Abstract:
Responding to a series of articles in sport management literature calling for more
diversity in terms of areas of interest or methods, this study warns against the danger of
excessively fragmenting this field of research. The works of Kuhn (1962) and Pfeffer
(1993) are taken as the basis of an argument that connects convergence with scientific
strength. However, being aware of the large number of counterarguments directed at this
line of reasoning, a new model of convergence, which focuses on clusters of research
contributions with similar areas of interest, methods, and concepts, is proposed. The
existence of these clusters is determined with the help of a bibliometric analysis of
publications in three sport management journals. This examination determines that there
are justified reasons to be concerned about the level of convergence in the field, pointing
out to a reduced ability to create large clusters of contributions in similar areas of interest.
