The structural antecedents of conflict in voluntary sport organizations

Abstract

Conflict is endemic to all organizations. However, in this paper it is argued that voluntary sport and leisure organizations exhibit characteristics that render them significantly more susceptible to conflict than organizations in other institutional spheres. Using interview data obtained from members and staff of Canadian voluntary sport organizations, which had been involved in a significant conflict, four case studies were constructed. These cases were analysed and it was shown that conflict in these organizations is, in large part, a result of their design arrangements. A number of structural antecedents, most notably the differentiated and interdependent nature of these organizations, were idenntified as precipitating conflict between organizational sub-units.