Team Sports Models as a Generic Organizational Framework

This paper identifies theoretical parallels between Keidel's triadic sports-model framework and several other constructs from the literatures on organization, strategy/planning, structure, and style/culture. It is argued that the sports models as a set offer a potentially unifying conceptual framework, because these models embody generic patterns of part. part and part:whole relations. Three possible relations among triadic elements are identified and found to be reflected in the sports-model framework. Research implications of this framework are discussed.