & Scheerder, J. (2021). A three-dimensional model of innovation within Flemish non-profit sports organisations. European Sport Management Quarterly, DOI: 10.1080/16184742.2021.1936115. 1–24.
  • Crossan, M. M., & Apaydin, M. (2010). A multi‐dimensional framework of organizational innovation: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Management Studies, 47(6), 1154–1191.
  • Damanpour, F. (1987). The adoption of technological, administrative, and ancillary innovations: Impact of organizational factors. Journal of Management, 13(4), 675–688.
  • Damanpour, F. (1991). Organizational innovation: A meta-analysis of effects of determinants and moderators. Academy of Management Journal, 34(3), 555–590.
  • Damanpour, F., & Evan, W. M. (1984). Organizational innovation and performance: The problem of “organizational lag.” Administrative Science Quarterly, 29(3), 392–409.
  • Damanpour, F., & Schneider, M. (2006). Phases of the adoption of innovation in organizations: Effects of environment, organization and top managers. British Journal of Management, 17(3), 215–236.
  • Dedahanov, A. T., Rhee, C., & Yoon, J. (2017). Organizational structure and innovation performance: Is employee innovative behavior a missing link? Career Development International, 22(4), 334–350.
  • Delshab, V., Winand, M., Sadeghi Boroujerdi, S., Pyun, D. Y., & Mahmoudian, A. (2019). Analyzing the influence of employee values on knowledge management in sport organizations. Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management, 10(3), 667–685.
  • Dewar, R. D., & Dutton, J. E. (1986). The adoption of radical and incremental innovations: An empirical analysis. Management Science, 32(11), 1422–1433.
  • Doyle, J. P., Su, Y., & Kunkel, T. (2020). Athlete branding via social media: Examining the factors influencing consumer engagement on Instagram. European Sport Management Quarterly, 22(4), 1–21.
  • Ehnold, P., Faß, E., Steinbach, D., & Schlesinger, T. (2020). Digitalization in organized sport—Usage of digital instruments in voluntary sports clubs depending on club’s goals and organizational capacity. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, 11(1), 28–53.
  • Eva, N., Prajogo, D., & Cooper, B. (2017). The relationship between personal values, organizational formalization and employee work outcomes of compliance and innovation. International Journal of Manpower, 38(2), 274–287.
  • FIFA. (2021). The Vision 2020–2023. https://publications.fifa.com/en/vision-report-2021/
  • Fusch, P. I., & Ness, L. R. (2015). Are we there yet? Data saturation in qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 20(9), 1408–1416.
  • Garcia, R., & Calantone, R. (2002). A critical look at technological innovation typology and innovativeness terminology: A literature review. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 19(2), 110–132.
  • Getz, D. (1989). Special events: Defining the product. Tourism Management, 10(2), 125–137.
  • Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine De Gruyter.
  • Green, B. C., & Chalip, L. (1998). Sport tourism as the celebration of subculture. Annals of Tourism Research, 25(2), 275–291.
  • Harris, S. J., Metzger, M. L., & Duening, T. N. (2021). Innovation in national governing bodies of sport: Investigating dynamic capabilities that drive growth. European Sport Management Quarterly, 21(1), 94–115.
  • Herriott, R. E., & Firestone, W. A. (1983). Multisite qualitative policy research: Optimizing description and generalizability. Educational Researcher, 12(2), 14–19.
  • Hoeber, L., & Hoeber, O. (2012). Determinants of an innovation process: A case study of technological innovation in a community sport organization. Journal of Sport Management, 26(3), 213–223.
  • Hoeber, L., Doherty, A., Hoeber, O., & Wolfe, R. (2015). The nature of innovation in community sport organizations. European Sport Management Quarterly, 15(5), 518–534.
  • Houston, M. (2021, March 27). Club Paris 2024 offering 100 spots at mass-participation marathon just to women. Inside the Games. https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1105939/paris-2024-women-marathon
  • Huiszoon, P., Martinent, G., & Bodet, G. (2018). Sport governing bodies’ influence on non-transactional fan behaviours. Managing Sport and Leisure, 23(1/2), 123–138.
  • IOC. (2017, October 25). Paris and Los Angeles to work together on sustainability, inclusiveness and innovation. International Olympic Committee. https://olympics.com/ioc/news/paris-and-los-angeles-to-work-together-on-sustainability-inclusiveness-and-innovation
  • IOC. (2021a, March 12). IOC session approves Olympic Agenda 2020+5 as the strategic roadmap to 2025. International Olympic Committee. https://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-session-approves-olympic-agenda-2020-5-as-the-strategic-roadmap-to-2025
  • IOC. (2021b, March 15). AliExpress rewarding consumers for Le Club Paris 2024 Challenge. International Olympic Committee. https://olympics.com/ioc/news/aliexpress-rewarding-consumers-for-le-club-paris-2024-challenges
  • IOC. (2021c, June 7). IOC announces new global hospitality model from Paris 2024 onwards. International Olympic Committee. https://olympics.com/ioc/news/ioc-announces-new-global-hospitality-model-from-paris-2024-onwards-on-location-appointed-as-global-hospitality-provider-through-to-la28
  • IOC. (2021d, March 23). Paris 2024 commits to staging climate-positive Olympic and Paralympic Games. International Olympic Committee. https://olympics.com/ioc/news/paris-2024-commits-to-staging-climate-positive-olympic-and-paralympic-games
  • Joachim, G., Schulenkorf, N., Schlenker, K., Frawley, S., & Cohen, A. (2022). “This is how I want us to think”: Introducing a design thinking activity into the practice of a sport organisation. Sport Management Review, 25(3), 428-453.
  • Jones, G. J., Edwards, M. B., Bocarro, J. N., Bunds, K. S., & Smith, J. W. (2017). An integrative review of sport-based youth development literature. Sport in Society, 20, 161-179.
  • Kassens-Noor, E., & Fukushige, T. (2018). Olympic technologies: Tokyo 2020 and beyond: The urban technology metropolis. Journal of Urban Technology, 25(3), 83–104.
  • Kassens-Noor, E., & Lauermann, J. (2017). How to bid better for the Olympics: A participatory mega-event planning strategy for local legacies. Journal of the American Planning Association, 83(4), 335–345.
  • Keh, A. (2017, January 10). FIFA to Expand World Cup to 48 Teams in 2026. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/10/sports/fifa-world-cup.html
  • Kellison, T. B., & Hong, S. (2015). The adoption and diffusion of pro-environmental stadium design. European Sport Management Quarterly, 15(2), 249-269.
  • LAOCOG. (2016).. Olympic World Library. https://library.olympic.org/
  • LAOCOG. (2022). LA28 Emblem shows diversity and creativity. LA28. https://la28.org/content/latwentyeight/en/newsroom/la28-emblem-shows-diversity-and-creativity.html
  • Lauermann, J. (2016). Boston’s Olympic bid and the evolving urban politics of event-led development. Urban Geography, 37(2), 313–321.
  • Lin, L., Shen, H., Liu, S., Xu, L., & Cheng, X. (2022). On the cybernetics of crowdsourcing innovation: A process model. IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society Section, 10, 27255–27269.
  • McCullough, B. P., Pfahl, M. E., & Nguyen, S. N. (2016). The green waves of environmental sustainability in sport. Sport in Society, 19(7), 1040–1065.
  • McDermott, C. M., & O’Connor, G. C. (2002). Managing radical innovation: An overview of emergent strategy issues. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 19(6), 424–438.
  • Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis. Sage.
  • Newell, S., & Swan, J. (1995). The diffusion of innovation in sport organizations: An evaluative framework. Journal of Sport Management, 9(3), 317–333.
  • O’Connor, M. K., Netting, F. E., & Thomas, M. L. (2008). Grounded theory: Managing the challenge for those facing institutional review board oversight. Qualitative Inquiry, 14(1), 28–45.
  • Oltra, M. J., Flor, M. L., & Alfaro, J. A. (2018). Open innovation and firm performance: The role of organizational mechanisms. Business Process Management Journal, 24(3), 814–836.
  • Parent, M. M. (2017). The organizing committee’s perspective. In Routledge handbook of sports event management (pp. 43-64). Routledge.
  • Parent, M. M., & Smith-Swan, S. (2013). Managing major sports events: Theory and practice. Routledge.
  • Peachey, J. W., Schulenkorf, N., & Spaaij, R. (2019). Sport for social change: Bridging the theory-practice divide. Journal of Sport Management, 33(5), 361–365.
  • POCOG. (2016). Candidature file: Paris candidate city Olympic Games 2024. Olympic World Library. https://library.olympics.com/Default/doc/SYRACUSE/171681/candidature-file-paris-candidate-city-olympic-games-2024?_lg=en-GB
  • POCOG. (2019). A social charter for responsible games. Paris 2024. https://www.paris2024.org/en/a-social-charter-for-responsible-games/
  • POCOG. (2021). Paris 2024 commits to a climate-positive Olympic and Paralympic Games. Paris 2024. https://medias.paris2024.org/uploads/2021/03/Press-release-Paris-2024-Paris-2024-commits-to-a-climate-positive-Olympic-and-Paralympic-Games.pdf
  • POCOG. (2022). An opening ceremony like no other. Paris 2024. https://www.paris2024.org/en/ceremony/
  • Preuss, H. (2007). The conceptualisation and measurement of mega sport event legacies. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 12(3/4), 207–228.
  • Preuss, H. (2015). A framework for identifying the legacies of a mega sport event. Leisure Studies, 34(6), 643–664.
  • Ratten, V. (2020). Sport technology: A commentary. The Journal of High Technology Management Research, 31(1), 1–6.
  • Ritchie, J. R. (1984). Assessing the impact of hallmark events: Conceptual and research issues. Journal of Travel Research, 23(1), 2–11.
  • Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). Free Press.
  • Rowley, J., Baregheh, A., & Sambrook, S. (2011). Towards an innovation‐type mapping tool. Management Decision, 49(1), 73–86.
  • Shefferd, N. (2021, March 17). Paris 2024 pledges to become world’s first climate positive Olympic and Paralympic Games. Inside the Games. https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1105570/paris-2024-first-climate-positive-games
  • Skinner, J., Smith, A. C., and Swanson, S. (2018). Mapping innovation in sport: Revealing the innovation opportunity. In J. Skinner, A. Smith, & S. Swanson (Ed.), Fostering innovative cultures in sport (pp. 111–144). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
  • Slack, T., & Parent, M. M. (2006). Understanding sport organizations: The application of organization theory. Human Kinetics.
  • Souto, J. E. (2015). Business model innovation and business concept innovation as the context of incremental innovation and radical innovation. Tourism Management, 51, 142–155.
  • Suroso, E., & Azis, Y. (2015, May). Defining mainstreams of innovation: A literature review. Paper presented at the International Conference on Economics and Banking (ICEB-15), Ekuitas School of Business, Indonesia. Atlantis Press.
  • Svensson, P. G., & Hambrick, M. E. (2019). Exploring how external stakeholders shape social innovation in sport for development and peace. Sport Management Review, 22(4), 540–552.
  • Svensson, P. G., & Mahoney, T. Q. (2020). Intraorganizational conditions for social innovation in sport for development and peace. Managing Sport and Leisure, 25(3), 220–238.
  • Thompson, A., & Parent, M. M. (2021). Understanding the impact of radical change on the effectiveness of national-level sport organizations: A multi-stakeholder perspective. Sport Management Review, 24(1), 1-23.
  • Tjønndal, A. (2017). Sport innovation: Developing a typology. European Journal for Sport and Society, 14(4), 291–310.
  • United 26. (2018). United bid to host the 2026 FIFA world cup. FIFA. https://img.fifa.com/image/upload/w3yjeu7dadt5erw26wmu.pdf
  • Verhoef, P. C., Reinartz, W. J., & Krafft, M. (2010). Customer engagement as a new perspective in customer management. Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 247–252.
  • Walker, R. M., Damanpour, F., & Devece, C. A. (2011). Management innovation and organizational performance: Mediating role of planning and control. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 21, 367–386.
  • Wemmer, F., Emrich, E., & Koenigstorfer, J. (2016). The impact of coopetition-based open innovation on performance in nonprofit sports clubs. European Sport Management Quarterly, 16(3), 341-363
  • Wemmer, F., & Koenigstorfer, J. (2016). Open innovation in nonprofit sports clubs. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 27(4), 1923-1949.
  • Wharton, D. (2017, January 16). LA organizers proposed linked, simultaneous Olympic ceremonies for Coliseum, Inglewood stadium. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-la2024-olympic-ceremonies-20170116-story.html
  • Winand, M., & Hoeber, L. (2017). Innovation capability in non-profit sport organisations. In V. Ratten, & J. Ferreira (Eds.), Sport entrepreneurship and innovation (pp. 13–30). Routledge.
  • Winand, M., Scheerder, J., Vos, S., & Zintz, T. (2016). Do non-profit sport organisations innovate? Types and preferences of service innovation within regional sport federations. Innovation, 18(3), 289–308.
  • Winand, M., Vos, S., Zintz, T., & Scheerder, J. (2013). Determinants of service innovation: A typology of sports federations. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 13(1/2), 55–73.
  • Wolfe, R. A. (1994). Organizational innovation: Review, critique and suggested research directions. Journal of Management Studies, 31(3), 405–431.
  • Yin, R. K. (2017). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage.
  • Yoshida, M. (2017). Consumer experience quality: A review and extension of the sport management literature. Sport Management Review, 20(5), 427–442.
  • Yoshida, M., Gordon, B., Nakazawa, M., & Biscaia, R. (2014). Conceptualization and measurement of fan engagement: Empirical evidence from a professional sport context. Journal of Sport Management, 28(4), 399–417.
  • Yoshida, M. & Nakazawa, M. (2016). Innovative sport consumption experience: An empirical test in spectator and participant sports. Journal of Applied Sport Management, 8(1), 1–21.
  • Zaltman, G., Duncan, R., & Holbek, J. (1973). Innovations and organizations. Wiley.

Discover more from International Journal of Sport Management

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading