Examining the dissemination of innovations in the sporting goods industry.

US consumers spend $87 million annually on sporting goods and services (National Sporting Goods Association, 2008). Each year sporting goods manufacturers also spend millions of dollars creating innovative products for consumers looking to improve their playing performances and enjoyment of the sport (Reisinger, 2002). Manufacturers want to receive adequate returns on their research and development investments and create innovations consumers support and want to buy (Berman & McLaughlin, 1973). To facilitate the dissemination of innovations, manufacturers provide information about their innovations to increase product awareness and help consumers make informed purchasing decisions (Rogers, 2003). The purpose of the current study was to examine the role of communication in the dissemination of innovations. The study focused on linkages as the vehicles through which information about innovations is spread. A series of two-way factorial ANOVAs was used to examine three linkage types--relational, operational, and technological--and their individual and combined effects on the dissemination of innovations, operationalized as product involvement and purchase intentions. The study also explored innovation type, whether an innovation as a good or service had an effect on an individual\u27s decision to learn more about or purchase an innovation. Finally, the study examined the roles of sport commitment and club commitment, assessing the effects of an individual\u27s commitment to a sport or to a sports club on the dissemination process. The results revealed (a) linkage type alone did not influence product involvement or purchase intentions, (b) innovation type influenced purchase intentions, (c) commitment affected which linkage type was most effective in influencing purchase intentions, and (d) commitment alone influenced product involvement and purchase intentions. Sport commitment and club commitment proved critical to the dissemination of innovations. Club members with higher levels of both commitment types expressed greater interest in learning about and purchasing innovations. Innovation type had an effect as club members expressed greater interest in purchasing the good versus the service

Co-Attendance Communities: A Multilevel Egocentric Network Analysis of American Soccer Supporters’ Groups

The growth of professional soccer in the United States is evident through the rapid expansion of franchises and increased game attendance within Major League Soccer (MLS) and the United Soccer League (USL). Coinciding with this growth is the emergence of European-style supporters’ groups filling sections of MLS and USL stadiums. In this study, the authors utilized an egocentric network analysis to explore relationships among supporters’ group members for two professional soccer clubs based in the United States. Egocentric network research focuses on the immediate social environment of individuals and is often viewed as an alternative approach to sociocentric (i.e., whole network) analyses. This study employed hierarchical linear modeling as an example of multilevel modeling with egocentric data, using ego- and alter-level variables to explain the strength of co-attendance ties. The results indicate the perceived commitment of fellow fans to the team, shared membership in a supporters’ group, age, and interactions with other fans in team settings related to higher levels of co-attendance. The outcomes of this study are both theoretical, as they advance an understanding of sport consumer behavior within soccer supporters’ groups, and methodological, as they illustrate the unique value of employing egocentric network analysis in sport fan research

Coaches’ Perceptions of the Reduction of Athletic Commitment for Division II Student-Athletes: Development and Validation of a Measure of Athletic/Academic Balance

Growing concerns exist regarding the amount of time student-athletes spend honing their athletic craft at the potential expense of their academic pursuits. Recently, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Management Council approved the Life in the Balance (LITB) initiative to allow student-athletes more time for academics and other extracurricular activities beyond their sport(s). The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid measurement scale assessing coaches’ perceptions of balancing athletics and academics for studentathletes. Results of this study indicated three factors comprise the Athletic Academic Balance Scale (AABS): (a) policy impact, (b) contest reductions, and (c) midyear break. The AABS represents a reliable and valid scale to measure policy effectiveness for balancing athletics and academics for student-athletes. The scale extends role theory into student-athlete literature and helps assess the perception of internal stakeholders regarding future NCAA policies

An Experimental Examination of Activist Type and Effort on Brand Image and Purchase Intentions

In 2016, several prominent athletes kneeled or sat during the national anthem of their games to protest social injustice in America. For their activism, these athletes inconsistently experienced both positive and negative consequences from their sponsors and fans. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate this phenomenon more closely by examining the effect of activism type and activism effort on a sponsor’s brand image and purchase intention of a product the athlete endorses, when controlling for brand familiarity. Participants (N = 384) were randomly assigned into groups in a 2 (activism type: safe, risky) x 2 (activism effort: low, high) experimental study. Results indicated brand image and purchase intention were negatively impacted by risky activism compared to safe activism, but activism effort had no effect on the two variables. Further implications and future research are expanded upon in the discussion

Problematizing fit and survival: transforming the law of requisite variety through complexity misalignment

The law of requisite variety is widely employed in management theorizing and is linked with core strategy themes such as contingency and fit. We reflect upon requisite variety as an archetypal borrowed concept. We contrast its premises with insights from the institutional literature and commitment literature, draw propositions that set boundaries to its applicability, and review the ramifications of what we call “complexity misalignment.” In this way we contradict foundational assumptions of the law, problematize adaptation- and survival-centric views of strategizing, and theorize the role of human agency in variously complex regimes

CrossFit across Three Platforms: Using Social Media to Navigate Niche Sport Challenges

Niche sports have limited opportunities to promote their sport offerings via traditional communication channels and may rely upon alternatives such as social media to accomplish their marketing goals (Puchan, 2004). Williams and Chinn (2010) developed a relationship marketing conceptual framework to examine social media usage and marketing within a sports context. This study used the framework with the burgeoning sport of CrossFit and examined three primary organizational relationship-marketing activities: (a) Information, (b) Interaction, and (c) Promotion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of social media by key members of the CrossFit community. The study addressed the following research questions: RQ1. What are the usage categories similarities and differences observed across the social media platforms? RQ2. What are the group usage similarities and differences observed across the social media platforms? and RQ3. What are the group usage similarities and differences observed across the usage categories? A content analysis of 5,565 Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube messages was used to explore these activities. The CrossFit social media users—CrossFit Games, regions, boxes, athletes, and sponsors—used the platforms primarily to provide information about the sport and interact with the community, while promotion was employed less frequently. CrossFit and other niche sports can use social media to provide information and build community within their sports, before attempting to create online communities and promote their products