The relationship between AFL season-ticket holder satisfaction and sponsor-related behaviour

In a sporting context, it has been acknowledged that fan attention and response to sponsorship is affected by a range of variables, including the duration of sponsorship and fan commitment to the sporting organisation. The results of surveys of the members of five AFL clubs indicated that there is a positive relationship between the satisfaction level of season-ticket holders and their orientation toward club sponsors’ products and brands. Despite the weak relationships found in this research, the results suggest that more satisfied season-ticket holders will seek to use club sponsors’ products, and this is yet another reason to manage the satisfaction of customers.

A defection analysis of lapsed season ticket holders : a consumer and organizational study

This paper reports on a four-stage study that investigated the motivations and future intentions of recently lapsed members (season-ticket holders) of professional sports organizations, and the marketing responses of those organizations to the issue of customer retention. Survey responses from over 1,000 recently lapsed members across five large sporting clubs were collected. A further study on one club was then conducted to compare attitudes and demographics of lapsed members to those who renewed. The responses suggests that although these lapsed members report that they joined to financially support and feel more involved with the club, they let their membership lapse primarily due to an inability to attend games. Despite joining for intangible, altruistic reasons, it seems that if these members could not get to games, they believed that the membership was not worth maintaining. These members were satisfied with the membership; however, measures of overall level of satisfaction had only a weak positive relationship with the likelihood of members rejoining in the future. These sport organizations were greatly concerned by lapsed members but have only ad hoc relationship marketing strategies in place to either prevent members lapsing or renew lapsed members.

Evaluating sport club board performance : a customer perspective

Customers are overlooked often as a stakeholder group when it comes to assessing board performance. To gain insight into the factors that affect customer perceptions of non-profit board performance, over 20,000 members from 14 different professional, non-profit sporting clubs were surveyed. The results suggest that sporting club boards are evaluated primarily in line with perceptions specifically related to their administrative effectiveness, although the on-field performance of the team is a contributing and correlated factor. Board performance and on -field performance perceptions were both direct contributors to overall member satisfaction, with board performance being the stronger. Perceptions of board performance are clearly worth managing in a holistic manner.

Rugby league: a game in crisis

This study examines the issue of crisis and reputation management strategies in Australian sporting clubs and finds that not only are individual clubs unaware of the potential impact of such crises on their organizations, but that they also have no training, contingency plans, or strategies to handle crises of any sort either at this or at the national league level. It uses the Australian Rugby League organization as a case study f()r examining these issues and concludes with several recommendations for improving crisis management and communications policies in Australian sporting organizations and for their stakeholders.

Many public and private organizations prefer to ignore the reality that "bad things" can happen, either through denial of their vulnerabilities or through myopia about their successes and strengths (Elliott, 2002). A crisis can be defined as any problem or disruption that triggers negative stakeholder reaction and extensive public scrutiny (Newman, 2003). Effective crisis management lies in continuous learning processes designed to equip managers with the capabilities, flexibility, and confidence to deal with sudden and unexpected problems or events (Robert & Lajtha, 2002). Good crisis leaders are those who can make fast decisions under pressure and who can keep the big picture consequences of actions and words in mind when making these decisions 030in & Lagadec, 20(0). In 2004, the Rugby league in Australia was both ill-prepared and ill-advised to effectively deal with a sex scandal involving a number of their players on an official club tour. In classic crisis escalation, what should have been a serious but easily dealt with problem became a major reputational and institutional crisis for the league, its sponsors, its players, and its fans.

Competing on the higher ground : social expectations and sport

Research in sport ethics has traditionally focused on the ethical dimensions of the sport event and athletes, however the examination of the principles of ethics to the management and organisation of sport is a relatively recent phenomenon. The tension between the roles and responsibilities of sport as a business, and sport as an ethical and moral aspect of society has forced sport organisations to face an increased number of complex ethical dilemmas. As sport systems throughout the world become further professionalised and bureaucratised, the community understanding of what is ‘good’ is challenged. It is a commonly held expectation that there should be a high level of moral behaviour from those participating directly in the sport event (athletes, coaches, referees), however this expectation has extended to the sporting clubs and organisations which govern the sport itself.

Often used interchangeably, ethics and morality are complex terms concentrating on issues of right and wrong behaviour. Beauchamp and Bowie (1993) stated that the term morality suggests a social institution, composed of a set of standards which are pervasively acknowledged by the members of a culture, or alternatively a social construction. The application of ethics and moral values to the business environment applies across all sectors, including for-profit, non-profit and government, however Rubin (1990) found that the normative ethics, those which society accepts as ethical behaviour, varies from sector to sector. In the non-profit sector, to which many sport organisations belong, Rubin (1990) found that because the community expects more ‘good’, they accept less ‘bad’. As many sport organisations throughout the world remain largely non-profit, linked with the commonly held belief that sport is a foundation for moral behaviours, the idealistic expectation of ethical conduct placed upon them may be different to those of more mainstream business organisations.

Mewett (2003) noted the importance of sport as a social phenomenon which ramifies widely through society to become an intrinsic part of culture and community life. The different expectations of ethical conduct and moral value placed on sport organisations increases the public interest in the ethical dilemmas faced by these organisations. Using the concept of conflict of interest as an example, this paper will examine the tension and difference between the community and social understanding and expectations of sport, and those of the sport organisations themselves.

Outbound cause-related marketing at the West Coast Eagles : measuring awareness and impact

This paper examines sports sponsorship from the perspective of the sports organisation as the sponsor of charity and community events - an increasingly common practice. Most of these sponsorship activities fit within the framework of cause-related marketing, but their effectiveness and value to the clubs involved are not known. We examine the activities of one AFL club which is heavily involved in a range of outbound sponsorship activities. In order to assess the impact of theses activities, we surveyed season ticket holders of this club and examined issues such as their general awareness of these activities and the both the antecedents and outcomes of this awareness. We find that general awareness (recognition) levels were high, and that the correlated with loyalty, involvement and specific brand associations. The conclusion is that outbound sponsorship of charities and the community has a number of positive outcomes for sporting clubs, and should be encouraged.

'I don't really care about what someone else's studied' : Drinking guidelines and the government of pleasure

This paper examines data from a Drinkwise Australia funded research project that investigated the cultural drivers of drinking in 14-24 year-old Australians. The research included two studies. In one we conducted interviews and focus groups with administrators and young people in a range of sporting clubs and in the other we interviewed 60 young people aged 20-24 about their drinking biographies. The drinking biographies study is the focus of this paper. At the time of interviewing the draft guidelines on low-risk drinking were released by the NH&MRC and we asked our participants what they knew about them and if they would affect their drinking patterns. The responses to these questions are examined in light of O’Malley and Valverde’s claim that pleasure is silenced and/or deployed strategically in liberal governance discourses about drugs and alcohol (2004: 25). This is despite the fact that research indicates that pleasure is an important motivation for drinking.

The life and times of Peter Snodgrass 1817-1867

Peter Snodgrass, an early pioneer and squatter in the Port Phillip District, died on 27 November 1867. A member of a gentrified military family, he reconstructed his life by overlanding from New south Wales to the Goulburn River District where he established a pastoral holding. Despite his early reputation as 'a wild young man' he became a member of Port Phillip District's first Legeslative Council, first Legislative Assembly and first Prahran Council, and was also a foundation member of a number of professional and sporting clubs in Melbourne. A somewhat enigmatic figure in his lifetime, Snodgrass is yet worthy of study for legacies that became an integral part of our cultural heritage.

Charismatic cops, patriarchs and a few good women : leadership, club culture and young peoples' drinking

The paper reports on key findings of a research project that examined the roles that communitybased
sporting clubs in the Australian state of Victoria play in shaping young people’s understandings and uses of alcohol. Our research imagined clubs as community hubs that are located in complex networks that impact on the ways that clubs understand their locations in communities, and which have unpredictable influences and consequences on club histories, culture and orientations to issues such as young people and alcohol use. The paper focuses on understanding the key roles played by club leaders in facilitating change and transformation in these contexts, particularly in terms of alcohol-related practices and the potential impact of these on young people’s uses and understanding of alcohol. We situate these findings in a framework that draws on the literature of complexity science and complex adaptive systems (CAS) to suggest that these practices and changes need to be understood in ways that allow for complexity, uncertainty, emergent behaviours and adaptive change.

Actively disadvantaged : a foucauldian perspective of rural adolescent girls' participation in sport and physical activity

The illustriousness of sport to Australian culture has often been discussed and in rural communities it could be argued that community sporting clubs are integral, and often unparalleled, in the development of collective community identities and individual subjectivities (Tonts, 2005). Sport is considered a way of life for many rural Australians, yet social, climatic and economic factors have resulted in vast changes to the sporting landscape in rural communities, particularly for adolescent females. With the amalgamation of many community sporting clubs due to declining populations and the rationalisation of Government funding, fewer opportunities for participation in organised physical activity now exist for rural adolescent girls (Tonts & Atherley, 2005). Compounding this lack of opportunity, are questions around the types of physical activity experiences available to rural adolescent females and the impact this has on the way that rural adolescent females construct ideas around being physically active. This paper is concerned with the ways in which prevalent cultural and institutional discourses mediated through community sport and school-based physical activity impact the construction of female physically active subjectivities in rural communities.

Desdobramento da função qualidade no setor de lazer : o caso do Petrópole Tênis Clube

Esta Dissertação apresenta, discute e analisa a utilização do método de planejamento da qualidade denominado QFD - Quality Function Deployment aplicado ao segmento de prestação de serviços constituído por clubes sociais e esportivos. O QFD trabalha com um conjunto de matrizes e tem como ponto de partida uma pesquisa de mercado com os clientes alvo da empresa. A seqüência das matrizes propicia a garantia de que as informações serão transportadas por todas as etapas de desenvolvimento do planejamento da qualidade. As matrizes do QFD são elaboradas com o auxílio de uma equipe multidisciplinar, permitindo, portanto, o trabalho em equipe e o intercâmbio de conhecimentos. O objetivo da aplicação do QFD é a produção, ao final, de um Plano de Melhorias.O Plano de Melhorias é composto por um conjunto de matrizes adaptadas ao setor em estudo (clubes sociais e esportivos). Isso representa uma contribuição original à literatura do desdobramento da qualidade. O trabalho é composto por uma revisão bibliográfica, envolvendo a qualidade em serviços, o QFD, trabalho em equipe e compartilhamento do conhecimento, apresentando-se posteriormente o estudo de caso no Petrópole Tênis Clube. A metodologia proposta visa a contribuir para a fidelização dos sócios do Clube em enfoque, já que o mesmo demonstra um cenário onde seus sócios vêm se afastando gradativamente implicando, com isso, dificuldades de oferecer aos mesmos um ambiente com manutenção permanente,novos atrativos e capacitação da equipe que serve à entidade.

Estrutura organizacional e das tomadas de decisão em Clubes Socioesportivos de São Paulo

As Organizações chamadas de Clubes Sócioesportivos mantém um modelo de administração que as caracteriza, que é a gestão realizada por voluntários e apoiada por gestores profissionais. A literatura aponta que a estrutura organizacional de entidades esportivas é peculiar, especialmente em clubes de futebol, onde persiste a fronteira entre os gestores voluntários que representam o poder executivo e legislativo e os gestores profissionais que são os que controlam e executam o planejamento financeiro e de atividades. No entanto são escassos estudos voltados a Clubes Sócioesportivos. O objetivo do presente estudo foi de identificar, descrever e comparar aspectos do processo de gestão da área de esportes de Clubes Sócioesportivos e analisa-los à luz de teorias e modelos administrativos. A pesquisa teve abordagem qualitativa, sendo realizado estudo de campo junto a seis clubes sócioesportivos da cidade de São Paulo. Para tanto, foram construídos e aplicados dois instrumentos: questionário e entrevista semiestruturada junto aos gestores de esporte das entidades. As informações obtidas foram analisadas comparativamente entre as entidades. Verificou-se que os Clubes utilizam modelos administrativos tradicionais com desenhos organizacionais. O planejamento destas organizações é baseado estritamente no orçamento anual, não havendo um planejamento plurianual ou estratégico. A tomada de decisão tem como alicerce a experiência pessoal do gestor voluntário, apoiada na vivência do gestor profissional. Não foram encontradas técnicas apuradas de tomada de decisão. As decisões mais importantes quanto a administração do Clube mantém um rito de preocupação com as responsabilidades. Os recursos humanos são selecionados pelo gestor profissional com o aval do gestor voluntário mantendo uma linha de contratação coerente e que está voltada a atender as demandas do Clube. Conclui-se que os Clubes estudados apresentam poucos aspectos diferentes do tradicional nas suas administrações, mantém uma estrutura organizacional própria, e os processos de tomada de decisões na área de esportes são fortemente vinculados ao planejamento financeiro

Issues in measuring the return of marketing investment in sporting club brands

This paper examines approaches to the measurement of brand value, and discusses their applicability to the various parties and branded products relevant to professional football clubs. It is concluded that the applicability of many of these measures of performance to sporting club brands is questionable. In order to provide an appropriate measure of the return on investment in brand loyalty to both the sporting club brand and sponsor-related products, the use of nonfinancial performance measures is critical. This paper suggests future research directions to enable greater consistency of the measurement of the return on marketing investment for sporting club brands.

Sporting club supporter identification and supporter purchasing behaviour for sponsors' products

This paper examines the actual purchasing behaviour of sporting club supporters of sponsors' products. The data source for this paper was a syndicated study conducted nationally by a large marketing research company on behalf of a sport's competition's governing body and its 16 constituent clubs. This empirical paper examines the usefulness of such a study in terms of its ability to relate product and brand preference to actual purchase decisions, especially in the context of an individual club's sponsorship. Club supporters are compared with the supporters of all Clubs, in order to ascertain differences in purchase behaviour. The findings suggest that customised research is likely to be of greater value to individual clubs, once the benefits of initial, aggregate studies have been exploited.