Developing a theory of sport-based entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is an integral part of sport but less is known about how different types of entrepreneurship facilitate innovation. The aim of this paper is to develop a theory of sports-based entrepreneurship that incorporates different sub-categories of entrepreneurship such as social, technological and international. Specifically, the article connects the entrepreneurship and sport management literatures by proposing a theory of sport-based entrepreneurship, which can be used as a theoretical framework for future research. In addition, the paper provides a unique insight for sports practitioners and public policy planners wanting to focus on entrepreneurial ways to manage sport-based organizations.

Testing a multidimensional theory of person-environment fit

The current study examines the validity of a multidimensional Person-Environment (PE) fit model proposed by Jansen and Kristof-Brown (2006). The overall aim of the paper is to test the model's factor structure and influences upon outcome measures. A panel of organizational employees from a wide range of companies and locations were asked to complete a survey (n = 1,875) measuring five discrete dimensions of perceptual PE fit (Person-Organization, Person-People, Person-Job, Person-Group, and Person-Vocation) and three outcomes (organizational commitment, intention to leave, and job satisfaction). The first sequence of analysis tested the proposed model using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) statistical approaches. Model comparisons showed that Jansen and Kristof-Brown's (2006) original model in which the five dimensions of fit coalesce into a multidimensional construct was a poor fit with the data, but that a model in which the five dimensions of fit operate independently fit the data well. The second sequence of analysis found that the model without the multidimensional construct strongly predicted the outcomes of commitment, job satisfaction, and intention to leave. This paper discusses the implication of this research in relation to the PE fit literature.

Sport-based entrepreneurship : towards a new theory of entrepreneurship and sport management

The entrepreneurship and sport management disciplines have grown significantly in the past decade. Sport is an entrepreneurial process as innovation and change are key elements of sport. The aim of this paper is to develop a theory of entrepreneurship in sports management by investigating the relationship between entrepreneurship and sport. The rapidly growing and developing sport marketing discipline provides a basis in which to understand how entrepreneurship occurs through innovation, proactiveness and risk taking activities. This paper discusses the connection between the entrepreneurship and sports management fields and argues that there needs to be more integration with the two fields of study and traditional entrepreneurship theory. A theory of sport-based entrepreneurship is developed and different types of entrepreneurship that occur in sports management are examined. Suggestions for future research and implications for practitioners are discussed.

Towards a southern theory of higher education

Crudely, social inclusion in Australian higher education is a numbers game. While the student recruitment departments of universities focus on ‘bums on seats’, equity advocates draw attention to ‘which bums’, in ‘what proportions’, and, more to the point, ‘which seats’, ‘where’. But if the counting of bums is crude, so is the differentiation of seats. Just distinguishing between courses and universities and scrutinizing the distribution of groups, is a limited view of equity. The most prestigious seats of learning give students access primarily to dominant forms of knowledge and ways of thinking. In terms of access, it is to a diminished higher education, for all. Further, undergraduates – particularly in their first year – are rarely credited with having much to contribute. Higher education is the poorer for it. In this paper I propose an expanded conception for social inclusion and an enlarged regard for what is being accessed by students who gain entry to university. Drawing on Connell’s conception of ‘Southern Theory’, I highlight power/knowledge relations in higher education and particularly ‘southerners’: those under‐represented in universities – often located south of ENTER (Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank) cut‐offs – and whose cultural capital is similarly marginalised and discounted. While increasing regard for the importance of Indigenous knowledges is beginning to challenge the norms of higher education, we are yet to generalise such reconceptions of epistemology to include knowledges particular to people from regional and rural areas, with disabilities, and from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Nor have we really engaged with different ways of thinking about the physical and social worlds that are particular to these groups. To take account of marginalized forms of knowledge and of thinking will mean thinking differently about what higher education is and how it gets done.

A content analysis of sponsor representation across professional sport websites : extension of attribute typology

The sport industry has identified the importance of using the internet as a tool that can benefit the organisation. Much like the purpose of entering into sponsorship of sporting events, corporate partners are also attracted to the opportunities that professional sport team websites offer to fulfil similar objectives. The major purpose of this research is to explore the various ways in which sponsor logos are represented across professional sport websites and to extend previous advertising research, specifically the work developing advertising attribute typologies. The subjects for this research are professional sport websites and a qualitative approach is adopted with a content analysis as the main method of analysis used. To ensure reliability and validity within the coding instruments used, percentage agreement and Cohen’s kappa were adopted as indexes to verify this. The findings show sponsors’ logos exist on most professional sport websites and are represented in a variety of ways. Furthermore, a typology for sponsor representation and location across sport websites has been established to present a reliable foundation for future research in the area of consumer attitudes, behaviour and response towards sponsors and their presence on sport websites.