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Value co-creation for service innovation is a rapidly developing concept in the current competitive market. Prior studies emphasize the conceptual aspects of the value co-creation, with limited research focusing on the interactive effects between firms and their customers created in the process of value co-creation. We propose a framework for synthesizing the interactive concepts associated with service innovation based on the service-dominant logic. We recruited participants (N = 448) from 11 sports clubs in Iran. Results indicated that openness and consumer engagement facilitate value co-creation, which in turn leads to perceived service innovation. Furthermore, perceived brand interactivity moderated the mediating role of value co-creation in the relationship between consumer engagement and perceived service innovation. Results from this research suggest openness and consumer engagement are key antecedents of value co-creation and highlight the significance of perceived brand interactivity and value co-creation in promoting service innovation at sports clubs.

This paper examines the decision-making role of Canadian national sport organization boards, identifies the processes used to facilitate decision making by these boards, and explores whether these elements differ between the various design archetypes that exist among these organizations. Forty-five semistructured interviews were conducted with board members and senior staff of 22 Canadian national sport organizations, and data were thematically analyzed. Findings indicate board members and senior staff focused on strategy as their primary role, along with control over other roles (e.g., providing advice and counsel or securing resources). Roles differed according to the organization’s design archetype. Our analysis showed clear differences between design archetypes in terms of how these the organizations used structural artifacts such as subcommittees to facilitate decision making, navigated decision rights between board members and paid staff, and adhered to the Carver policy governance model promoted for national sport organizations by Sport Canada.

A growing number of sport-for-development (SFD) organizations have emerged in the nonprofit sector to leverage sport for social change, yet many organizations struggle with chronic resource deficiencies that inhibit their long-term viability and highlight a pressing need to examine the sustainability of SFD organizations through resource-based perspectives. This study analyzed secondary financial and administrative data from SFD organizations in the United States to examine changes in key resources during early organizational life stages. Latent profile analysis was utilized to classify organizations based on their level of resources, and multilevel growth modeling revealed significant changes in key resources over the first 5 years of operation, as well as significant differences based on initial resource levels and rates of change. The results provide theoretical insight into the key resources associated with organizational sustainability in the SFD field and offer practical implications for resource procurement, prioritization, and management.

This study examines the remaining options for sport managers to balance the interests of college athletes and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in regulating college athlete name, image, and likeness (NIL). The paper is divided into six substantive sections. The first section, “Background: The NCAA’s Defense of NIL Restrictions,” provides a brief history of the NCAA’s legal defense to challenges against its NIL regulations. The second section, “U.S. Congress Is Unlikely to Regulate College Athletes’ NIL Rights,” addresses proposed federal legislation and Congress’ willingness to regulate the use of NIL by college athletes. The third section, “The Impact of O’Bannon and Alston on NCAA’s NIL Restraints,” examines controlling case law, specifically O’Bannon v. NCAA and NCAA v. Alston, and how current antitrust law precedent shapes the scope by which the NCAA can regulate college athletes’ NIL. The fourth section, “State Laws Regulating the NIL Marketplace,” addresses state legislation regulating college athlete NIL use. The fifth section, “The Applicability of Labor Law to Regulating College Athletes’ NIL,” discusses the current college athlete NIL marketplace and analyzes whether labor law presents an optimal way forward for the NCAA to regulate NIL post-Alston. The sixth section, “College Athletes’ Employee Status as a Pathway to Redefine the NCAA’s Amateurism,” concludes by examining the law’s role in regulating NIL and discussing stakeholder implications.

This article brings together scholarship on communication theory, influencer marketing, and personal branding to examine a new type of social media influencer—the college athlete influencer. Previous research in the field of sports has not specifically explored the distinct characteristics of college athletes that contribute to their effectiveness as marketing influencers. By adopting a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the source of college athletes’ influence via social media. Quantitative results indicate that projecting an athletic identity on social media enhances the influencer’s credibility and increases the likelihood of consumers purchasing the products they endorse. Furthermore, qualitative findings indicated that the shared school identity acts as the ultimate impetus for the bond between the influencer and the consumer, which subsequently impacts the consumer’s purchasing decisions. This study provides actionable implications for schools, colleges, and brands seeking to build compelling sponsorships in the name, image, and likeness era.

Although name, image, and likeness policy officially changed on July 1, 2021, actions leading up to this policy modification provide insight into the desires and perspectives of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Feeling pressure from individual states and federal legislators, the NCAA engaged in discussion regarding name, image, and likeness in Fall of 2019. In response to newly introduced name, image, and likeness policy changes, the NCAA listed their official statements on the Taking Actions: Name, Image and Likeness webpage. These statements (n = 10) were analyzed using critical discourse analysis methodology underpinned with a Foucaultian perspective. Using critical discourse analysis, we extrapolated three overarching themes related to power dynamics: (a) Establishing Control While Undercutting Oppositional Power, (b) Power Shifts Away from NCAA, and (c) Power Reinforcement. We conclude by discussing the importance of examining discourse within organizations and implications for policy and practice.