Nicholas G.A. Lorgnier, Che-Jen Su, Shawn M. O’Rourke, Gillaume Penel

Abstract: In order to face turbulences inherent to modern society, sport tourism non-profits may rely on a better understanding of typologies at the organizational and network levels in order to guide organizational changes. In this paper, we argue that, although the theoretical justifications and practical implications of Mintzberg’s and Greiner’s typologies may differ, the ideal-types proposed by the authors reveal similar impetuses or conations. The reflection leads to the idea of conative change, studied from seasonal and multilevel perspectives, in the context of a cluster of sport tourism non-profits. The variety of organizational levels is used to discuss the role of agency in the emergence of the ideal-type while the seasonality of the demand is used to discuss the role of the factors of contingency. This case study reveals four observed types of organization which allowed us to discuss our working hypotheses and propositions. In addition to the theoretical discussions surrounding the concepts, the results encourage leaders to use the typologies as a guide to anticipate and react to critical crises requiring organizational changes in sport tourism non-profits.

Keywords: Conation, configuration, stage theory, contingency, seasonality, multi-level approach, typology.

Citation: Lorgnier, N. G. A., Su, C. J., O’Rourke, S. M., & Penel, G. (2018). Understanding conations in the organizations: Multi-level approach and seasonality of French sport tourism non-profits. International Journal of Sport Management, 19(3), 262-288.

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