ABSTRACT
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).
