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Digital Transformation and Sustainability: Tips to Sport Industry from Research
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Digital Transformation and Sustainability: Tips to Sport Industry from Research

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021) | Viewed by 29681

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jerónimo García-Fernández

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physical Education and Sports, Universidad de Sevilla, 41008 Sevilla, Spain
Interests: sport management; sport entrepreneurship; sport consumer; loyalty; fitness industry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ferran Calabuig-Moreno

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Associate Professor, Department of Physical Education and Sports, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Interests: sports consumer behaviour; sports marketing and sports entrepreneurship
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Leonor Gallardo Guerrero

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
IGOID Research Group, Department of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain
Interests: sport management; sport facilities; sport policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. James J. Zhang

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Kinesiology, Sport Management, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
Interests: applied measurement or applied studies in sport consumer behavior studies and sport organization behavior studies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The digitization process in society is being unstoppable and this has repercussions in more sustainable societies. Such transformation generates data and these data must serve society and companies to make them more effective, efficient, and sustainable while creating opportunities. In fact, society is becoming a landscape of digital platforms and technologies that allow the detection, capture, and exploitation of data. Knowing this situation, companies are looking for ways to exploit data to achieve competitive advantages.

According to Porter and Kramer (2019), companies have been responsible for important societal challenges with social, environmental, and economic consequences, where sustainability has a high priority. Thus, the digital transformation is having an impact on greater competitiveness of companies and a drastic reduction in costs. Similarly, consumers are knowledgeable and sensitive to the change in relationships with companies, wanting products and services to be produced in a sustainable and transparent manner.

The role of digital transformation in the sport sector is also evident. Indeed, the rapid growth of the sports industry could be due in part to technology-driven revenue from fantasy sports, e-sports, sports betting, and online streaming (Kunz and Santomier, 2019). Thus, digital media are favoring that sport facilities are becoming virtual sports stadiums or virtual sports spaces (Greenberg, 2018). This new sport ecosystem needs sport consumers and its importance is such that it is they determine the success of the offer of the virtual sports market and subsequently the acceptance or rejection of this new reality.

Some works have provided knowledge about the digital transformation of sports clubs (Stark, 2020; Tan, Hedman, and Xiao, 2017). Other authors have highlighted the perception of consumers regarding virtual fitness classes and their relationship with loyalty in fitness centers (Baena-Arroyo, García-Fernández, Gálvez-Ruiz, and Grimaldi-Puyana, 2020), and some even in digital transformation in the NBA (Santomier, Shuart, and Boccia, 2019).

Digital transformation is reinventing business by creating new sources of income in new ways. Thus, companies seek through digital transformation to become a customer-focused company, outperform market competitors, and possess innovation capabilities (Carayannis and Hanna, 2016). However, there are a much smaller number of studies that have addressed issues related to digital transformation and the sustainability of the company (El Hilali, El Manouar and Idrissi, 2020) specifically in the sport sector.

Considering that digital transformation in sports involves three aspects, including digital consumer behavior, competitive landscape, and data availability (Stegmann, Ströbel, and Nagel, 2019), the special issue has three objectives. The first is to know the research potential related to digital transformation in the sport sector. Secondly, it is aimed to promote and advance new lines of research and systematic inquiries into digital transformation and sustainability in sports. Thirdly, it is intended to serve as a new initiative and motivation for researchers to generate applicable knowledge for digital management of sport program, events, products, and services.

Dr. Jerónimo García-Fernández
Dr. Ferran Calabuig Moreno
Dr. Leonor Gallardo Guerrero
Dr. James J. Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Digital transformation sports models
  • Sport sustainability and technology
  • Theory proposals and sport digital transformation
  • Technology models in sports organizations
  • Sport technology
  • Digital sport consumer
  • Digital sports business models
  • Social media and sport management
  • Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Sport
  • Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) and Sport

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 757 KiB  
Article
“One Event, One City”: Promoting the Loyalty of Marathon Runners to a Host City by Improving Event Service Quality
by Xiaoying Chen, Brian H. Yim, Ziqing Tuo, Liangjun Zhou, Ting Liu and James J. Zhang
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3795; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073795 - 30 Mar 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3734
Abstract
China has entered into a new developmental phase where the government can promote national fitness, the sports industry, and city tourism, simultaneously. Rapidly becoming the largest single sporting events in China, marathon events help facilitate this integration. However, event organizers tend to focus [...] Read more.
China has entered into a new developmental phase where the government can promote national fitness, the sports industry, and city tourism, simultaneously. Rapidly becoming the largest single sporting events in China, marathon events help facilitate this integration. However, event organizers tend to focus on winning bids for events instead of improving event services and increasing the loyalty of runners to the host city, which could benefit the city for sustainable development. In this study, the antecedents affecting marathon runner loyalty to the city hosting the annual hallmark event (i.e., destination loyalty) were investigated by studying a sample of 392 repeat runners during a recent HengQin International Marathon (HQ-M). Conducting structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses, the proposed model, integrating event service quality (ESQ), destination image (DI), satisfaction (SAT), and destination loyalty (DLOY), was confirmed. Nine hypothesized paths were identified among these four constructs, including six direct paths and three indirect paths. Meanwhile, mediation effects and serial mediation effects of DI and SAT between ESQ and DLOY were found. Good ESQ, positive DI, and high SAT were found both separately and collectively to enhance DLOY and have important implications for the strategic marketing of sporting events and sustaining city brand image. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Transformation and Sustainability: Tips to Sport Industry from Research)
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16 pages, 695 KiB  
Article
Development and Preliminary Validation of Social Media as an Educational and Professional Tool Student Perceptions Scale (SMEPT-SPS)
by Samuel López-Carril, María Huertas González-Serrano, Ferran Calabuig-Moreno, Vicente Añó and Christos Anagnostopoulos
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1814; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041814 - 8 Feb 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2964
Abstract
Although social media has an increasing presence both in university and sports settings, in the sports-management education context, no instruments (without being focused on one particular social-media platform, e.g., Facebook and Twitter) have been developed and validated that globally allow the academy to [...] Read more.
Although social media has an increasing presence both in university and sports settings, in the sports-management education context, no instruments (without being focused on one particular social-media platform, e.g., Facebook and Twitter) have been developed and validated that globally allow the academy to explore the perceptions of sports-management students concerning the educational and professional learning potential that these tools offer. Therefore, this research’s main objective is to develop and perform a preliminary validation of the social media as an educational and professional tool student perceptions scale (SMEPT-SPS). This study sample was composed of 90 Spanish undergraduate sports-management students (M = 22.56; SD = 3.55). A multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was performed to examine the psychometric properties of the SMEPT-SPS. The statistical analysis reflects the scale’s three-dimensional nature, explaining 67.87% of the variance and presents adequate psychometric properties (α = 0.87). Nevertheless, further validity and reliability analysis are required to confirm these initial findings with a larger and more representative sample. Considering the foregoing limitation, this research contributes to the literature by providing a new instrument, the SMEPT-SPS, that could help sports-management faculty expand the scope and understanding of social media’s educational and professional potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Transformation and Sustainability: Tips to Sport Industry from Research)
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21 pages, 298 KiB  
Article
Moving Away from Category Exclusivity Deals to Sponsorship Activation Platforms: The Case of the Ryder Cup
by Yunchao Bai, Brian H. Yim, John Breedlove and James J. Zhang
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1151; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031151 - 22 Jan 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3259
Abstract
As a biennial event, the Ryder Cup is a men’s golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. Ernst & Young (EY) and Standard Life Investments (SLI), who are in same business category (i.e., financial services), have served as official partners [...] Read more.
As a biennial event, the Ryder Cup is a men’s golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. Ernst & Young (EY) and Standard Life Investments (SLI), who are in same business category (i.e., financial services), have served as official partners of the event in recent years. While the two firms are willing to move away from the traditional sponsorship practices of category exclusivity deals, both have been able to achieve significant success through their collaborative efforts in activating their sponsorships. This is a new, fascinating phenomenon in both sponsorship concept and practice. Through an exploratory inductive inquiry process, in this study we conduct a case analysis by examining the sponsorship activations of EY and SLI at the 2014 Ryder Cup event held in the UK. The findings demonstrate that social media plays an impactful role in the companies’ ability to engage target audiences. EY used the Ryder Cup captain as a brand ambassador, who embodied its sponsorship theme of leadership and teamwork. SLI focused on running advertising campaigns to build company image and increase brand awareness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Transformation and Sustainability: Tips to Sport Industry from Research)
18 pages, 313 KiB  
Article
Online Webcast Demand vs. Offline Spectating Channel Demand (Stadium and TV) in the Professional Sports League
by Yan Feng, Jinbao Wang and Yeujun Yoon
Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 9906; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12239906 - 26 Nov 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3463
Abstract
This study investigates the online spectating behavior of sports fans. Due to the great mobility and low opportunity/switching costs, webcast sports fans’ spectating behaviors are distinct from those associated with traditional spectating channels such as stadium attendance or TV viewership. We explore the [...] Read more.
This study investigates the online spectating behavior of sports fans. Due to the great mobility and low opportunity/switching costs, webcast sports fans’ spectating behaviors are distinct from those associated with traditional spectating channels such as stadium attendance or TV viewership. We explore the unique characteristics of online webcast demand in professional sports leagues by rigorously modeling all three spectating choices of sports fans. To consider the substitute relationship of the three spectating choices simultaneously, we employ a BLP (Berry–Levinsohn–Pakes)-style random coefficient model. For the analysis, we collect a comprehensive game-level dataset from the Korean Professional Baseball Organization (KBO) League fan samples from three different channels: online webcast viewership, stadium attendance, and TV viewership. We find that the demand for online webcasts is distinctive compared to that of traditional spectating channels. Notably, we find that the impact of team performance is three times stronger than that of TV viewership demand and that the impact of game quality is four times stronger than that of attendance demand. In contrast, a nonperformance variable is relatively less effective in attracting sports fans to online broadcasting. Furthermore, we find evidence of a strong retention effect of online webcast viewers. Our findings indicate that the previous spectating experience of online webcasts increases the next-time choice of sports fans for the webcast because the genuine spectating experience with distinctive webcast services (such as real-time interactive communication or various supplementary programs) can induce consumers to revisit the channel. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Transformation and Sustainability: Tips to Sport Industry from Research)
11 pages, 373 KiB  
Article
Social TV Engagement for Increasing and Sustaining Social TV Viewers
by Odukorede Odunaiya, Mary Agoyi and Oseyenbhin Sunday Osemeahon
Sustainability 2020, 12(12), 4906; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12124906 - 16 Jun 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3842
Abstract
With little known about how social TV (STV) strategies can be harnessed by the broadcasting industry in order to increase and sustain their viewers, this study brings new insight to the social TV phenomenon by investigating the effect of game uncertainty and social [...] Read more.
With little known about how social TV (STV) strategies can be harnessed by the broadcasting industry in order to increase and sustain their viewers, this study brings new insight to the social TV phenomenon by investigating the effect of game uncertainty and social media use (SMU) on social TV engagement in generating network loyalty (NL). The study also analyzed the mediating effect of severity between game uncertainty and social media use with social TV engagement. SmartPLS 3 was used to analyze the survey data of 364 participants for the proposed model, and the findings from the study revealed that game uncertainty and social media use have a positive effect on social TV engagement, which positively influences network loyalty. In addition, it was seen that severity mediates the relationship between game uncertainty and social media use with social TV engagement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Transformation and Sustainability: Tips to Sport Industry from Research)
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Review

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25 pages, 640 KiB  
Review
The Intention to Use Fitness and Physical Activity Apps: A Systematic Review
by Salvador Angosto, Jerónimo García-Fernández, Irena Valantine and Moisés Grimaldi-Puyana
Sustainability 2020, 12(16), 6641; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166641 - 17 Aug 2020
Cited by 49 | Viewed by 10338
Abstract
Recently the development of new technologies has produced an increase in the number of studies that try to evaluate consumer behavior towards the use of sports applications. The aim of this study is to perform a systematic review of the literature on the [...] Read more.
Recently the development of new technologies has produced an increase in the number of studies that try to evaluate consumer behavior towards the use of sports applications. The aim of this study is to perform a systematic review of the literature on the intention to use mobile applications (Apps) related to fitness and physical activity by consumers. This systematic review is a critical evaluation of the evidence from quantitative studies in the field of assessment of consumer behavior towards sport applications. A total of 13 studies are analyzed that propose models for evaluating the intentions to use fitness applications by sport consumers. The results revealed several key conclusions: (a) Technology Acceptance Model is the most widely used model; (b) the relationship between perceived utility and future intentions is the most analyzed; and (c) the most evaluated applications are diet/fitness. These findings could help technology managers to know the most important key elements to take into account in the development of future applications in sport organizations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Transformation and Sustainability: Tips to Sport Industry from Research)
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