Agency Theory and the Study of Sport Organizations

This paper reviews the basic tenets and assumptions of agency theory, which has emerged as a significant stream of research in the broader organizational studies literature. Following an overview of the agency theory literature, and a description of the agency relationships that exist between parties, we discuss agency problems and the costs associated with maintaining agency relationships, along with solutions to said agency problems proposed in previous work. In doing so, we incorporate examples from the sports industry, and previous research examining agency theory in a sporting context. The article concludes by discussing of the value of agency theory as a framework to understand the sport industry. As a result, we hope to provide an alternative theoretical basis for studying organizations and their stakeholder within the sports industry.