Zheng, Jinming

This research explains how unexpected and uncontrollable chance events can facilitate or constrain competitive advantage in sport, through a study of Iran in five weight division-specific sports (i.e. weightlifting, wrestling, taekwondo, judo and boxing). The analysis relied on data collected from 25 semi-structured interviews. The study identifies six types of chance events impacting elite sport – economic crises, sport-specific crises, diplomatic tensions with foreign countries, political decisions by foreign governments, technological discontinuities, and new policies and rules of international governing bodies. The contributions of this paper to the literature reside in the identification of crises as a major type of chance events and the discovery of some chance events specific to elite sport.

This article explores the concept of policy windows within the multiple streams framework through a case study of Hong Kong, specific to cycling and fencing. Data were sourced from 15 semi-structured interviews with pertinent insiders in Hong Kong. Two main findings take centre stage. First, in the context of elite sport, in addition to problems and political events, policy windows can also be opened by positive events, most notably successful performances and breakthroughs. Second, in spatial terms, policy windows comprise both (1) policy windows from other policy sectors including non-elite sport sectors; and (2) elite sport policy-focused policy windows. This paper has the potential to advance the concept of policy windows by adding the perspective of positive events and further developing the spatial domain features beyond the big-little divide. The findings also have utility for elite sport practitioners who will more likely launch positive policy changes or pursue desirable outcomes.

Few studies have examined the impact of technological officiating aids on football. The purpose of this study is to design a comprehensive model examining the use of video assistant referee (VAR) technology in football. Based on interviews with eminent sports experts, this study explores the use of VAR technology in football and provides a paradigm model. Data analysis was based on the continuous comparison method during three stages of open, axial and selective coding. The findings point to the ability of a referee to make an informed decision regarding an incident during a match and trends suggest continuing adoption of new technologies in decision support systems. In the model, causal conditions (e.g. rules and regulations, innovation in football) attract attention to the axial phenomenon (i.e. application of VAR technology to football) and strategies for its use (e.g. Total Quality Management, justice, increasing referee supervision) given the interfering factors (e.g. fair play, competition) and existing contexts (e.g. control of anti-football behaviours, referee performance, information technology, IT, control of violence and aggression), which create consequences (i.e. process weakness, slowing down the game, passion killing, increasing the quality of the referee’s decision, increasing referee confidence, economical, increasing decision-making accuracy). Therefore, given the contextual conditions and the intervening factors, implementing VAR technology should improve the quality of football competitions. The research concludes that VAR has the potential to enhance the quality of football competitions but also acknowledges the need to address its negative impacts and ensure sustainable development.