Decision Making in Major Sport Events Over Time: Parameters, Drivers, and Strategies.

The purpose of this article was to examine how the decision-making process changes as a major sport event's organizing committee moves from the planning to the implementation to the wrap-up modes. A case study of the 1999 Pan American Games, its organizing committee, and its stakeholders was built by means of interviews and archival material. Velocity impacted decision making in different ways. First, the importance of the time, context, and resources parameters changed, as did the model of decision making (from administrative to garbage can to rational). As well, four drivers of decision making (structural dimensions, stakeholder interactions, information management, and personal characteristics) were found. A key strategy for decision makers faced with an increasing velocity environment was planning for the need to react (come Games time) through risk assessments and contingency plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]