Hans Erik Næss

Purpose: This article seeks to investigate how key motorsport actors strive to implement legitimate modifications to their organization, technology and policies in order to meet the objectives related to “the green shift.” Design/methodology/approach: The article utilizes a fieldwork-based methodology focused on “field-configuring events” (FCEs), supported by three theoretical elements: narratives, relations and scale. This approach is applied through an ethnographic study of a 2023 Formula E event centered on sustainability in motorsports. Findings: The study demonstrates how Formula E and its stakeholders leverage the event format to construct, manage and convey a story of positive commitments to the “green shift.” By emphasizing successes over failures, consensus over controversies and networking over the establishment of binding decisions, the event minimizes the critical perspectives necessary for implementing substantial changes to achieve motorsport's green transition. Originality/value: This article offers an original methodological contribution by highlighting the potential of ethnographic research on FCEs to bridge academic and practical insights in organizational studies, showcasing the rich, nuanced understanding achievable through an FCE-based methodological framework.

Purpose: This study investigates how the emotional challenges associated with their roles impact the leadership practice of nonprofit sport leaders. As such, it fills a gap in the literature, as emotional management in the context of nonprofit sport leadership remains underexplored, despite increasing expectations for leaders to engage emotionally and authentically with stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach: An abductive approach was deployed, drawing on qualitative interviews (N = 22) and an online qualitative survey (N = 26) collected from an international sample of leaders in nonprofit sport organizations. Findings: The study provides qualitative insights into the strategies employed by leaders to navigate the emotional challenges inherent in leadership roles. It highlights how leaders derive motivation from their achievements and view setbacks as opportunities for learning during challenging periods. The study identifies several thematic similarities among leaders from diverse cultural backgrounds and elucidates how the societal context of nonprofit sports influences these demands. Furthermore, it explores how leaders can utilize these situations to facilitate change and progress. Originality/value: These findings advance the integration of Organizational Behaviour and sport management by elucidating a conceptual model for emotional self-regulation in nonprofit organizations.

Purpose: This study investigates how a collaboration between organizations concerned about their employees’ health and low-income elite athletes can be mutually beneficial. The study aims to examine the impact of involving athletes as online trainers for remote employees and as on-site trainers in organizations for collaborative training sessions on enhancing employees’ health perceptions and affecting organizational outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: This case-based longitudinal study was conducted over a four-year period. It comprises four phases involving employees from four companies and addresses employee perceptions of both physical training sessions and the elite athletes as instructors. The training sessions were organized as online videos, produced and made accessible for remote workers during the COVID-19 period. The on-site sessions took place in the companies in the following two years. In-depth interviews were undertaken to assess employees’ perceptions and experiences during these online and on-site training sessions, which consisted of aerobic, yoga, dance and kickboxing sessions. Findings: The workplace physical activity program created a perception of individual health benefits, positive emotions and improved mental health among employees. Organizational outcomes of joint on-site training sessions were, e.g. enhanced socialization, employee relations and work happiness. Originality/value: The study breaks new ground for improving the financial situation for elite athletes by hiring them as workplace health improvement consultants and trainers, while organizations are offered a new practice on health promotion management. A conceptual framework, comprising employee perceptions of the elite athletes as instructors, positive emotions, health benefits and organizational outcomes, is proposed.

This theoretical article examines the unintended consequences of workplace inclusion efforts, arguing that excessive socialization can paradoxically lead to exclusion. Utilizing Robert K. Merton’s theory of unintended consequences as a conceptual framework, the study critiques the assumption that collective social activities inherently foster inclusivity. While such initiatives aim to promote collective well-being and personal growth, they may inadvertently alienate individuals who prefer to opt out of energy-intensive interactions. To flesh out that claim, this article introduces a theoretical process model that challenges the homogeneous view of employees that underpins existing inclusion strategies, advocating for a more flexible, individualized approach that moves beyond collective enforcement. The findings offer a novel perspective on the importance of flexible organizational scripts, encouraging organizations to adopt more nuanced workplace inclusion strategies that respect diverse employee preferences and needs.

Drawing on previous chapters, this chapter synthesizes our findings about the role of leadership in promoting social inclusion through sport. The European Model of Sport provides a European perspective for the sports sector in terms of funding and policy coherence, but its practical effectiveness in promoting social inclusion on a local and national level is limited because it overlooks the complex interplay between access, participation, and empowerment and ignores the role of leadership. Meanwhile, the chapter discusses four leadership commonalities which affect the potential for making a social difference through sport. These commonalities constitute the groundwork for policy recommendations and priority structures on a European level. The chapter concludes by discussing the study's limitations and proposing directions for future research into sport and social inclusion.

As any sports organization must deal with the complexities of contemporary society, sports leaders need to ‘manage social complexity.’ In arguing this, this chapter starts with a discussion of the characteristics of social inclusion and exclusion, which, due to the vast number of attempts to define and operationalize them, is distilled into a conceptual point of departure relevant to this study. This point consists of elements from Fredrik Barth's transaction model, complexity leadership theory, and inclusive leadership theory, and provides a backdrop to the three dimensions of social inclusion we have chosen to study empirically: access, participation, and empowerment. Finally, we explain our methodological approach and data sources.

The concept of participation turns on how people can feel fully engaged in sports activities while feeling respected and valued. This approach provides a broader understanding of social inclusion within the context of sports. This chapter examines strategies that sports leaders can use to effectively foster participation. It begins by defining the concept of participation and delving into its theoretical foundations and the societal ideologies associated with it. The discussion then links participation to leadership theory, sports management literature, and power and discusses the boundary conditions of participation. Subsequently, the theoretical insights are connected to empirical data, exploring how sports leaders in Europe perceive their role in facilitating social inclusion through participation. Finally, the chapter offers practical recommendations, addressing what leaders can – and cannot – do to encourage meaningful participation within their spheres of influence.

This book considers how sport organizations can create inclusive practices to strengthen social progress, focusing on the importance of leadership in fostering positive change. Drawing on original research, and adopting a meso-level, multi-disciplinary approach that includes perspectives from sport management, the sociology of sport and organizational psychology, the book considers the evidence for sport as a vector of social progress. Featuring qualitative interviews with non-profit sport leaders from organizations across Europe, the book looks at the conditions under which social inclusion through sport is possible and examines the challenges and opportunities related to three areas of inclusivity and exclusivity: access, participation, and empowerment. Offering a new perspective on how leadership can help unlock the potential of sport as an inclusive force in society, this book is an important read for anybody with an interest in sport development, sport management, social inclusion, or the relationship between sport and wider society.

This chapter introduces the rationale behind studying the role of leaders in sport and social inclusion in Europe. It paints a picture of rising expectations from governments, stakeholders like the public and sponsors, and the European Union, for grassroot sports organizations to take greater social responsibility. However, these expectations often rest on an idealized image of what sport can do, rather than on empirical support. In this process, the role of leaders is rarely explored, despite the endorsement of the importance of leadership in an increasingly complex world of sport. This chapter therefore explores the notion that leadership is central to identifying what sport can do to make a difference for those groups and individuals having a stake in social inclusion programmes.