bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Who Thrives Under Pressure? Predicting the Performance of Elite Academy Cricketers Using the Cardiovascular Indicators of Challenge and Threat States
Authors: Turner Martin J. , Jones Marc V. , Sheffield David , Slater Matthew J. , Barker Jamie B. , Bell James J.
Published: August 2016

This study assessed whether cardiovascular (CV) reactivity patterns indexing challenge and threat states predicted batting performance in elite male county (N = 12) and national (N = 30) academy cricketers. Participants completed a batting test under pressure, before which CV reactivity was recorded in response to ego-threatening audio instructions. Self-reported self-efficacy, control, achievement goals, and emotions were also assessed. Challenge CV reactivity predicted superior performance in the Batting Test, compared with threat CV reactivity. The relationships between self-report measures and CV reactivity, and self-report measures and performance were inconsistent. A small subsample of participants who exhibited threat CV reactivity, but performed well, reported greater self-efficacy than participants who exhibited threat CV reactivity, but performed poorly. Also a small subsample of participants who exhibited challenge reactivity, but performed poorly, had higher avoidance goals than participants with challenge reactivity who performed well. The mechanisms for the observed relationship between CV reactivity and performance are discussed alongside implications for future research and applied practice.
Acute Exercise Enhances Preschoolers’ Ability to Sustain Attention
Authors: Palmer Kara K. , Miller Matthew W. , Robinson Leah E.
Published: August 2016

A growing body of research has illuminated beneficial effects of a single bout of physical activity (i.e., acute exercise) on cognitive function in school-age children. However, the influence of acute exercise on preschoolers’ cognitive function has not been reported. To address this shortcoming, the current study examined the effects of a 30-min bout of exercise on preschoolers’ cognitive function. Preschoolers’ cognitive function was assessed following a single bout of exercise and a single sedentary period. Results revealed that, after engaging in a bout of exercise, preschoolers exhibited markedly better ability to sustain attention, relative to after being sedentary (p = .006, partial eta square = .400). Based on these findings, providing exercise opportunities appears to enhance preschoolers’ cognitive function.
A Daily Process Analysis of Intentions and Physical Activity in College Students
Authors: Conroy David E. , Elavsky Steriani , Doerksen Shawna E. , Maher Jaclyn P.
Published: August 2016

Social-cognitive theories, such as the theory of planned behavior, posit intentions as proximal influences on physical activity (PA). This paper extends those theories by examining within-person variation in intentions and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) as a function of the unfolding constraints in people’s daily lives (e.g., perceived time availability, fatigue, soreness, weather, overeating). College students (N = 63) completed a 14-day diary study over the Internet that rated daily motivation, contextual constraints, and MVPA. Key findings from multilevel analyses were that (1) between-person differences represented 46% and 33% of the variability in daily MVPA intentions and behavior, respectively; (2) attitudes, injunctive norms, self-efficacy, perceptions of limited time availability, and weekend status predicted daily changes in intention strength; and (3) daily changes in intentions, perceptions of limited time availability, and weekend status predicted day-to-day changes in MVPA. Embedding future motivation and PA research in the context of people’s daily lives will advance understanding of individual PA change processes.
Applying Self-Compassion in Sport: An Intervention With Women Athletes
Authors: Mosewich Amber D. , Crocker Peter R.E. , Kowalski Kent C. , DeLongis Anita
Published: August 2016

This study investigated the effects of a self-compassion intervention on negative cognitive states and selfcompassion in varsity women athletes. Athletes who self-identified as being self-critical were randomly assigned to a self-compassion intervention (n = 29) or attention control group (n = 22). The self-compassion intervention consisted of a psychoeducation session and writing components completed over a 7-day period. Measures of self-compassion, state self-criticism, state rumination, and concern over mistakes were collected pretreatment, at 1 week posttreatment, and at a 4-week follow-up. A mixed factorial MANOVA with follow-up post hoc tests demonstrated moderate-to-strong effects for the intervention at posttest and follow-up (Wilks’s Λ = .566, F (8, 42) = 4.03, p < .01, η2 = .43). The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the self-compassion intervention in managing self-criticism, rumination, and concern over mistakes. Fostering a self-compassionate frame of mind is a potential coping resource for women athletes dealing with negative events in sport.
The Integrated Model of Sport Confidence: A Canonical Correlation and Mediational Analysis
Authors: Koehn Stefan , Pearce Alan J. , Morris Tony
Published: August 2016

The main purpose of the study was to examine crucial parts of Vealey’s (2001) integrated framework hypothesizing that sport confidence is a mediating variable between sources of sport confidence (including achievement, self-regulation, and social climate) and athletes’ affect in competition. The sample consisted of 386 athletes, who completed the Sources of Sport Confidence Questionnaire, Trait Sport Confidence Inventory, and Dispositional Flow Scale-2. Canonical correlation analysis revealed a confidence-achievement dimension underlying flow. Bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals in AMOS 20.0 were used in examining mediation effects between source domains and dispositional flow. Results showed that sport confidence partially mediated the relationship between achievement and self-regulation domains and flow, whereas no significant mediation was found for social climate. On a subscale level, full mediation models emerged for achievement and flow dimensions of challenge–skills balance, clear goals, and concentration on the task at hand.
Strategic Implications of Attitude-Toward-the-Ad in Leveraging Event Sponsorships
Authors: Kinney Lance , McDaniel Stephen R.
Published: August 2016

Event sponsorship has become a multibillion dollar industry (Levin, 1993), yet little theory-driven research exists exploring sponsorship effects (Cunningham & Taylor, 1994), Keller (1993) noted that customer-based brand equity is the appropriate goal of all elements of the marketing mix, including promotions such as sponsorship. The effectiveness of these promotions may be observed through what Keller terms “direct measures pitting known brands against unknown or fictitious brands.” This study uses an experimental design employing attitude-toward-the-ad (AAD) as a direct measure of sponsorship support, advertising impact on attitude-toward-the-brand (AH), and purchase intention (PI) for official sponsors and ambush marketers in the fast food and credit card product categories of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games. Ambush marketers are those companies that use advertising to make it appear as if they are associated with the Games without purchasing official sponsorship rights (Sandier & Shani, 1989). Based on these results, there appeared to be no competitive advantage for official sponsors in terms of AAD's influence on PL These findings suggest that leveraging a sponsorship with advertising does not always ensure competitive advantage in terms of building customer-based brand equity.
Action Research and Social Change in Sport: An Introduction to the Special Issue
Authors: Chalip Laurence
Published: August 2016

Although sport has evidenced phenomenal growth throughout this century, the directions of sport's growth have been widely criticized. The growth and resulting criticisms challenge sport managers and sport management researchers to reexamine their methods and their assumptions. Articles in this special issue explore the redesign of sport systems and the tasks of redressing inequities in sport service delivery. They raise significant issues about the role of knowledge in the empowerment of managers and clients. The articles suggest the value of incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods in action research, and challenge traditional distinctions between “applied” and “basic” research. They demonstrate the merit of case-based research, and illustrate the utility of collaborations between researchers and the persons they study. The study of social change in sport promises to provide a useful context for the elaboration of theories and models about the management of sport.
Achieving a Sustainable Competitive Advantage: A Resource-Based View of Sport Sponsorship
Authors: Amis John , Pant Narayan , Slack Trevor
Published: August 2016

This study demonstrates that a recent development in the strategic management literature, the resource-based view of the firm, has great utility for furthering our understanding of sport sponsorship. The paper provides a theoretical framework to explain the application of the approach to sponsorship. Illustration and greater insight are then provided through the presentation of two case studies. These are used to identify the salient characteristics of agreements made by two international companies, each of which has been extensively involved in sport sponsorship but with varying degrees of success. The resource-based approach is used to demonstrate that the disparate returns of the companies' sponsorship investments could have been anticipated. As such, as well as providing a conceptual extension to the sponsorship literature, the paper also offers a route for more empirical analyses of potential sponsorship opportunities.
Political Philosophy and the Managerial Class: Implications for the Administration of Sport
Authors: Corlett John
Published: August 2016

Although today some athletic events are organized by those without any administrative qualifications, much of modern sport management reflects the technocratic global culture from which it springs: formalized, institutionalized, and professionalized. Some recent critical assessments of our dominant philosophical influences have been extremely unkind to the administrative practices that they have spawned. Among the charges leveled is that management, in general, lacks a moral and epistemological base and is self-serving and antidemocratic. Much of this criticism is relevant to the management of modern sport. This paper presents an overview of the positions of philosophers Alasdair Maclntyre, John Ralston Saul, and Charles Taylor and examines management's relationship to sport in light of their critiques. A general philosophical framework is constructed upon which specific questions about specific activities of sport management can be asked and possibly answered. The results have implications for the education and work of sport managers.
A Longitudinal Study of the Development of Organizational Commitment amongst Volunteer Sport Administrators
Authors: Cuskelly Graham , McIntyre Norman , Boag Alistair
Published: August 2016

The commitment of volunteers is critical to the effective organization and delivery of community-based sport. This paper examined the development of organizational commitment amongst volunteers in relation to several organizational factors and personal characteristics. Using data from a 3-wave longitudinal study of volunteer administrators (n = 328) drawn from 52 randomly selected community-based sport organizations, organizational commitment was examined in relation to a range of variables including personal characteristics (sociodemographics), behavioral commitment, volunteering benefits, structural attributes (organizational size, budget), and process characteristics operationalized as perceptions about committee functioning. Using hierarchical regression analysis, the study found evidence of a directional relationship between perceived committee functioning and organizational commitment. Organizational commitment was also predicted by age group, occupation, years of organizational membership, and time spent on administration. The study demonstrated a temporal relationship between committee functioning and organizational commitment and concluded with a discussion of practical implications and recommendations for further research.
Segmentation of Sport Center Members in Seoul Based on Attitudes Toward Service Quality
Authors: Kim Changhwan , Korea Susan Y. Kim
Published: August 2016

Sport center managers are likely to maximize member satisfaction by developing products or services that are tailored to the different groups of sport center members. A necessary step, then, is to identify different segments of sport center members. This study attempts to identify sport center segments in Seoul, Korea, as determined by the members' attitudes toward 33 service items. A 2-stage cluster analysis approach in which the Ward's minimum variance method is used at the first stage and the K-means method is used at the second stage was employed by using the SPSS statistical package. This yielded 5 member segments that were then analyzed by employing ANOVA or chi-square to determine how they differ in their attitudes toward service attributes, demographics, socioeconomics, motivations, and usage patterns. For those variable responses showing a difference, an analyses of the nature of differences helped profile the members in the 5 segments.
Encouraging Compliance Without Real Power: Sport Associations Regulating Teams
Authors: Mitchell Ronald B. , Crosset Todd , Barr Carol A.
Published: August 2016

Popular and academic discourse typically analyze the strategies used to induce compliance with sport association policies and rules within a framework that shoehorns a diverse array of strategies into two categories: sanctions or compensation, This article proposes a taxonomy that goes beyond the “logic of consequences” inherent in the behavioral models of sanctions and compensation. Sport managers and scholars can encourage compliance through six ideal-type strategies: punitive, remunerative, generative, preventive, cognitive, and normative. These six categories provide the foundation for systematically evaluating the relative effectiveness of different strategies at altering the behavior of league members. This article delineates the different paths by which these different policy strategies influence behavior. Five questions designed to guide managers in the selection of strategies are offered. Although the National Collegiate Athletic Association is used as a case example throughout, the framework has applicability to all sport associations.
A Multiframe Perspective of Leadership and Organizational Climate in Intercollegiate Athletics
Authors: Scott David K.
Published: August 2016

This study used the “multiframe” (structural, human resource, political, and symbolic) organizational theory of Bolman and Deal (1991b) to examine aspects of leadership and organizational climate in intercollegiate athletic departments. Top-5 finalist athletic departments from 4 collegiate divisions (NCAA I, II, and III and NAIA) for the 1993-96 Sears Directors’ Cup award served as tie sample. The 4 frames were all useful as descriptors of leadership and climate among the departments. However, ADs and head coaches differed significantly in their perceptions of the frame best describing AD leadership. · There was evidence of strong agreement on perceptions of climate within several departments, but the political frame was perceived as least descriptive at every level of analysis. A MANOVA uncovered no significant differences in perceptions of the 4 frames with gender and division of competition as independent variables. Multiple regression revealed that different frames predict how employees perceive their ADs’ effectiveness as managers and leaders.
Constraints on Recreational Sport Participation in Adults in Greece: Implications for Providing and Managing Sport Services
Authors: Alexandris Konstantinos , Carroll Bob
Published: August 2016

Researchers from North America (e.g., Godbey, 1985; McGuire & O'Leary, 1992; Searle & Jackson, 1985) have raised the issue of the application of leisure constraints research to sport and recreation management and suggested that the field has tremendous potential to link theory with practice. The present study used data from a leisure constraints survey conducted in Greece (Alexandris & Carroll, 1997a; Carroll & Alexandris, 1997). Following Searle and Jackson's (1985) suggestions, the aim of the study was to identify and discuss the implications of these findings for the provision and management of recreational sport services. In order to place the findings in the context of the sport administration system in Greece, a brief introduction about how recreational sports are provided and promoted there is given.
Is Self-Employment Liberating or Marginalizing? The Case of Women Consultants in the Fitness and Sport Industry
Authors: Rehman Laurene , Frisby Wendy
Published: August 2016

Women are responsible for large growth rates in self-employment in many industrialized countries, yet little is known about how they interpret or experience the work they do. In the literature, two competing images of self-employment for women have emerged. With the liberation perspective, self-employment is associated with self-fulfillment, autonomy and control, substantial financial rewards, and increased flexibility in balancing work and family demands. In contrast, the marginality perspective portrays self-employment as a low paying, unstable form of home-based work that combines incompatible work and domestic roles while marginalizing women's work in the economy. The purpose of this study was to examine the work experiences of women consultants in the fitness and sport industry based on the liberation and marginality perspectives of self-employment. Observations of home-based work sites, interviews, and validation focus groups were conducted with 13 women who were currently working or had previously worked as fitness and sport consultants. The results revealed that social context, stages of business development, the personal situations of the women, gender relations and body image issues, and the nature of the work itself influenced whether the women described their experiences as liberating or marginalizing.
Examining Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Intercollegiate Athletics: A Resource-Based View
Authors: Smart Dennis L. , Wolfe Richard A.
Published: August 2016

This paper addresses the determinants of intercollegiate athletic program success. We built our arguments on a recent development in the strategic management literature, the Resource-Based View (RBV) of the firm. Our purpose was to investigate the source of sustainable intercollegiate athletic program success. In making our arguments, we briefly reviewed the RBV literature and addressed appropriate success criteria for intercollegiate athletics programs. An exploratory investigation of Pennsylvania State University's football program led to the conclusion that the resources responsible for its enduring competitive advantage are the history, relationships, trust, and organizational culture that have developed within the program's coaching staff. An organization that possesses such organizational resources may sustain a competitive advantage by exploiting its human and physical resources more completely than other organizations. The paper concludes with discussions of the potential generalizability of our findings, their implications for theory and practice, and suggested future research directions.
Canadian Participation Rates in Ten Sport and Fitness Activities
Authors: Barber Nancy , Havitz Mark E.
Published: August 2016

Howard (1992) examined U.S. adult participation in six sport and fitness activities for the period 1980 to 1989. This study extended Howard's research in a Canadian context for 10 sport and fitness activities for the period 1987 to 1996 using data from Print Measurement Bureau (PMB). Participation rates declined for 7 of the 10 activities over the 10-year period. Consistent with Howard's conclusions, usage-rate segmentation demonstrated that very small percentages of the Canadian adult population account for a large majority of total participation. Also consistent, 1996 participation rates split by gender revealed that women exhibit less participation, measured as percentages of all participants and among avid participants, as compared with 1987. Extending Howard's work, segmentation of participants based on age suggested that the older population in 1996 participated more than did the older population in 1987. Marketing implications, especially for reaching sedentary unresponsive markets, are discussed.
Strategic Relations and Sport Policy Making: The Case of Aerobic Union and School Sports Federation Bulgaria
Authors: Girginov Vassil
Published: August 2016

The dismissal of totalitarian regimes across Eastern Europe challenged the strategic orientation of sport in these countries. A central issue concerning the shaping of the new sport policies and the role of democratic states surprisingly as yet has not generated thorough academic analyses. As a result of transformations, the sport sector is undergoing massive adaptations, innovations, and reconfigurations leading to the emergence of new arrangements and actors pursuing different projects. Studying this process from a Strategic Relation perspective invites an analysis of sports policy, which accounts equally for events, actors, structures, and relations. More specifically, this approach offered a fruitful insight into the state and its strategic relations in sport policy making. One aspect of this study of theoretical interest is that, so far as can be ascertained, it is the first time the Strategic Relations approach has been applied to a Communist state.
Image and Investment: Sponsorship and Women's Sport
Authors: Shaw Sally , Amis John
Published: August 2016

Studies that have examined the disparity in investment between men's and women's sports are rare and are generally distributional in nature. Little research has been carried out that has explored the reasons why managers tend to invest in men's sport instead of women's. Given the rise in sponsorship spending, and the increasingly strategic nature of such investments, this represents an important gap in the literature. The purpose of this paper was to explore conceptually and empirically some of the possible reasons for this disparity. By examining the agreements made by the sponsors of two international women's sports teams, we found support for the contention that the values and beliefs of decision makers, the media representation of sport, and mimetic pressures on managers combine to heavily influence decisions about what and who to sponsor. We also suggest that if such factors can be overcome, women's sport has the potential to be a very useful marketing tool for certain firms.
Why the Two Won't Tango! Explaining the Lack of Integrated Policies for Sport and Tourism in the UK
Authors: Weed Mike
Published: August 2016

The findings of a 4-year research project that examined the potential for greater integration of sport and tourism policy in the UK are reported. The study is based on in-depth interviews and consultations with various agencies and identifies a number of tensions that exist within the sport-tourism policy process. An analysis of such tensions is used to review the five influences on sport-tourism policy proposed by Weed and Bull (1998). Six influences are now suggested: ideology, definitions, regional contexts, government policy, organizational culture and structure, and individuals. Using these revised influences, an assessment is made of the potential for a sustainable sport-tourism policy network in the UK. It is argued that such a network is not sustainable at the national level but may be possible at the regional level. The author suggests a need to empirically validate the international relevance of the concepts discussed utilizing Weed's (2001) model.
Comparison of Part-Time Workers and Full-Time Workers: Commitment and Citizenship Behaviors in Korean Sport Organizations
Authors: Chang Kyungro , Chelladurai Packianathan
Published: August 2016

This study investigated the differences in job attitudes between part-time (n = 96) and full-time (n = 82) workers in Korean sports organizations. They responded to a questionnaire including Meyer and Allen's (1984) scales for affective (AC) and continuance commitment (CC), and Smith, Organ, and Neat’s (1983) organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analyses of the data supported the subscale structures and the equivalence of measurement in the two groups. The full-time workers scored significantly higher on AC and OCB while the part-time workers scored higher on CC. While the relationship between AC and OCB was positive and significant in both groups, it was stronger in the full-time group than in the part-time group. The relationship between CC and OCB was significant and negative only in the case of the full-time group. The implication is that part-time work is not as conducive as fall-time work for developing affective commitment or organizational citizenship behavior.
The Emergence of a Professional Logic in English Rugby Union: The Role of Isomorphic and Diffusion Processes
Authors: O’Brien Danny , Slack Trevor
Published: August 2016

The organizational field that constitutes English rugby union has undergone substantial change since 1995. This paper builds on earlier work by O’Brien and Slack (2003a) that established that a shift from an amateur to a professional dominant logic in English rugby union took place between 1995 and 2000. Utilizing ideas about institutional logics, isomorphism, and diffusion, the current paper explores how this shift in logics actually evolved. Data from 43 interviews with key individuals in English rugby union form the main data source for the study. The results show that isomorphic change in accord with a new professional logic diffused throughout the field by way of three distinct diffusion patterns: status driven, bandwagon, and eventually, the social learning of adaptive responses. An initial period of high uncertainty, intense competitive pressures, and sustained financial crises resulted in unrestrained mimesis in the first two seasons of the professional era. However, this gave way in the third season to increased interorganizational linkages, coalition building, and political activity that promoted normative and coercive pressures for a consolidation of the game’s infrastructure and future development.
Membership Incentives: Factors Affecting Individuals’ Decisions about Participation in Athletics-Related Professional Associations
Authors: Chen Li
Published: August 2016

Athletics-related professional associations are nonprofit and formed voluntarily by athletic administrators or coaches. Because membership enrollment and retention are critical to organizational survival, factors affecting members’ participation should be studied to aid managerial decisions. This study was designed to test a conceptual model and develop a valid Membership Incentive Scale (MIS) to identify important membership incentives. The MIS is based on an underlying theoretical framework and empirical support. Participants (N = 415) from 15 professional associations completed a national survey. The results of factor and data analyses supported the four-factor (Utilitarian, Purposive, Solidary, Informative) incentive model, demonstrated the factorial validity and internal-consistency reliability of the 14-item MIS, and explored the most important factor (Informative Incentives). This article provides an important tool for managers to use to access essential membership incentives for the associations studied, as well as a reference for further studies of membership incentives for these and other organizations.
Field-Level Change: The Case of North American Major League Professional Sport
Authors: Cousens Laura , Slack Trevor
Published: August 2016

The organizational field encompassing North American major league professional sport changed dramatically over the last quarter century despite the constraining forces associated with this level. Given this, the purpose of this article was to explore the evolution of one organizational field over an extended time period in order to enhance our understanding of the multifaceted nature of its change. Four dimensions of this field were considered for study: communities of actors, their exchange processes, their governance structures, and their beliefs and institutional logics of action. These dimensions were operationalized to provide evidence of the evolution of the organizational field. Data were collected from personal interviews with league and franchise leaders, from documents retrieved from the leagues and Halls of Fame, and from a selection of historical books. The results of this research show increased interaction among the actors in the field, a growing awareness that they were engaged in a common enterprise, and the erosion of the coexisting logics of action prevalent in the field in the early 1970s.
Bases for Determining Need: Perspectives of Intercollegiate Athletic Directors and Athletic Board Chairs
Authors: Mahony Daniel F. , Hums Mary A. , Riemer Harold A.
Published: August 2016

The distribution of resources in intercollegiate athletics has been controversial for many years. Prior research indicated various stakeholders believed need-based distributions were fair and were more likely to be used. It was not clear, however, how the stakeholders determined need or which sports had the greatest needs. The results of the current study indicate that athletic administrators believe programs need more resources when they lack resources, have high program costs, or lack adequate resources to be competitively successful. Although these three reasons were each identified by all groups, Division I administrators cited competitive success more often, and Division III administrators cited high program costs more often. The current study also found that football was the sport believed to have the greatest needs at both the NCAA Division I and Division III levels, and men’s sports were generally believed to have greater needs.
Building Sport Programs to Optimize Athlete Recruitment, Retention, and Transition: Toward a Normative Theory of Sport Development
Authors: Green B. Christine
Published: August 2016

Sport development has become a leading issue for sport policymakers and sport managers worldwide. Sport development systems have two main objectives: to increase the number of participants actively engaged in sport and to enhance the quality of performances in sport. This is the foundation of the much used, but rarely examined, pyramid analogy in sport development. In this article, the pyramid model of sport development is explored, and its underlying assumptions are critiqued. Three tasks necessary for an effective pyramid model are identified: athlete recruitment, athlete retention, and athlete transitions. Recruitment requires the assistance of significant others, as well as the proliferation of many smaller, local-level sport programs. Retention requires a focus on motivation, socialization, and commitment. Advancement requires that programs be linked vertically and that athletes be aided in processes of locating and socializing into new levels of involvement. Although specific strategies for enhancing recruitment, retention, and transition of athletes can be identified from the literature, further research is needed.
Occupational Segregation on the Playing Field: The Case of Major League Baseball
Authors: Sack Allen L. , Singh Parbudyal , Thiel Robert
Published: August 2016

Occupational segregation by race and gender, though less common now than in the past, continues to be the norm rather than the exception in the sport industry. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, occupational segregation on the baseball playing field, often referred to as stacking, was discussed in light of human capital and social closure theories. Second, an attempt was made to replicate and extend a multivariate analysis of stacking by Margolis and Piliavin (1999) that challenges the dominant social science paradigm for explaining stacking. The present study uses more recent data than the Margolis and Piliavin study, as well as multinomial logistic regression analysis. The results reveal that stacking persists in Major League Baseball. They also reveal that the effect of race/ethnicity on assignments to playing positions is reduced when one controls for skills and physical characteristics such as speed and power hitting. The implications of this finding for sport management are examined.
Hierarchical Linear Modeling of Multilevel Data
Authors: Todd Samuel Y. , Crook T. Russell , Barilla Anthony G.
Published: August 2016

Most data involving organizations are hierarchical in nature and often contain variables measured at multiple levels of analysis. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) is a relatively new and innovative statistical method that organizational scientists have used to alleviate some common problems associated with multilevel data, thus advancing our understanding of organizations. This article presents a broad overview of HLM’s logic through an empirical analysis and outlines how its use can strengthen sport management research. For illustration purposes, we use both HLM and the traditional linear regression model to analyze how organizational and individual factors in Major League Baseball impact individual players’ salaries. A key implication is that, depending on the method, parameter estimates differ because of the multilevel data structure and, thus, findings differ. We explain these differences and conclude by presenting theoretical discussions from strategic management and consumer behavior to provide a potential research agenda for sport management scholars.
Consumer Loyalty: The Meaning of Attachment in the Development of Sport Team Allegiance
Authors: Funk Daniel C. , James Jeffrey D.
Published: August 2016

Prior research has demonstrated a direct relationship between loyalty and reasons for liking a particular sport team. The current study replicates and extends this line of inquiry by examining the mediating role of attachment, a process by which an individual moves from merely liking a team (attraction) to becoming loyal to a team (allegiance). Data (Collegiate N = 194; Collegiate and Professional N = 402, Favorite Sport Team N = 808) were collected to examine 13 benefits and attributes associated with liking a sport team, 3 attitude formation properties, and allegiance. A three-stage test of mediation using MLR revealed that attachment mediated the relationship between allegiance and Vicarious Achievement, Nostalgia, Star Player, Escape, Success, and Peer Group Acceptance. Results demonstrate that allegiance is the outcome of a process by which individuals develop stronger emotional reactions to, more functional knowledge about, and greater symbolic value for benefits and attributes associated with a sport team.
Symbiosis and Substitution in Spectator Sport
Authors: Pritchard Mark P. , Funk Daniel C.
Published: August 2016

The relationship between the consumption of sport via media and its more active counterpart, attendance, remains ambiguous. Some researchers have observed a symbiotic relationship at work—each behavior fueling the other, whereas others see no connection or argue that media use competes with live attendance as a recreational substitute. The current study of baseball game spectators (n = 308) employed a dual-route framework (DRF) to describe symbiotic and substitution behaviors. High/low mixes of media use and attendance were used to identify four distinct modes of intake (heavy, light, and media- and event-dominant). Follow-up comparisons distinguished each mode with discrete levels of involvement, satisfaction, and spectator attraction. The results expose the limits of previous models of spectator behavior and encourage us to broaden our understandings of consumption frequency beyond attendance alone. The DRF modes suggest that plotting media use in conjunction with attendance offers a more accurate account of spectator involvement. If models like the escalator dissected the data, they would consider the light and media-dominant and the heavy and event-dominant modes as equivalent. The importance of media-dominant consumption and the strategic implications of these segments are discussed.
Categorization, Performance Appraisals, and Self-Limiting Behavior: The Impact on Current and Future Performance
Authors: Sartore Melanie L.
Published: August 2016

The purpose of this article is to examine the effects of treatment discrimination as manifested through performance evaluation bias. Research has demonstrated that demographic dissimilarity between raters and ratees can result in performance evaluation bias. As a result of such bias, work-related opportunities based on performance evaluation might be provided to individuals with demographic characteristics similar to those of the rater and not to those whose characteristics differ. The current model suggests that the denial of such opportunities is associated with the formation of self-limiting behavior and subsequent performance detriment. The current model also addresses the formation of a performance feedback loop that potentially leads to future poor performance. Moderators (i.e., task interdependence, time, social category identification, and common group identity) of the proposed relationships are also identified. Additionally, suggestions for future investigations are offered.
Major Sport Events and Long-Term Tourism Impacts
Authors: Solberg Harry Arne , Preuss Holger
Published: August 2016

Hosting major sport events can cause positive shifts in tourism demand on a long-term basis, but the additional revenues might not counterbalance the investment costs that are required of the host destination. Whether positive shifts have actually occurred cannot be measured solely by counting the additional number of tourists. Increases might also come from positive shifts in supply. Megaevents require expensive investments in sport facilities, as well as in nonsport city-related infrastructure. These investments must fit into the city’s long-term plan to make the event economically successful. The demand from tourists can subsidize the production of goods and services that are characterized by the advantages of economies of scale. This provides local residents with goods and services that they otherwise could have only consumed outside the region. Many of the benefits from sport events fall into the category of public goods. This represents a rationale for governmental funding if those who benefit are driven by free-rider incentives. The prospect of governmental funding, however, provides motives to exaggerate the socioeconomic value of the events. This complicates the job of deciding which events to support and by how much.
Distributive Justice in Intercollegiate Athletics: An Examination of Equality, Revenue Production, and Need
Authors: Patrick Ian S.C. , Mahony Daniel F. , Petrosko Joseph M.
Published: August 2016

Research has indicated that need-based distributions are often perceived to be the fairest method for distributing resources in intercollegiate athletics. Mahony, Hums, and Riemer (2005) examined definitions of need and identified 3 subprinciples: need because of lack of resources, need because of high operating expenses, and need to be competitively successful. The current study examined the perceived fairness of distributions based on these subprinciples of need, equality of treatment, and revenue production, as well as the differences in perceptions based on gender, NCAA division, and scenario. Although need because of lack of resources was consistently rated as fairer than most or all of the other distribution methods, perceptions of the other methods varied based on the scenario. Further analysis indicated that men were more likely to perceive revenue production as fair, whereas women preferred equality. In addition, Division I administrators were more likely to rate need to be competitively successful and revenue production as fair.
Expressing Identity and Shaping Image: The Relationship between Corporate Mission and Corporate Sponsorship
Authors: Cunningham Stephanie , Cornwell T. Bettina , Coote Leonard V.
Published: August 2016

Despite the popularity of sponsorship-linked marketing programs, we know little about how firms form sponsorship policies. This article describes a corporate identity-sponsorship policy link and offers empirical support for it via a mixed method research design. Content analysis of 146 Fortune 500 companies’ online sponsorship policies and mission statements is followed by cluster, factor and multinomial regression techniques. Results show that corporate identity, as reflected in mission statements, matters to sponsorship policy. Specifically, companies emphasizing financial success in their mission statements prefer to sponsor individual athletes, education, the environment and health-related activities. Alternatively, companies stressing the importance of employees demonstrate a propensity to sponsor team sports, entertainment, religious, community, charity and business related activities. Reasons for these strategic differences are discussed.
Board Involvement in Strategy: Advancing the Governance of Sport Organizations
Authors: Ferkins Lesley , Shilbury David , McDonald Gael
Published: August 2016

This study investigated how boards of national sport organizations might enhance their strategic capability. Utilizing an action research method and focusing on the case of New Zealand Football (soccer), findings established that greater board involvement in strategy advanced the board’s ability to perform its strategic function. Further findings determined the importance of shared leadership between the board and the CEO, the complex interplay in balancing this relationship and the need to integrate strategy into board processes.
“Fixing the Mess”: A Grounded Theory of a Men’s Basketball Coaching Staff’s Suffering as a Result of Academic Corruption
Authors: Kihl Lisa , Richardson Tim
Published: August 2016

Individuals who are appointed the responsibility of managing a sport program following an instance of academic corruption endure various forms of harm that warrants investigation. Extending from our empirical study of the University of Minnesota’s incidence of academic corruption (Kihl, Richardson, & Campisi, 2008), this article provides an associated grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) of suffering that conceptualizes how a newly hired coaching staff is impacted. Using a grounded theory methodology, it was theorized that academic corruption causes a coaching staff to suffer four main consequences: sanctions, stakeholder separation, reform policies, and managing multiple roles. These consequences lead to various harmful outcomes (e.g., distrust, dysfunctional relationships, anger, stress, and conflict). The results are compared with existing research that assisted in the generation of a theory of suffering. This theory adds to our knowledge about the challenges a coaching staff experiences when administrating an intercollegiate basketball program during postcorruption.
The Meaning Behind Attachment: Exploring Camaraderie, Cause, and Competency at a Charity Sport Event
Authors: Filo Kevin , Funk Daniel C. , O’Brien Danny
Published: August 2016

Charity sport events have emerged as widespread and integral fundraising mechanisms for charitable organizations. This article explores the meaning that charity sport events hold in participants’ lives. Using the Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) as the theoretical framework, the authors examine participant attachment to charity sport events. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants in a charity sport event (N = 32) to discuss their perceptions of the event and their overall event experiences. Results revealed that camaraderie, cause, and competency reflect the enhanced meaning of the event and provide further explanation of attachment. Suggestions are made for charitable organizations and host communities to leverage these factors effectively and develop long-term sustainable events, and to assist in recruiting volunteers and facilitating social change in host communities.
The Intention-to-Repurchase Paradox: A Case of the Health and Fitness Industry
Authors: Ferrand Alain , Robinson Leigh , Valette-Florence Pierre
Published: August 2016

The article proposes a conceptual model to examine the relationships between service attributes, brand associations, customer satisfaction, commitment, price of membership, and intention to repurchase in a fitness club. The results show that the services offered by the club, its security, and the promoted image of the club impact positively on satisfaction. The customer relations at the club, customer commitment, and their frequency of weekly attendance have a positive direct effect on intention to repurchase. Perceived price has a negative direct influence. Finally, the research showed that overall satisfaction has a slight positive impact on frequency of attendance. These findings create a paradox for managers of health and fitness organizations who will have to balance the need to increase frequency of attendance to positively impact on intention to repurchase with the need to deliver the service attributes that affect satisfaction and intention to repurchase at high quality level.
Constraints and Motivators: A New Model to Explain Sport Consumer Behavior
Authors: Kim Yu Kyoum , Trail Galen
Published: August 2016

This study focused on developing a model to explain relationships among constraints, motivators, and attendance, and empirically test the proposed model within the spectator sport context. The proposed model explained 34% of variance in Attendance. Results showed that Attachment to the Team, an internal motivator, entered first and explained approximately 21% of the variance in attendance. Lack of Success, an internal constraint, entered next and explained almost 10% additional variance. Leisure Alternatives, an external constraint entered next and explained an additional 3%. The ability to properly evaluate constraints and motivators gives sport marketers the opportunity to more effectively serve existing fans, as well as attract new fans.
Sport Stadium Atmosphere: Formative and Reflective Indicators for Operationalizing the Construct
Authors: Uhrich Sebastian , Benkenstein Martin
Published: August 2016

This article reports the findings of an investigation into the atmosphere in stadiums during live team sports. Experiencing this special atmosphere represents an essential part of the total service provided by the organizers of sport events. However, existing research into the concept of atmosphere focuses on the retail environment. Our first step was therefore to define sport stadium atmosphere as a theoretical construct, drawing on theories from environmental psychology. We then developed a mimic (multiple indicator-multiple cause) model to measure the construct. To specify the mimic model, we generated and selected formative measures by means of a delphi study (N = 20), qualitative expert interviews (N = 44), and an indicator sort task (N = 34). The results indicate that various physical and social aspects of the stadium environment are causal indicators of sport stadium atmosphere. Following this, we conducted phenomenological interviews with spectators at sport events (N = 5) to identify typical affective responses to stadium environment (representing the reflective indicators of the mimic model). These interviews revealed that fans’ experience of stadium environment is characterized by high levels of arousal and pleasure. In addition to our findings, the mimic model developed in this study represents a useful tool for future research into sport stadium atmosphere.