Institutionally Specific Design Archetypes: A Framework for Understanding Change in National Sport Organizations

Abstract

The literature that has focused on the change in amateur sport organizations in Canada, has suggested an evolutionary movement toward a more professional and bureaucratic design. While this view of change in Canadian national sport organizations provides strong descriptive support for understanding these organizations, it neglects the differences between them. The central premise of this paper is that changes in these organizations should not simply be explained as system-wide trends toward increased professionalization and bureaucratization. Rather the variety in organizational design may be understood by identifying common design archetypes that exist within this institutionally specific set of organizations. It will then be possible to more precisely identify the nature of the change process that is occurring.