Research

Harcourt, T. (2024) Cambridge Scholars Publishing

In the 21st century, sport is big business – big international business. The huge investments made in the World Cup and the Olympics show how important sport is to national economic activity, economic well-being, international trade and diplomacy and national pride. This book guides readers through the economics of sport and the battle of the football codes in Australia between Aussie Rules, Rugby Union, Rugby League and Soccer. The book is a must-read for the Australian sports fanatic, or anyone interested in business strategy in the 21st century. For the international observer, it provides a unique insight into the Australian psyche.

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Sherry, E., Schulenkorf, N., Phillips, P., & Rowe, K. (eds.). (2024) London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis

Now in a fully revised and updated second edition, Managing Sport Development is a complete introduction to sport development, covering key concepts and theory as well as best practice in the management, implementation, and evaluation of sport development programs.

This book explains what sport development is, and how it works, in both of its main areas of operation: the development of sport (creating pathways for participation and talent development) and sport for development (using sport as a tool to achieve outcomes beyond sport). Including international cases and data throughout, as well as discussion of both able-bodied and disability sport, it examines the organisation and governance of sport development programs around the world and how to achieve the right outcomes. This new edition includes new and expanded coverage of such topics as sustainable development; the impact of COVID-19; integrity and human rights; careers in sport development; the role of coaches, change agents, and volunteers; and the research process and knowledge sharing. This book includes a range of useful features to aid understanding, such as learning objectives, real-world data and examples, key terms, and review questions.

Find out more about Managing Sport Development: An International Approach

Schulenkorf, N., Welty Peachey, J., Spaaij, R., Collison-Randall, H. (eds.). (2023). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar

With sport’s role now firmly embedded in international development contexts, policy and delivery, the Handbook of Sport and International Development provides a contemporary, multi-disciplinary overview of state-of-the-art research in this critical space. It features a holistic synthesis of current scholarship as well as new and emerging approaches, contexts and development foci. The Handbook includes chapters on a great variety of sport initiatives, ranging from small community projects to large-scale international events.

The Handbook establishes the nexus between reflection, action, and innovation by presenting critical issues from diverse perspectives and with varied voices. Contributors include seminal scholars from broader disciplines, sport-specific development experts as well as up-and-coming academics who address contemporary challenges such as climate change, gender discrimination, athlete diplomacy and the effects of – and sports’ responses to – the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the Handbook offers critical outlooks regarding concepts, methodologies, collaborations and knowledge mobilisation in sport and international development.
 

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Frawley, S., & Schulenkorf, N. (eds.). (2022). London: Taylor & Francis

The Routledge Handbook of Sport and COVID-19 examines the initial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on global sport and the varying consequences of the sport shutdown on all levels of society. It also considers the many lessons that have been learnt so that sport stakeholders can successfully adjust and operate under the ‘new normal’.

Featuring authors, cases and examples from around the world, the book explores the impact of COVID-19 on sport at all levels, from community sport – where local clubs, gyms and development programmes had to find ways to survive with pitches closed and projects cancelled – to the major professional sport leagues and sport mega-events, with events postponed and teams playing in empty stadia. It considers the economic, social and developmental impacts of the pandemic, including physical, mental and social wellbeing, and looks at how key professional and community sport organisations have reacted to the crisis, reflecting on the lessons learnt and preparations for future pandemics and challenges of similar size and significance.

With COVID-19 now endemic in the global population, this is an essential reference for anybody working in sport, from students and researchers to managers, policymakers and development officers.

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Herold, D. M., Joachim, G., Frawley, S., & Schulenkorf, N. (eds.) (2022). Bingley: Emerald Publishing Limited

Logistics are a critical element in the planning and realisation of any large-scale event. Managing Global Sport Events: Logistics and Coordination provides a critical look behind the scenes of these large-scale sport events by combining the previously separate but inextricably bound areas of sport, logistics and coordination management.

The coordination and logistics activities behind global sports events such as the Olympic Games or Formula 1 Championships are unparalleled, but have largely been ignored by scholars around the world. Managing Global Sport Events presents the latest developments in this intriguing area of study, offering insights from a team of experts across sport, event, and logistics management.

This first volume of the ground-breaking Sports Management series enters unchartered territory and advances our inter-disciplinary knowledge across sport, event and logistics studies, informing both contemporary sport management theory and practice. 

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Schulenkorf, N., Schlenker, K., Rammal, H., Peachey, J. W., & Morgan, A. (eds.) (2021). London: Routledge

Managing and Leveraging Events: Business and Social Dimensions explores and advances the latest concepts and developments in event management theory and practice.

Drawing on the ever-growing event management literature – and supported by theories and concepts from parent disciplines – the book examines challenges and opportunities related to maximising business and social benefits for those working in different event management positions in a variety of contexts. Written by an international team of five management scholars, the book investigates event management and leverage from various angles, including international business, event business studies, sport management, community development, and business strategy. It does so by offering a combination of theoretical approaches as well as contemporary cases from around the world.

This book will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of event management, as well as scholars researching in social and business-related areas of event management and leverage.

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Siefken, K., Varela, A. R., Waqanivalu, T., & Schulenkorf, N. (eds.). (2021). London: Routledge

Physical Activity in Low-and Middle-Income Countries critically evaluates the complex relations between physical activity, health imperatives and cultural and social opportunities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The book explores the uncertainty of knowledge around physical activity behaviour and its distinctive meanings in LMIC contexts, the factors influencing physical activity, and how populations across the world understand and live the concept of physical activity. It discusses the key challenges and opportunities for sustaining physical activity within geographically and culturally diverse contexts of LMICs; introduces the reader to contemporary global physical activity approaches, models and policies; and presents case studies from around the world, including Asia, Africa, South America, the Pacific and Europe. Overall, the text relates theory to practical examples to facilitate a better understanding of physical activity in context, emphasises the need for targeted, context-specific and locally relevant interventions to create PA-enabling environments in LMICs, and highlights the role of a range of stakeholders, including policymakers and urban planners, sport and recreation services, mass media, educators and the civil society in shaping population physical activity levels. Taken together, this edited volume brings together the latest research on PA in LMICs from around the world, informs and directs future research and necessary policy change towards the sustainable integration of PA opportunities, and seeks to ultimately foster and promote population-based PA in LMIC settings.

By presenting empirical data and policy recommendations, this text will appeal to scholars, researchers and practitioners with an interest in physical activity research, public health, health promotion, sociology of sport, and sports sciences in LMICs, as well as policymakers and experts working in health promotion, public health, sports and fitness, but also in the urban planning and infrastructure and governmental industries.

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Frawley, S., Misener, L., Lock, D., & Schulenkorf, N. (2019). London: Routledge

Global Sport Leadership explores the global developments in sport leadership and practice.

Drawing on the vast and ever-growing leadership literature, the book examines advances in leadership theory and practice in the context of the challenges faced by those working in global sport management positions. It explores the various dimensions of leadership, with a particular focus on the development of leadership theory. It also looks at the operational and contextual elements of leadership in a global sport environment and finally reflects on the status quo, and explores future challenges and research opportunities for leadership and global sport management.

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Schulenkorf, N., & Frawley, S. (eds.) (2017). London: Routledge

The social, cultural and economic significance of sport has never been more evident than it is today. Adopting a critical management perspective, this book examines the most important themes and challenges in global sport management. From match-fixing, doping, bribery and corruption to corporate social responsibility, governance, and new media, it helps students, researchers and practitioners to understand the changing face of the global sport industry.

Written by leading international sport management experts, Critical Issues in Global Sport Management includes twenty chapters and real-life case studies from around the world. It examines contemporary governance and management issues as well as the ethical challenges faced by the global sport industry, including questions of integrity and accountability in recent drug scandals that have been widely reported and debated. This book deals with such questions and many more, highlighting the fact that the global sport system is in urgent need of new and innovative solutions to these ongoing problems.

Based on cutting-edge research from the US, UK, Australia, Europe and beyond, this book will add depth and currency to any course in sport management, sport business, sport development, or sport events.

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Frawley, S. (ed.) (2017). London: Routledge

Managing Sport Mega-Events addresses three broad but interconnected themes. First, strategic matters are explored focusing on the rise of sport mega-events, the management of stakeholders and governance issues. Second, how organisers can best ensure the sustainable management of sport mega-events is considered. Third, operational matters and related issues are examined including media management, broadcast management, venue management, risk management, marketing and sponsorship management.

Managing Sport Mega-Events draws on leading international sport management scholars, each of whom has expertise in the organisation of sport mega-events. It makes a valuable contribution to the existing literature.

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Darcy, S., Frawley, S., & Adair, D. (eds.) (2017). London: Palgrave Macmillan

Managing the Paralympics critically examines the planning, management, and operations of the world’s premier event for Para sport athletes. Noting a lack of research into how these games are planned and managed, the authors of this contributed volume discuss how the Paralympics are essentially different to the Olympics and what this means for their management. Managing the Paralympics explores how the organisers and connected stakeholders effectively organise and deliver the Paralympics, taking into account what has been learned from previous events. Including emergent models of best practice from event management, project management and sport management literature, the book gives an insight into the planning of one of the world’s biggest sporting events that encompasses ten impairment types and multiple sport classes within sports.           
 

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Sherry, E., Schulenkorf, N. and Phillips, P. (eds). (2016) Abingdon: Routledge

Sport development has become a significant part of the international sport industry. The development of sport (creating pathways for participation and talent development) and sport for development (using sport as a tool to achieve outcomes beyond sport) are now fundamental aspects of the organisation and governance of sport around the world. Consequently, any manager working in sport today needs to understand what sport development is and how sport development programs can be managed, implemented and evaluated. This is the first undergraduate textbook to offer a complete introduction to sport development, covering theory and its application to managerial practice, with examples from international contexts.

Managing Sport Development: An international approach integrates discussion of the development of sport and sport for development in every chapter, with international case studies to illustrate the significance and application of both. Each chapter introduces key theory, examines the implications of theory for practice and critically analyses practical managerial issues. Discussion of both able-bodied and disability sport are embedded throughout, and the book includes a range of useful features to aid understanding, such as learning objectives, real-world data and examples, key terms, review questions, and a companion website containing slides and a test bank for instructors.

Managing Sport Development is an essential text for any introductory sport development course, and invaluable reading for any course on international sport management, sport policy, sport governance, sport and social issues, or coach education.

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Adair, D. and Knijnik, J. (eds.) (2015). Morgantown WV: FIT Publishing

Though an integral element of sport sociology, the study of masculinities in sport has been largely confined to Western sports such as American football. Embodied Masculinities in Global Sport provides a more expanded view, offering tantalising insights into sport and manliness from culturally and geographically distinct perspectives.

Editors Jorge Knijnik and Daryl Adair, along with a group of international researchers, articulate how various types of masculinities can be played out in different sports by drawing from personal experiences of athletes, investigating the cultural—and even global—impact of male achievements in sport, and comparing men’s experiences in sport with women’s.

While maintaining the body’s pivotal role in the social construction of gender, Embodied Masculinities provides the sport sociological literature with an innovative and truly global perspective on what it means to ‘be a man’, whether on the field, on the court, or in the saddle.

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Frawley, S. and Adair, D. (eds.) (2014). London: Palgrave Macmillan

Managing the Football World Cup explores areas often overlooked by project management and business studies researchers. Therefore considering the global impact of the Football World Cup it is time for a detailed examination of the planning, organisation, management, implementation and related commercial features of this mega-sport event. 

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A. J. Veal & Simon Darcy (2014) London: Routledge

Research can be a challenging but rewarding activity. All degree-level students studying sport, and all effective professionals working in the sport sector need to have a sound understanding of research methods and how to critically interpret research findings. This broad-ranging, in-depth and practical textbook introduces research methods for students on sport-related degree courses, outlining the knowledge and practical skills needed to undertake meaningful research and to become a knowledgeable consumer of the research of others.

Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management explores every element of the research process, from the fundamental ‘what, why and who?’ questions, through research plans, literature review, qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and data analysis, to the communication of research results. It offers a critical appraisal of alternative methods, including mixed methods, as well as clear guidance on how to use each particular method. Every chapter contains test questions and practical exercises, detailed case studies, a clear chapter summary and extensive guides to further sport-related study resources, to enable students to check their understanding and develop, extend and apply their practical skills. Step-by-step introductions to the use of the key statistical packages Excel, SPSS and NVivo in sport research are included. Online support materials include some 400 PowerPoint slides and copies of datasets used in the book.

With deeper and broader coverage than any other sport-related research methods textbook, and a clear focus on ‘how to do it’, Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management is an essential companion for any sport-related degree course.

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Schulenkorf, N. and Adair, D. (eds.) (2014). London: Palgrave Macmillan

Global Sport-for-Development: Critical Perspectives provides a critical approach to sport-for-development, acknowledging the potential of this growing field but emphasising challenges, problems and limitations – particularly if programs are not adequately planned, delivered or monitored. 

In recent years, sport has been used as an instrument through which wider development objectives are pursued. This includes sport as a means to create awareness about the risks of HIV; sport as a vehicle to counter inter-group hostility; and sport as an environment where children can find respite in the wake of military conflict. The use of sport for the purposes of development is neither simple nor inherently successful. It is therefore regrettable that some of the agents and organisations involved in development programs provide idealistic accounts of their activities, thus suggesting that fieldwork is unproblematic. By contrast, this book provides a critical approach to sport-for-development, acknowledging the potential of this growing field but emphasising challenges, problems and limitations - particularly if programs are not adequately planned, delivered or monitored. The book features both critical theory and reflective praxis, and will thus be useful to both academics and practitioners

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