From Knowledge Exchange to Brand Engagement: The Strategic Use of Podcasts in Sports Management – A Case Study of the FISU World University Games Rhine-Ruhr 2025

Previous studies vividly indicate that understanding sports communication in competitive and non-competitive contexts could benefit athletes, coaches, officials, businesses, governing bodies, and spectators. This study aimed to inspect publication trends relevant to the global evolution of sports communication based on two high-impact and predominant databases, Scopus and Web of Science. The study analyzed selected top publications (peer-reviewed articles, books, and reports), keywords, and institutional data via ScientoPy on map-based communication. Our results depicted that the Scopus and WoS databases reveal growing trends in sports communication. The study's primary contribution is that it identified: the primary map-based communication research, essential keywords, connected studies, and leading universities within the sport management and sports scholarly fields. Keywords like (but not limited to) "public relations" and "organizational communication" has become prevalent in sport mapping communication between 2018 and 2019. The five most popular keywords concerning sports communication in include (but are not limited to) "Sports," "Communication," "social media," "Sports communication," and "Media." the findings of our paper will be helpful (but not limited to): scholars interested in sports communication, athletes (professional, non-professional, and students), stakeholders, and researchers. Similarly, the study provides future readers and scholars with a global perspective on the current hot topics in sports communication to help them disseminate their ideas, as well as a variety of analyses to assist in the organization of data and the development of theory and practice in sports communication research.

Today's social media platforms have become indispensable tools for businesses to engage with their target audiences. Social media marketing holds a significant place as a dynamic and effective strategy that enables businesses to interact with their target audiences. This approach allows businesses to communicate directly and personally with consumers while also providing access to wide audiences and high interaction potential. At the heart of this strategy, social media influencers play a crucial role in reliably transmitting businesses' messages to their followers. The strong bonds between influencers and their followers can positively influence consumers' brand perception, loyalty, and intention to purchase. Parasocial interaction theory suggests that media users can develop one-sided relationships with media personalities, and these relationships can influence users' attitudes and behaviors towards businesses or products. The parasocial interactions that develop between social media influencers and their followers have become powerful and effective, especially in the era of social media. This study aims to contribute to consumer behavior, parasocial interaction theory, and marketing practice. The research is a quantitative and descriptive analysis that examines the effect of variables such as influencers' perceived credibility, attitudes towards influencers, and the quality of their posts on purchase intention through parasocial interaction. Data collected through surveys in Karabük were analyzed using SPSS 21 and AMOS 20 statistical analysis programs through structural equation modeling. The results highlight the significant impact of influencer marketing on parasocial interaction and, indirectly, on purchase intention. This analysis demonstrates the potential of influencer marketing within the parasocial interaction theory framework to influence consumers' purchase intentions. The study emphasizes that the impact of influencers cannot be reduced merely to the number of followers or the visual appeal of content; beyond that, the depth and quality of the parasocial relationships established are also crucial.

Mentor or partner: Matching effect of para-social interaction and product type on purchase intention in live-streaming commerce

Previous studies have found that CEOs manage their firms through traditional methods such as leadership and management practices. In this study, we investigate how the parasocial relationship (PSR) between middle-level managers and CEOs affects the organizational trust and the organizational identification (OI) of middle managers. We find that the PSR between middle managers and CEOs has a positive effect on the OI of middle managers, which is mediated by the organizational trust of middle managers.Purpose: Middle managers and CEOs are the key components of a firm and are crucial to firm strategies and control systems. Middle managers play a vital role in information transmission like in the organizational hierarchy while CEOs influence low-level employees through middle managers. In this study, we investigate how the PSR between middle managers and CEOs affects organizational trust and OI.Design/Methodology: In this study, the data concerning OI, integrity perception, and organizational trust are derived from a survey conducted by the internal control research group of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). The research group began the survey on September 5, 2014, for the firms listed in the A-share market, accounting firms with securities and future practice qualifications, and institutional investors through the accounting department of the CSRC, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and the Asset Management Association of China. The research group members surveyed 2,536 A-share firms listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. As of October 31, 2014, 2,154 sets of questionnaires with a total of 12,551 questionnaires were received, with a response rate of 84.95%. The financial and accounting data are from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR) database.Findings: We find that the PSR between middle managers and CEOs has a positive effect on the OI of middle managers, which is mediated by the organizational trust of middle managers. This study extends the application of the parasocial interaction (PSI) theory, organizational trust theory, and social identity theory in listed firms.Practical Implication: There are practical implications for internal relationship management, corporate governance, and performance management. CEOs should value the influence of organizational trust and improve his/her own social and work abilities on middle-level managers as the organizational trust of middle-level managers has a significant positive impact on their sense of responsibility, ethical behavior, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and performance. CEOs should adopt various methods to influence different managers because organizational trust mediates the relationship between the PSR and OI.Originality/Value: Our study is one of the first attempts to apply the PSI theory to the corporate world. Given the dynamics of present-day markets and changing stakeholder demands, there is little insight into how this relationship affects organizational health and functioning. Much less what a PSR between CEO and middle management looks like in practice. Our study attempts to fill the gap by investigating how CEOs might come to affect middle managers through their practices and behaviors.

The research objective of this study is to determine the impact of parasocial interactions on consumers' propensity to purchase cosmetics in the digital age. The other aim of this study is to elucidate how hedonism, social attractiveness, and physical beauty affect parasocial interactions. The originality of this study is the integration of theories in the research model, namely the parasocial interaction theory, social identity theory, and theory of reasoned action. The main goal of this study is to fill a theoretical and practical gap by answering the question of how internal and external factors significantly influence online purchase intention. Beauty vloggers' physical and social attractiveness is used to explain the external variables, while hedonism is used to explain the internal factors. The researchers used a positive paradigm and a quantitative approach. Data from well-known media platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube, were gathered. The sample of subscribers to beauty vlogger accounts numbered 450 and they were surveyed using a purposive sampling technique. The data were examined using the outer and inner models of Smart PLS through Structural Equation Modeling. This study shows that parasocial interactions entirely offset the effect of physical and social attractiveness on purchase intention in the digital age. The external variables affect how millennials interact with beauty vloggers more than the internal variables do. Therefore, it is distinctive how millennial netizens use the Instagram and YouTube platforms in parasocial interactions, using beauty vloggers as influencers. Given the results, managers should engage with the influencers to create collaborations and manage social media channels to interact with audiences who are involved with beauty vloggers.

Advancements in technology and computer-generated imagery have led to the emergence of virtual influencers—new forms of digital avatars. For tourism destinations, effective promotion requires not just the adoption of innovative technologies, but also the development of sophisticated marketing strategies tailored to consumer characteristics. This study aims to examine which attributes of virtual influencers influence consumer responses and how these effects differ across consumer segments. Drawing on Uses and Gratifications Theory and Parasocial Interaction Theory, six key attributes were identified: entertainment, novelty, physical attractiveness, social attractiveness, attitudinal homophily, and parasocial relationship. Using survey data collected from 435 adults residing in the United States, a cluster analysis was conducted. The analysis identified three types of consumers—emotional immersion type, distance-maintaining type, and value-seeking type—each showing different responses to the attributes of virtual influencers. The findings suggest how virtual influencer marketing strategies for destination promotion can be more personalized and differentiated according to consumer typologies.

This essay discusses how Twitter can be used as a pedagogical tool for sport communication and sport management courses. Given the prevalence with which Twitter has penetrated the sport industry and the frequency with which college students use social media, Twitter is a complementary and viable classroom component. The essay provides ways in which Twitter can be used for formal assignments in the sport communication and sport management classroom. The essay concludes by discussing some challenges to using Twitter in the classroom, describing strategies for overcoming these barriers, and encouraging sport communication and sport management educators to embrace the culture of convergence that Twitter affords. The appendix offers detailed guidelines for the assignments discussed in the essay.

The effectiveness of podcasts in sport management education part two: A qualitative analysis

Case study, as a scientific research method of social science, has been widely used in sport management. To date, there have been scarce attempts to systematically review how the case study method has been applied in sport management. In this regard, the key objective of this study is to present a general picture of case study research in sport management over the decade. To achieve our objective, a systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted in four leading sport management journals published from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2023. The primary objective of an SLR is to address a focused research question by systematically identifying, appraising, and summarizing all available evidence by both authors. Result: The results show that the primary focus areas were organization and governance (n=31), sport events and leverage (n=29), sport-for-development (n=16), and community development (n=14). The frequency of case studies varied year by year. Ian O’Boyle and Michael Hutchinson stood out as prolific authors, contributing five and three articles, respectively. 61.5% of the articles applied theoretical frameworks, with escalation of commitment theory, stakeholder theory, and social inclusion theory being frequently used. Single-case studies were most common (n=46), followed by multiple-case (n=38) and double-case studies (n=7). Data collection predominantly involved two sources (n=59), with an average of 23 interviewees per study. Notably, the average interviewees of JSM were 27, followed by 25 of SMR, 21 of ESMQ, and 12 of IJSMS. Data analysis methods varied, with within-case analysis being the most prevalent (n=44), followed by within & cross-case analysis (n=40). Seven articles employed alternative methods such as thematic and network analysis. From the discussion, one may conclude that the application of case study methods in sport management research has provided profound insights into complex phenomena within the field. However, there are still three main issues that need to be discussed. Firstly, why are there still over half of the research in sport management applied to a single case study? Secondly, whether the case study method in sport management builds or tests theory? Lastly, why do scholars focus on sport organization, event, and development? Ultimately, this systematic review equips sports organizations with the strategic capabilities needed to enhance brand presence, operational efficiency, and overall impact, contributing to the sustainable growth and development of the sports industry on a global scale.

Voice assistants are changing the way consumers shop. Guided by the anthropomorphism literature and parasocial interaction theory, this study investigated how the new unique relationship between consumers and artificial intelligence‐powered voice assistants may affect the way consumers evaluate the recommended products through two experiments. Study 1 (n = 85, students) employed a 2 (shopping medium type: voice assistant vs. website) × 2 (interaction style: task‐oriented vs. socially‐oriented) between‐subjects design lab experiment. Study 2 (n = 418, Mechanical Turk) employed a 2 (shopping medium type: voice assistant vs. website) × 2 (product type: search vs. experience) between‐subjects online experiment. The results suggested that consumers may perceive voice assistants as pseudohuman agents detached from the service provider while perceiving websites as a tool or interface used by the provider, resulting in a more positive perception and evaluation of websites. As one of the few studies investigating voice assistants from the consumer perspective, this study contributes to the growing body of research in voice assistants. The study also contributes to anthropomorphism literature and parasocial interaction theory by confirming the causal relationship between humanlikeness and parasocial relationships.

Purpose Drawing on parasocial interaction theory, this study examines how key attributes of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled chatbot services, including functionality, trustworthiness, efficiency, human-likeness, responsiveness and reference to the service, affect consumers’ perceived interactivity and foster brand experience, thereby enhancing parasocial relationships between brands and customers. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. A total of 278 valid responses were obtained from an online questionnaire survey. Findings The attributes of AI-enabled chatbot services, namely trustworthiness, efficiency, human-likeness and reference to the service, positively affect their perceived interactivity. Furthermore, brand experience mediates the relationship between perceived interactivity and parasocial relationships. Practical implications AI-enabled chatbots serve as virtual frontline employees capable of simulating human-like interpersonal engagement, thereby enhancing brand experiences. When consumers perceive a high level of interactivity with an AI-enabled chatbot, they develop more favorable impressions of the brand, which in turn strengthens the parasocial bond between the brand and its customers. These findings provide practical guidance for designing AI-enabled chatbot services that foster deeper brand–customer relationships. Originality/value While previous research on AI-enabled chatbots has focused primarily on anthropomorphic features and service quality, limited attention has been paid to how specific service attributes contribute to building parasocial relationships in the context of online retail. This study addresses this gap by demonstrating how chatbot–customer interactions can strengthen brand–customer connections. Our findings provide valuable insight for managers across various industries and offer guidance on the application of AI technologies in digital transformation strategies to enhance customer service.

This study examines the often-overlooked influence of brand endorsements on the public perception of promoting celebrities. Grounded in Para-social Interaction Theory, this study examines how consumers’ para-social relationships with brands indirectly influence their propensity to disseminate positive word-of-mouth (WOM) regarding celebrities. Using a sequential mixed-methods approach, including a survey ( n = 485) and in-depth interviews ( n = 40), the findings reveal that consumers’ para-social relationships with brands are positively associated with their likelihood of engaging in positive WOM about endorsing celebrities driven by self-enhancement motives. However, this effect diminishes when consumers have a strong emotional attachment to a celebrity. This research advances branding literature by illustrating how brand perceptions can enhance a celebrity’s image through self-image augmentation. It also extends endorsement research by identifying the conditions under which celebrities can strategically manage their public image through brand partnerships, particularly when consumer attachment to the celebrity is low.

In the past few years, internet celebrities have become a new and important way to get people to buy energy-saving products. Their psychological mechanisms for promoting fans’ intention to purchase have become the focus of academic attention, but a unified conclusion has yet to be reached. This study uses online communities as a scenario, with the characteristics of influencers’ expertise, social attraction, and task attraction as antecedent variables and social cognitive theory and parasocial interaction theory as the theoretical basis to explore their influence on fans’ intention to purchase household energy-saving products. The study investigates the mediating role of parasocial relationships and the moderating role of fans’ green self-efficacy in influencing internet celebrities’ expertise and attraction of fans’ parasocial relationships. The results showed that the parasocial relationships formed between fans and influencers mediated the relationship between the expertise and attraction of influencers and fans’ intention to purchase energy-saving products and that “green self-efficacy” positively moderated the parasocial relationships formed between fans and internet celebrities in terms of their expertise and task attraction. The moderating effect of “green self-efficacy” on the parasocial relationships between fans and internet celebrities was insignificant.

The effect of hotel livestreaming on viewers’ purchase intention: Exploring the role of parasocial interaction and emotional engagement

This study aims to explore how influencers’ attributes foster parasocial interactions on social media, which in turn influence consumers’ purchase intentions. Additionally, it examines the mediating role of parasocial interactions and the moderating effect of online comments on purchase intention. Drawing on Horton and Wohl's parasocial interaction theory (1956), this study developed and analyzed a model illustrating the direct and indirect relationships between the three independent factors - influencers' attributes, parasocial interaction, online comments and the dependent factor- consumers' purchase intention in Bangladesh. Additionally, several interpersonal attraction attributes of influencers were selected based on McCroskey and McCain's (1974) recommendations, alongside attitude homophily. Using the purposive sampling method, data were collected from 244 samples of Bangladesh who watched product related contents of various social media influencers. For data collection, a structured questionnaire was developed where the five-point Likert scale was used. Using SmartPLS 4, data were analyzed through applying PLS-SEM. Results discovered that task attractiveness and attitude homophily are two important influencer attributes that generate parasocial interaction in social media. Besides, these two attributes further affect consumers’ purchase intention through the mediating effect of parasocial interaction. The study recommends that marketers prioritize task attractiveness and attitude homophily of influencers. Additionally, it highlights the role of parasocial interaction with social media influencers, which affects consumers' purchase intentions both directly and indirectly.