ABSTRACT
Organizations are complex but highly relevant objects of analysis for mediatization scholars, because they represent a meso-level in the social sciences. Organizations are structures within which individuals are organized and act, but they are also corporate agents that act and perceive themselves as acting on a societal level. Drawing on an institutionally-based model of mediatization, related to political organizations and special interest groups, this chapter explores current processes of mediatization across a wide range of Danish sports federations which are very diverse in terms of size, culture, history, and finances. It illustrates how sports organizations have a combined interest in mass media and social media platforms and how the new wave of mediatization that is emerging with digitization across sports is perceived as both a challenge and a phase that generates new opportunities. It is argued that the mediatization of sports organizations to some extent is an internally-driven process, which over time changes their internal structures. Digitization has intensified these processes, as digital communication has become an integrated element of the life-worlds of all organizations. Finally it is illustrated how processes of organizational change are based on an exchange, where institutional logics of specific societal institutions meet and combine and thus establish a basis from which new actions and practices may emerge in sports organizations.
