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MA471 Key concepts in Sport Management (15 ECTS) 

Course facts

Course code
MA471
Course title
Key concepts in Sport Management
ECTS
15 ECTS
Semester
Fall
Course language
English
Academic responsible
Chris Horbel
Prerequisite
The course is limited to students in the Master program in Sports and Social Sciences and international exchange students.

Introduction

This course provides in-depth knowledge of theories that are relevant within the academic field of sport management. The students will study perspectives rooted within organizational theory, leadership, marketing and public policy. Through case-based assignments and discussions, the students will be able to understand how theoretical understanding is important in analyzing and solving problems within and among organizations in the sport sector. 

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, the student will be able to

  • identify and analyse contemporary problems and research related questions connected to organization and leadership of sports.
  • analyse how different actors in sports work with marketing, sponsorships and communication.
  • explain and analyse the complexity of the interplay between an organization and its stakeholders
  • explain intra- and interorganizational processes within Norwegian and international sports on different levels: societal, organizational, group and individual level.
  • explain and critically reflect about existing theories and methods in sport management.
  • independently and in collaboration with others develop and examine a relevant research problem and develop practical implications for sport management.

Learning styles and activities

  • Mix of lectures, group discussions, and case work including student presentations.
  • 3 interdisciplinary seminars
  • The students shall participate actively and sufficiently in the classes

Mandatory assignment

  • Mandatory submission of short reflections (individual and in small groups) in Canvas
  • Mandatory participation at the seminars
  • Mandatory participation at group presentations

Approved submissions and attendance are prerequisite for being able to sign up for the oral exam.

Presentations and discussions in class must be in English.

Assessment

  • Written assignment. Pass/fail
  • Group presentation. Pass/fail
  • Oral exam at the end of the course. Graded A-F.

Core material

PARTS FROM 1 BOOK:
Strittmatter, A-M., Fahlen, J. & Houlihan. B. (Eds.). (2022). Stakeholder analysis and sport organisations. Routledge.
Please read chapter 1, 2, 4, 11, 12 and 13:
* You may borrow the book from the library: ORIA
** This book is also available online: Click here to download.
*** NB! To open the electronic book off campus, you must use the following VPN connection: Click here to download.

1 DIGITAL COMPENDIUM - available through Canvas:
Strittmatter, A-M. (Ed.). (2023). MA471: Key concepts in sport management: Fall 2023 [Digital compendium].
* This PDF is available through Canvas.

Table of contents (reference list), alphabetically in APA-style, 7th ed.:
Ferkins, L., & Shilbury, D. (2020). Theoretical underpinnings of sport governance. In D. Shilbury & L. Ferkins (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of sport governance (pp. 18-32). Routledge.

Horbel, C. (2022). The commercial context. In S. S. Andersen, P. Ø. Hansen & B. Houlihan (Red.), Embedded multi-level leadership in elite sport (pp. 48-62). Routledge.

McKinley, W., & Mone, M. A. (2003). Micro and macro perspectives in organization theory: A tale of incommensurability. In H. Tsoukas & C. Knudsen (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of organization theory (pp. 345-372). Oxford University Press.

Nicholson, M. & Sherwood, M. (2016). Sport and the media. In R. Hoye & M. M. Parent (Red.), The Sage handbook of sport management (pp. 323-344). Sage. 

North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge Univeristy Press. 
* Pages 3-10.

Pedersen, P. M., Laucella, P., Geurin, A., & Kian, E. (2020). Strategic sport communication. Human Kinetic.
* Pages 79-108 and 139-174.

Seymour, A., & Blakey, P. (2020). Digital sport marketing: Concepts, cases and conversations. Routledge.
* Pages 40-58 and 84-126.

Shilbury, D., & Ferkins, L. (2020). An overview of sport governance scholarship. In D. Shilbury & L. Ferkins (Eds.), Routledge handbook of sport governance (pp. 3-17). Routledge.

Thornton, P. & Ocasio, W. (2008). Institutional logics. In R. Greenwood,  C. Oliver, K. Sahlin & R. Suddaby (Red.), The Sage handbook of organizational institutionalism (pp. 99-129). Sage.

Yoo, S. K., Smith, L. R. & Kim, D. (2013). Communication theories and sport studies. In P. M. Pedersen (Red.), Routledge handbook of sport communication (pp. 8-19). Routledge.

38 ARTCLES FROM ELECTRONIC JOURNALS:

* NB! To open electronic articles off campus, you must use the following VPN connection: Click here to download.

Alvesson, M., & Blom, M. (2019). Beyond leadership and followership: Working with a variety of modes of organizing. Organizational Dynamics, 48(1), 28-37. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2017.12.001
* The article is available online: Click here to download.

Annamalai, B., Yoshida, M., Varshney, S., Pathak, A. A., & Venugopal, P. (2021). Social media content strategy for sport clubs to drive fan engagement. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 62, 102648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102648
* The article is available online: Click here to download.

Billsberry, J., Mueller, J., Skinner, J., Swanson, S., Corbett, B. & Ferkins, L. (2018). Reimagining leadership in sport management: Lessons from the social construction of leadership. Journal of Sport Management, 32(2), 170-182. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2017-0210
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Bodemar, A., Strittmatter, A.-M., & Fahlén, J. (2020). Doomed to fail? A study of how junior managers at a major sport event cope with leadership issues. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 20(3-4), 271-288. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSMM.2020.110845
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Breidbach, C. F., Brodie, R., & Hollebeek, L. (2014). Beyond virtuality: From engagement platforms to engagement ecosystems. Managing Service Quality, 24(6), 592-611. https://doi.org/10.1108/MSQ-08-2013-0158
* The article is available online: Click here to download.

Buser, M., Woratschek, H. & Schönberner, J. (2020). ‘Going the extra mile’ in resource integration: Evolving a concept of sport sponsorship as an engagement platform. European Sport Management Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2020.1820061
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Chien, P. M., Cornwell, T. B. & Pappu, R. (2011). Sponsorship portfolio as a brand-image creation strategy. Journal of Business Research, 64(2), 142-149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2010.02.010
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Cornwell, T. B., Weeks, C. S. & Roy, D. P. (2005). Sponsorship-linked marketing: Opening the black box. Journal of Advertising, 34(2), 21-42. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2005.10639194
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Cornwell, T. B. & Kwon, Y. (2020). Sponsorship-linked marketing: Research surpluses and shortages. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(4), 607-629. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00654-w
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited, institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48, 147-160.
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Doyle, J. P., Kunkel, T., Kelly, S. J., Filo, K., & Cuskelly, G. (2021). Seeing the same things differently: Exploring the unique brand associations linked to women’s professional sport teams. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/0965254X.2021.1922489
* The article is available online: Click here to download.

Doyle, J. P., Su, Y., & Kunkel, T. (2022). Athlete branding via social media: Examining the factors influencing consumer engagement on Instagram. European Sport Management Quarterly, 22(4), 506-526. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2020.1806897
* The article is available online: Click here to download.

Fahlén, J., Eliasson, I. & Wickman, K. (2015). Resisting self-regulation: An analysis of sport policy programme making and implementation in Sweden. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 7(3), 391-406. https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2014.925954
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken. 

Fahlén, J., & Stenling, C. (2019). (Re)conceptualizing institutional change in sport management contexts: The unintended consequences of sport organizations’ everyday organizational life. European Sport Management Quarterly, 19(2), 265-285. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2018.1516795
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken. 

Ferkins, L., Shilbury, D. & O’Boyle, I. (2018). Leadership in governance: Exploring collective board leadership in sport governance systems. Sport Management Review, 21(3), 221-231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2017.07.007
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken. 

Gammelsæter, H. (2010).  Institutional pluralism and governance in ‘‘Commercialized’’ sport clubs. European Sport Management Quarterly, 10(5), 569-594. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2010.524241
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Geurin, A. N., & McNary, E. L. (2021). Athletes as ambush marketers? An examination of Rule 40 and athletes’ social media use during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. European Sport Management Quarterly, 21(1), 116-133. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2020.1725091
* The article is available online: Click here to download.

Haveman, H. A. & Wetts, R. (2019). Contemporary organizational theory: The democraphic, relational, and cultural perspectives. Sociology Compass, 13(3), e12664. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12664
* This PDF is available through Canvas.
(OK iflg. Kopieringsavtalen jf. §15 / AGG - Bibl.)

Hayhurst, L., & Frisby, W. (2010). Inevitable tensions: Swiss and Canadian sport for development NGO perspectives in partnerships with high performance sports. European Sport Management Quarterly, 10(1), 75-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184740903554140
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Houlihan, B. (2005). Public sector sport policy. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 40(2), 163-185. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690205057193
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Huettermann, M., Uhrich, S., & Koenigstorfer, J. (2022). Components and outcomes of fan engagement in team sports: The perspective of managers and fans. Journal of Global Sport Management, 7(4), 447-478. https://doi.org/10.1080/24704067.2019.1576143
* This PDF is available through Canvas.
(OK iflg. Kopieringsavtalen jf. §15 / AGG - Bibl.)

Kerwin, S., Doherty, A. & Harman, A. (2011). "It's not conflict, it's differences of opinion": An in-depth examination of conflict in nonprofit boards. Small Group Research, 42(5), 562-594. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/1046496411398395
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Kunkel, T., & Biscaia, R. (2020). Sport brands: Brand relationships and consumer behavior. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 29(1), 3-17. https://doi.org/10.32731/SMQ.291.032020.01 
* The article is available online: Click here to download.

Lesjø, J. H., Strittmatter, A.-M., & Hanstad, D. V. (2017). Patterns of influence: Relationship with the IOC as seen by the organisers of the Youth Olympic Winter Games 2016. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 17(4-6), 331-350. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSMM.2017.087443
* This PDF is available through Canvas.
(OK iflg. Kopieringsavtalen jf. §15 / AGG - Bibl.)

Manoli, A. E. (2022). Strategic brand management in and through sport. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/0965254X.2022.2059774
* The article is available online: Click here to download.

May, P. & Winter, S. (2007). Politicians, managers, and Street-Level Bureaucrats: Influences on policy implementation. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 19(3), 453-476. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mum030
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Meyer, J. & Bromley, P. (2013). The worldwide expansion of ''organization''. Sociological Theory, 31(4), 366-389. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735275113513264
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Misener, L., Lu, L. D., & Carlisi, R. (2020). Leveraging events to develop collaborative partnerships: Examining the formation and collaborative dynamics of the Ontario Parasport Legacy Group. Journal of Sport Management, 34(5), 447-461. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2019-0283
* The article is available online: Click here to download.

Peachey, J. W., Zhou, Y., Damon, Z. J. & Burton, L. J. (2015). Forty years of leadership research in sport management: A review, synthesis, and conceptual framework. Journal of Sport Management, 29(5), 570-587. http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2014-0126
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Popp, B., Horbel, C. & Germelmann, C. C. (2018). Social-media-based antibrand communities opposing sport-team sponsors: Insights from two prototypical communities. International Journal of Sport Communication, 11(3), 339-368. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.2018-0082
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Schweiger, S., Müller, B., & Güttel, W. H. (2020). Barriers to leadership development: Why is it so difficult to abandon the hero? Leadership, 16(4), 411-433. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715020935742
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Sherwood, M., Nicholson, M. & Marjoribanks, T. (2017). Access, agenda building and information subsidies: Media relations in professional sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 52(8), 992-1007. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690216638545
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Stenling, C. & Fahlén, J. (2016). Same same, but different? Exploring the organizational identities of Swedish voluntary sports: Possible implications of sports clubs' self-identification for their role as implementers of policy objectives. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 51(7), 867-883. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690214557103
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken. 

Stenling, C., Fahlén, J., Strittmatter, A. M. & Skille, E. (2020). Hierarchies of criteria in NSO board-nomination processes: Insights from nomination committees’ work. European Sport Management Quarterly, 20(5), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2019.1672204
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.

Su, Y., Du, J., Biscaia, R., & Inoue, Y. (2022). We are in this together: Sport brand involvement and fans’ well-being. European Sport Management Quarterly, 22(1), 92-119. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2021.1978519
* The article is available online: Click here to download.

Thompson, A.-J., Martin, A. J., Gee, S., & Geurin, A. N. (2018). Building brand and fan relationships through social media. Sport, Business and Management, 8(3), 235-256. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBM-04-2017-0024
* This PDF is available through Canvas.
(OK iflg. Kopieringsavtalen jf. §15 / AGG - Bibl.)

Wakefield, L., Wakefield, K., & Lane Keller, K. (2020). Understanding sponsorship: A consumer-centric model of sponsorship effects. Journal of Advertising, 49(3), 320-343. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2020.1751011
* The article is available online: Click here to download.

Woratschek, H., Horbel, C. & Popp, B. (2014). The sport value framework: A new fundamental logic for analyses in sport management. European Sport Management Quarterly, 14(1), 6-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2013.865776
* The article is available online: Klikk på denne lenken.