| Description |
1 online resource |
| Contents |
Chapter 1: Introduction -- the FIA, and the analytical framework Less known than the FIFA and the IOC, the FIA nevertheless share with them several characteristics as an organisation. To provide the reader with an introduction to the FIA and its reach, and to this project as a whole, chapter one will address the current state of the FIA and why a book like this is a contribution to this field. Existing literature about the FIA and its place in the landscape of ISAs will be reviewed, and the research framework, data and methods, which this book builds upon, will be unfolded. First, I will provide a backdrop of the formation of the FIA in 1945 with reference to the role of the car industry, the development of championships (Grand Prix), and the commercialisation of motorsport. Notable episodes include the formation of Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI) in 1922, and the establishment of the European Drivers' Championship in 1931 |
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To analyse these processes, and the relation between structure and agency, it is relevant to continue with how organisational practices and structures are often either reflections of, or responses to, rules, beliefs and conventions built into the wider society (Powell & Colyvas, 2007, p. 975). For ISAs, this applies with regard to 'elaboration of fields in terms of power, status, and history of institutions and the effects on organizations' (Washington & Patterson, 2011, p. 9). While early research within this framework focused on three mechanisms of organisational change through institutional isomorphism -- coercive, normative and mimetic mechanisms (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983) -- and thus rewarding conformity (at least within an organisational field), recent theoretical ventures draw attention to how organisations have changed in more diverse ways -- acknowledging both homogenisation and divergence -- because of external pressure and internal entrepreneurship (Beckert, 2010) |
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A key analytical task in that respect is to investigate how 'stakeholder salience' is related to the cumulative number of stakeholder attributes -- power, legitimacy and urgency -- perceived by managers to be present (Mitchell, Agle, & Wood, 1997, p. 873; Neville, Bell & Whitwell, 2011) and to identify the relative importance of stakeholders as the FIA grows as an organisation. These stakeholder relations are shaping as well as are being shaped by institutional logics, -- that is, 'a set of material practices and symbolic constructions -- which constitutes its organizing principles and which is available to organizations and individuals to elaborate' (Friedland & Alford, 1991, p. 248). However, with increasing engagement beyond sports a plurality of such logics has emerged among ISAs, such as the FIA, creating hybrid organisations that are not merely non-profit or profit-based, neither neutral nor political, and transparent and secluded at the same time |
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With that, debates and quarrels about regulations began almost immediately. Although mostly ran by privateers in its first decade of racing, Formula 1 teams became a force to be reckoned with in terms of negotiating with the FIA on the essentials of the sport. Not least did Bernie Ecclestone, a 1960s-race team owner in Formula 1 and a person whose institutional entrepreneurship on the FIA will be explored in detail in following chapters, begin to assess the opportunity to transform the poorly organized and commercially sclerotic F1 into a full-fledged spectacle. Hence, the FIA experienced growing pains in its attempts to cater to old and new stakeholders -- in other words, reconciling different institutional logics with the same solution as faced with issues in the past |
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Explaining his decision not to stand for the renewal of his mandate, FIA President 1958-1963 Count Hadelin de Liedekerke Beaufort expressed it honestly at the General Assembly, 14 October 1963: 'The FIA may rejoice in the fact that the tasks which lay before it is now more important than ever, that its membership are increasing on a par with the progress of motorization in the new Continents. There the FIA finds a justification of its efforts, but it must also perceive the opportunity for new tasks, and perhaps for some reorganizing.' Before he ended with passing on the presidency to someone 'with longer prospects before him, or more knowledgeable of the new circumstances of modern life'. Subsequently, these issues were addressed by the new FIA President, Italian Prince Caracciolo -- the only candidate -- in his acceptance speech at the very same meeting |
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With reference to difficulties of a general character, such as 'the transition period the automobile world is going through' and the acceptance of member countries whose needs 'are totally different from those of other countries', the new FIA president saw it as inevitable that the FIA needed to 'undergo deep changes'. To underpin this argument, Prince Caracciolo emphasised more peculiar changes related to sport: 'our Federation -- and this is its pride, its title of glory, which we must certainly never deny -- our Federation was born from Sport and, especially in the beginning, it had an entirely sporting outlook. However, compared with other domains of the automobile, one must say that sport no longer ranks first'. And while he added that 'while trying to retain impetus, the enthusiasm which were typical of sport, we must become fully adapted to modern times and realise that we have other tasks before us.' These views were both correct and misleading at the same time |
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Although it was true that the FIA was to be involved in issues that was not part of its original mandate, such as the environmental impact of cars, the sporting part of motoring was growing, not fading -- something that is even underlined in the official report on FIA activities 1962-63, where it is doubtful that the sporting public, due to the growing number of events, classes and series, 'can have a really clear or comprehensive view of the position of competitors, during the season'. This inconsistency would later recoil as Prince Caracciolo strongly advocated a FIA that should no longer be considered 'a meeting between friends where general directives are elaborated, but rather as a driving instrument for the execution of our programme. We must therefore try to reinforce our central mechanism' |
| Summary |
This book is the first independent exploration of the Fédération Internationale de 'lAutomobile's (FIA) institutional history. Virtually unexamined compared with similar institutions like the FIFA and the IOC, the FIA has nevertheless changed from being a small association in 1904 to becoming one of the worlds most influential sport governing bodies. Through chronologically organised chapters, this book explains how the FIA manages to link together motorsport circuses like Formula 1 wi th the automotive industry and societal issues like road safety and environmental sustainability. In an exciting narrative spanning seven decades, it reviews the FIAs organisational turning points, governing controversies, political dramas and sporting tragedies. Considering the FIA to be a unique type of hybrid organisation characterised by what the author calls 'organisational emulsion, this case study contains theoretical innovations relevant to other studies of sport governing bodies. It makes an empirically grounded contribution to the research fields of institutional logics, historical sociology and sport governance |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on August 17, 2020) |
| Subject |
Fédération internationale de l'automobile -- History
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| SUBJECT |
Fédération internationale de l'automobile fast |
| Subject |
Organizational change.
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Organizational Innovation
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Manufacturing industries.
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Corporate governance.
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Organizational theory & behaviour.
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Business & Economics -- Industries -- Automobile Industry.
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Business & Economics -- Corporate Governance.
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Business & Economics -- Strategic Planning.
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Organizational change
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| Genre/Form |
History
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| ISBN |
9783030482701 |
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3030482707 |
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