Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


osu1273713772.pdf (1.68 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Patterns of Bureaucracy in Intercollegiate Athletic Departments

Rocha, Claudio M.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1273713772

Abstract Details

2010, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, ED Physical Activities and Educational Services.
The theoretical argument of the current research is that athletic departments have been effective in attaining their conflicting goals mainly because they have become highly effective in managing institutional rules. Neo-institutionalism (DiMaggio & Powell, 1991), loose coupling (Meyer & Rowan, 1977), and patterns of bureaucracy (Gouldner, 1954) form the theoretical cornerstone of the current research. Sport management investigations about goals and processes of intercollegiate athletics (Trail & Chelladurai, 2000) offer an unique opportunity to investigate these sociological theories of management in sport contexts. The initial endeavor of the current research was to explore and describe relationships between intercollegiate athletics goals and processes and coaches‘ perceptions about how institutional rules have been negotiated inside athletic departments (patterns of bureaucracy). To attain this aim, first, I proposed a scale to measure different patterns of bureaucracy in athletic departments and tested its psychometric properties. Then, I investigated the structural relationships among intercollegiate athletics goals, processes, and patterns of bureaucracy. I received back 382 questionnaires from Division I coaches (response rate of 38.2%), 326 from Division II (32.6%), and 359 from Division III (35.9%). From these questionnaires some had to be eliminated due to either the irresponsible nature of the responses. A final sample of 907 (ndivI = 322; ndivII = 277; ndivIII = 308) was used to test the hypotheses. For controlling for non-response error, late respondents were compared to early respondents. Late respondents did not differ from early respondent in any variable for all three divisions. Initial confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) showed acceptable fit indexes, but some items did not load sufficiently high in their constructs. After some refining, the new proposed bureaucracy scale presented good psychometric properties, as did the goals and processes scales. Multiple-group CFA indicated fully measurement invariance for bureaucracy and goals scales, and partial measurement invariance for processes scale. Single-group structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses showed that the correlation between developmental and performance goals was large and significant for all three divisions (rdivI = .654; rdivII = .660; rdivIII = .582). The regression coefficient of developmental processes on developmental goals was large and significant for all three divisions (beta divI = .924; beta divII = .909; beta divIII = .853). Also, the regression coefficient of performance processes on performance goals was large and significant for all three divisions (beta divI = .902; beta divII = .780; beta divIII = .933). For all three divisions, developmental process was a significant predictor of all three types of bureaucracy: mock bureaucracy (beta divI = -.313; beta divII = -.392; beta divIII = -.406), representative bureaucracy (beta divI = .289; beta divII = .414; beta divIII = .411) and discordant bureaucracy (beta beta divI = .226; beta divII = .331; beta divIII = .282). Multiple-group SEM analyses showed that structural relationships among goals, processes, and patterns of bureaucracy were invariant among all three groups of coaches. Implications for theory and practice of these results were discussed.
Packianathan Chelladurai (Advisor)
Sarah Fields (Committee Member)
Brian Turner (Committee Member)
213 p.
Management; Physical Education
intercollegiate athletics; bureaucracy; loose coupling

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Rocha, C. M. (2010). Patterns of Bureaucracy in Intercollegiate Athletic Departments [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1273713772

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Rocha, Claudio. Patterns of Bureaucracy in Intercollegiate Athletic Departments. 2010. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1273713772.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Rocha, Claudio. "Patterns of Bureaucracy in Intercollegiate Athletic Departments." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1273713772

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1273713772
3,567
© 2010, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.