Constantino Stavros

Using triangulation and multiple case studies to advance relationship marketing theory

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the contribution of qualitative methods and techniques in extending the understanding of relationship marketing theory.Design/methodology/approach – The study investigated six Australian sporting organisations using multiple data collection methods including semi‐structured interviews with several senior executives within each organisation, secondary and historical data sources and participant observation. The application of triangulation and multiple case studies is discussed in relation to their contribution toward a greater understanding of relationship marketing practice in the professional sport industry, as well as the barriers to the adoption of this strategy.Findings – Using triangulation and a multiple case study approach provided a richness of information which, upon analysis within and across cases, revealed a number of commonalities and some limited diversity. Using this approach maximised the depth of information and increased the transfer...

An examination of the impact of player transgressions on sponsorship b2b relationships

This study examines the impact of transgressions committed by team members in professional sport on the sports organisations relationship with its sponsors. In-depth interviews were conducted with sporting administrators to identify potential moderators and responses that may occur as a result of different types of player transgressions. The conceptual model that was developed assimilates our qualitative results with the latest cross-disciplinary transgression literature to frame a model uniquely contextualised for player transgressions.

A sport crisis typology: establishing a pathway for future research.

One of the main sponsorship benefits sought by a firm is a positive effect on corporate image through the association of their brand with a sporting entity. Given the increasing incidence of crises in sport, it can be argued that the sponsorship decision may be viewed as a form of risk-taking behaviour. Drawing on the crisis management and public relations literature, this paper examines the utility of established models within the domain of sport marketing and sponsorship. Specific emphasis is given to definitional and future research issues pertaining to athlete-triggered crises. The need for research in this area is evident given the potential brand risk associated with sponsoring athletes or teams within crisis-prone sports and the limited attention on this issue in the current literature. This paper explores the relevance of some pertinent terms that are central to an established structured crisis typology such as crisis, transgression, faux pas and terrorism and concludes with a direction for future research.

Engaging fans through social media: implications for team identification

Purpose – The ubiquity of social media provides sport organizations with opportunities to communicate with fans and as a result, potentially strengthen team identification. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to emerging research on the nature of social media use by sport organizations by examining the platforms adopted over a three-year period by National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and the way in which social media is used to communicate and engage with fans. Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis was used to examine online comments posted by all 30 teams in the NBA on Facebook and Twitter during the off-season. Findings – The results demonstrate that NBA teams have embraced social media, primarily using four different types of communication to engage fans: Informing, Marketing, Personalizing and Activating. Practical implications – The authors establish that social media is an effective vehicle for sport organizations to engage with fans and to enhance team identification. The d...

Does the Australian Football League Draft Undervalue Indigenous Australian Footballers

Economics assumes that behavior is based on rational expectations and market efficiency. However, previous research into professional sports indicates that there are cases where decisions are consistently made that do not conform to this. This article examines this issue within the context of how indigenous Australian footballers are recruited via the Australian Football League (AFL) draft. A panel data econometric model was used to look at the relationship between player performance and the expectations placed on these players when they were first drafted. The results show that, on average, indigenous Australian footballers outperform their expectations. Therefore, the question is ‘‘Why do AFL teams not draft more indigenous players?’’ Some of the reasons why teams may be averse to drafting such players are discussed, although we are unable to rule out irrationality as a possible explanation.

Alcohol-related player behavioral transgressions: Incidences, fan media responses, and a harm-reduction alternative

This article examines fan social media responses to media-reported, alcohol-related player behavioral transgressions that occurred in Australia’s two largest professional sporting leagues, the National Rugby League (NRL) and the Australian Football League (AFL), over a 33-month period. Using netnography and content analysis, the study aimed to better understand the ways in which sport fans employed social media to voice their perceptions about alcohol-related player transgressions. The article reports on parochial fans’ commentaries about alcohol-related transgressions and uses these data to inform options for harm-reduction strategies associated with alcohol-related transgressions in sport. Sport fans expressed dissatisfaction when they observed disparity in policy responses from clubs and leagues. At the same time, the data show that fan responses reflect a desire for parity and protection more than punishment, with the former more relevant to game, club, and league reputation than the latter. We suggest that a harm-reduction policy offers one mechanism for managing reputation through a focus on parity and protection. We argue that the introduction of a harm-reduction approach would offer a more effective policy for managing player alcohol-related transgressions than the current ‘ad hoc’ approach.

Exploring the wicked problem of athlete and consumer vulnerability in sport

Purpose: This paper aims to extend the literature on wicked problems in consumer research by exploring athlete and consumer vulnerability in sport and the potential role that social marketing can play in addressing this problem. Design/methodology/approach: This paper conceptualises the wicked problem of athlete and consumer vulnerability in sport, proposing a multi-theoretical approach to social marketing, incorporating insights from stakeholder theory, systems theory and cocreation to tackle this complex problem. Findings: Sport provides a rich context for exploring a social marketing approach to a wicked problem, as it operates in a complex ecosystem with multiple stakeholders with differing, and sometimes conflicting, objectives. It is proposed that consumers, particularly those that are highly identified fans, are key stakeholders that have both facilitated the problematic nature of the sport system and been rendered vulnerable as a result. Further, a form of consumer vulnerability also extends to athletes as the evolution of the sport system has led them to engage in harmful consumption behaviours. Social marketing, with its strategic and multi-faceted focus on facilitating social good, is an apt approach to tackle behavioural change at multiple levels within the sport system. Practical implications: Sport managers, public health practitioners and policymakers are given insight into the key drivers of a growing wicked problem as well as the potential for social marketing to mitigate harm. Originality/value: This paper is the first to identify and explicate a wicked problem in sport. More generally it extends insight into wicked problems in consumer research by examining a case whereby the consumer is both complicit in, and made vulnerable by, the creation of a wicked problem. This paper is the first to explore the use of social marketing in managing wicked problems in sport.

Broadcasting sport: Analogue markets and digital rights

The future of sport broadcasting is uniquely positioned between the analogue paradigm of long-standing television broadcast networks and the digital prototype of agile new entrants. Juxtaposed between the two, sport consumers are being marshalled into digital enclosures for efficient commodification. In this article, we map the collision and the disorderly consequences of this juxtaposition between the analogue and the digital markets. We consider the current development of digital media rights through a series of brief illustrative examples in key sports and markets and then look ahead to explore what the future of sport broadcasting might become and posit the impact of digital technologies on the business models of broadcasters, sport content owners, and consumers.

Introduction: Crowdsourcing Brand Equity

This chapter introduces how Brand Fans addresses the agile and novel methods that the world’s greatest sporting brands have used to cultivate unprecedented brand value. The chapter presents how the best sporting enterprises have co-created staggering economic, social, and symbolic value through intense partnerships with their consumers that go far beyond what brands can develop through traditional approaches to marketing and communication. It specifies how the insights from these brands will be presented through three themes in the forthcoming chapters, the first focussing on the co-creation of value, the second on approaching brands as clubs of exclusive belonging, and the third on the powerful channels through which connections and identification can be canalised.

Connected Communities: Icons and Tribalism

This chapter delivers the third lesson that consumers and brands become identity-entangled through communities built upon ritualistic, tribal practices. The chapter takes the engaged, co-creating brand fan a step further. It explains how individuals and brands become intertwined through communities built upon ritualistic, tribal practices. Fan communities endure because they merge the iconic identities of sport brands with the vicarious appetites of sport followers. Solidified in tribal symbolism and psychological meaning, fan communities reveal how value co-creation can assume an existential significance that goes far beyond a linear brand proposition. We show how the mature communication networks that have evolved around intersecting communities hold valuable lessons for all kinds of brands seeking improved identification.