In recent years there has been a growing social movement toward the use of non-traditional sport practices as a vehicle for social change, reaching communities with messages in ways traditional sport ...practices cannot. However, scholars have suggested that the effectiveness of sport to promote positive social change has been minimal. The absence of scientific evidence and an undergirding theoretical framework of how sport can work for social change indicate significant gaps between theory and practice. Thus, the purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we provide the theoretical foundations of sport-for-development theory (SFDT) to showcase how sport interventions can most effectively promote social change and development. Secondly, we utilise the SFDT programme recommendations as a blueprint to compare and contrast two sport interventions that use sport as a vehicle to promote positive social change, one at the global and the other at the local level. Based on this analysis, suggestions for future research and practice are provided.
The purpose of this study was to explore and examine the constraints faced by managers as they attempt to scale up their sport for development and peace (SDP) organizations, and to identify the ...strategies they are employing to mitigate these constraints. Previous research has not examined constraints to scaling up in the SDP nonprofit space. Findings revealed three major themes related to challenges within four types of scaling up (quantitative, functional, political, organizational); skepticism about sport as a development tool, funding challenges leading to an entrepreneurial mind-set, and challenges associated with a general lack of business acumen among key leaders. Within each of these three themes, strategies for addressing these constraints are illuminated. These constraints and strategies are positioned within the broader nonprofit context, and theoretical and practical implications for scaling up SDP organizations are also explicated.
This commentary explores a novel approach to building and managing sustainable community-based Sport for Development (SfD) organizations. Specifically, we outline the potential for place-based ...accelerators to support emerging local leaders in growing their capacity, leadership and social entrepreneurship capabilities, networks, and SfD organizations for sustainability. Place-based SfD accelerators could address concerns with organizational sustainability, local agency, and both individual and organizational capacity, given their innovative approach to leadership development and management, social entrepreneurship, and design thinking. Our intention in this commentary is to stimulate dialogue about the potential for place-based accelerators to support emerging local leaders, thereby leading to more sustainable community-based SfD organizations prepared to meaningfully address local issues and enact transformational social change.
In this study, the authors sought to understand the influence of the Olympic Games on a host community’s globalization and development using world-systems theory and theories of globalization ...(i.e., glocalization and grobalization). The host community for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics (Daegwallyeong-myeon in South Korea) was the focus of this investigation. Using a global ethnographic approach, the authors collected diverse data through interviews, observations, archival and media documents, and field notes. Findings identified five key themes: (a) perception of underdevelopment, (b) the Organizing Committee’s institutional management of the global standard, (c) the Organizing Committee’s role as a negotiator between the global standard and the locality, (d) resident perspectives on global standards and regulations, and (e) aspirations to globalize Daegwallyeong-myeon. Through this study, the authors advance the use of world-systems theory and expand the concept of grobalization in the context of sport megaevent management by discussing global–local configurations and local agents’ desires to transform the community through Olympic-driven development and globalization.
•We conducted a narrative inquiry within a sport-for-development context.•We illustrate the emergence of social entrepreneurship in a sport-for-development setting.•We examine factors of a ...sport-for-development initiative that lead to social entrepreneurship.
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a sport-for-development initiative, Street Soccer USA, on one of its most successful participants in order to understand her experiences, expectations, and motivations towards becoming a cause champion and social entrepreneur and continuing her activism. We adopted a narrative inquiry approach for this study in an effort to explore this topic in a detailed manner. Guided by previous literature within the field of social entrepreneurship, we found there were three specific background influences – sport, life, and traumatic experiences – which influenced her social entrepreneurial leanings. Within that context we show how the variables of people, opportunity, and capital intersect and lead towards the social value proposition of the social entrepreneur. Drawn from the findings, we provide theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research in the field of sport-for-development and social entrepreneurship.
Evaluation of leadership as a necessary component to reform sport could be critical to fostering a more ethical climate and reducing the frequency and severity of ethical improprieties within this ...context. However, limited research has examined the relationship between leadership and ethical climate. Servant leadership, due to its ethical component and people-centered focus, is a leadership approach that may best support development of an ethical climate. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of servant leadership on perceptions of an ethical climate in intercollegiate athletic departments, with an examination of how trust and perceptions of organizational justice indirectly influence the relationship between servant leadership and perceptions of an ethical climate. Findings indicated that servant leadership was directly related to trust in leadership and perceptions of an ethical climate. Further, both trust in the leader and procedural justice indirectly influenced the relationship between servant leadership and ethical climate.
•Systematic review conducted of sport-for-development derived-theories.•Five sport-for-development theories and frameworks identified.•Review highlights articles that mention, engage with, or apply ...theories.•Significant challenges and gaps in theory-building identified.•Opportunities and future directions for theory-building proposed.
Over the past decade, the field of sport-for-development (SFD) has experienced significant growth and diversification across research and practice. In this review paper, the authors provide a comprehensive analysis and discussion of the theoretical and conceptual developments within SFD, addressing a gap in the literature. Following a sport-focused review of SFD literature, the authors first identify five theoretical and conceptual frameworks that have emerged from within the SFD space. As a second step, they analyze and discuss scholarly work that has utilized these theories and frameworks. Building on a comparison of key messages, themes, and concerns, the authors highlight that to date, limited SFD scholarship has truly applied, extended, or challenged existing frameworks and conceptualizations. Motivated by this review, they posit several conceptual advancements, and offer directions for future research and theoretical development.
The purpose of this study was to interrogate the motivations of sport for development and peace (SDP) practitioners for initially becoming involved in the field and to better understand their ...involvement over time. Specifically, this study aimed to identify key characteristics and motives of practitioners to gain further understanding of the implementation, execution, and approach of SDP programs and whether or not evangelical rhetoric and neocolonialism were reflected in these approaches. Findings revealed that practitioners were initially motivated by love of sport, the desire to make a difference in the world, and to seek out new experiences. Practitioners stayed involved over time due to fulfillment and satisfaction with their work and the continued desire to make a difference. While many practitioners had moved past evangelical rhetoric and neocolonialism, evangelical rhetoric was still reflective in just less than half of the motivations of practitioners from higher-income countries (HIC) and lower to middle income countries, while 40 percent of participants primarily from HIC reflected a neocolonial approach in their motives. Implications for theory and SDP policy are illuminated.
PurposeUnderstanding the advantages of brand experience is important for brand managers to more effectively grow satisfied and loyal customers. To date, little research has examined the relationship ...between brand experience and customer satisfaction, uncertainty, and brand loyalty with sport products. Therefore, this study examined these relationships with golf club products in the golf industry.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from golf players in South Korea (n = 386) through online surveys. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to examine the relationship between the variables.FindingsThe results revealed that brand experience influences golfers' uncertainty toward other brands. In other words, doubts about the brand will decrease when consumers experience sensory, affective, behavioral, and intellectual interactions with a brand. Interestingly, brand experience does not influence golfers' satisfaction as indicated by previous studies. Also, findings showed that just having experience with a brand does not lead to golfers' loyalty.Originality/valueThis study helps to understand how consumers' direct experiences influence brand beliefs and attitudes. Moreover, this study is significant for sport marketing practitioners since it explores an alternative marketing approach to brand differentiation, which has the potential to attract and retain more customers.
•It was found that both liminality and communitas emerged at this SFD event.•Five mechanisms and processes helped to achieve liminality and communitas.•Inclusive play was also important for achieving ...liminality and communitas.•Four tactics helped to leverage liminality for social capital development.
The purpose of this investigation was to understand how a sport-for-development event can be leveraged socially, and if event organizers created the best possible experiences for homeless participants through the creation of communitas and thus, social capital. We also examined the mechanisms through which liminality is cultivated and communitas can emerge, along with the means for leveraging liminality. It was found that liminality was cultivated and communitas materialized at this SFD event, as event organizers employed various processes to foster a liminoid space and develop community. Additional tactics were employed to leverage liminality and associated communitas for social capital development. We contribute to the research literature on event leveraging and also make important contributions to theory development. Implications are drawn forth for theory, practice, and future research.
