Perceived environmental control over interuniversity athletics in Canada: A resource dependence perspective.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether those environmental elements which provide financial resources to the organization were perceived by the athletics directors to have control over the interuniversity athletics program. A theoretical framework, which incorporated the Emerson (1962) power-dependence theory of social exchange relations, and the concepts of resource dependence and power, was developed to examine the following hypothesis: The interuniversity athletics organization is perceived to be controlled by the elements (individuals, groups, organizations) in its environment in relation to its relative resource dependence on those elements. Another purpose of the study was to examine Emerson's power-dependence theory in the context of interuniversity athletics. Athletics directors from 34 (75.5%) of the 45 interuniversity athletics organizations in Canada completed the Survey of Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Programs and an accompanying interview. The survey elicited information about the organization's resource dependence on various sources in its environment, in terms of relative funding, as well as perceptions of the control of 15 environmental elements over seven basic activities of the organization, and overall. The interview was useful for further investigating the dynamics of perceived control. The organization, itself, was included as one of the elements. Univariate ANOVAs with repeated measures on the environmental elements were used to further describe organizational autonomy and perceived environmental control, and t-tests were employed to compare the organization's relative resource dependencies. The study concluded that perceived environmental control was varyingly associated with the organization's resource dependence on its environment. The findings imply that perceived control may be based in other dependencies, which warrant examination. Although there was limited support for the power-dependence theory in the context of interuniversity athletics and financial dependence, it may be more appliable when other relevant dependencies are considered. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)