Search

Despite the undoubted importance of Public Relations (PR) in the sport industry and the increasing reliance on external PR agencies, the study of the PR agency – client relationship within this context remains in its infancy. In this study, we focus on the question, how can PR agencies develop and maintain strong relationships with their sport clients for the benefit to both parties? Qualitative data generated through semi-structured interviews with twenty "business elite informants" comprising senior PR agency executives reveal a new multi-layered conceptualization of the PR agency – client organization relationship. The findings uncover a "surface" layer to the relationship captured by a client satisfaction – dissatisfaction continuum, a core layer of relationship management and trust, to the deepest layer characterized by power (im)balance between the two parties. Uncovering the complex, nuanced and multi-layered dynamics of the relationship highlights effective PR outsourcing practices to be utilized for future value maximization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the extended academic literature on strategic marketing, brand management appears to be high on the agenda of scholars in the past seven decades. Despite the continuous enquiry over these years, the way in which a brand can or should be managed in a strategic manner appears to still attract academics' and practitioners' interest, with novel and often unexpected ideas and practices emerging. Among these, brand management within sport and through it remains a unique area for further enquiry, and one that is bound to yield interesting insights due to the social, political, geographical, cultural, and historical peculiarities of sport, granting it a natural 'marketing' advantage. This article explores the evolution of brand management, its manifestation in and through sport, and its potential future directions within and beyond the ever-developing sport ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the role of moral disengagement in individuals' decisions to consent to match-fixing, either alone or in concert with money, other inducements, and threats or pressure. Drawing on the moral (dis)comfort component of an individual's rational-choice cost–benefit assessment, we examine the potential of moral disengagement as an explanatory mechanism. Data were obtained through an online questionnaire. The analysis was based on an international sample of 383 current and former athletes, coaches, referees, and board members who have reported having been approached for match-fixing in the past. The empirical evaluation employed descriptive statistics and (multiple) binary logistic regression models, which were performed using SPSS 24 software. Results indicate that a higher propensity to morally disengage can be associated with increased odds of consenting to match-fixing. These results suggest that individuals approached with a match-fixing proposal tend to employ self-defensive mechanisms to rationalise their decision to engage in match-fixing. Furthermore, the use of threats or pressure was found to have a significant impact on the decision to participate in match-fixing, both alone and in concert with (monetary) inducements and moral disengagement. While a positive significant interaction effect was observed between moral disengagement and the offer of (monetary) inducements, no significant interaction effect was noted between moral disengagement and threats or pressure. This study offers novel individual-level explanations for match-fixing. Enriching the dominant rational-choice paradigm, this study emphasises the importance of detecting and counteracting moral disengagement mechanisms in match-fixing prevention initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing interest being drawn to sustainability development in sport, and UEFA’s recent sustainability strategy being introduced as a roadmap and pressure level for football organisations’ sustainability efforts to intensify, the implementation of sustainability policy is becoming key for football’s sustainable development. In this study, through the lens of institutional theory and isomorphism, we focused on the under-studied recipients of said strategy, the UEFA’s member national associations (NAs), to capture the existing sustainability efforts within them, as they are reported on their official communications, and thus the backdrop to which the strategy was introduced and is being promoted. Qualitative document analysis was conducted on all official communications (website, national strategies, press releases) of all UEFA’s NAs. Through this, five levels of sustainability in European football were identified, capturing patterns in the existence of social and environmental sustainability actions and strategies among UEFA’s NAs. The five levels of sustainability in European football presented allow for a better understanding of the full spectrum of sustainability in football to be depicted, while acknowledging potentially overlooked nuances in the existence of not only actions but also strategies to guide organisations in their sustainability efforts, and illustrating the gradual progression from no sustainability to more sophisticated social and environmental sustainability in football. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the resurgence of deviant leisure cultures in football, with a focus on virtual football violence. Despite advancements in curbing violence in UK football stadiums, new challenges emerge online. By analysing social media discourse from three English Premier League matches in 2022, the study reveals the prevalence of several forms of virtual violence, including threats of physical and sexual violence, emotional violence, and discriminatory violence. The research highlights the resurgence of ‘traditional’ norms of masculinity, aggression, and misogyny facilitated by anonymity in online spaces. Paradoxically, the results show that fans engage in derogatory language while simultaneously condemning similar actions by others. This phenomenon is particularly evident in the category of discriminatory violence, where comments are frequently challenged, indicating a ‘raising of consciousness’ and a growing intolerance to certain forms of discriminatory language. However, despite some evidence of social consciousness and pushback against discriminatory language, the prevalence of virtual violence remains concerning on multiple levels. This underscores the need for continued efforts to promote respectful discourse and foster inclusive environments online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study seeks to investigate the role of host governments’ policy public relations and crisis response strategies in shaping residents’ support for mega sport events. Specifically, the research focuses on the moderation effects of crisis response strategies on the relationships between the government-public relationships (GPR) dimensions (i.e., control mutuality, trust, and satisfaction) and residents’ support. The research targeted residents of Tokyo, a host city for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Online surveys were disseminated via an international survey company between 23rd to 29th October 2020, obtaining 500 complete responses. Then, a two-step approach was utilised to ensure the tenability of the hypothesised model: CFA for testing the measurement model and SEM for testing the hypothetical relationships. There was a positive association between perceived control mutuality and satisfaction with residents’ support for the mega sport event. The study reaffirmed the importance of control mutuality and satisfaction as GPR indicators for residents’ support, introducing this concept into the mega sport event context. In addition, the relationship between control mutuality and residents’ support was moderated by their perception of the appropriateness of crisis response. Based on the results, theoretical and practical implications were presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Olympic Games (OG) are renowned for their prestige and socio-economic benefits; however, they have suffered criticism for their environmental practices. Unlike existing studies on the matter, which adopt top-down approaches, the purpose of this exploratory study is to conduct bottom-up research to understand Olympians’ perspectives of environmental sustainability within the OG. Data collected through semi-structured interviews with eight Olympians are used in this study to uncover an initial indication of their valuable yet previously undisclosed perspectives. Through the data, the Olympians’ awareness of the symbiotic relationship between sport and the environment is shown, alongside the factors that influence it. Uncovering Olympians’ perspectives allows for their call for change and collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to be highlighted, while indicating that existing obstacles might be limiting the athletes and the Olympics in their efforts, progress and internalisation of environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the field of cryptocurrency in sports being primarily discussed from the material and financial standpoint of industry producers, in our study, we conduct a qualitative exploration into the consumption of Fan Tokens within the realm of football fandom in order to elucidate the experiences and motivations of football fans in their consumption of Fan Tokens. Data collected through 10 focus groups with 60 fan token consumers were used for this study, revealing a nuanced landscape in which Fan Tokens serve a multifaceted role in the construction of fan identity and engagement within the context of football’s serious leisure markets. As such, we uncovered the concept of Fan Tokens as ‘tokens of identity’, where fans employ Fan Tokens as symbolic expressions of their unwavering allegiance to football clubs. We also identified a subset of participants who approached Fan Tokens as ‘investment tokens’, and thus viewed them as a simple rational investment opportunity. Our research unveiled the intricate ways in which the consumption of Fan Tokens intersects with fan identity, engagement, and financial motivations in the world of football fandom, while indicating that Fan Tokens themselves represent a potential form of serious leisure within the broader context of football fandom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a conceptual model for service quality of eSports events was proposed including four dimensions: competition quality refers to the perceived quality of the actual game itself; physical environment quality dimension stands for the physical surroundings where the service is produced and delivered; event execution quality measures the intangible items in the peripheral service, which can be directly designed or managed by the event organizer; and interaction quality measures the interaction among spectators, such as crowd experience or social factor. The validity of each dimension in other service industries and its suitability in the eSports context are both taken into consideration. At the current stage, the model is conceptualized from existing literature, thus demanding further qualitative and quantitative study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past years, the scholarly interest in match-fixing has grown. Although several empirical studies have tried to map the prevalence of match-fixing, the scope has often been limited to a given country, sports discipline, level of sports, and/or type of match-fixing. Moreover, match-fixing is often stereotyped as a problem caused by external criminals, while match-fixing by internal stakeholders occurs on a larger scale. When it comes to internal stakeholders, research to date has mainly focused on the vulnerability of athletes and referees to match-fixing. Nevertheless, other internal stakeholders in sports can also be the instigators of match-fixing, and may have different attitudes toward match-fixing. This study aims to fill these gaps by examining match-fixing among various internal stakeholders (n = 4958) involved in different sports across Europe. The results showed that internal stakeholders' attitudes toward match-fixing were not uniform. Additionally, almost one fifth of the respondents indicated (in)direct match-fixing incidents in the questionnaire. The majority of the cases concerned sporting-related match-fixing, while our results also revealed that sporting- and betting-related match-fixing can happen together. By examining various internal stakeholders' attitudes toward and experiences with match-fixing in European sports, this study could navigate future match-fixing prevention initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by the increase in social and political challenges faced by local governments in their efforts to host mega-sport events, this study attempts to shed light on the under-researched relationship quality between a local government and its residents. Enhancing the relationship quality and mutual understanding through two-way communication between the government and its residents has become more important than ever, with the host community considered a key stakeholder in the policy decision-making process, due to the development of online communication technologies. This research aims to identify the major determinants of residents' support, using government public relationships and social exchange theory. Data collected through a survey of Tokyo residents (N = 406), where the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games were hosted, are analysed using structural equation modelling. Results show that satisfaction with the government can considerably influence the perceived impacts of a mega-sport event and trust, while trust in the government is shown to be a robust predictor of residents' support and a mediator to social exchange theory. Also, the importance of a mega-sport event's perceived impacts on residents' support is shown, further supporting social exchange theory. Through the findings and the integration of the two theories, this study illustrates the need for the government to focus on producing policies aiming to increase its public satisfaction and thus their trust in government using balanced symmetric communication, which in turn can raise residents' support for a mega-sport event and help establish a mutually beneficial relationship between the government and its public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While involvement in CSR activities is common practice in today's sporting world, there is a need to go beyond the activities themselves to explore how fans' perceptions of CSR can affect customer-based brand equity and what role online community and team identification can play in this relationship, which this study aims to explore. Data collected through an online survey of South Korean Samsung Lions baseball club fans (N = 331), analysed through structural equation modelling, support the positive influence of perceived CSR on dual identification (team and online community), and the impact of team identification on brand equity. Interestingly, CSR perception is shown to be an insignificant predictor of brand equity, influenced fully by team identification. This study suggests that promoting a sport team's socially responsible image is important in terms of building both team and online community identification while developing team identification can be vital in increasing the value of the sport brand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary offers a short analysis of the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the relationship between football, and in particular the English Premier League, and the media. The commentary focuses on the symbiotic yet antagonistic relationship between the two over the years, and the potential shift in the power balance that can be expected due to the banning of live audiences from stadia because of COVID-19. As it is discussed, COVID-19 and the banning of matchday audiences could have possibly solidified media's power in football, making it the only means through which live football can reach its fans. This commentary raises attention on the evolvement of the relationship between media and football, while inviting further discussion on what the future holds once fans are allowed back in stadia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An escalating number of crises appear in the sport industry in general and the football industry in particular that make the area of crisis communication an increasingly important matter in both the everyday running and the long-term viability of football. However, the sensitivity of the topic makes an extensive analysis on current practice in crisis communications a particularly challenging task. This study examines how crisis communications is managed by investigating the current practices and techniques employed in English Premier League clubs, as they were presented by communications professionals employed in the clubs. The analysis of the clubs' practices underlines the lack of proactivity and presents the most popular strategies of crisis-communications management: "Wait for the dust to settle" and "React promptly before the noise grows." In addition, an underdocumented technique is examined: the use of the informal personal relationships between the employees of the clubs and the members of the media. This study also introduces the "crisis communications management in football" model, which illustrates the practices identified through this study and can potentially act as a guide for crisis-communications analysis in a number of other industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the influence and power that the media hold and the importance placed on the role that they can assume regarding corruption, little is known about the part the media can play in corruption in sport and any challenges they might face in reporting on it. This study aims to shed light on this unexplored area, by using insights from members of the media based in three Balkan countries, to help uncover the challenges and obstacles faced by sport media. The findings of this study allow for the multifold role of the media in sport corruption to be examined, while uncovering the internally and externally driven obstacles they face, ranging from personal greed to market-based pressures and media's ostracism by the wider anti-corruption system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the increased attention match-fixing has received from both academia and policymakers in recent years, its complexity and the consequent inability to identify a one-fits-all description of the phenomenon have been underlined, highlighting that we have yet to fully capture the various forms of its manifestation in modern day sport. At the same time, and despite academic endeavours, the scholarly work on policy responses against match-fixing is remarkably scarce. In addressing these gaps, this study aims to examine two high-profile match-fixing cases in Greece and Turkey, the 'Koriopolis' and the 'Şike Davası' scandals, respectively, while considering the policy responses of UEFA, through the analysis of its normative framework and the way in which it was implemented in the two cases. This comparative study offers details of the social organisation of the two scandals, highlighting the various actors, structures and processes within them, as well as the UEFA policy responses they were met with. What is underlined through the study is not only the key role of individuals embedded in the football ecosystem but also the potentially adverse effects of adopting the 'organised crime' narrative in both official and media accounts, preventing us from truly capturing the phenomenon and policymakers from responding to it. Simultaneously, this study highlights that despite its existing detailed and thorough normative framework, UEFA's inconsistency in its implementation in the two cases sends a mixed message about tolerating match-fixing, while inviting much needed further research on the matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated marketing communication (IMC) is considered to hold strategic value for contemporary organisations. Yet, the actual implementation of IMC by client organisations remains under researched and represents somewhat of a black box for academics and practitioners alike. The study examines the perceptions of the IMC implementation process from practitioners working within professional football clubs. The findings reveal four diverse scenarios of IMC implementation and in so doing uncover neglected oxymora in the way in which IMC theory is translated in practice. The four scenarios: strategic integration, practitioners' strategy paradox, unintentional IMC implementation paradox, and IMC absence, are each linked to a different level of practitioner IMC application. The four scenarios provide a more nuanced perspective of IMC advancement, unpacking the black box of IMC implementation and extending the IMC stage model to better present the IMC implementation landscape as examined among professional football clubs. This study allows for a more comprehensive and rounded understanding of IMC implementation, which can inform future practical application and research investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supported by a wealth of research, current UK Government policy emphasises the important role of sport in delivering social outcomes. What is not considered in the current policy and academia are the logically plausible adverse associations that would follow when sport is shown to lack integrity, an increasing phenomenon nowadays. If sport is found to lack integrity, then does this alter people's perceptions and their relationship with it? In this study, we aim to answer this question by examining people's views on the lack of integrity in sport and their propensity to participate, volunteer and spectate sport in the UK context. Data collected through 18 focus groups reveal a perceived 'normalisation' of the lack of integrity in sport and an overall belief that sport cannot manage its integrity. The findings suggest that paradoxically, even though sport is viewed as untrustworthy, people's propensity to participate, spectate and volunteer in sport remains unchanged. Consequently, even though sport is viewed as corrupt and unable to improve, its perceived role as a mechanism for social outcomes appears to remain unaffected, creating a potentially vicious circle in which sport has little to no pressing urgency or strong motivation to protect its integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research question: While brand management has attracted considerable academic attention over the past three decades, the brand capabilities within sport organisations, as well as their corresponding brand processes and brand managers' perceptions, can be still considered unchartered territory, despite their key role in the wider brand management process. Differing to existing studies, this research focuses on English Premier League (EPL) clubs in an attempt to uncover the current brand capabilities landscape, by investigating practitioners' views and brand guidance, training, updates and control processes in practice. Research methods: Qualitative data were generated from semi-structured interviews with marketing managers from 30 EPL football clubs, conducted in two phases with each club, in order for the progress in brand capabilities to be also studied. Results and findings: By capturing the brand processes and practitioners' perceptions, the existence of diverse views and systems is outlined, indicating that the brand capabilities landscape of the EPL consists of three broad categories; the advanced, the antithetic and the atypical brand. Each is linked to different brand processes and perceptions. The perceptions and practices uncovered reveal the existence of brand misconceptions among the clubs, while highlighting the slow pace of, challenges and resistance to, change in the existing practices. Implications: Outlining the current brand capabilities landscape of the EPL clubs in this study allows for a non-pre-prescribed view of brand processes and perceptions in practice, while illustrating the potentially unanticipated forms that brand capabilities can take in the context of sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of sports facility provision in increasing participation is debated internationally. The impact will be mediated by the sport delivery system, the welfare system within which sports policy might operate and the culture of sport. Change in the political persuasion of recent UK governments has followed a broadly consistent neoliberal policy direction of moving from big government and public ownership, to outsourcing and governance through networks. The intended aim: to more effectively achieve policy objectives, such as subjective well-being (SWB), health and social capital. A case study of participation in sport and fitness activities in a County Sports Partnership (CSP) in England is presented to examine if different ownership types and configuration of facilities that have emerged as a result of the policy direction, has influenced participation and policy targets. Regression results reveal that the ownership and configuration of facilities have no effect on the duration of activity and consequently no impact on policy outcomes. The largest influence on participation occurs in using facilities with others that were previously met there. The results also suggest that participation in facilities combined with other sport and physical activity can have an impact on health and social capital, and indirectly SWB. These insights are strongly indicative of the co-creation and interconnectedness of participation and suggest that policy should focus on network development more than specific forms of ownership and provision in seeking to achieve policy objectives. The research casts new critical light on the role of neoliberalism in sports policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the late 1990s, corrupt practices in Greek football have been considered to pose a serious threat to the integrity of the sport, with a number of schemes and measures being introduced as a response. The aim of this article is to show why corruption in Greek football is inevitable by offering a detailed account of three football-related corrupt practices and highlighting their contextual parameters, as well as juxtaposing them against the set of measures that have been implemented. By placing corruption in football in the wider landscape of the country and of global football, and examining the political, structural and economic factors that contribute to the overall managerial and financial implications of corruption, we present the reader with the new norm which, in reality, makes corruption the 'only game in town'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a world of ever-increasing focus on Government spending as a result of recession-induced austerity measures, the current Government of the United Kingdom has clarified its intention to share and ultimately transfer the burden of funding to those sports that currently enjoy Government support. Outside the sports that, due to their wide commercial and broadcast appeal are able to derive significant revenues, it will become necessary for national governing bodies (NGBs) to cast the net wide in search of consistent, reliable methods of generating revenues that satisfy broader stakeholder aims while maintaining focus on their core responsibilities of sport development, encouraging participation and driving performance. In order to unpick this process, interviews were undertaken with senior officials from non-commercialised NGBs to better grasps the current situation and what steps are being taken to secure funding with further exploration of the impact of these new streams. Using Pfeffer and Salancik’s Resource Dependence Theory and Markowitz’s Portfolio Theory, this study examines the revenue streams currently explored by the NGBs, as well as their associated benefits and pitfalls. Through this research, it was found that the applicability of each stream was largely dependent on the unique characteristics of each body. Size and demographics of membership or participants, the degree of formality of participation, local or regional importance of the sport and commercial appeal to potential sponsors and partners, all drove the particular mix of revenue streams achieved by NGBs, making generalisation or the creation of a usable, common template difficult as a result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including sports sponsorship, sports spectators and social media in marketing.

As brand management and brand perceptions attract more attention in both academia and in practice, examining the link or lack thereof between brand identity and image is becoming increasingly important. The existence of brand consistency and coherency is examined in this research, which aimed to evaluate whether the pre- or post-event brand image of the Olympic Games or the London 2012 Games, in the domestic UK population and media, were aligned with the brand identities of these objects. Online surveys and media content analysis revealed that both brands have yet to achieve consistency or coherency within these two key stakeholder groups, even though the brand image of the 2012 Games improved following the event. What this study suggests is that unless the brand owner takes key stakeholders’ perceptions into consideration, a coherent and consistent brand identity does not necessarily equate to these being a feature of the brand image, with the connection between perceptions requiring additional attention. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research question:While marketing outsourcing may offer a clear means for revenue generation and cost efficiency, there is a need to go beyond the outsourcing decision itself to address ‘how’ outsourcing can be managed successfully. Differing to existing studies, this study examines the dynamic nature of marketing outsourcing from the rights holderandagency perspectives in an overlooked setting. Research methods:Qualitative data were generated from semi-structured interviews with marketing managers from 30 English Premier League (EPL) football clubs and with 10 marketing agency account managers. The clubs included in this study had all participated in the EPL, and all 10 marketing agencies interviewed had been contracted at some point in time to these clubs. Results and findings:By capturing both sides of the rights holder/agency interface, this study includes a neglected perspective (i.e. agency) to more accurately examine the principal–agency relationship in marketing outsourcing. The findings add greater nuance to the drivers/motivations and barriers/constraints that are typically cited in sport management and marketing studies, providing a new framework to understand the relationship dynamic and guide successful sport marketing outsourcing initiatives. Implications:Though outsourcing can be an impactful business decision, the success of marketing outsourcing in football is dependent upon the balance of conditions across the rights holder/agency interface. Specifically, whilepushingfactors may contribute to effective marketing outsourcing,resistingfactors undermine the rights holder–agency relationship. However, in nurturing keynecessary featuresboth parties can limit resisting factors and emphasise push factors for shared value creation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose The purpose of the current article is to provide an account of the financial crimes that are committed within the football clubs in Greece.Design/methodology/approach First, ethnographic research with two football clubs in Greece was conducted. Additional information on the issues at stake was obtained through interviews with informed actors from the realm of Greek football. Moreover, the telephone conversations that were available as the result of wiretapping by the Greek National Intelligence Agency, in relation to the latest football match-fixing scandal (2011) were used. Finally, published media sources were used. These provided information not only on the process behind financial crimes within football clubs but also on the key actors involved.Findings A number of financial (and finance-related) crimes committed within football clubs were identified in the study. These include: ticket “tricks”, fake tax certificates, crimes related to the players’ salary payments, owing money, money laundering and match-fixing. Issues around financial crimes within football clubs must be located within the overall football-related context in the country, which is, of course, an extension of the general financial, entrepreneurial and political landscape in the country.Originality/value This is the first article on football clubs and financial crimes in Greece. Although this is a case study from Greece, it constitutes a potential template for research on an international level. By using the case of football and football clubs in Greece, this article adds to understandings of the complexity of the broader motivational context of financial crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate Social Responsibility in the football industry is an important part of each club's agenda, while being more than a business trend. The way its activities are communicated, however, has not attracted, thus far, enough academic interest. This study aims at filling this literature gap by providing not only a presentation of the ways and methods in which CSR is promoted, but also a critical examination of their efficiency. This examination can only take place after the academic literature available on CSR promotion is scrutinized and the sample of the research is clarified. The FA Premier League clubs, the sample of this study, have then been carefully inspected with the help of insiders' interviews, providing details of their current practice in CSR promotion methods, as well as a critical review of their effectiveness. Finally, the question of abundance of CSR promotion in football is being answered taking into consideration both the insiders' and the public opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]