Leadership and Decision-Making Styles in Large-Scale Sporting Events

Abstract

The current study investigates the relationship between transformational and transactional leadership styles and decision-making styles in large-scale sporting events, using evidence from the 2016 Olympic Games and 2014 FIFA World Cup. A mixed-methods approach was used to gather the data. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results reveal there is a relationship between transformational behavior and the rational decision-making style. Practical implications may help organizing committees at both events to adopt leadership styles that best work with different decision-making styles. This exploratory study provides recommendations for future explanatory research to contribute to the literature examining leadership styles and decision-making styles in large-scaling sporting events. The originality of the current study is that it advances sport leadership research that links leadership styles and decisionmaking styles in large-scale sporting events.