Edinburgh Napier University

  In recent years Organising Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs) have become increasingly interested in developing their Games specific management
know-how which enables them to increase efficiency in a tight timescale. In response to calls for systematic capturing of information on structures, operational
policies and plans (Elphinson, 1999) this paper proposes the use of configuration theory for the study of organisational formations of OCOGs. For the work of
OCOGs to be documented and most importantly for knowledge to be meaningful to future OCOGs, researchers need to first understand OCOGs as an organisational
species. The proposed approach can facilitate such thinking by allowing comparisons between data of an OCOGs structural and situational characteristics at
various stages in its lifecycle and respective characteristics of a number of 'ideal type' configurations as defined by Mintzberg (1979, 1992). The proposed
conceptual framework is discussed in this paper in an attempt to aid researchers in posing relevant questions, operationalising concepts and understanding the boundary
conditions of the related research paradigm.