Agency and institutions in sport

Much like the social phenomenon which it seeks to explain, institutional theory has become an institutional and dominant theoretical research traditional within sport management. In the context of sport, institutional theory can be used to examine the complex relationship between sport organisations and their broader environment. Specifically, it explains how sport organisations are influenced by and in turn influence, broader social, political and economic forces, as well as how these institutional forces shape the behaviour and practices of athletes, coaches and fans. The five original contributions contained within this special issue seek to advance institutional scholarship and bridge the growing theoretical divide between sport management and management. Taken together, the papers in this special issue represent the potential for not only further illumination of how institutional theory can advance sport management, but also how sport management might hold the possibility for further articulation and advancement of institutional theory. In doing so, we set out a future research agenda that calls for a return to the original motivations and concepts of institutional theory and a further appreciation of the distinctiveness of the sport context for understanding institutional arrangements.</p

“Like Ships in the Night” and the Paradox of Distinctiveness for Sport Management: A Citation Network Analysis of Institutional Theory in Sport

A central issue within sport management is the extent to which the field should develop a distinctive theoretical knowledge base. This paper empirically investigates the connectedness within (intra-field) and between (inter-field) management and sport management disciplines in one specific knowledge domain – institutional theory. We utilized Robertson et al. (2022) database of 188 sport related institutional studies and conducted a citation network analysis (CNA) of the aggregated reference lists from these articles. We argue that the fields of management and sport management act like ‘ships in the night’. That is, as the field of sport management has become more distinctive, the field is becoming less connected with general management literature and contemporary theoretical discussions. Potential implications for sport management scholarship and understanding the nature of the field are discussed, along with how it may be possible (if desired) to bridge the gap between sport and management research

α4-containing GABAA receptors on DRD2-neurons of the nucleus accumbens mediate instrumental responding for conditioned reinforcers, and its potentiation by cocaine

Extrasynaptic GABAA receptors (GABAARs) composed of α4, β, and δ subunits mediate GABAergic tonic inhibition and are potential molecular targets in the modulation of behavioural responses to natural and drug rewards. These GABAARs are highly expressed within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) where they influence the excitability of the medium spiny neurons. Here we explore their role in modulating behavioural responses to food-conditioned cues and the behaviour-potentiating effects of cocaine. α4-subunit constitutive knockout mice (α4-/-) showed higher rates of instrumental responding for reward-paired stimuli in a test of conditioned reinforcement (CRf). A similar effect was seen following viral knockdown of GABAAR α4 subunits within the NAc. Local infusion of the α4βδ -GABAAR-preferring agonist, THIP, into the NAc had no effect on responding when given alone, but reduced cocaine potentiation of responding for conditioned reinforcers in wildtype but not α4-/- mice. Finally, specific deletion of α4-subunits from dopamine D2, but not D1, receptor-expressing neurons (DRD2- and DRD1-neurons), mimicked the phenotype of the constitutive knockout, potentiating CRf responding and blocking intra-accumbal THIP attenuation of cocaine-potentiated CRf responding. These data demonstrate that α4-GABAAR mediated inhibition of DRD2-neurons reduces instrumental-responding for a conditioned reinforcer, and its potentiation by cocaine, and emphasise the importance of GABAergic signalling within the NAc in mediating cocaine's effects.Significance StatementThis manuscript combines genetic and pharmacological interventions to uncover a critical role for α4-containing GABAA receptors in the nucleus accumbens in instrumental responding for conditioned reinforcers and its potentiation by cocaine, behavioural phenomenon thought to contribute to reward-seeking behaviour. These findings represent an important advancement in our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying the reinforcing effects of conditioned stimuli and the role of the GABAergic system in this process