Moral disengagement and sport integrity: identifying and mitigating integrity breaches in sport management

Research Question: The lens of moral disengagement (i.e. the cognitive restructuring of immoral behaviors to facilitate one’s own involvement by deactivating negative feelings) has been applied extensively to study integrity breaches in a number of contexts. However, despite the high and diverse prevalence of immoral behavior in (elite) sport, and the increasing research attention toward sport integrity, the explanatory potential of moral disengagement has not yet been fully exploited to better understand integrity breaches in the context of managing (elite) sport systems. As such, this study has two aims: (1) to demonstrate the utility of Bandura’s eight mechanisms of moral disengagement to explain integrity breaches in (elite) sport and (2) to conceptualize the four functions of integrity management as potential strategies to help sport managers remain morally engaged. Research Methods: Drawing on Albert Bandura’s seminal social cognitive theory of moral thought and action, this conceptual study develops an interdisciplinary understanding of moral disengagement from (sport) psychology, (sport) management and (sport) ethics and integrity. Results and Findings: Our findings highlight how sport managers use a broad number of strategies to switch their morals off when engaging in immoral behavior. At the same time, integrity management tools and strategies can be implemented to maintain managers’ moral engagement. Implications: Discussing the use of moral disengagement in (elite) sport, this study is relevant to sport management scholars and practitioners who want to identify and mitigate the underlying cognitive mechanisms for integrity breaches in (elite) sport systems

A stakeholder perspective on ethical leadership in sport: Bridging the gap between the normative and descriptive lines of inquiry

This critical PhD review paper examines existing scholarship on ethical leadership in sport. Following a general trend in business ethics and related fields, ethical leadership has gained considerable research attention in sport over the last decades. Within this growing body of literature, ethical leadership is often presented as part of the desired strategic response of sport organizations to tackle the so-called dark side of sport (i.e., formed by such ethical issues as abuse, violence, management fraud, match-fixing, and doping). However, this critical PhD review paper argues that the current body of literature on ethical leadership in sport has matured along two strongly related yet quite isolated lines of inquiry: a normative (i.e., philosophical) and a descriptive (i.e., empirical) line. While the normative line of inquiry focuses on what ethical leadership in sport should look like based on moral reasoning, the descriptive line examines how ethical leadership in sport is perceived in practice and how it relates to certain antecedents and outcomes. As both lines offer complementary insights, we advocate future research to bridge this gap to come to an improved understanding of ethical leadership in sport. To this aim, we propose a broad stakeholder perspective on ethical leadership in sport, in which necessary attention is given to how all involved stakeholders make sense of ethical leadership as a socially constructed and context-dependent phenomenon

Quid interpersonal violence in the sport integrity literature? A scoping review

Interpersonal violence (IV) against athletes has gained increased research, policy, and media attention. The purpose of this study is to analyze the scientific sport integrity literature (2010-2020) to better understand (a) to what extent, and (b) how IV has been discussed therein. Implementing Arksay and O’Malley’s scoping review framework, 1,342 studies were identified. Most studies focused on doping (n=930), and to a lesser extent (illegal) gambling (n=191), and match-fixing (n=61). Only 36 studies broadly discussed IV as a sport integrity issue. Further thematic analysis showed that IV is sometimes recognized as a personal and organizational sport integrity threat and as an instrumental facilitator for other integrity breaches. Moreover, the normalization of aggression and violence in sport was a recurring theme, hampering safe, fair, and inclusive sport systems and organizations. To effectively address the issue of IV, this review article advocates for a broad, integral, and holistic sport integrity approach

A stakeholder perspective on ethical leadership in sport: Bridging the gap between the normative and descriptive lines of inquiry

This critical PhD review paper examines existing scholarship on ethical leadership in sport. Following a general trend in business ethics and related fields, ethical leadership has gained considerable research attention in sport over the last decades. Within this growing body of literature, ethical leadership is often presented as part of the desired strategic response of sport organizations to tackle the so-called dark side of sport (i.e., formed by such ethical issues as abuse, violence, management fraud, match-fixing, and doping). However, this critical PhD review paper argues that the current body of literature on ethical leadership in sport has matured along two strongly related yet quite isolated lines of inquiry: a normative (i.e., philosophical) and a descriptive (i.e., empirical) line. While the normative line of inquiry focuses on what ethical leadership in sport should look like based on moral reasoning, the descriptive line examines how ethical leadership in sport is perceived in practice and how it relates to certain antecedents and outcomes. As both lines offer complementary insights, we advocate future research to bridge this gap to come to an improved understanding of ethical leadership in sport. To this aim, we propose a broad stakeholder perspective on ethical leadership in sport, in which necessary attention is given to how all involved stakeholders make sense of ethical leadership as a socially constructed and context-dependent phenomenon

Quid interpersonal violence in the sport integrity literature? A scoping review

Interpersonal violence (IV) against athletes has gained increased research, policy, and media attention. The purpose of this study is to analyze the scientific sport integrity literature (2010-2020) to better understand (a) to what extent, and (b) how IV has been discussed therein. Implementing Arksay and O'Malley's scoping review framework, 1,342 studies were identified. Most studies focused on doping (n = 930), and to a lesser extent (illegal) gambling (n = 191), and match-fixing (n = 61). Only 36 studies broadly discussed IV as a sport integrity issue. Further thematic analysis showed that IV is sometimes recognized as a personal and organizational sport integrity threat and as an instrumental facilitator for other integrity breaches. Moreover, the normalization of aggression and violence in sport was a recurring theme, hampering safe, fair, and inclusive sport systems and organizations. To effectively address the issue of IV, this review article advocates for a broad, integral, and holistic sport integrity approach

Where is interpersonal violence in the academic sport integrity discourse? A systematic review of the scientific literature

Interpersonal violence in sport, especially against athletes, is a prevalent problem and arguably one of the greatest threats to sport integrity. While addressing the issues of sport integrity is at the forefront of media, sport policies and research, it is unclear whether violence in sport is being discussed amongst the sport integrity literature. The aim of present research is to analyze the scientific literature on sport integrity breaches to understand the extent to which and in what ways interpersonal violence has been discussed therein. Four databases (Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCOhost and PubMed) were systematically searched for peer reviewed articles in English, published between 2010 and 2020. Key words which operationalized integrity issues (e.g., integrity, corruption, doping, fraud, human-trafficking), with the exclusion of specific terms for violence were used in the search strategy. A total of 8454 studies were identified in the initial search. Following two rounds of independent screening by two reviewers, 1408 relevant articles were included. As per preliminary analysis, only 20 of these articles broadly discuss violence as a sport integrity issue. The articles mainly focus on doping (63%), and, to a lesser extent on (illegal) gambling/betting (13%) and match-fixing (4%). Our initial analysis suggests that interpersonal violence is minimally discussed in the broader sport integrity literature. The thematic analysis will further explore how interpersonal violence is defined and operationalized in the sport integrity literature. In our presentation we will argue for a better integration of the concept of interpersonal violence in the sport integrity literature

An epidemic of allergic contact dermatitis due to epilating products.

Over a period of 19 months, 33 cases of acute allergic contact dermatitis from Veet epilating waxes and/or the accompanying tissue (Reckitt Benckiser, Massy, France) were observed in France and Belgium. The lesions started on the legs and spread to other parts of the body, especially the face, and were sometimes so severe that hospitalization and/or systemic corticosteroids were required. Primary sensitization occurred as early as after the first application in several patients. Patch tests were performed in 26 of the patients and produced strong positive reactions to the tissue (25 times) and/or the wax (13 times). The allergenic culprits in the wax were modified-colophonium derivatives (colophonium in the standard series testing negatively in all except 4 patients), while methoxy PEG-22/dodecyl glycol copolymer and to a lesser degree lauryl alcohol turned out to be the main causal allergens in the tissue