Pulsating Major Sport Event Organizations: A Framework for Inducting Managerial Personnel

Abstract

In 1990 Toffler coined the term “pulsating organization” to reflect organizations that expand and contract. This term has relevance for major sport event organizations. They generally operate with a small core of personnel for much of the year, expand substantially in the lead up to an event, then afterwards personnel numbers shrink in size. This effect poses substantial challenges in delivering a quality induction process for many major sport event organizations. The first part of this study identifies how these “pulsating organizations,” in light of their special characteristics, have adapted an induction process from “generic” organizations. The second part incorporates semistructured interviews with managers at the Australian Open Tennis Championships and the Australian Formula One Grand Prix to ascertain their induction process before a major sport event. The final part recommends a model to improve the management of induction at these two organizations. On a broader scale, managers of other pulsating major sport event organizations could incorporate this model, when developing, implementing, and evaluating their induction process.