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Governance of the Chinese Super League: A struggle between governmental control and market orientation

Yang Ma (School of Sports Science and Physical Education, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, China) (Department of Sport Governance and Event Management, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany)
Markus Kurscheidt (Department of Sport Governance and Event Management, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany)

Sport, Business and Management

ISSN: 2042-678X

Article publication date: 10 May 2019

Issue publication date: 17 May 2019

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Abstract

Purpose

In 2017, the Chinese Super League (CSL), the first professional football division in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), became the highest-spending league in the international players’ transfer market, with a total spending of €377m. Moreover, the government of the PRC is backing the CSL with an ambitious football plan. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the governance of the CSL by questioning the organisational viability of the league.

Design/methodology/approach

In addition to the relevant international literature, this study is based on 14 recent scholarly articles published in Mandarin from 2013 to 2018 to reflect the national academic debate. Moreover, website research on all CSL clubs has been conducted. The institutional analysis follows the integrative change model of Cunningham (2002) complemented by agency and bureaucracy theory.

Findings

The CSL still faces substantial governance problems caused by the divergence of goal setting, organisational inefficiencies and compliance issues. The organisational change is notably constrained by internal competitive value commitments and external power dependency.

Research limitations/implications

The institutional findings on the CSL provide a starting point for empirical studies. The approach contributes to the theory of sport governance processes.

Practical implications

The material and insights are informative for decision makers to evaluate the competitiveness of the CSL.

Originality/value

This paper is the first international in-depth analysis of the governance of the CSL using the body of knowledge published in Mandarin.

Keywords

Citation

Ma, Y. and Kurscheidt, M. (2019), "Governance of the Chinese Super League: A struggle between governmental control and market orientation", Sport, Business and Management, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 4-25. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBM-11-2017-0070

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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