Global player production networks: Gaining value in the National Hockey League

Coupling in Sport

“…We draw on three connected conceptual frameworks to interpret the changing hockey coupling arrangements between China and Canada. Global player production networks, an adaptation of the original global production network (GPN) framework, describe the development of elite athletes who are scouted, recruited, trained, and contracted to play for major franchises for large salaries (Decosse and Norcliffe, 2020;Norcliffe and Decosse, 2022). Coupling within GPPNs is sometimes severed by geopolitical disputes between countries, or simply by the way a country manages the sport.…”

“…In recent decades sport has been developing global networks of production and sales, become monetized, and taken on characteristics similar to many manufacturing industries (Poli, 2010;Darby, 2013;Norcliffe & Decosse, 2022;Waite and Smith, 2017. But whereas Yeung (2018) stresses the stable strategic couplings that underlie many East Asian production networks, other supply chains are much more opportunistic, being driven by prices agreed upon in short term contracts, by sociopolitical tensions that swirl around the global economy, and by unexpected events including epidemics, natural disasters, and man-made crises ranging from wars to blocked shipping lanes.…”

“…Geopolitics, national pride and results-driven assessments of top athletes and their coaches have led to intensive efforts to recruit and produce new star performers, while those failing to perform at their peak are rapidly relegated to lower levels (Rowe, 2019;Purdy et al 2017). This competitive environment has created global player production networks (GPPNs), with the players' commodified bodies traded among elite franchises in a monetized sports economy (Norcliffe and Decosse 2022).…”