Search Results

Sport for development (SFD) has gained traction over the past several decades, establishing itself as a subdiscipline within sport management research. As such, it has moved from simple program evaluation to a diverse array of theory development and testing, capacity building, impact measurement, and beyond. Scholars have suggested that the success of SFD programs relies on them being well directed, locally grounded, and clearly focused. This points to the necessity of focusing on the development and management of SFD programs over program evaluation, as the process-based focus is under-researched and highly critical. In this paper, Intergroup Contact Theory is applied to an SFD program focusing on cultural adaptability. The five components of Intergroup Contact Theory are built into the program’s design, then assessed via qualitative analysis to test the theory’s applicability in SFD research.

The scholars of sport for development (SFD) suggest the need for advancements in theory development and stronger connections between practice and theory. This article outlines some of the challenges and barriers to theory development in SFD and suggests ways to move forward. The authors state that theories and frameworks in SFD are underdeveloped as a result of methodological and contextual challenges due to the variance in SFD programming. The SFD programs are being implemented across the globe in a myriad of countries and contexts, addressing varying social issues that make theory development challenging. Suggestions are put forward to help scholars and practitioners overcome these challenges, including creativity in methodology, collaborations in program assessment, and the need for patience required of fields focusing on social and behavioral change.

As society looks to identify globally minded citizens and leaders to move us forward, sport and education have a leading role to play. The sport industry is unique in how globally focused it is, and therefore, it is critical that sport management students be well prepared for this world. Study-abroad experiences for sport management students have the ability to aid in their development as world-minded individuals. The current study sampled students from four sport management programs participating in study-abroad programs over a 3-year time frame. The pre- and posttest results on a scale of global mindedness revealed no significant differences before and after studying abroad; however, there were significant differences between the five factors of global mindedness. Reasons for these potential findings, related to the theory of reasoned action, are discussed, as well as how this study can be built on in future iterations.

Reseating a stadium or arena is not a new phenomenon. It offers colleges and universities the opportunity to reward donors who have contributed financially to the athletic department as well as to create or maintain an equitable seat allocation system. At the same time, a poorly planned or poorly executed reseating project has the potential to upset current donors to the point of alienation. ABC University is looking to take on a reseating project, and it is looking to Virginia Commonwealth University for guidance because of its successful 2013 reseating project. With the success of its men’s basketball program and highly engaged fan base, the time is right to undertake this project. Factors involved in the decision to reseat, communication with fans, and the method involved with the actual reseating are among the topics discussed. This case study would be beneficial to other schools looking to reseat or future athletic administrators interested in an insider’s perspective at a major revenue generation project.

Brand evangelism, an advanced form of marketing where consumers voluntarily advocate on behalf of the brand, can bring numerous benefits to a firm. Pro-brand behaviors such as word-of-mouth promotion, recruitment of consumers, and disparagement of rivals are just a few of the many actions associated with brand evangelism. With highly impassioned and provocative fans, an opportunity exists to explore brand evangelism within the spectator sport context. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a scale to measure sport team (brand) evangelism. Guided by Fournier’s (1998) brand extension of relationship theory and following Churchill’s (1979) eight-step method for developing marketing measures, two focus groups of fans were interviewed and an additional 450 sport fans were surveyed through two distinct data collections in an attempt to identify sport team evangelistic behaviors, and test a measure of such behaviors. The assessment of the instrument included two forms of reliability analysis and three modes of validity analysis as the scale was parsimoniously reduced from 88 initial behaviors to four factors and 14 items.