Professional Sports Clubs Research Articles

Conceptualization of ESG Management Values of Professional Sports Clubs: From Consumers’ Perspective

Discussions and practices of sustainability are actively underway around the world. In this social context, this study conceptualized ESG management values focused on sports organizations, especially professional sports clubs in Korea. Utilizing Q methodology, which is suitable for research on individuals’ subjectivity, we explored ESG management values accepted by consumers of Korean professional sports. As a result, the ESG management values were confirmed as follows: “Type I: Trust Management Emphasis”, “Type II: Local Community Emphasis”, and “Type III: Safety–Respect Culture Emphasis”. While each of the three types accepted governance, social responsibility, safety, and respect culture as their main values, they tended to deny environment-related values. Accordingly, this study provided two discussions: “professional sports consumers’ low awareness of the environment” and “reinterpretation of environmental values among the ESG management values of professional sports clubs”. In conclusion, the three types are significant in that (1) they reflect well the social and cultural context of Korean professional sports and consumers’ perceptions, and (2) they provide a new perspective on the ESG management value of professional sports teams.

Gender-sensitive community weight-loss programmes to address overweight and obesity in men: a scoping review

ObjectivesTo examine how gender-sensitive community weight-loss programmes have been used to address overweight and obesity in men and to identify what can be learnt from this rapidly evolving field.DesignScoping review...

Process mining to investigate the relationship between clinical antecedents and injury risk, severity and return to play in professional sports

ObjectiveThis paper presents an exploratory case study focusing on the applicability and value of process mining in a professional sports healthcare setting. We explore whether process mining can be retrospectively...

Qualitative Analysis of Factors when Forming and Enhancing Partnerships in Professional Sports Club Management: The Decision-Making Process of Official Partners

Qualitative Analysis of Factors when Forming and Enhancing Partnerships in Professional Sports Club Management: The Decision-Making Process of Official Partners

Constructing a social responsibility system for professional sports clubs based on the perspective of China

AbstractThe development of CSR reflects the level and characteristics of professional sports organizations, and the CSR of professional sports clubs varies among different countries and regions. In order to explore the content of the CSR of Chinese professional sports clubs in a more comprehensive and systematic way, this study organizes previous studies on the CSR of clubs in different countries and regions, and analyzes the differences between Chinese professional sports clubs and clubs in Europe, North America, Japan, and other countries and regions. We collected the opinions of 20 experts through semi‐structured interviews and combined them with the “Five in One” overall layout to construct and explain the CSR system of professional sports clubs in China in the new era, filling the gaps in research on this topic. Research suggests that social economic responsibility, social political responsibility, social cultural responsibility, social construction responsibility, and social ecological responsibility constitute the CSR system of professional sports clubs in China. Within a certain range, the larger the scale and stronger the comprehensive strength of a club, the stronger its ability to fulfill its responsibilities, the more targets it fulfills, and the richer its content. The institutional environment and social awareness may account for this difference, and in a government‐led social environment or in the case of nationalized club ownership, the Chinese plan may be more applicable. Our research not only provides theoretical reference for subsequent research on the CSR content of professional sports clubs but also helps guide the CSR practice of clubs of different sizes, thereby promoting the exploration of diversified CSR development patterns of professional sports clubs in the academic community.

The Impact of Corporate Governance on Financial Performance in Professional Sports Clubs: The Case of Italian Serie A

This paper explores professional football clubs' corporate governance challenges, recognizing them as symptoms of a deeper management crisis. The need for more effective managerial practices within these organizations is evident in the prevailing issues. This study aims to assess how corporate governance quality impacts the profitability and sustainability of Italian Serie A football clubs. Through the analysis of governance variables and financial indicators from the 2018/2019 season, the research identifies crucial factors. These factors encompass the business model, board composition, board age, control bodies, and internal procedure transparency. The results highlight the significant influence of corporate governance variables on club performance and insolvency risk. Enhanced governance quality is associated with higher profitability and viability, even among clubs facing financial difficulties. These findings hold significance for academics, practitioners, and regulators interested in understanding corporate governance practices within the competitive soccer market and their impact on financial performance. Future research should expand the sample and incorporate a comparative analysis of major European football leagues, accounting for varying legal frameworks. Moreover, the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on the football industry must be considered in forthcoming investigations. The pandemic's financial consequences will likely differ based on each club's business model, international reputation, financial structure, and governance approach.

The Impact of the Mental Health Status of Athletes in Events + the Valuation of Athletes’ Value

With the booming development of the sports industry, the valuation of athletes’ career value has received increasing attention. This paper discusses the impact of the mental health state of athletes’ in events on their career value from a psychological perspective, using the literature review method. It is found that, firstly, a good psychological state helps athletes to play stably and excel on the field, and the improvement of performance directly leads to the increase of commercial value. Secondly, a high psychological quality builds a positive professional image of athletes, a great ability of psychological adjustment prolongs their career, and an outstanding counter-intelligence contributes to the construction of personal brand, which are the key factors to enhance the commercial value. This study deepens the knowledge of the factors influencing athletes’ career value, which is instructive for the talent selection and breeding of professional sports clubs.

The Resource-Based View and the Implications of Organisational Orientation in Professional Football Clubs: An Exploratory Study

The COVID-19 crisis represented a major challenge in various social and economic sectors, and the sport context was no exception. Professional clubs had to deal with an intense organisational and operational environment, which is essential to apply their tangible and intangible assets to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage. This study aims to examine the role of entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation and learning orientation in the performance of professional football clubs. In light of the lens of the resource-based view and adopted a qualitative approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews during the pandemic period with stakeholders from five football clubs participating in professional competitions. The results show that entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, and learning orientation influence sports clubs’ performance. This study is relevant for sports organisations as it identifies a set of assets that, when strategically managed, can increase organisational performance and generate and enhance their competitive advantage and sustainability. It shows a relation between organisational orientations, the resources implemented in clubs and their performance. Competition stimulated sports organisations to adapt, renew, reconfigure and re-create their resources and capabilities in tune with the environment. Furthermore, professional sports clubs try to follow strategies that improve their sports performance, adapting entrepreneurial orientation to developing new services, products and activities, accepting risks and being proactive. This study is relevant for sports organizations in general, as it identifies a set of assets that, when strategically managed, can increase organizational performance as well as generate and improve a competitive advantage.

Retracted: Analysis of Brand Communication Influence of Professional Sports Clubs Based on Complex System Discrete Model

Retracted: Analysis of Brand Communication Influence of Professional Sports Clubs Based on Complex System Discrete Model

The effects of overseas exhibition games on consumer interest: the case of the English Premier League

ABSTRACT Research question This paper attempts to disentangle the impact of overseas exhibition games, a strategic marketing tool frequently implemented by professional sports clubs in their endeavors to expand into foreign markets, on demand. As such, it contributes to the recently growing literature examining the internationalization processes of leagues and clubs. Research methods We implement two different studies. Study 1 analyzes the effects of games played by English Premier League (EPL) clubs in the US in summer 2015 on US residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for add-on football packages on television. In doing so, we exploit the panel structure of geocoded data collected in two representative surveys and use inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment estimators. Study 2 focuses on regional audience data on EPL games televised in the US. We account both for summer 2014 and 2015 exhibition games by implementing propensity score stratification. Results and findings Overall, we find that exhibition games played by EPL clubs have a positive effect on both the WTP for TV subscription packages as well as viewership. Further analysis reveals that these effects are primarily driven by top brands traveling abroad (though also some spillover benefits on EPL-wide demand emerge) and dissipate over time. Implications Facilitating the organization of overseas exhibition games seems reasonable from a commercial point of view for league management. For broadcasters, requiring certain top brands to participate in preseason tours in their national markets might be essential if they seek to improve their return on investment.

Mapping provision and evaluation practices in local community health and wellbeing programmes delivered by professional sports clubs in the United Kingdom: A practice-based targeted review

Abstract Professional sports clubs (PSCs) are potentially effective settings for health promotion, however, their role within policy is unclear. Potential reasons include lack of awareness about existing provision of health and wellbeing (H&W) programmes delivered, and adequacy of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices. This review aimed to: (i) map the provision of H&W programmes delivered by PSCs in the United Kingdom (UK); and (ii) explore current M&E practices of PSCs and consider the policy implications of this. To conduct this practice-based targeted review, websites from eight professional sport leagues were hand-searched for programmes and impact reports, amounting to the inclusion 116 PSCs. Suitable programmes were quantified, whilst impact reports were analysed via inductive documentary content analysis. Results identified 127 H&W programmes that met our inclusive criteria. A total of 36 impact reports were retrieved, presenting engagement figures and anecdotal case studies as the most common evaluation methods. Additionally, 43 H&W impact statements were identified within the impact reports, but only 14 were aligned to specific H&W outcomes. None were supported by measurement-tool-driven data, and reporting of data collection timeframes and participant numbers were also rare. Findings illuminate the provision of H&W programmes delivered by UK-based PSCs and their health promotion priorities. However, the H&W aims of programmes are typically vague, measurement tools are rarely used, and evaluations are usually anecdotal which may limit the potential uptake of these programmes and PSCs generally in relevant public health policy. Further research is thus needed on the challenges faced when seeking to monitor and evaluate programmes effectively and to build a stronger evidence base for the use of PSCs as vehicles of health promotion.

1.K. Workshop: Health Promoting Sports Clubs: tackling intervention implementation and evaluation challenges

Abstract Settings have been defined as ‘the place or social context where people engage in daily activities in which environmental, organizational and personal factors interact to affect health and well-being’. Settings-based approaches have successfully been applied in different traditional settings, like schools, cities, and workplaces. During the last two decades, the health promoting sports clubs theoretical and empirical foundation has emerged to support sports clubs’ investment in health promotion beyond the provision of sport itself, leading to physical, social and mental benefits. Two recent literature reviews have showed limited evidence on validated health promotion measurement instrument and interventions, identifying only three interventions worldwide that have been rigorously evaluated. The present workshop will synthetises the mechanisms used in different health promoting sports clubs’ interventions, reflect on methods for intervention evaluation and offer guidelines for sports federation and clubs. The first presentation will set the scene by describing youth sports club's participation in Finland from 2016 to 2022, specifically providing insights on the determinants of sport drop out. The second presentation will offer a deep understanding of context and mechanisms leading to effectiveness, used in interventions to promote men's health in organised sport, using a rapid realist review methodology. The third presentation will complete the second by mapping provision and evaluation practice of interventions delivered by professional sports clubs in the UK, through a practice-based targeted review. The fourth presentation will showcase the type of evaluation needed to investigate health promoting sports club's intervention, drawing from a pragmatic feasibility trial conducted in Ireland. The fifth presentation will offer practical guidelines for national sports federation on how to implement health promoting sports clubs, through a toolkit which has been edited in collaboration with the World Health Organisation. Based on the different presentations, discussion will be engaged with Jan Seghers, who has conducted major work on implementing health promoting sports clubs in Flanders, as well as the speakers and the audience. We also plan to discuss the active mechanisms identified in the interventions and how to address challenges in conducting empirical research on health promoting sports clubs. Lastly, we will open the floor for reflections on intervention research conducted in other settings. Key messages • The workshop will synthetises evidence on health promoting sports club's intervention implementation and evaluation. • The workshop will provide guidelines and recommendations for conducting and evaluating health promoting sports clubs’ interventions.

Profesyonel Spor Kulüpleri Tarafından Sağlanan Hizmetlerin İlişki Kalitesi Üzerindeki Etkisi

Spor organizasyonlarının başarısı büyük ölçüde yeterli sayıda taraftar çekmeye ve bunu sürdürmeye bağlıdır. Bu yüzden taraftarların elde tutulması ve sayılarının arttırılmasını kolaylaştıran faktörlerin daha iyi anlaşılmasının gerekliliği ortaya çıkmaktadır. Bu noktadan hareketle çalışmanın amacı, profesyonel spor kulüpleri tarafından sağlanan hizmetlerle ilgili eylemlerin, taraftarlar açısından ilişki kalitesi üzerindeki etkisini incelemektir. Araştırmaya 301 sezonluk (kombine) bilet sahibi taraftar katılmıştır. Veri toplamak amacıyla araştırmacılar tarafından hazırlanan “Kişisel Bilgi Formu”, “Sezonluk (Kombine) Bilet Sahipleri Memnuniyet Ölçeği”, “İlişki Kalitesi Ölçeği” kullanılmıştır. Çalışmanın hipotezlerini test etmek amacıyla spor organizasyonları tarafından sağlanan hizmetlerin, ilişki kalitesi ve taraftarların tüketim niyetlerine olan etkisini açıklamak için kavramsal bir model oluşturulmuş ve test edilmiştir. Verilerin analizinde, SPSS 26 ve Hayes (2019) tarafından geliştirilen Process Macro v.4.2 programları kullanılmıştır. Analizler sonucunda spor organizasyonları tarafından sağlanan hizmetlerin, taraftarların kulüple olan ilişkilerinin gücü ve kalitesini etkilediği, aynı zamanda hizmetlerin, ilişki kalitesi aracılığıyla, taraftar davranışları üzerinde önemli bir etkiye sahip olduğu görülmüştür.

Mapping the provision and evaluation practices of local community health and wellbeing programmes delivered by professional sports clubs in England: a practice-based targeted review

ABSTRACT Professional sports clubs (PSCs) are potentially effective settings for health promotion; however, their role within policy is unclear. Potential reasons include lack of awareness about existing provision of health and wellbeing (H&W) programmes and adequacy of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices. This review aimed to: (i) map the provision of H&W programmes delivered by PSCs in the United Kingdom (UK), and (ii) explore current M&E practices of PSCs and consider the policy implications of this. Websites from eight professional sport leagues were hand-searched for programmes and impact reports. Suitable programmes were quantified, whilst impact reports were analysed via inductive documentary content analysis. Results identified 176 H&W programmes and 36 impact reports, as well as 43 H&W impact statements, but only 14 of these were aligned to specific H&W outcomes. The H&W aims of programmes were typically vague, measurement tools were rarely used, and evaluations were usually anecdotal case studies and based on engagement figures, which may not only limit the potential uptake of these programmes but also the relevance of PSCs to public policy. Further research is thus needed to build a stronger evidence base for the use of PSCs as vehicles of public health promotion and policy, and to better address the challenges faced when seeking to monitor and evaluate PSC programmes effectively.

Coaching for privilege: coaches, soccer, and education in professional sports clubs in high-SES cities in Israel

This article examines two key questions: How do coaches working in professional soccer clubs with high socioeconomic class (SES) high-school student define their role? Do the coaches’ definitions of the role affect the reproduction of privilege, and how so? Drawing on qualitative interviews with 15 coaches operating in professional soccer clubs in high-SES cities in Israel, we identified four key components of the coaches’ role: coaches’ descriptions of the youth and their class’s living spaces; the coaches’ role perception; key values subscribed to by coaches; and students’ future orientation (How does the coach see the youths in adulthood). These findings were discussed in light of their significance and implications for forming and cultivating habitus and elite or privileged identity among high-SES youth-players (the linkage of position and disposition) in informal educational spaces.

Does the Social Contribution of a Professional Sports Club Influence Team Loyalty among Child Participants?

Does the Social Contribution of a Professional Sports Club Influence Team Loyalty among Child Participants?

Financial and Sports Results of Public Sector Enterprises Operating Professional Sports Clubs

This article analyses the extent of state ownership and examines whether there are differences in business and sports activity results between state-owned and private entities running football clubs in the Polish Ekstraklasa. The study examined a panel of 100 entities (N) comprising 26 enterprises running football clubs whose male teams participated in Ekstraklasa games during five seasons: 2016/2017, 2017/2018, 2018/2019, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. The study covered five consecutive financial years ending in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. The statistical and financial analysis method was applied. The financial and sports results of state owned and private enterprises in the period of 2017-2021 were compared based on selected ratios. The mean and median values of the variables taken for analyses (financial and sports ratios) were calculated. A non parametric Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to assess the differences between the ratios for the groups of enterprises under study. The analysis revealed that state-owned companies and local government units are major shareholders in Polish professional football clubs. Examination of the financial results of public and private enterprises that run such clubs revealed statistically significant differences between most of them. Among the three groups of enterprises, those run by local government enterprises achieved the worst financial results measured by profitability, financial liquidity, debt, team cost and equity. The best financial situation was observed in the state-owned enterprises. Although no statistically significant difference was found in the sports achievements between the groups of clubs, the privately owned enterprises had better results (the median and the mean values) than the other enterprises concerning the number of points and a higher place at the end of the season.

METHOD OF EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INVESTMENTS IN A PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE IN GAMING SPORTS AND ITS APPROBATION

The study is devoted to the problem of evaluating the effectiveness of investments in the professional sports industry of the Republic of Belarus. To solve this problem, the author's method of evaluating the effectiveness of investments in a professional athlete in gaming sports, consisting of four stages, has been developed: 1) registration of indicators of the effectiveness of the gaming activity of professional athletes for the reporting period based on the analysis of official statistics of the games; 2) calculation of the personally generated profit of the analyzed players; 3) formation and calculation of the indicator of team-wide profit brought to a professional sports club in calculating on the i-th player; 4) evaluation of the effectiveness of investments in professional athletes using the final values of indicators obtained at previous stages. The approbation of the method proposed by the author at the "Shakhtar" football club in Soligorsk was carried out to confirm the effectiveness of its application in different variations for compliance with real market conditions and showed the effectiveness of the developed method.

Hype or opportunity? Tokenization as engagement platform in sport marketing

PurposeNovel technologies such as tokenization have the potential to disrupt value co-creation in sport marketing. Tokenization in particular has generated a hype in sport marketing by facilitating engagement behavior. However, it remains unclear to what extent tokenization can serve as an engagement platform to enable new and innovative interactions between sport organizations and its network of actors.Design/methodology/approachThe study investigated a tokenized governance platform of a professional sport club as engagement platform by means of a case study applying a multi-method approach combining document analyses and semi-structured interviews with sport management, sport club fans and blockchain experts.FindingsGovernance tokens indeed foster fan engagement by including fans in decision-making processes. The engagement platform is meant to enable two-way communication between fans and professional sport clubs. However, benefits could be overrated, and fans describe concerns about increasing commercialization due to the application of governance tokens. Thus, opportunities must be balanced out to foster engagement of sport club fans.Originality/valueThe findings contribute to extending the phenomenon of tokenization as a financing model and engagement platform in sport marketing. The results show how tokenized governance platforms can be applied in sport marketing and how they contribute to value co-creation in the digital world of sport clubs.

"The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Korean Professional Sports Clubs on Employees’ Happiness and Implementation Intentions "

"The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Korean Professional Sports Clubs on Employees’ Happiness and Implementation Intentions "