Managing Sport Business

An Introduction

David Hassan, David Hassan

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781351967273
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Betriebswirtschaft
• Subtopic: Business allgemein

Contemporary sport is both a sophisticated and complex international business and a mass participatory practice run largely by volunteers and community organisations. Now in a fully revised and expanded second edition, this authoritative and comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of sports management helps to explain the modern commercial environment that shapes sport at all levels and gives clear and sensible guidance on best practice in sports management, from elite sport to the local level.

The first section examines the global context for contemporary sports management. The second explores the key functional areas of management, from organisation and strategy to finance and marketing, and explains how successful managerial techniques can be applied in a sporting context. The final section surveys a wide range of important issues in contemporary sports management, from corporate social responsibility to the use of information and communication technologies. Together, these sections provide a complete package of theory, applied practical skills and a state-of-the-art review of modern sport business.

Complemented by a companion website full of additional resources, this book is essential reading for all students of sport management and sport business.

Part 3
Facets of sport business

Chapter 19
Delivering sport in the global context

Lucie Thibault

TOPICS

Developing sport in the global context • Sport labour in developing countries • Athlete migration • Environmental impact of global sport

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this chapter you should be able to:

• Understand the concept of globalisation in general and the economic, political, social, cultural, and technological forces at play in the globalisation of sport;

• Understand issues related to the globalisation of sport; more specifically,

– understand the use of labour from developing countries in the production of sport products;

– understand the impact that athletes migrating to other countries have on sport systems and donor countries; and

– understand the impact sport events and sport organisations have on the environment;

• Understand the role sport managers and leaders can play in addressing these issues and as such minimise the negative impact globalisation can have for individuals, groups, countries’ sport systems, and the environment.

KEY TERMS

Athlete migration – refers to the movement of athletes from one nation to another in order to pursue their athletic careers.

Carbon footprint – ‘the total amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted into the atmosphere each year by a person, family, building, organization, or company. A persons [sic] carbon footprint includes greenhouse gas emissions from fuel that an individual burns directly, such as by heating a home or riding in a car’ (United States Environmental Protection Agency 2016: 22).

Developing country labour force – a country where income level is low relative to other countries. Citizens face low standard of living as a result of low levels of economic and social development.

Environmental impact – the positive and negative consequences that activities have on the natural environment.

Globalisation – ‘the processes of globalization are transforming the world toward greater interdependence and integration, in terms of shifting forms of human contact, flows of goods, capital, information, fashion, culture, and consciousness’ (Sage 2010: 4).

Transnational corporations – corporations that have entities in more than one country. Their head office is typically located in a developed country and production factories may be located in developing countries.

OVERVIEW

Globalisation is an important phenomenon affecting sport. Economic, political, social, cultural, and technological forces have all contributed to the increasing global nature of sport. Although globalisation has been perceived by some as favourable for sport organisations and sport in general, others have raised issues related to globalisation. In this chapter, three issues related to the globalisation of sport are addressed. These consist of: the exploitation of labour in developing countries by transnational corporations for the production of sporting goods (i.e. running shoes, sportswear, equipment); the migration of athletes who play on teams of different nations and represent their ‘new’ nations in international competitions; and the increasing concerns for the negative impact sports have on the environment.

DELIVERING SPORT IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT

When the United Nations (UN) identified 2005 as the International Year of Sport and Physical Education, Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the UN at the time, exclaimed that ‘sport is a universal language that can bring people together, no matter what their origin, background, religious beliefs or economic status’ (United Nations 2005: 5). Sport is clearly an international phenomenon. Its global appeal is evident when one considers the viewership of recent sport events. For example, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games dominated social media (Hutchinson 2016: 2) with 187 million tweets inspired by the Games and ‘generated 75 billion impressions’. On Facebook, Hutchinson (2016) reported ‘277 million people had 1.5 billion inter actions about the Rio Olympics’ (p. 5). In addition to the extensive social media reach of the Rio Games, an estimated 3.5 billion people, half of the world’s population, watched the Games on television (International Olympic Committee 2016). Another example of the trend toward globalisation is the recent introduction of ‘new’ countries (typically non-winter sport countries) and their athletes in the Olympic Winter Games. Specifically, in 2014, in Sochi, Russia, athletes from Malta, Paraguay, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, and Zimbabwe participated for the first time in the Winter Games (International Olympic Committee 2015).

Furthermore, on the global trend of sport, the prominence of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has often been compared to the UN. Based on the number of member countries, the IOC and FIFA are larger than the UN. As of January 2017, the IOC’s membership was 206 National Olympic Committees each representing one country while FIFA’s membership was 211 countries (Fédération Internationale de Football Association 2017; International Olympic Committee 2017a). At the same time, the UN had a membership of 193 countries (United Nations 2017). Sport is an excellent medium to unite people from different cultures, race, socio-economic status, gender, language, and religions. It is a ‘shared form of communication’ among the world’s population (Amara 2008: 73).

The increasing global nature of sport has generally been perceived as beneficial for sport organisations. Extending programmes and services to the world has often meant a greater pool of athletes from which to recruit, increased markets and clients to which tickets can be sold, higher rights charged to media in order to broadcast sport events because of larger audiences, and greater financial resources generated from corporations and sponsors. As such, the global expansion of sport has generally led to more resources for sport organisations. The IOC and its premier property, the Olympic Games, is an appropriate case in point. As well, professional teams in the English Premier League or in the UEFA Champions League, the National Rugby League, or the National Basketball Association are a few examples of professional sport leagues and franchises that have financially benefited from the increasing global nature of sport.

Globalisation is defined as ‘the processes [that] are transforming the world toward greater interdependence and integration, in terms of shifting forms of human contact, flows of goods, capital, information, fashion, culture, and consciousness’ (Sage 2010: 4). To further clarify the concept of globalisation, Maguire, Jarvie, Mansfield, and Bradley (2002: 7) explained that

globalisation leads not only to greater degree of interdependence but also to an increased awareness of the world as a whole. People become more attuned to the notion that their lives and places of living are part of a single social space – the globe.

Several forces have been attributed to this increasing globalisation. Specifically, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological forces have been instrumental in the globalisation of several domains (e.g. politics and international governance, economics, business, media, education, health, development, environment, and culture). These forces have also been applied to discussions about the globalisation of sport (Andrews and Grainger 2007; Giulianotti and Robertson 2007a, 2007b; Harvey, Rail, and Thibault 1996; Thibault 2009). In the following paragraphs, these forces are briefly explained and their connection to the globalisation of sport outlined.

Economic forces refer to the important financial investments professional and amateur sports represent in the world. Sport infrastructures, hosting of major sport events, and ongoing competitions in various sports ensure that financial resources are invested in jobs, in people, and in different regions of the world. As Forster (2006: 72) explained, ‘sport is an important part of global culture and an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars’. In fact, Plunkett Research (2016) estimated the size of the global sport industry to be nearly US$1.5 trillion in 2016. In addition to the economic power of international sport organisations, non-sport organisations are also extensively involved in the business and finances of sport. For example, corporations and media conglomerates are eager to financially invest in sport properties in order to enhance the visibility of their products and services and their profits. Issues arising from the economic forces deal with the questionable fate of certain sports that do not, for various reasons (e.g. popularity, visibility), generate monies, profits, and/or benefits for other organisations (e.g. media, corporations). Their ability to truly become global sports may be limited.

Political forces refer to the governance of sport and the agencies that have power over its delivery in the world. At the international level, sport is governed by a complex network of organisations including multi-sport and single-sport organisations. The IOC, FIFA, the International Association of Athletics Federations, and the World Anti-Doping Agency have been considered to be some of the most prominent and powerful organisations governing sport internationally (Forster 2006; Houlihan 1994; Katwala 2000; Sage 2010). Their reach in different countries, their leadership, and their ability to generate revenues for their organisations through various sources (e.g. various countries’ governments, corporate partnerships, media rights) have been unparalleled in international sport. Considerations arising from these political forces include which organisation(s) should have power and how this power is used to enhance sports’ access for all. As well, another issue includes which organisation(s), if any, should have the responsibility for the global governance of sport. One could argue that the IOC is positioned and resourced to assume this leadership given their central position as a multi-sport organisation leading and connecting a number of other important organisations in international sport.

Social forces refer to the power of sport to address social inequities in various domains such as international development, gender, and race relations. Sport has served as a medium to assist in the development of disadvantaged regions of the world. Sport has also contributed to redress gender inequities in some societies. Through sport-related activities, organisations such as the UN, Football 4 Peace International, Boxgirls International, and Right to Play have used sport to enhance the health, education, child and youth development, and/or well-being of individuals living in various regions of the world. The International Platform on Sport and Development (IPSD) lists 530 initiatives, programmes, and organisations that are ‘interested in the potential of sport as a tool to reach personal, community, national and international development objectives … and a tool for addressing some of the challenges that arise from humanitarian crises and in conflict and post-conflict settings’ (International Platform on Sport and Development 2017: 1). Issues arising from social forces deal mainly with sport’s ability to truly solve major issues in the world. Sport may help in addressing some social issues but may not be enough to solve major global crises such as poverty, systemic inequities and injustices, war and conflict, and disease.

Cultural forces consider the existence of a global culture and the role sport plays in transcending borders, culture, language, gender, race, religion, and socio-economic status leading to a common bond shared by all. Not all sports are practised to the same extent across the world. Certain sports strive globally while other sports never shine on the i...