Per Øystein Hansen

• Chroni, Stiliani “Ani”; Hassandra, Mary; Verhelle, Helena; Alexopoulos, Antonis; Benítez‐Sillero, Juan de Dios & Calmaestra, Juan [Vis alle 16 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2026). Coach‐Perpetrated Interpersonal Violence: Witnessing, Perceived Harmfulness and the Role of Coaching Motivational Climate. European Journal of Sport Science (EJSS). ISSN 1746-1391. 26(1). doi: 10.1002/ejsc.70113. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  ABSTRACT Coach‐perpetrated interpersonal violence can pose significant risks to athletes' development as well as psychological, physical and social well‐being worldwide. This study examined the perceived harmfulness of witnessed coach‐perpetrated interpersonal violence behaviours in the North Mediterranean region, alongside any associations with coaching climates (empowering and disempowering). Data were collected from 494 active coaches across Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Spain and Portugal through an online questionnaire where they reported witnessing and perceived harm of psychological, physical, instrumental and sexual violence, as well as their coaching climates. The analysis showed psychological violence as the most frequently witnessed form and physical violence being perceived as the most harmful one. An empowering coaching climate, characterised by autonomy support and positive reinforcement, correlated positively with higher perceived harm, especially for psychological and instrumental violence. Conversely, a disempowering climate, marked by control and punitive behaviours, correlated with lower perceived harm. Gender, coach education and professional status were found to influence coaches' perceptions, highlighting that cultural and structural complexities have a role towards interpersonal violence tolerance. The study underscores the critical need for culturally tailored safe sport initiatives, mandatory training of coaches in safe coaching behaviours and practices and proactive safeguarding measures to mitigate interpersonal violence across diverse sporting contexts. Culturally informed interventions need to challenge the normalisation of violence in coaching and encourage empowering climates that place athletes in the centre and prioritise their welfare.

• Chroni, Stiliani “Ani”; Skille, Eivind Åsrum; Hansen, Per Øystein; Alexopoulos, Antonis; Benítez‐Sillero, Juan de Dios & Brazier, Ruth [Vis alle 16 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2026). Safe Sport in Mediterranean Contexts: Cultural Logics of Harm, Silence, and Authority. European Journal of Sport Science (EJSS). ISSN 1746-1391. 26(5). doi: 10.1002/ejsc.70168. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  ABSTRACT This study explores how cultural logics, as articulated by system‐level actors in the Northern Mediterranean region, may shape the acceptance, tolerance, and normalisation of interpersonal violence in sport, and constrain efforts to develop and implement safe sport initiatives. Using a cultural praxis heuristic, we conducted 60 semi‐structured interviews with individuals responsible for coach education and recruitment in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Spain, and Portugal. Analysis identified three themes: patriarchal structures reinforcing hierarchical power dynamics and gender norms; a win‐focused culture prioritising competitive success over athlete well‐being; and cultures of blindness and silence through which harmful practices are overlooked, minimised, or contained. Across contexts, safeguarding was described as less salient than adjacent institutional priorities (e.g., doping and match‐fixing), and participants highlighted a tension between expectations for top‐down reform and mistrust toward institutional authorities, helping to explain why safeguarding remains weakly operationalised in everyday governance. Addressing IV therefore requires explicit attention to the cultural logics through which authority is exercised, success is evaluated, and concerns are handled within routine organisational practice. Implications include strengthening coach education and governance processes, supporting culture‐change efforts that rebalance performance and welfare priorities, and engaging local actors to increase accountability and voice.

• Hansen, Per Øystein; Skirstad, Berit & Andersen, Svein S (2021). Leading and Organising German Elite Biathlon. I Andersen, Svein S; Hansen, Per Øystein & Houlihan, Barrie (Red.), Embedded Multi-Level Leadership in Elite Sport. Routledge. ISSN 9780367552770. s. 101–118. doi: 10.4324/9781003092728-7. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Andersen, Svein S; Hansen, Per Øystein & Houlihan, Barrie (2021). Embedded multi-level leadership in a diverse world. I Andersen, Svein S; Hansen, Per Øystein & Houlihan, Barrie (Red.), Embedded Multi-Level Leadership in Elite Sport. Routledge. ISSN 9780367552770. s. 221–237. doi: 10.4324/9781003092728-13. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Andersen, Svein S; Hansen, Per Øystein & Houlihan, Barrie (2021). Embedded Multi-Level Leadership in Diverse Elite Sport Systems. I Andersen, Svein S; Hansen, Per Øystein & Houlihan, Barrie (Red.), Embedded Multi-Level Leadership in Elite Sport. Routledge. ISSN 9780367552770. s. 1–12. doi: 10.4324/9781003092728-1. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hansen, Per Øystein; Chroni, Stiliani; Skille, Eivind Åsrum & Abrahamsen, Frank Eirik (2021). Leading and organising national teams: functions of institutional leadership. Sports Coaching Review. ISSN 2164-0629. doi: 10.1080/21640629.2021.1896213. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  National team coaches are tasked to increase athlete capacity for success – a key task of theirs is leading the athletes and team’s entourage. Few studies have detailed empirical accounts of leadership at the organisational-, team-, and individual level. This qualitative case study of institutional leadership examined how three national team coaches, who also have the role of high-performance directors, organise and lead their teams. Within the context of these successful Norwegian national teams, we identified how the coaches lead in ways that are consistent with leadership functions captured in institutional leadership, which focuses on the creation of structures and interactions that promote and protect the key organisational and societal values. Still, the coaches pursued this structuring and interactions in distinct ways, leading to distinctive organisational practices. The findings of the study stress the importance of considering contextual elements when leading athletes and entourage that pertain to national teams.

• Skille, Eivind Åsrum; Hansen, Per Øystein; Abrahamsen, Frank Eirik & Chroni, Stiliani (2020). National and Organizational Culture in Norwegian Elite Sport: The Account of National Handball Head Coaches. Scandinavian Sport Studies Forum. 11, s. 93–116. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The present study looks at the organizational culture of Norwegian elite sport which we capture as the meeting point of the national and elite sport cultures. Two successful national teams, the women’s and men’s handball are the point of departure. The selected elite sport contexts are apparently similar but at the same time distinctive. Informed by theories of culture and high reliability organizations, we analyzed in depth semi-structured interviews with the national team coaches and found that their organizational cultures were characterized by three common elements: a process-oriented approach, an athlete-centered approach, and a value-based approach towards development. Variations between teams were noticed, such as how the athletes partake in the team’s value-anchoring processes. Overall, we learned that at the international level results can be achieved even when embracing, and performing, under humanistic and social-democratic values, which deviates significantly from the commonly embraced win-at-all-costs approach. Norwegian elite sport culture appears to exemplify this cultural approach by actively employing a value-system in the development of its athletes, teams and sport. In that respect, the study contributes to the international elite sport organization literature as it relates daily practices with the overall culture theory and the specific theory of high reliability organizations. The study provides a detailed account of how national Norwegian values (and further overarching Scandinavian values) pair up with elite sport demands, in team and backstage practices within two elite sport contexts.

• Hansen, Per Øystein & Andersen, Svein S. (2017). Knowledge integration as co-creation in a high performance context: ski-preparation as a knowledge intensive activity under uncertainty. Proceedings IFKAD.... ISSN 2280-787X. s. 1912–1923. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The purpose of the present paper is to explore the process of knowledge integration and co-creation within an elite sport context characterized by uncertainty and ambiguity. The study was designed and carried out as a qualitative case study. Data were generated through documents and interviews with key actors within three ski-preparation teams (cross-country skiing, biathlon, Nordic combined) and the ski-preparation project led by the responsible organization for elite sports in Norway, Olympiatoppen. The study identifies three major types of knowledge co-creation. The first concern bridging scientific and experience-based knowledge, where scientists have a more optimistic view on cumulative knowledge development. The second highlight the role of shared testing procedures to compare and evaluate prototypes generated though scientific and practical knowledge. The third illustrate that the extent to which knowledge are used in the different teams depends on their strategies and is reflected in the gatekeeper role. A key finding is that close and trustful relationships are vital in order to allow for new ideas about how to improve. In highly competitive environments such as elite sport, where small variation in judgements matter, knowledge creation as co creation has a fundament social dimension, where success depends on trustful interaction and shared values. However, the paradox is that although all ski-waxers have a strong commitment to continuous development and improvement, they demonstrate a strong need to control this process within the different teams. The control influence the degree to which close and trustful relationships are developed and hence the possibility for knowledge co-creation.

• Hansen, Per Øystein & Andersen, Svein S (2017). Knowledge integration as co-creation in a high performance context. Ski-preparation as a knowledge intensive activity under uncertainty. Proceedings IFKAD.... ISSN 2280-787X. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The purpose of the present paper is to explore the process of knowledge integration and co-creation within an elite sport context characterized by uncertainty and ambiguity. The study was designed and carried out as a qualitative case study. Data were generated through documents and interviews with key actors within three ski-preparation teams (cross-country skiing, biathlon, Nordic combined) and the ski-preparation project led by the responsible organization for elite sports in Norway, Olympiatoppen. The study identifies three major types of knowledge co-creation. The first concern bridging scientific and experience-based knowledge, where scientists have a more optimistic view on cumulative knowledge development. The second highlight the role of shared testing procedures to compare and evaluate prototypes generated though scientific and practical knowledge. The third illustrate that the extent to which knowledge are used in the different teams depends on their strategies and is reflected in the gatekeeper role. A key finding is that close and trustful relationships are vital in order to allow for new ideas about how to improve. In highly competitive environments such as elite sport, where small variation in judgements matter, knowledge creation as co-creation has a fundament social dimension, where success depends on trustful interaction and shared values. However, the paradox is that although all ski-waxers have a strong commitment to continuous development and improvement, they demonstrate a strong need to control this process within the different teams. The control influence the degree to which close and trustful relationships are developed and hence the possibility for knowledge co-creation. Proceedings IFKAD 2017 St. Petersburg, Russia, 7-9 June 2017 ISBN 978-88-96687-10-9 ISSN 2280787X 1913 More precisely, they engage in an active search for fine-tuning within a set of assumption that are rarely questioned. Close relationships seem therefore to be important for rendering knowledge co-creation possible in ways that also questions fundamental assumptions.

• Hansen, Per Øystein (2015). Managing core processes in elite athlete development : Norwegian cross country skiing. I Andersen, Svein S; Houlihan, Barrie & Ronglan, Lars Tore (Red.), Managing elite sport systems : research and practice. Routledge. ISSN 9781138803275. s. 89–106. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Andersen, Svein S; Hansen, Per Øystein & Hærem, Thorvald (2015). How elite athletes reflect on their training: strong beliefs – ambiguous feedback signals. Reflective Practice. ISSN 1462-3943. 16(3), s. 403–417. doi: 10.1080/14623943.2015.1052387. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Elite sport organizations invest considerable efforts in continuous evaluation of training and development. A key challenge is to promote athletes’′ reliable learning. This requires critical reflection. In this paper we look at how highly successful elite cross-country skiers reflect on their training. The theoretical framework of organizational mindfulness and reliable learning directs attention to three key mechanisms that influence reflection: socialization, sensemaking and interpretation. We identified an inherent tension in the way athletes are socialized into elite athletes. On the one hand, they internalize strong beliefs in key success factors. Such beliefs serve as a normative framework that provides commitment and enthusiasm. However, strong beliefs may weaken the athletes’ ability to notice ambiguous feedback signals in complex training situations. We found four different styles of reflection, but only one of them is consistent with requirements for reliable learning.

• Hansen, Per Øystein & Andersen, Svein S (2014). Coaching elite athletes: How coaches stimulate elite athletes' reflection. Sports Coaching Review. ISSN 2164-0629. 3(1). doi: 10.1080/21640629.2014.901712. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  This article investigates the coaching behaviour of five Norwegian national elite team coaches in cross-country skiing. It identifies how they acted as ‘sensegivers’ towards the athletes. An important part of this is how coaches, assisted by support personnel, stimulated athletes' reflections in ways that improved the quality of everyday training. It draws upon social and relational aspects of learning within an organizational setting. The theory of mindful organizations, with its emphasis on sensemaking and sensegiving, is introduced to capture how coaches and support personnel can influence athletes' reflections. The article makes both an empirical and theoretical contribution. First, it directs attention to sensegiving as an important element of coaching behaviour. Second, it identifies key mechanisms of sensegiving not previously discussed in the literature.

• Hansen, Per Øystein (2012). VM-forberedelse til verdens beste langrennslandslag : kontinuerlig utvikling gjennom pålitelig erfaringsbasert læring. I Hanstad, Dag Vidar (Red.), Ski-VM 2011 : planlegging og gjennomføring. Akilles forlag. ISSN 9788272862328. s. 103–127. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

Se alle arbeider i NVA

• Hansen, Per Øystein & Bjørke, Lars (2026). Organisasjonsutvikling i toppidretten: Storhamar-prosjektet. Cappelen Damm Forskning. ISBN 9788202916046. doi: https:/cdforskning.no/cdf/catalog/view/282/1599/14658. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The literature on leadership of and in elite sport organizations have, to this day, primarily focused on dyadic forms of leadership – especially in the coach-athlete relationship. There are very few studies that specifically investigate the role of leadership in developing the elite sport organization. The present chapter presents findings from an organizational development project in Storhamar Håndball. The organizational development project was initiated by the board, and the main purpose was to improve the organization and its leadership to achieve international success. The planning and execution of the project were assisted by the authors and designed as an action research project. Using the concept of sensemaking, the chapter illustrates how different understandings of the organization, and its ambitions are dependent upon what role the actors have within and outside the club. A key finding is how tensions between voluntarism and professionalization

• Hanstad, Dag Vidar & Hansen, Per Øystein (2024). Ledelse i idrett: Fra styrerom til treningsfelt. Fagbokforlaget. ISBN 9788245046663. 299 s. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Andersen, Svein S; Hansen, Per Øystein & Houlihan, Barrie (2021). Embedded Multi-Level Leadership in Elite Sport. Routledge. ISBN 9780367552770. 248 s. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

Se alle arbeider i NVA

• Hansen, Per Øystein & Bjørke, Lars (2024). «Storhamar-prosjektet»Organisasjonsutvikling i toppidretten. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Håndlykken, Steffen; Chroni, Stiliani & Hansen, Per Øystein (2023). High-performance coach well-being, self-leadership, and leaders’ coach care in Norway. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Chroni, Stiliani; Lara-Bercial, Sergio; Hansen, Per Øystein; Skille, Eivind Åsrum; Alexopoulos, Antonis & Kavoura, Anna [Vis alle 9 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2023). CICEE-T: Culture-Sensitive Coach Education on Safe Sport. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Hansen, Per Øystein (2014). Making the best even better: fine-tuning development and learning to achieve international success in cross-country skiing. Norges idrettshøgskole. ISSN 9788250204997. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Paper III: Hansen, P.Ø., Andersen, S.S., & Hanstad, D.V. (under review). The sporting director and national elite team coach as gatekeepers within the Norwegian elite sport system.

Se alle arbeider i NVA