Organizational hybridity and the evolution of the Kontinental Hockey League

Abstract

This paper employs an institutional logics approach to review the first ten years of operations of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In doing so, we reveal how the KHL has integrated different practices from its rival, the National Hockey League, while also being influenced by traditional organizational practices and logics in the established Russian hockey system. Results reveal how the KHL has functioned as a hybrid under pressures from multiple logics, which has implications for the League as it continues to evolve and develop. The paper makes several important contributions to the literature. First, using Russian sources, it provides a comprehensive overview of KHL operations. Second, it shows how institutional logics across cultures can influence organizational operations, by examining an organization that has integrated both Western and Eastern European logics. Third, it furthers research examining the unique nature of sport organizations which may possess its own unique logics.

Notes

1 Research has shown that North American leagues have a greater focus on profit maximization, while European clubs for more on winning (Sandy, Sloane, and Rosentraub 2004).

2 Relevant on 22.09.2018 and collected via financial reporting database, Spark.

3 Viewership data are based on figures from matches broadcasted on Russian public channels.

4 The official abbreviations were based on their direct transliteration from Russian.