Marion E. Hambrick

'It's incredible – trust me': exploring the role of celebrity athletes as marketers in online social networks

Sport marketers have acknowledged the popularity of online social networks, but have struggled with transforming them into viable revenue generators. Using celebrity athletes to promote products via online social networks such as Twitter may represent one potential revenue opportunity. This study examined how Lance Armstrong and Serena Williams used Twitter for promotional purposes and utilised content analysis to analyse their combined 7,202 Twitter messages. The celebrity athletes wrote promotional messages 12% of the time, primarily to promote their corporate sponsors and products, charitable organisations and personal activities. Twitter represents a unique marketing resource and communication channel for celebrity athlete product endorsements.

From Yellow to Blue Exploring Lance Armstrong’s Image Repair Strategies Across Traditional and Social Media

This research explored how Lance Armstrong utilized image repair strategies during 2012 and early 2013. This time frame represented a turbulent period in his career, as he faced a doping investigation by the U.S. government and later admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs during a nationally televised interview with Oprah Winfrey. Armstrong’s 859 tweets during this time period and his comments during the Oprah Winfrey interview were collected and subjected to a thematic analysis using Benoit’s image repair typology. Results indicated that via Twitter, Armstrong used attacking the accuser, bolstering, and stonewalling strategies but during the interview demonstrated contrition by employing mortification, shifting blame, simple denial, provocation, and victimization along with two newly identified strategies: conforming and retrospective regret. The results suggest that athletes who display multifaceted image repair strategies can embolden identification and attachment with followers and introduce competing media narratives surrounding their identity. However, these strategies may backfire when divergent messages are delivered in different media forums. Theoretical and practical implications will be discussed.

Twitter as a Communication Tool for Nonprofits A Study of Sport-for-Development Organizations

Previous research suggests sport-for-development organizations strategically aim to engage people through social media in hopes of generating increased offline support (Thorpe & Rinehart, 2013). Using the framework set forth by Lovejoy and Saxton (2012), the purpose of this study was to explore how nonprofit organizations use Twitter to disseminate information, build engagement, and facilitate action. A content analysis of 3,233 tweets revealed a larger proportion of interactive communication, yet one-way communication was the most common function. Overall, the use of social media to facilitate action among stakeholders was scarce, but the way organizations used Twitter to provide information, interact with followers, and create a call for action varied considerably among them. Interestingly, these differences were not associated with annual revenue, organizational age, targeted social issues, or number of countries of operation. This study has important theoretical and practical implications, and provides a first look at how sport-for-development organizations use Twitter.

Pin It Exploring How Professional Sports Organizations Use Pinterest as a Communications and Relationship-Marketing Tool

The social media platform Pinterest has emerged as a popular virtual space to showcase content found online (Hempel, 2012). Encouraging users to “pin” and comment on content featuring sports-related activities, athletes, and merchandise, Pinterest presents an opportunity for sports organizations looking to connect and build communities with fans. This study employed the relationship-marketing conceptual framework (Grönroos, 2004) to examine how four North American professional sports leagues used Pinterest over a 1-year time period to communicate as well as encourage engagement and interaction with fans. The longitudinal content analysis and chi-square analyses of 24,156 pins revealed the sports teams used Pinterest to promote the fan group experience, provide team and game information, and sell team-related merchandise. Theoretical and practical implications will be discussed, including recommendations for sports organizations seeking to engage their fans and communicate online.

Leisure, work, and family: How IronMEN balance the demands of three resource-intensive roles

ABSTRACT Building on the work of Hambrick, Simmons, and Mahoney (2013), the purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of leisure-work-family conflict among male Ironman participants, as well as the strategies and support mechanisms used to help manage their various role demands. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 males who successfully completed at least one Ironman event. For these males, perceptions of inter-role conflict were minimal, despite the presence of similar demands reported in the Hambrick et al. study. Participants still emphasized the need for family and work role support, as well as specific role management strategies, namely scheduling, sacrifice, and role prioritization, to make their Ironman aspirations a reality. The impact of gender roles on perceptions of leisure-work-family conflict is also discussed.

An inquiry into the perceptions of leisure-work-family conflict among female Ironman participants

Triathlon is one of the fastest growing niche sports in the USA (USA Triathlon, 2012). Niche sports are often characterised as lifestyle sports (Miloch and Lambrecht, 2006; Puchan, 2005), and can create inter-role conflict as athletes balance their sport participation with the demands of potentially competing roles such as spouse, parent and employee (Greenhaus and Beutell, 1985). This study examined perceptions of inter-role conflict among leisure, work and family roles with niche sport athletes-specifically female Ironman participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 women to identify factors influencing their perceptions of inter-role conflict and how they negotiated those factors. The athletes faced obstacles such as financial commitments, time restraints and gender stereotypes, and they used their support systems comprised of family members, friends and colleagues as well as role management strategies to navigate the obstacles. Theoretical and practical findings for employers and niche sport event organisers are discussed.

Examining emergent niche sports' YouTube exposure through the lens of the psychological continuum model.

The Funk and James (2001, 2006) psychological continuum model (PCM) suggests that sport consumers move from awareness and attraction to attachment and allegiance, and that most sport consumers first learn about sports via reference groups and the media. However, niche sports typically receive less media coverage than mainstream sports (Greenhalgh et al., 2011; Puchan, 2004). These sports must thus seek other avenues of promotion, including the internet and social media, to attract and retain consumers. This study explored the promotional use of online video aggregation site YouTube among five emergent niche sports – slacklining, adventure racing, longboarding, cyclocross and parkour – using the PCM as the theoretical framework. The majority of videos were categorised as awareness and attraction. The findings of this study showed the importance of online videos among niche sport organisations as a tool for providing information about their sports while building and cultivating relationships with consumers.

Riding along with Lance Armstrong: Exploring Antapologia in Response to Athlete Adversity

This research explored antapologia expressed on Facebook to cyclist Lance Armstrong during a tumultuous time in his career. A thematic analysis was conducted on 3,536 reader comments obtained from Armstrong’s Facebook page. Results indicated that antapologia manifested through (a) defending the apologia, (b) weakening the apologia, and (c) ambivalence toward the apologia. The results suggest that enacting apologia via social media provides athletes with a vehicle to connect with audiences and to derive and obtain support. The results also extend the antapologia framework by illustrating that it functions as ambivalence, as some people may need time to process the apologia.

The Role of Leadership Support for Health Promotion in Employee Wellness Program Participation, Perceived Job Stress, and Health Behaviors:

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between leadership support for health promotion and job stress, wellness program participation, and health behaviors. Design: A cross-sectional survey design was used. Setting: Four worksites with a range of wellness programs were selected for this study. Participants: Participants in this study were employees (n = 618) at 4 organizations (bank, private university, wholesale supplier, and public university) in the southeastern United States, each offering an employee wellness program. Response rates in each organization ranged from 3% to 34%. Measures: Leadership support for health promotion was measured with the Leading by Example instrument. Employee participation in wellness activities, job stress, and health behaviors were measured with multi-item scales. Analysis: Correlation/regression analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the relationships among the scaled variables. Results: Employees reporting higher levels of leadership support for health promotion also reported higher levels of wellness activity participation, lower job stress, and greater levels of health behavior (P = .001). To ascertain the amount of variance in health behaviors accounted for by the other variables in the study, a hierarchical regression analysis revealed a statistically significant model (model F7,523 = 27.28; P = .001), with leadership support for health promotion (β = .19, t = 4.39, P = .001), wellness activity participation (β = .28, t = 6.95, P < .001), and job stress (β = −.27, t = −6.75, P ≤ .001) found to be significant predictors of health behaviors in the model. Exploratory regression analyses by organization revealed the focal variables as significant model predictors for only the 2 larger organizations with well-established wellness programs. Conclusion: Results from the study suggest that employees’ perceptions of organizational leadership support for health promotion are related to their participation in wellness activities, perceived job stress levels, and health behaviors.

Understanding the Relationship Between Motivation, Sport Involvement and Sport Event Evaluation Meanings as Factors Influencing Marathon Participation

ABSTRACT With the level of growth in endurance running participation, it is important to develop a stronger understanding of what motivates individuals to participate in these types of events, as well as what limitations or challenges they may face related to this participation. This study focused on developing a stronger understanding between individuals’ motivation, sport involvement, and sport event evaluative meanings. Utilizing Self-determination theory (SDT), the psychological continuum model (PCM), and the sport event evaluative meanings (SEEM) as guiding frameworks, this investigation provided some valuable insights into the relationship between these constructs. In terms of motivation and involvement, this study provided evidence that motivation, involvement, and meaning are interrelated constructs that predict individuals’ participation or consumption intentions.