Understanding China’s sports industry development initiative: a multiple streams framework analysis of policy formation and rationale

Over the past three decades, China’s sports industry has transitioned from a highly centralised system governed by the Communist ideology to a gradual commercialism since the early 1990s. Since 2014, China has issued an initiative, marked by three policy documents, which aims to elevate the sports industry to an essential component of the national economy. This paper employs a modified Multiple Streams Framework, accounting for China’s unique political system and environment, to explore rationale behind the formulation of this sports industry development initiative. Analysing data at the macro, meso, and micro levels, we unveil a pronounced political motivation behind the initiative’s formulation during a critical time after the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and President Xi Jinping’s assumption of office. While our findings reveal an absence of consideration for the national mood, we find the government’s openness to novel ideas, tempered by a commitment to maintaining government’s central oversight.