Gendered identities in self-descriptions of electoral candidates in a French National Sport Federation

The aim of this study was to evaluate ways in which male and female candidates for election to the Executive Committee of a National Sport Federation (NSF) for the period 2004–2008 defined themselves in their candidate self descriptions (CSD). Forty-one statements of candidates were subjected to textual data analysis (using ALCESTE software). Four lexical classes were identified, and the demographic profiles of the authors contrasted. The classes identified were subsequently subjected to correspondence analysis which identified two factors explaining 76.6% of total variance, reflecting respectively, gendered roles (first factor) and presence/absence of previous national level experience (second factor). Findings provide a discursive perspective on the construction of gendered roles in a sporting organisation

Els Jocs Olímpics de Barcelona, 25 anys després (2)

En l’article inicial de la sèrie es va realitzar una primera aproximació al llegat i a l’impacte dels Jocs Olímpics de Barcelona que van tenir lloc fa 25 anys; en aquest segon treball de revisió tractem d’aprofundir en l’impacte que aquests van tenir per a la ciutat i el país. En l’anterior, es va dur a terme una anàlisi econòmica, social i esportiva del que s’ha considerat el model Barcelona; ara intentem aprofundir i sobretot realitzar anàlisis comparades amb altres països per avaluar si aquest impacte va ser tan rellevant com crèiem. Aquesta anàlisi econòmica es basa en l’estudi de variables tals com el nombre de turistes (increment entre els anys 1992 i 2015), el nombre de visitants internacionals durant aquest període, el nombre d’hotels o el nombre de passatgers rebuts. En l’anàlisi esportiva es fa una exhaustiva anàlisi comparativa dels resultats olímpics obtinguts en diferents seus valorant la participació, el nombre i tipus de medalles, i la classificació aconseguida segons el cas. Des del punt de vista social, s’aprofundeix en l’esport escolar valorant algunes de les variables de pràctiques esportives a les escoles. D’acord amb els resultats de l’article anterior, i després d’una anàlisi comparada, es pot afirmar que l’increment del nombre de visitants en els últims 25 anys a Barcelona és superior al de la majoria de ciutats de referència. A nivell esportiu també s’aprecia que el nombre de medalles va ser, proporcionalment, superior en el cas d’Espanya que en altres països organitzadors

Los Juegos Olímpicos de Barcelona, 25 años después (2)

En el artículo inicial de la serie se realizó una primera aproximación al legado y al impacto de los Juegos Olímpicos de Barcelona realizados hace 25 años; en este segundo trabajo de revisión tratamos de profundizar en el impacto que estos tuvieron para la ciudad y el país. En el anterior, se llevó a cabo un análisis económico, social y deportivo de lo que se ha considerado el modelo Barcelona; ahora intentamos profundizar y sobre todo realizar análisis comparados con otros países para evaluar si ese impacto fue tan relevante como creíamos. Este análisis económico se basa en el estudio de variables tales como el número de turistas (incremento entre 1992 y 2015), el número de visitantes internacionales durante este periodo, el número de hoteles o el número de pasajeros recibidos. En el análisis deportivo se hace un exhaustivo análisis comparado de los resultados olímpicos obtenidos en diferentes sedes valorando la participación, el número y tipo de medallas, y la clasificación conseguida según el caso. Desde el punto de vista social, se profundiza en el deporte escolar valorando algunas de las variables de prácticas deportivas en las escuelas. De acuerdo con los resultados del anterior artículo, y después de un análisis en profundidad y comparado, se puede afirmar que el incremento del número de visitantes en los últimos 25 años en Barcelona es superior al de la mayoría de ciudades de referencia. A nivel deportivo también se aprecia que el número de medallas fue, proporcionalmente, mayor en España que en otros países organizadores

The Intention-to-Repurchase Paradox: A Case of the Health and Fitness Industry

The factors that lead customers to continue to use a particular organization have been subject to extensive research which has focused on service quality (Olorunniwo, Hsu, & Udo, 2006; Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985, 1994a, 1994b) satisfaction (Jones & Suh, 2000; Murray & Howat, 2002; Söderlund, 2006), and image (Lassar, Mittal, & Sharma, 1995; Zins, 2001). Although the factors investigated may be different, there is general agreement that the retention of customers is fundamental to the success of an organization (Oliver, 1999; Söderlund, 2006; Zeithaml, Berry, & Parasuraman, 1996). The notion of customer retention is encapsulated by the concept of customer loyalty (Ganesh, Arnold, & Reynolds, 2000; Zins, 2001) and it is evident that loyal customers are considered key to organizational profitability and success. Selin, Howard, Udd, and Cable (1987) found that consumers of municipal recreation programs who demonstrated the greatest levels of loyalty to the service tended to repurchase more often and spend more money. In addition, research carried out with theater customers showed that greater levels of loyalty led to greater repurchase behavior (Divett, Crittenden, & Henderson, 2003). From this it is apparent that it is of benefit to organizations to create loyal customer

Football fan relationships with their national associations: a trans-European perspective

Football fan relationships with their national associations: a trans-European perspectiv

Marketization of football fan relationships in Europe: appetence, indifference or resistance?

Marketization of football fan relationships in Europe: appetence, indifference or resistance

Appetite for or resistance to consumption relationships? A trans-European perspective on the marketization of football fan relationships

Although most sport organisations are encouraged to better manage the relationships they maintain with fans, little is still known about the types of relationships that fans want to establish with sport organisations. Also, as most suggested management and marketing practices come from professional sport organisations and European contexts, it is questionable whether they can apply to all sports organisations, and whether they are received in the same way by diverse fans from various socio-cultural contexts. Thus, the study aimed to explore football fans’ relational expectations towards their national football association across Europe and attitudes towards this marketization. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with several casual and die-hard fans from three European countries chosen for their heterogeneity: Armenia, Lithuania and England. Overall, and possibly in contradiction with numerous publications dealing with club football, the fans from the three countries did not express clear opposition or resistance towards the marketization of their relationships towards their national teams and associations. English fans seemed quite neutral or indifferent although Armenian and Lithuanian fans presented many characteristics of brandom demonstrating an appetite for this marketization

The engagement of actors during the formulation of a national federation sport policy: an analysis within the French Rugby Union

The purpose of this research is to explore the process of engagement of actors initiated by the headquarters of a national sport federation during the formulation of its sport policy. The ActorNetwork Theory and its four phases (problematisation, incentive, enrolment and mobilisation of allies) are used to understand the dynamics of actors during the process, with an emphasis on the constitution, expansion and stabilization of the actors’ network. As part of an intervention research within the French Rugby Union over the 2013-2016 period, three series of semistructured interviews (58) were conducted with both national and regional actors with various statuses. The French case is of interest beyond France because the organisational configuration of the national federations has specific characteristics that are common to different countries: pyramid structure, state intervention (both financial and human) and relationships between volunteers and employees. The results of this study demonstrate that the process of designing a sport policy is not linear. In addition, some elements that are favourable for the engagement of actors are highlighted, such as having a defined scope of the sport policy to be designed and designating key actors regarding the formulation of the sport policy. These actors should be able to act as spokespersons in front of other actors in the network. The innovative methodology used in our research is relevant to policy makers because it helps them engage other actors during a concrete transformation project, namely, the formulation of a policy

Inverse problem and Bertrand's theorem

The Bertrand's theorem can be formulated as the solution of an inverse problem for a classical unidimensional motion. We show that the solutions of these problems, if restricted to a given class, can be obtained by solving a numerical equation. This permit a particulary compact and elegant proof of Bertrand's theorem.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure