Call for Papers | “Sport Management in Emerging Markets”, Special Issue of Emerging Markets Case Studies. Call ends September 1, 2020

We welcome submissions of quality discussion-based teaching case studies that examine recent management decisions faced by organizations operating within the sport industry in emerging markets. Cases about decisions related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sport management are encouraged, although this special issue will not focus exclusively on this crisis. The special issue will be published in 2021, for use by instructors globally.

Sport has evolved from being an amateur pastime to becoming a business involving the management of multiple stakeholder groups, such as athletes, fans, sponsors, broadcasters, agencies, governments, and communities. In this way, the business of sport involves managing complex business organizations, which increasingly operate globally. Sport management has been viewed as a distinct field of study (Stewart & Smith, 1999), as well as an interesting context in which to study broader management questions. The distinct features of sport include a tendency for behavioural biases arising out of the intense emotional relationship between members, fans and their clubs; limited supply and the associated difficulty in managing sharp increases in demand; the need to have balanced competition; variable product quality; the need for cooperation as well as competition between rival teams/clubs; the vicarious identification and consumption associated with sport; a regulated environment given its nature of almost a ‘public good’; the trade-offs between on-field performance and (personal) profits; and larger-than-life persona of people involved.

Sport management involves any combination of skills related to planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, and evaluating within the context of an organization or department whose primary product or service is related to sport or physical activity (DeSensi, Kelley, Blanton and Beitel, 2003). The field therefore includes various aspects of economics and the business environment, marketing, finance, leadership, innovation, operations, organizational behaviour, strategy, managing teams (human resources), governance, performance management, and gender studies. Previously published cases, such as those about the NBA in China (Guo & Chen, 2014), the Mumbai Indians cricket franchise (Prashar, Singh, & Nishanth), adidas Russia/CIS (Cordon, Leleux, & Lennox, 2017), and Fancam from South Africa (Goldman & Duran, 2019) have demonstrated the value of researching and teaching sport management in emerging markets. This special issue aims to substantially contribute to this case research scholarship.

Although submissions should address the specific management dilemmas being faced by the protagonist in each case, authors may be interested in the following potential and suggested themes:

1. 1. 1. Managing sporting events during crises, disruptions, and uncertainty
      2. Virtual sports and esports games, structures, and commercial strategies
      3. The changing roles and influence of athletes and groups of athletes
      4. Governance and ethical considerations, across multiple levels of sport
      5. Gender equity, leadership, and politics in sporting bodies
      6. Fan and viewer consumption of sport through new technologies and devices
      7. The relationship between sport and the natural and/or built environment
      8. Local and international sport value chains and networks
      9. Public and/or private financing of sport activities and infrastructure
      10. Managing mass mobilisation and/or high performance sport systems and pipelines.

Given the global developments within the sport industry, authors are encouraged to reflect on the opportunities to examine the themes listed above, among others, within the major sporting contexts in emerging markets. Interesting contexts may include, among others: Olympics, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games, and other international and regional bodies, tournaments and their sporting codes; FIFA, association football/soccer, and other types of indoor and outdoor football events and entities; the ICC and its multiple forms of cricket and structures; FIBA, NBA International, and basketball investments; World Rugby development programs and partnerships; as well as more local sports such as Kabaddi, Martial Arts, Capoeira, and Bandy.

Submission Guidelines

In preparing cases, authors are asked to follow the standard EMCS Author Guidelines available at https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/emcs#author-guidelines. A submitted Case document should include primary data gathered from interviews with the protagonist, or well-sourced secondary data supporting the protagonist’s voice, be written in the past tense, be focused on a compelling management decision-making dilemma facing the protagonist, and have approximately eight single-spaced pages of narrative. The accompanying Teaching Note document should include well-crafted learning objectives, related assignment questions and comprehensive model answers, and a comprehensive 90-minute teaching plan. Templates, guides, and other author resources are available at https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/case_studies/authors.htm.

To submit your case, first create an author account at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/eemcs, then follow the on-screen guidance which takes you through the submission process. Please select the ‘Sport management’ option when prompted to choose from issue options. If you have any questions about the submission process, please contact the EMCS Publisher Gabi Rundle at grundle@emerald.com.

All cases will be double-blind peer-reviewed before acceptance.

Authors are welcome to contact the Guest Editor, Dr. Tulsi Jayakumar, with any queries or early case ideas.

Special Issue Guest Editor: Dr. Tulsi Jayakumar, Professor of Economics and Chairperson, Family Managed Business, S P Jain Institute of Management & Research, India (tulsi.jayakumar@spjimr.org).

Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Michael Goldman, Associate Professor in the Sport Management Program at the University of San Francisco, & Adjunct Faculty at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria (mmgoldman@usfca.edu).

References

Cordon, C., Leleux, B., & Lennox, B. (2017). adidas Russia/CIS and the Russian crisis: Retrench or double down (A). Lausanne, Switzerland: International Institute for Management Development.

Goldman, M. M., & Duran, M. (2019). Fancam: A new channel management strategy. London, Ontario: Ivey Publishing.

Guo, X., & Chen, Y. (2014). The unfinished dream of NBA China. London, Ontario: Ivey Publishing.

Kelley, D. R., Beitel, P. A., DeSensi, J. T., & Blanton, M. D. (1994). Undergraduate and graduate sport management curricular models: A perspective. Journal of Sport Management, 8(2), 93-101.

Prashar, S., Singh, H., Nishanth, K. (2013). Mumbai Indians: a case on social media marketing. Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, 3(5).

Stewart, B., & Smith, A. (1999). The Special Features of Sport. Annals of Leisure Research, 2(1), 87-99.