Interorganisational conflict between national and provincial sport organisations within China’s elite sport system: Perspectives from national organisations

Abstract

In this article, the authors examine interorganisational conflict between provincial and national sport organisations in China. The authors theoretically ground the research in work related to interorganisational relationships and interorganisational conflict. The three case studies are artistic gymnastics, swimming, and cycling, and the authors conducted interviews with 11 staff from the relevant national-level sport organisations. Secondary data was sourced from official publications, websites, and influential domestic media. The key finding is that, whilst famed for its top-down bureaucratic system, there is considerable interorganisational conflict within the Chinese sport system. The extent and characteristics of the national-provincial conflict vary between sports. But there is also some consistency regarding the causes of the conflict and the measures adopted to mitigate the tension. Interorganisational conflict provides a useful heuristic for articulating and understanding the interorganisational relationships within the Chinese elite sport system and hence advances elite sport management research.