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29.06.2026
Leadership cognition and policy alignment in sport federations
A research paper by Marcel Fahrner (Institute of Sports Science) examines cognitive divergence and policy alignment in voluntary sport governing bodies.
Drawing on two German state-level sport governing bodies (SGBs) which are negotiating a possible merger of both organizations, this study conducted by Marcel Fahrner shows how divergent leadership perspectives challenge the development of coherent policies.
Grounded in systems theory and the concept of mental models, the study combines data from organizational documents and semi-structured interviews with leaders of the two SGBs. Findings provide a nuanced picture of leaders’ task and team mental models and illustrate the horizontal and vertical pluralities of organizations. Demonstrating how organizational policies are enacted by leaders in volunteer-driven contexts fosters the understanding of meaning-making and the construction of organizations by individual’s cognition and social interaction within the multilevel setting of SGBs.
The research paper was recently accepted for publication in International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics.
Fahrner, M. (2026). Leadership Cognition and Policy Alignment: Insights From Pre-Merger Sport Governing Bodies. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics. doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2026.2693286
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