This article seeks to investigate how key motorsport actors strive to implement legitimate modifications to their organization, technology and policies in order to meet the objectives related to “the green shift.”
The article utilizes a fieldwork-based methodology focused on “field-configuring events” (FCEs), supported by three theoretical elements: narratives, relations and scale. This approach is applied through an ethnographic study of a 2023 Formula E event centered on sustainability in motorsports.
The study demonstrates how Formula E and its stakeholders leverage the event format to construct, manage and convey a story of positive commitments to the “green shift.” By emphasizing successes over failures, consensus over controversies and networking over the establishment of binding decisions, the event minimizes the critical perspectives necessary for implementing substantial changes to achieve motorsport's green transition.
This article offers an original methodological contribution by highlighting the potential of ethnographic research on FCEs to bridge academic and practical insights in organizational studies, showcasing the rich, nuanced understanding achievable through an FCE-based methodological framework.
