Unpacking the public/government relationship in the context of sport events: an agency theory approach

ABSTRACT In the context of sport events, local governments are often, at least in part, responsible for bringing an event to a community and determining the extent of public funding invested. Due to the government’s role and responsibility to act in the best interest of residents, the dyadic public/government relationship is an integral part of publicly funded sport events. However, the nuances of the public/government relationship in the context of sport events have seldom been investigated. The purpose of this contribution is to offer a conceptual approach to explore the host resident/local government relationship in the sport event context. Using agency theory, we situate host residents as the principal, delegating tasks to the local government, the agent. We demonstrate how introducing concepts of knowledge, power, and trust from this perspective can determine the extent to which principal-agent problems may exist in the context of a sport event. This in turn offers insights into the political impact sport events may have in communities and how the local government can better serve host residents in this context. Methodological suggestions, such as drawing on mixed methods approaches and engaging diverse groups of research participants are offered to provide researchers the tools to apply these concepts in the context of publicly funded sport events.