Governance responses to international agreements:The impact of the Kolpak ruling on cricket 1998-2021

This article investigates the impacts of global legal rulings and political agreements on domestic sport, and charts the responses of national governing bodies to these changes. The article studies rulings and agreements that impacted on employment practices within professional sport. The impact of the 2003 Kolpak ruling and the 2000 Cotonou Agreement on the movement of sportspeople is analysed. Through the context of English county cricket, this article develops Appadurai’s conceptualisation of global flows, particularly ethnoscapes and finanscapes, to investigate how these international rulings and agreements particularly impacted South African migration into the UK. The responses of cricketing governing bodies in England and South Africa are analysed, and the response of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to ‘Brexit’ is also examined. Longitudinal data were collected on the migration of cricket players within English county cricket from 1998 to 2021 (n = 2,192), a period encompassing the duration of which the Kolpak ruling applied. Further data were collected regarding the financial situation of the England and Wales Cricket Board, Cricket South Africa and the domestic cricket teams. We find four distinct periods within the timeframe, influenced by international policy. Despite cricket governing bodies in the UK and South Africa setting mitigating regulations, the Kolpak ruling led South African cricketers of international standard to migrate to the UK. Ultimately, it required Brexit for cricket’s governing bodies to control the migration of sportspeople into the UK

Mapping the First 10 Years with Leximancer: Themes and Concepts in the Sports Management International Journal Choregia

This study uses Leximancer (a text-mining tool for visualizing the structure of concepts and themes in text) to map the published research within Sports Management International Journal Choregia from 2005 to 2014. Drawing on 88 papers, of which 61 were classified as empirical and 27 as non-empirical ones, results reveal that the last half of the examined period concerned works that do not relate to the Greek context, which has been the case during the first years of Choregia’s publication. ‘Sports participation’, ‘physical activity’, ‘Greek football clubs’ – all largely associated with ‘management’ and ‘factors’ – shape the main themes in the studies published within Choregia. In addition, an emphasis on positivistic approaches, through the employment of questionnaires and utilizing students as the population for data collection, appears to be the dominant methodological orientation of the published content in Choregia. Becoming the platform for studies that originate beyond the American, Greek, and Iranian contexts, through special issues and invited contributions in the form of research notes would potentially increase this outlet’s scope and depth (that is, context and themes, respectively)

Every loser wins? Leveraging an Olympic bid

This research investigates the ways in which cities leverage Olympic bids for positive outcomes. Recent Olympic bid cycles have seen a decline in interest in hosting the Games and so the IOC is seeking to encourage bidders to consider how a bid can benefit a city. This is not necessarily a new concept, with case studies including Lyon 1920 (Benneworth and Dauncey, 2010), Manchester 2000 (Cook and Ward, 2011), Berlin 2004 (Alberts, 2009), and Toronto 2008 (Oliver, 2011), yet research into this area is still emerging. This present research contributes to the existing literature, through considering the leveraging strategies employed as part of the bid, rather than post bid legacies. To answer the research question of how cities can leverage Olympic bids, two stages of data analysis were conducted. A content analysis was conducted of 16 bid cities’ answers to the question ‘what will be the benefits of bidding for the Olympic Games for your city/region, irrespective of the outcome of the bid?’ (IOC, 2009: 66). Second, qualitative case studies were developed using Cape Town and Toronto’s bids for the 2004 and 2008 Games respectively; 31 interviews were conducted with various stakeholders across both bids. The data collection identified three key leveraging objectives: urban development, sports development and raising the city’s global profile. The key finding is that the Olympic bid provided cities with the opportunity to leverage national government funding. The leveraging strategies for sports development and the raising of the profile were less successful as these strategies were implemented solely by the city and did not appear to have the same level of planning as the urban development goals. This research has contributed to the burgeoning literature surrounding Olympic bidding, but perhaps the practical implications are more significant. This research provides bidders with information regarding how an Olympic bid can benefit a city, irrespective of the bid’s success. In particular, cities should view a bid as an opportunity to catalyse or contribute to already existing plans. Without this level of strategic planning forethought, it is unlikely that the leveraging plans will be successful

Organizational issues in Olympic Games: A systematic review

The purpose of this study is to extend previous research on organisational issues of sport mega-events through the development of a framework for the Olympic Games. A three-step approach was taken. Firstly, a systematic literature review was conducted based on journal articles, academic books and official reports published by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Games Organising Committees (OGOC). Secondly, the issues identified within the media regarding the 2016 Olympic Games were analysed. Lastly, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten stakeholders to further examine the organisational issues of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. A new extended conceptual framework of organisational issues associated with the Olympic Games is then proposed. Issue categories faced by the organising committee include politics, marketing, media and visibility, financial, planning, negotiation and ethics, operations, infrastructure, human resources, social, environmental and legacy. These 12 dimensions of organisational issues account for a total of 76 specific issues. The paper provides critical information to aid the IOC and OGOCs in understanding organisational issues that may arise in future of Olympic Games

Planning to fail? Leveraging the Olympic bid

Purpose In recent years, there has been a decline in the number of cities seeking to host the Olympic Games, with several cities withdrawing from the bid process following referenda. The debate around bidding have hinged on the costs and benefits of hosting events, with little consideration as to the benefits of a bid itself. The purpose of this paper is to identify the ways in which Olympic bids be leveraged for positive outcomes, regardless of the outcomes of the bid. Design/methodology/approach This research employs a content analysis, examining the 16 bid responses to the question in the International Olympic Committee Candidate questionnaire: “What will be the benefits of bidding for the Olympic Games for your city/region, irrespective of the outcome of the bid?”. Findings This research found that bid cities do attempt to use the Olympic bid process as a leveraging resource, with four unique opportunities arising from this; national and city pride, Olympism, the formation of networks, and global focus. These provide the opportunities for Olympic bid cities to achieve the following strategic objectives: nation and community building, sport participation, business opportunities, enhancing image and profile, and to push through infrastructural projects. Originality/value There has been little consideration as to the ways an Olympic bid can be used to leverage positive outcomes for a city or a nation, and therefore this research contributes to the literature on leveraging mega-events. The research also has practical value, in providing potential bidders with information regarding positive outcomes whether the bid is successful or not

Fostering trust and overcoming psychological resistance towards cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets

This research investigates the extent to which sponsorships can be utilised to foster trust and reduce barriers to adopting new technologies. Using Crypto.com\u27s sponsorship of the 2022 FIFA World Cup as the context, this mixed-methods study utilises innovation resistance theory (IRT) and trust transfer theory (TTT) to investigate the extent to which such a sponsorship can increase trust and reduce barriers in innovative technologies such as cryptoassets, while also filling a research gap concerning consumer resistance to innovations in digital financial products and services. The findings of study 1, using a survey (n = 1081), and study 2 using interviews (n = 24) reveal that a positive image of sponsorship significantly influences favourability and interest, and trust of the product of the sponsor which subsequently reduces psychological barriers to adoption. Integrating the theoretical viewpoints of IRT and TTT, this study enhances our conceptual understanding regarding the psychological dimension of sponsorship and the extent to which a sponsorship generates interest, giving assurance and trust in the sponsor\u27s product, and removing uncertainty; thus, reducing barriers to adoption

Professional Sports Teams: Going Beyond the Core

Purpose - The addition of products to the core of matches by Professional Sports Teams (PSTs) has received much coverage. However, there has been limited work as to how their stadiums are used to stage non-sporting events. This paper investigates how clubs in the English Football League (EFL) use their venues to diversify into other markets. Design/methodology - Secondary sources were used to categorise the teams who played in the EFL by: average division turnover, stadium capacity and stadium age. Semi-structured interviews were held with a member of the commercial teams of 21 clubs. Findings - Clubs use their stadiums to supply a range of products and working with partners is commonplace. These products are targeted at a range of stakeholders, such as supporters, the local community and regionally based organisations. In addition to their own efforts, increased geographical coverage for clubs usually develops in three ways: via internal marketing by local organisations who use the facilities, agents who market the stadium for the club, and the EFL who market the league/clubs holistically. Research limitations/implications - The use of a stadium allows PSTs to diversify by providing new products for new markets. In this instance it has led to the development of capabilities in areas such as conferencing, funerals and weddings. Originality - This is one of the first papers to examine the capabilities developed by PSTs that lie outside the staging of matches