Abstract des Autors

The chapter reviews the current research on elite sport systems. It argues that there is an overemphasis on exploring the structures and constituent elements, with an emphasis on similarities. This book embraces the diversity within and between national elite sport systems, with a particular focus on agency and leadership. The chapter sets the stage for exploring and comparing leadership practises across diverse national systems. It presents a theoretical framework, drawing upon the literature on multi-level leadership and institutional leadership. The first perspective draws attention to how mechanisms of leadership on different levels interact. The second perspective emphasises how leadership is embedded in specific political, societal and commercial sport contexts in the external environment. The contextual level adds to the multi-level model of leadership. The last section of the chapter provides brief descriptions of how the structure of elite sport systems as well as contextual demands affects leadership.