Calvin Nite

Qualitative inquiry: Quality research for connecting with and affecting change in sport populations

Purpose – The academic discipline and field of sport management has become a legitimate area through which scholarship and theory development can impact sport populations. Yet it has been suggested that sport management journal articles are read by less than one percent of the population. Though it is important to build the theoretical knowledge base of the field, it could be viewed as irresponsible to not search for insightful ways to engage sport practitioners and participants with sport management research. The purpose of this paper is to argue for the use of qualitative research as a “research as praxis” in the field of sport management. Design/methodology/approach – First, the authors provide a brief, critical commentary on the research process and what impact “academic” research is (or should be) having outside of the academy. Then, the authors briefly discuss the significance of qualitative research in the academy in general, concluding with a discussion of some implications for sport management research and education. Findings – The authors emphasize the role that various forms of qualitative inquiry play in connecting researchers with study populations, in efforts to empower them, and ultimately, bring about social change. Originality/value – The paper should stimulate critical thought and dialogue among sport management scholars.

Escalation of commitment in United States collegiate athletic departments: an investigation of social and structural determinants of commitment.

Amid evidence of limited financial benefit, universities in the United States continue increasing their commitment to the NCAA’s highest level of competition. Consequently, it is believed that such behavior is the result of more intangible motivations by university decision makers. Using escalation of commitment theory as a framework, the authors explored social and structural determinants of increasing commitment, specifically examining the role of organizational status, former performance, and side-bets in commitment escalation. Applying a collective case study approach, the authors examined institutions (N = 10) having increased their commitment to Division I athletics within the last 10 years. Serving as the primary data source, participants (n = 35) included decision makers involved in the implementation of escalation initiatives. QSR International’s NVivo 10 software was employed for data analysis in the application of a three-step coding process. Findings revealed unique theoretical advancement in ...

Organizational Factors that Contribute to the Spiritual Development of College Athletes: A Case Study of a Religious University

Abstract Although the concept of college athlete development has received ample attention within the literature, limited attention has been paid specifically to the spiritual development of these athletes. More specifically, little attention has been paid to how organizational contexts might impact the spiritual development of athletes. Using qualitative research methods, we interviewed university and athletic department leaders (i.e., head coaches, university administrators, athletics administrators, faculty members) and analyzed relevant documents of one religiously affiliated university within the United States in efforts to glean insight into some important factors that contribute to the spiritual development among their athletes. The findings indicated that the mission and the culture of the university established a foundation and helped set the tone for how these leaders thought about and engaged in certain practices aimed at fostering the spiritual development of the athletes at the university. In particular, because the spiritual development of athletes was a major aspect of these leaders’ job expectations there was a great devotion of time and monetary resources to this endeavor. Further implications of these findings and opportunities for future research are discussed.

Conflicting prescriptions for ‘ethical’ leadership in complex institutions: Perspectives from US collegiate athletic administrators

This research sought to demonstrate how institutional complexity within the field of college athletics in the United States offers conflicting prescriptions for ethical leadership. With college athletics serving as the context for this investigation, data were collected from 14 athletic administrators at four universities. Participants suggested that ethical leadership in college athletics consisted of prioritizing the institution while integrating servant leadership. We discussed how these two logics are conceptually incompatible, thereby creating conflicting perspectives as to what it meant to be an ethical leader. By incorporating an institutional logic perspective, we demonstrated that conceptions of ethical leadership are subjected to engrained ideals that may not always be compatible as they lend themselves to differing ethical frameworks. The contextual implications as well as the broader discipline implications of this research are discussed.

Integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into sport business practice and research

Currently, applications of spatial analyses have been fairly absent from the research into the sport industry. Sport is inherently geographic in nature so the inclusion of spatial analyses and the spatial analysis software into sport research could prove useful for sport organisations. The purpose of this paper is to examine the utility of spatial analyses utilising geographic information systems (GIS) within the sport industry. Within this paper, we define GIS and demonstrate its applicability within a variety of sport business contexts. Implications for research and practice are discussed.