Team sports metaphors in perspective

Robert W. Keidel

doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2014.09.006

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Journal article

Peer reviewed

Team sports metaphors in perspective

Robert W. Keidel

Organizational dynamics, v 43(4), pp 294-302

01 Oct 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2014.09.006

Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

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Abstract

Business

Business & Economics

Management

Psychology

Psychology, Applied

Social Sciences

More than thirty years ago (Winter 1984), Organizational Dynamics published my essay, "Baseball, Football, and Basketball: Models for Business." The gist of this article was that America's three major team sports represent structural parallels to corporations and other non-sports organizations and therefore, provide organizational design/change lessons. Baseball is a model of individualism within a team context; football emphasizes hierarchical coordination; and basketball requires spontaneous collaboration among all players. This new article describes my learning about the sports-metaphor framework since then. Five lessons stand out. First, the baseball/football/basketball triad parallels a wide range of concepts, which may be grouped broadly under three variables: autonomy, control, and cooperation. Second, the three games have changed (baseball has become more football-like, football more basketball-like, and basketball more baseball-like), but their essential differences persist. Third, the societal context has changed, and football has declined as a viable organizational model. Fourth, team sports analogies can help individuals to understand which organizational rotes work for them, and which do not; they can help them to "match up" optimally. Finally and most important, the central challenge is to be able to think in terms of three variables. Team sports metaphors, because they are both systemic and compelling, can help us to do so.