Sports Business Course Outline (Fall 2018)

Course Schedule for SPTL 632: Sport Business in Fall 2018. Includes a list of materials, all of which are freely available to students

A New Player in the Game: Examining Differences in Motives and Consumption Between Traditional, Hybrid, and Daily Fantasy Sport Users

Due in part to a $200 million advertising campaign, daily fantasy sport (DFS) participation exploded in 2015. With faster payouts and unlimited lineup options, the activity has added to an already thriving fantasy sports industry. However, little is known about the distinct attitudes and behaviors that drive DFS participants. The current study examined 511 participants who played DFS-only, traditional, season-long fantasy football (TFS), and those who played both activities for motive and behavioral differences. Results indicated statistically significant motive scores differences across the groups as it relates to the factors of gambling, social interaction, and competition while escape and entertainment scores showed no difference. Media consumption differences were also found between the groups as those who played DFS in any form consumed more traditional broadcast and new media

Does Athletic Participation Signal Employability? An Experimental Analysis of Male and Female Athlete Job Applicants

College athletes face high expectations to compete on the field and in the classroom. However, the time demands associated with athletics and academics often limit their ability to engage in traditional college experiences. Internships or practical job trainings are one such opportunity unfortunately forgone due to the time constraints of the contemporary college athlete experience. This results in an issue when applying for jobs outside of sport, as direct internship experience positively impacts an individual’s likelihood to be hired into an entry-level position. Through the application of signaling theory, the current study explored the perceived value of intercollegiate athletic participation compared to and in addition to direct internship experience via four résumé evaluation experiments. Two hundred and thirty five individuals with hiring experience participated; results suggested athletic participation was perceived as at least equally favorable to direct internship experience. However, male athletes without direct internship experience were more likely to receive an interview and received higher unobserved attribute ratings than female athletes with the exact same credentials

The Impact of Team Outcomes, Brand Connection, and Game Attendance on the Corporate Image of a Stadium Naming-Rights Sponsor

The impact of sport sponsorship on perceptions of the sponsor has become a well-established line of research, but the examination of the special case of stadium naming-rights sponsors has only just begun to gain momentum. The purpose of the current study was to examine the impact of primary tenet success/failure, game attendance, and team connection on the corporate image, reputation, and credibility of the naming-rights sponsor. MetLife Stadium in the New York City metropolitan area was chosen as the unique context for this examination. The results indicated that game attendance had a significant effect on respondents’ image of MetLife. Full results, as well as practical and theoretical implications, are discussed

Examining Retro Merchandise Consumers in Sport: Who Prefers Throwback Merchandise and Why?

Retro marketing in sport has been relied upon for years. Sport fans see more teams and leagues implement retro marketing and merchandise into marketing plans. Despite this, we have little understanding behind the success of retro marketing in sport. Therefore, this paper sought to gain a better understanding of the demographic characteristics of retro merchandise consumers and to examine the impact of two psychographic factors. Surveys collected from fans of various professional sport teams in the United States (N = 1,509), demonstrated novel findings. In this study retro merchandise was preferred overall, younger fans were more likely to prefer retro merchandise, and household income did not explain much of the preference. Most telling was that nostalgic proneness significantly and positively predicted a retro preference. The implications from this study should guide marketers in their usage of retro merchandise and marketing practices and lead to future practical research on the topic

There\u27s an App for That: The Development of an NFL Team Mobile Application

Technological advances, such as mobile applications (apps) are enhancing the way many sport fans interact with their favorite teams. Many sport organizations have started to utilize mobile apps in an effort enhance fans\u27 experience at the stadium and abroad. The current case study examines the adoption of a mobile app by a NFL team. The adoption of innovation framework provided by Hoeber and Hoeber (2012) was used to guide seven interviews with key decision-makers within the NFL team, with findings overlaid on the three stages and three determinants of innovation adoption. Findings revealed the team\u27s need to interact with fans and enhance the game day experience were primary environmental determinants for the adoption of this innovation. Furthermore, the shift in leadership\u27s attitude toward innovation was a significant managerial determinant. The qualitative results provide a rich description of the innovative process

Naming-rights Sponsorship Outcomes and the Role of Fan Connections to College Campuses and Stadia

Despite the immense focus on revenue generation in college sport, only a small number of NCAA Division I institutions have come to agreements with naming-rights sponsors for their football stadia (Popp, Eddy, & McEvoy, 2015). The key underlying issue is that many institutions are concerned about the effect a corporately-named football stadium will have on key stakeholders, and whether this commercialization will be seen as an attack on tradition (Bentubo, 2007). However, fans’ attitudes toward naming rights relative to their perceptions of tradition and their attachment to college football stadiums are two areas which have received some attention in the literature, but are still not well understood (Chen & Zhang, 2012; Eddy, 2014). While constructs such as team identification, attitudes toward sponsorship, and attitudes toward commercialism have received regular attention in the sponsorship literature, the attention to fan’s perceptions toward tradition, team history, and the stadium itself has been more scattered (Cornwell, Weeks, & Roy, 2005; Walraven, Koning, & van Bottenburg, 2012). The same can be said of the more general consumer behavior literature, although Boyle and Magnusson (2007) did find that a team’s history and venue contributed to fans’ social identity formation. Lee, Lee, Seo, and Green (2012) also found that the stronger the sense of home (or place attachment) amongst fans, then the greater their satisfaction with the stadium experience. Shifting the focus to naming-rights sponsorships, Eddy (2014) and Woisetschlager, Haselhoff, and Backhaus (2014) found that as fans felt more strongly about tradition, they tended to exhibit more negative feelings toward naming-rights sponsorships. On the relationship between sponsorship outcomes and fans’ connection to the stadium, Chen and Zhang (2012) examined what they called stadium identification (based loosely upon team identification), Eddy (2014) included the stadium as part of a team’s tradition, and Delia (2014) briefly discussed the Carrier Dome as a landmark. Collectively, these studies loosely agree that the stronger a fan’s connection to their favorite team’s home stadium, the more negative they are towards the idea of naming-rights sponsorships. However, it has been acknowledged that more research is needed on the role that the stadium plays in the processing of a naming-rights sponsorship (Chen & Zhang, 2012; Eddy, 2014). The purpose of this presentation is to propose two conceptual models to better explain the efficacy of naming-rights sponsorships in college sport settings; one for settings where the stadium currently bears a corporate name, and one for those facilities that do not have a naming partner. Theoretically, these models will provide frameworks for deeper understanding of fans’ attitudes toward tradition/history in college sports and fans’ attitudes toward naming-rights sponsorship, and could further distinguish naming-rights sponsorships as a distinct sub-area of study within sponsorship research. From an industry standpoint, it is expected that future empirical findings that utilize these frameworks will help practitioners better understand how fans perceive stadiums, the importance of the stadium as a way of connecting with their favorite teams, and the role that connection plays in fans’ processing of naming-rights agreements. Additionally, findings could provide evidence that college athletic administrators can use in evaluating the feasibility of future naming opportunities

Examining Consumer Perceptions of Demand-Based Ticket Pricing in Sport

Dynamic ticket pricing (DTP), a new revenue management (RM) strategy in sport, has grown in popularity in response to the demand-based ticket resale market. Previous research has examined the relationship between the primary and secondary ticket market and determinants of price in a DTP environment. However, research has not focused on consumer perceptions of DTP or resale prices. The purpose of this study was to examine consumer perceptions of demand-based pricing over time, to assess the influence of attitudes on perceived value and purchase intentions. Results indicated that time, team performance expectations, fairness perceptions, seat location, and ticket market influenced perceived value of the ticket. Interestingly, these variables were not consistent when examining purchase intentions. Further investigation of the perceived value/purchase intention relationship is warranted when using DTP. Sport managers can use these findings to better understand the impact of RM strategies like DTP on consumer attitudes and behaviors

Segmenting Motivation: An Analysis of Fantasy Baseball Motives and Mediated Sport Consumption

Fantasy sport consumer behavior research is a burgeoning area of inquiry as this growing segment of sport fans exhibits unconventional, yet robust media consumption habits. In addition, consumer motivation and market segmentation represent core principles within the study of marketing, yet the integration of these two essential concepts with regard to sport consumers is limited. The purpose of this study was to explore fantasy baseball motives, develop a motive-based taxonomy of users, and quantify the differences between segments through an examination of mediated sport consumption. An exploratory hierarchal cluster analysis with a subsequent K-means analysis was conducted to determine the number of segments. Additionally, a MANOVA was performed to ascertain behavioral differences between the motive-based clusters. Four distinct segments emerged with statistically significant differences between each with regard to mediated consumption intentions. The following paper addresses theoretical and practical implications for academics and practitioners. Future research is also suggested