Misconduct in sports organisations: How to increase the willingness of elite athletes to report misconduct (since 2025).

Project description

The current project is being carried out in close cooperation with partners from the world of sport. The focus is on the investigation of organisational misconduct in sports organisations. The main focus is on the issues of match-fixing, doping, sexual harassment and discrimination, which have become a constant dark companion of modern sport. In addition to analysing attitudes and willingness, the development of evidence-based prevention measures to increase the willingness to report is also part of the research. Existing measures and channels will be analysed and new concepts developed during the course of the project. In order to endeavour to ensure fair sport, practical data collection and implementation of the findings, there is a close exchange with the associations and support centres of competitive sport.

Project goals

The project analyses the willingness to report misconduct, taking into account the respective sport-specific context.
It evaluates which reporting channels are used to report misconduct and which characteristics and contexts influence these decisions.
New innovative practical prevention concepts in the context of doping are to be developed and implemented in practice.

In addition to an online survey of top athletes, a practical investigation of the field is necessary to gain knowledge. Based on this, a game concept will be developed as a training unit for further education events, which explores the willingness to engage in doping and reporting under consideration of a sporting setting in the form of a competition.

Heidelberg Research Group for Organization Studies – Prof. Dr. Markus Pohlmann. heiGOS.