eSport management: Embracing eSport education and research opportunities

Consumer demand for eSport and the growth of organized video game competitions has generated considerable attention from the sport, event, and entertainment industries. eSport therefore represents a novel and popular area for sport management academics to conduct research, educate students, and service industry. However, despite growth and acceptance by consumers and practitioners, academics debate eSport’s position within the domain of sport management, their debates largely concentrated around the question of whether eSport can be classified as sport. In this article, the authors argue for the inclusion of organized eSport events and competitions within sport management vis-à-vis eSport’s meeting certain defining criteria of sport in general. eSport’s connection to traditional sport and defining characteristics are addressed to support eSport’s role as a sport entertainment product recognized by industry as representing a substantial growth opportunity for sport and related organizations. As eSport continues to evolve, practitioners face managerial challenges that are similar to those in traditional sport, particularly in areas of governance and diversity. Sport management academics should embrace the potential of eSport in order to examine this evolution and provide guidance to industry through education and research.     

公民社会视角下英国青少年体育组织研究

基于青少年成长阶段性特点,青少年体育是提高全民族身体素质和健康水平的起点。以公民社会为理论背景,透视英国青少年体育组织运行模式:个体权利和公共领域的融合发展给予青少年公共体育生活带来了巨大的发展空间。英国青少年体育胜任组织,得到了英国政府和社会的高度重视,促使社会团体蓬勃发展、学校体育逐渐融合、休闲空间不断拓展,使青少年实现参与体育运动的权利。     

The role of sport in community capacity building: An examination of sport for development research and practice

Population health promotion and preventing disease remain important global policy goals. Because of the complex nature of health, and the recognition of the limits of individual-oriented health promotion strategies, recent decades have seen increased interest by public health researchers and practitioners in community-level approaches to health promotion. Increasingly, community-level approaches have been based upon the theoretical concept of community capacity. Community capacity is seen as a critical mechanism for supporting and promoting community-level health and through the sport for development (SFD) model, there is evidence of sport being an important practice for community development. However, little is known about the potential role of sport as a mechanism for building community capacity. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to examine the efficacy of sport to contribute to the process of community capacity building. Using seven established dimensions of community capacity, there is evidence that many SFD practices can effectively facilitate dimensions of community capacity when conducted in intentional, culturally relevant ways. Specifically, sport has demonstrated efficacy in building local skills, knowledge, and resources, increasing social cohesion, facilitating structures and mechanisms for community dialog, leadership development, and encouraging civic participation. More research is needed to understand sport's ability to promote capacity building through collective action, developing value systems that support democracy and inclusion, and encouraging critical reflection. To increase the usefulness of sport to support community health development, SFD principles should be included as part of sport management university curricula. Additionally, practitioners need grounding in community and human development research to support non-sport components of programs. Finally, participatory action research techniques should be used by researchers and practitioners. Sport-based development often generates high interest from residents, funders, and policy makers. By applying principles of community capacity building, sport may be uniquely positioned to enhance sustainable community health development initiatives.     

Exploring PERMA in spectator sport: Applying positive psychology to examine the individual-level benefits of sport consumption

Sport spectating provides numerous benefits for sport organisations and individuals. In this paper we use a positive psychology approach to examine the individual-level benefits of sport consumption in order to investigate the activation of five domains of well-being: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (PERMA). Using a two-study panel research design, we collected qualitative data from a sample of Australian Rules Football consumers. In the first study, we explored how the PERMA domains were activated during the season. Study two included a follow-up interview with eight initial respondents in the off-season. We found evidence of four PERMA domains that were activated in the sport spectator context by a variety of consumer experiences. The emergence of these domains in both studies suggests sport marketers would benefit from actions including: creating more social spaces within their stadiums, hosting regular off-season events, and creating social-media based competitions which promote fan engagement and interactions throughout the calendar year.     

Negotiating a liberative pedagogy in sport development and peace: understanding consciousness raising through the Go Sisters programme in Zambia

Labelled as an alternative and more representative engine for development [Levermore, R. (2008). Sport: A new engine of development? Progress in Development Studies, 8(2), 183–190. doi: 10.1177/146499340700800204], the international sport development and peace (SDP) movement is under pressure to enhance its credibility and authenticity. The claims made are of SDP's capacity to deliver development to a world that feels let down by traditional development approaches, especially at the end of the Millennium Development Goals. However, for SDP to assume its true position of an authentic alternative, it needs to be wrestled from its neo colonialism and undemocratic tendencies that have privileged the Global Northern ways of being and knowing, invalidating and marginalising alternative ways of social betterment. In particular, the use of SDP to facilitate learning of social, health and economic skills has become popular [Spaaij, R., & Jeanes, R.(2013). Education for social change? A Freirean critique of sport for development and peace. Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy, 18(4), 442–457], yet, the dominant pedagogic approaches resemble what Paulo Freire has called ‘banking education’. This concept refers to ‘depositing’ information that learners passively receive, memorise and repeat, and is one such crucial segment that needs close examination in SDP. This article draws on Paulo Freire's critical consciousness as a theoretical framework to support analysis of empirical data that examines the negotiation of a liberative pedagogy within the Go Sisters programme. Using in-depth semi-structured interviews the retrospective views of six former Go Sisters programme participants were examined. Three broad themes, in line with a liberative pedagogy, emerged from the data: (i) critical dialogue (ii) family support and (iii) Ubuntu Sisterhood. The findings highlight how Go Sisters participants negotiated the development of critical consciousness to counter the dominant banking education paradigm in SDP. Over many years the Go Sisters developed capacity to embed collective critical dialogue in programme activities that were informed by both the EduSport Foundation's organisational philosophy of Ubuntu and Global Northern neo-liberal education focused on life skills.     

Underrepresentation of women in sport leadership: A review of research

Despite increased participation opportunities for girls and women in sport, they are underrepresented in leadership positions at all levels of sport. The objective of this review is to provide a multilevel examination of available scholarship that contributes to understanding why there are so few women in leadership positions within sport. From a macro-level perspective, scholarship regarding the institutionalized practices of gender in sport is examined. The meso-level review includes stereotyping of leaders, issues of discrimination, and gendered organizational cultures. Finally research reviewed at the micro-level explores women's expectations in leadership positions, occupational turnover intentions, and the influence of symbolic interactionism on women's career advancement. In addition, the author identifies new research areas and additional recommendations for how best to increase the number of women in leadership positions in sport.     

Managing diversity and European policy: Towards a typology for sport pedagogy

Abstract

This article adds to the growing body of knowledge in sport pedagogy and focuses specifically upon the intersection of gender and disability. Its purpose is twofold, to create a typology for examining good practice in sport pedagogy that is reflective and inclusive and raises awareness of the diverse needs of all participants in physical activity ‘regardless’ of gender and ability for all children. We acknowledge that access to physical activity, education and sport are complex and multifaceted, however, the main purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of ‘diversity’ by focusing specifically upon the role of gender and ability. Through an examination of gender and disability policies in official European Union (EU) policy documents and commercial examples of policy-in-practice we propose a typology for diversity and diversity management. A close look at EU level is instructive because national policies of the member countries vary a lot with respect to diversity issues but should be in accordance in the main areas. Such a reading enables the building of a typology of recommendations for how such policy can be rendered in sport pedagogy practice. We suggest six significant, but related principles that include (1) mainstreaming; (2) teaching and coaching sensitive to difference; (3) empowerment; (4) inclusion; (5) adaptation; and (6) inner differentiation. This holistic typology seeks to ‘mainstream’ issues of gender and disability policy by providing a set of principles that can be applied to a range of teaching and coaching settings.     

Social and charitable impacts of a charity-affiliated sport event: A mixed methods study

In this mixed methods research, the authors examine a unique type of small-scale event – a charity-affiliated sport event – and define and measure its social and charitable impacts as perceived by residents. Findings from interviews (N = 37) and surveys (N = 459) with residents indicated that the event’s social impacts can be defined by its capacity to develop social capital, enhance collective identity and pride, and promote sport, health, and well-being. Three types of charitable impacts also emerged, including empathy for cause, informational support, and tangible support. Of them, empathy for cause, which addresses a central social issue in the host community, had the strongest association with residents’ perceptions of social impacts. These results provide evidence of a variety of positive impacts that a charity-affiliated sport event has on a community, which can be used to bolster appeals for corporate sponsorship and government support to assist in event delivery.     

Examining the antecedents of sport team brand equity: A dual-identification perspective

Although the practice of building brand equity in the context of professional sport teams is popular, the formation of sport team brand equity in the sport marketing literature is still relatively unknown and incompletely understood. In this study, the authors propose a dual-identification model to examine the formation of sport team brand equity in an Asia-based professional team sport setting. Baseball fans (N = 548) of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan participated in the self-administered survey. A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model analysis revealed that marketplace characteristics (including group experience, salient experience, team history, and fan rituals) and brand-identified-related factors (including self-congruity and team brand prestige) were significantly related to identification with sport team and identification with sport team brand, respectively. In turn, both identification with sport team and identification with sport team brand were significant predictors of sport team brand equity. These findings highlight the importance of studying a dual-identification model in order to understand how sport team brand equity forms and suggest implications for sport team managers.     

Consumer experience quality: A review and extension of the sport management literature

Over the last two decades, the number of studies examining the roles of the core sport product, ancillary services, social interactions among consumers, and relationship marketing programs in the sport context has grown. However, it is also true that these topics have been advanced in many independent research endeavors depending on the touch points (e.g., sport, service, social, and communication encounters) being assessed. To integrate this body of research with sport consumer behavior, the purpose of this conceptual paper, which represents a contribution to the 20th anniversary of Sport Management Review (SMR), is to introduce the construct of consumer experience quality as consisting of four important dimensions – core product, service, social network, and relationship investment quality – into the sport management literature. In order to explain the utility of the proposed construct in the sport context, this article presents an integrative conceptual framework that draws on multiple theories and bodies of literature. A series of propositions are offered to not only understand the role of consumer experience quality in sport consumer decision-making, but also to specify the conditions under which sport consumers are more likely to be satisfied with the core sport product and ancillary services, feel and behave in response to brand-related stimuli, and engage in both transactional and non-transactional behaviors. The paper concludes that future research should be directed at testing the propositions offered in the conceptual framework.     

The relationship between sport commitment and physical self-concept: Evidence for the self-enhancement hypothesis among adolescent females

ABSTRACT

Perceptions of physical self-concept are critical to physical activity participation. In line with the reciprocal effects model of causal ordering (REM), higher perceptions of physical self-concept can function as a facilitator to physical activity, and can arise as a result of engaging in physical activity. While this relationship has been predominantly tested in physical activity contexts, directional tests between physical self-concept and sport specific outcomes are limited. The current study aimed to evaluate the generalizability of the REM to sport commitment and physical self-concept in youth athletes. Over 24 months, adolescent females (N = 215) completed self-report questionnaires at Time 1 (T1) and two years later (Time 2; T2). Using structural equation modeling, the reciprocal effects model demonstrated that the path leading from T1 physical self-concept to T2 sport commitment was significant (p = .02), whereas the path leading from T1 sport commitment to T2 physical self-concept was not significant (p = .23). The results suggest a unidirectional relationship and may underscore the importance of focusing on the physical self-concept in the development of strategies geared towards improving adolescent female’s sport participation.     

The rise of sport in the Asia-Pacific region and a social scientific journey through Asian-Pacific sport

Abstract

In the first quarter of the twenty-first century, the social, political and economic significance of sports in the Asia-Pacific region has been continually on the rise. First, the prominence of Asian athletes at international sporting arenas has become more visible. Second, major global sports mega-events are frequently hosted in Asia-Pacific countries. Third, the Asian sport industry is rapidly expanding. Fourth, international labour migration is increasingly noticeable in the Asia-Pacific’s sport industry. Fifth, displaying national identity is another important aspect of Asia-Pacific sport today. With this increasing significance of sport in Asian society, this Asia-Pacific Sport and Social Science special issue aims to provide a scholarly public sphere wherein sound theoretical, contextual and critical reviews of sports in the region can be circulated. While this yearly special issue welcomes contributions from international academics whose research interests are in Asia-Pacific sport, we also encourage Asian scholars to submit their work to the journal. We are not biased in either direction but simply want to see both insiders’ and outsiders’ perspectives on sport in Asia-Pacific sport studies.     

Applying the tourist area life cycle within sport tourism: the case of Stellenbosch and German athletes

The popular tourist town of Stellenbosch in South Africa has long been a favoured training destination for European athletes during the northern hemisphere winter months. This paper considers the case study of German athletes – one of the most prominent groups to train in Stellenbosch since the early 1990s. The analysis involves the application of the concept of the Tourist Area Life Cycle (TALC) to the town’s sport tourism offering. In this regard Stellenbosch continues to experience notable demographic changes, not all of which are related to tourism. The impact of these changes is considered in the context of the factors which have historically made the town a sought-after destination for high performance athletics training camps. Consequently this paper offers an analysis of Stellenbosch’s current and future attractiveness as far as this particular dimension of sport tourism is concerned. This is an important consideration given the availability of alternative training destinations both in South Africa and internationally.     

Acceptance,motivations, and usage of social media as a marketing communications tool amongst employees of sport national governing bodies

National governing bodies (NGB) of sport are not-for-profit organisations that typically receive less mainstream media coverage and have much smaller marketing budgets than mainstream professional sports. Therefore, they must seek alternative methods from mainstream media and traditional marketing in order to increase brand awareness and reach fans and stakeholders. While all sport organisations stand poised to benefit from social media, NGBs seem to be a segment of the sport industry uniquely positioned to capitalise on social media's benefits. Because there is currently no known literature on NGBs’ use of social media, this study examined the role that social media plays within NGBs in the United States including employees’ acceptance of social media, motivations to use social media, and the organisation's current usage of social media. An online survey was distributed to NGB employees in the spring of 2012, and results revealed that contrary to studies on other sport organisations, NGB employees reported high levels of acceptance and motivation to use social media regardless of demographic factors. Additionally, NGBs seemed to use social media as a communications tool to a greater degree than as a marketing tool. Implications for international and niche sport organisations are presented in the conclusion.     

Selling out (in) sport management: practically evaluating the state of the American (Sporting) Union

When teaching in Sport Management programs professors are often forced to respond to the actions and teachings of professionals in the field. According to the study by Kincheloe & Steinberg many of these normalized and, indeed celebrated, behaviors are actions that are part and parcel of the ‘recovery movement’ which (re)inscribe new forms of colonization, sexism, racism, classism and so on. Given that these performances are often considered ‘good business practice’, it is now more important than ever to challenge these conventions in what has been termed the post-neoliberal moment.

This paper, therefore, analyzes and explains how the mundane recycling of borrowed thought has seeped into America's collegiate educational system—particularly in sport management programs. It does so through a critical examination of Amber's educational and pre-professional experience as an intern for various sporting constituencies. Further, we examine the disguised precedence and obligatory requisites of the sporting industry, which use exploitative and manipulative marketing tactics to fabricate a hyperreal milieu of sporting production and consumption. Given this context, the project at present seeks to (re)evaluate just what we, as teachers, owe our students as they venture into an economy facing ‘hard times’.     

The impact of social interaction and team member exchange on sport event volunteer management

In the present study, the authors aim to understand the sport event volunteer experience in the context of social interaction and its effect on volunteers’ team member exchange and future intentions. Sport event volunteers (N = 150) in the Northeast region in the United States participated in the survey. The partial least squares method of structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Results indicate that online social interaction ties significantly affect team member exchange, which in turn, predicts volunteers’ intentions to repeat volunteering and also spread positive word-of-mouth about volunteering experience to potential volunteers. The current research specifically demonstrates that establishing social interaction ties through social media promotes positive team member exchange that further impacts volunteers’ future intentions. The research findings also imply that social media can be a cost-effective volunteer management tool in terms of volunteer recruitment and for relatively smaller sport organizations that are generally confronted with limited resources.     

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the youth experience survey for sport (P-YES-S)

This study investigated adaptation and the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Youth Experience Survey for Sport (P-YES-S). Translators, professors, and athletes participated. Athletes between 14 and 18 years were recruited. The instrument was the P-YES-S. Content validity was assessed by coefficients of content and kappa, while Cronbach’s alpha was used for internal consistency analysis and intraclass correlation for temporal stability. Exploratory and confirmatory factorial analyses were conducted to test the construct validity of the instrument. Discriminant validity was assessed by comparing the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) with the squared correlation between factors. Results showed acceptable levels for content validity, internal consistency, temporal stability, concurrent validity, and construct validity. The acceptable model was: X²/df = 1.54, GFI = 0.93, CFI = 0.92; AGFI = 0.92, TLI = 0.91, AIC = 414.63, BIC = 610.93, MECVI = 1.41 and RMSEA = 0.0.04, p = 0.03. The adaptation process produced an instrument with 22 items and the dimensions of Personal and Social Skills, Cognitive Skills, Initiative Experiences, and Negative Experiences.     

The female dragons awake: women, sport and society in the early years of the new China

This article, based on archival records, published documents, interviews with elite sportswomen and three regional case studies, deals with the radical social, economic, cultural and political changes in the early years of the Communist China, the consequent changes in women's lives and the eventual extraordinary impact on elite women's sport. It analyses the complicated relations between the communist system, gender ideology, sports policy, international politics and elite women's sport. With the establishment of a variety of sports institutions, systems and structures women in increasing numbers took part in competitive sport and produced even increasingly remarkable achievements.