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A new conceptualization of mega sports event legacy delivery: Wicked problems and critical realist solution

Author

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  • Terri Byers
  • Emily Hayday
  • Athanasios (Sakis) Pappous

Abstract

•Wicked Problems (WP) and Critical Realism underpin mega sport event legacy.•A new holistic conceptualization of legacy delivery.•Legacy of mega sport events is a wicked problem, to varying degrees.The authors present a new conceptualization of mega sports event legacy delivery, which accounts for the problematic nature of legacy by viewing it as a wicked problem. Research on mega sports event legacy has focused on establishing typologies of legacy, investigating outcomes, and consequences, with limited attention to legacy delivery. The conceptualization of legacy delivery has largely relied on a positive, utopian legacy rhetoric. In contrast, the authors advance the understanding of legacy by proposing a conceptual approach of the legacy delivery process, to enable empirical studies in different contexts to be conducted. Specifically, the authors examine the wicked problem of mega sports event legacy delivery from a Critical Realist perspective, which serves to give meaning and order to this complex process. This conceptualization reveals that legacy delivery is inclusive of deep social structures which underpin different stakeholders’ interpretations and interactions, which produce or limit legacy delivery. The role of social, generative structures as causal mechanisms has not been considered as a way to understand legacy delivery previously. Implications for teaching, research, and practice are discussed to demonstrate the value of this new approach. Importantly, this conceptualization focuses on processes rather than outcomes and encourages the identification of unexpected or unanticipated components of legacy delivery beyond the formal policies and plans designed to create or leverage legacy.

Suggested Citation

  • Terri Byers & Emily Hayday & Athanasios (Sakis) Pappous, 2020. "A new conceptualization of mega sports event legacy delivery: Wicked problems and critical realist solution," Sport Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 171-182, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rsmrxx:v:23:y:2020:i:2:p:171-182
    DOI: 10.1016/j.smr.2019.04.001
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    Cited by:

    1. Themistocles Kokolakakis & Fernando Lera-Lopez, 2020. "Sport Promotion through Sport Mega-Events. An Analysis for Types of Olympic Sports in London 2012," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-17, August.
    2. Ji Wu & Madeleine Orr & Kurumi Aizawa & Yuhei Inoue, 2021. "Language Relativity in Legacy Literature: A Systematic Review in Multiple Languages," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-18, October.
    3. Fillipe Soares Romano & Roberto Paolo Vico & Ricardo Ricci Uvinha, 2023. "Legacies and impacts of sports mega-events in Brazil: São Paulo as a host city for football matches," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 38(4), pages 327-346, June.

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