Sports Innovation Management

Vanessa Ratten

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351712002
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

This book introduces readers to emerging issues of sport innovation. The book focuses on the role of innovation in the sports context and how we can leverage opportunities that arise from networks and optimize resources by identifying where they are most effective. It helps to identify the conditions and procedures that emergent business ventures need to be formed.

The book is a useful reference for sports organizations, athletes and government organizations promoting the use of innovation to generate competitive advantage in the global marketplace.

1
SPORTS INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

An overview

Introduction

Innovation is changing the way sport is practiced and how people connect with sport. This is largely the result of sport being a growing industry as a result of increased emphasis on leisure and recreation activities. Innovation has been at the heart of sport because of the role competition plays in the game and also the industry. There are a number of stakeholders in sport that impact innovation including athletes, coaches, managers and researchers. Sports innovation involves a new way of doing something that gives a competitive advantage in the sport context. The ability to innovate is a core need in sport as it enables renewal and change by encouraging new sports to develop and the emergence of alternative playing techniques that is core to the survival of some sports.

Few scholars have attempted to examine sports innovation management at multiple levels of analysis including the individual, organization, institutional and macro-environment. This has limited the research existing on sports innovation management as most focus on technological change. As innovation is essential for the progress of sports management as a field of study it is important to identify areas that require both academic and practitioner attention. This is due to there being a complex interaction between sport and innovation as a result of the popularity of sport in society. This has meant the sport industry needs to more effectively identify ways they need to innovate. Innovation is seen as a solution to problems in sport. The reason for this is that innovation is helpful for economic, social and technical reasons and contributes to a better society. Innovation in sport stimulates new ideas that pave the way for increased enjoyment.

The benefits of sports innovation come from the innovators who face risks bringing their ideas to fruition, who often face uncertainties and need to alter their ideas before they are successful. Some sport innovators have a natural affinity for sport due to their personal associations with sport. This increases the likelihood of their sport innovations getting into the marketplace because of their social networks and personal connections. Many innovations in sport occur by chance as athletes develop products that provide better capabilities. This has led to sport innovations being evaluated in different ways depending on the understanding of success for individuals. The success of sports innovation is linked to better sports performance while others may have financial motives.

This chapter seeks to discuss the increasing importance of innovation in sport, which has influenced the competitiveness of sport in the global economy. The role different types of innovation play in sport are discussed that gives way to an analysis about the concept of sports innovation. The main findings suggest that sports innovation is influenced by the co-creation of knowledge by different entities involved in sport. This suggests that a deeper understanding of sports innovation in an academic, policy and practical setting is required to facilitate global growth. This is crucial as innovation is the competitive advantage that gives sport its distinctive global appeal.

This objective of this chapter is to provide the background for the growing role of innovation in sport. The importance of sports innovation management is discussed as a way to fuel athletic and organizational success. The relationships between innovation and sport are examined that paves the way for a theory of sports innovation. Finally, the chapter closes with an elaboration about the current knowledge on sports innovation.

Goals of this book

In this book, I take a step toward addressing the gap between sports management and innovation management for a number of important reasons. First, the process of innovation influences sport in a multitude of ways. This includes the way sport develops to its interaction with society. The magnitude of sports innovation (incremental or radical) will be influenced by the processes that enable it to gain entry into the marketplace. This means there is a need to understand the antecedents of sports innovation in order to evaluate its outcomes. This can be conducted by focusing on the sports innovation content to see its changing nature within society.

Second, managers of sports organizations who are interested in building innovation into their structures need guidance about how to do this. For both sport and related industries having an innovative mindset helps to make an organization innovative. This can enable managers to evaluate the pros and cons of innovation in order to achieve the best possible outcome for their organization. Innovation managers involved with sports-related services can also gain from an understanding of the financial and non-financial resources needed to invest in innovation. While some managers have a natural tendency for innovation others need to learn it.

Third, there is a global trend toward sport as a leisure activity but also in terms of health and wellness. This growth has coincided with the ageing of the population and more people generally spending a greater degree of time on sports-related activities. This means that there is an effort by sports organizations to tap into this market by offering innovative products and services. Therefore, sports innovation can offer a way for organizations to value add to their market in order to gain potential new customers.

Sport

Sport needs to be innovative to cope with the increased usage of leisure facilities and demand from consumers. In the past, sport was considered more formal but now it has moved to be a leisure activity that can also be informal in nature. This is reflected in the increase in the active leisure wear market as people now wear what was previously considered only sports apparel in their everyday lives. In addition, as a result of the ageing of the population there is an increased emphasis on health and wellness. This has led to more slow sports such as yoga and meditation becoming popular and considered mainstream. The introduction of new sports is an innovation as they have changed people’s perception and understanding of sport.

The more recreational nature of sport is reflected in people working more flexible hours than in the past. Traditionally, sport was considered a weekend activity conducted after the Monday to Friday work week but the introduction of longer shopping hours and telecommuting has led to people requiring different hours and places to play sport. Fitness centers are more popular and 24-hour gyms are located in many areas. This has led to innovations in gym equipment and hours opened in order to accommodate more consumers.

The literature on sport has been linked to other disciplines including economics, geography, management and sociology but less emphasis has been placed on innovation, which is unusual due to the importance innovation plays in sport. This view is reflected in Ringuet-Riot et al (2014:817) stating “in the sport context, innovations that are solutions to a pre-identified problem or need are critical to developing sport and for maximizing the experiences and performances of individuals and organizations.” Moreover, sport has been impacted by the digital revolution as it has caused more usage of technological innovation. Some sports such as kitesurfing have been innovations that appeal to a sense of freedom and independence among people.

Sport has been innovative as it has undergone many different lifecycles when some are fashionable then become lesser-known but later increase in appeal. Examples are cardio aerobics made popular by Jane Fonda, which was superseded by a focus on yoga but has since reemerged in popularity. Other lifecycle sports are Zumba, which combines dance and aerobics as a form of innovation. In addition, the use of digital technology is evident in video games incorporating physical activity as part of the game. This means that a person can kick a ball that then shows online, which has changed the way people play sport. Often the playing or watching of sport is done in both a physical and online format.

There has been more media attention placed on the importance of people having a healthy lifestyle. This has led to a change in peoples eating habits but also more acceptance of sport into everyday lifestyle activity. More fitness classes such aerobics are now conducted outdoors in order to complement people wanting more natural settings for sport activities. At the same time though, some sports have innovated by going indoors, such as trampoline clubs that used to be more outdoors and holiday-based sporting activities. Other sports such as indoor rock climbing have emerged as a way for people with busy lifestyles to practice sport in a more controlled environment. This is in conjunction with sport being considered more as an entertainment activity.

Sport events now often have performers at half time, which combine music and culture with sport. Depending on the country context, the musicians will put on a performance that gives the sporting event an entertainment feel. Other sports teams have tried to stay traditional such as the Pittsburgh Steelers National Football League (NFL) team, which does not have cheerleaders unlike other football teams. The Pittsburgh Steelers, as a result of their name, history and owners, have chosen to focus on the sport and this appeals to their fan base. Other NFL teams such as the Dallas Cowboys have cheerleaders and they have become popular as a result of their themed calendars and related merchandise. The cheerleaders give a sense of fun to the football games but are also orientated to have more of an entertainment vibe at sporting events. This has resulted in the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders being athletes who are entertainers and an important component of the sport-entertainment domain.

The increased emphasis on fun and creativity in sport has given rise to some traditional sports combining with entertainment elements to appeal to more people. Examples of these sports are celebrity or themed sports events. Marathons have now changed to offer multiple distance targets to appeal to leisure, professional and family running enthusiasts. There are also marathons offering mud and other natural elements to make it more fun for participants. Ultra marathons and themed marathons supporting a specific charity are other examples of sports innovation. Another sport that has innovated in a similar manner is paintball, which incorporates an artistic and creative element to a recreation activity.

Spaaij and Westerbeek (2010:1357) define sport as “activities that require physical exertion and that are structured and standardized according to internationally agreed rules and regulations.” This definition of sport is adopted in this book as it enables a contribution to building up innovation levels as it provides a way of experimenting with new products and services in a more relaxed manner.

Sport is an elusive concept but is generally considered as an activity involving two or more people for competitive reasons (Nadeau et al, 2016). This means that sport can include the participation of people in an outdoors setting or through electronic means such as computer games. Many people around the world play sport according to a set of rules. This enables the procedures of sport to be global in nature, transcending cultural and economic barriers. There are also unwritten rules in sport that are codes of conduct and are important parts of the game. This means that people play sport in different ways depending on their strategies. For some, sport is a leisure activity but for others it is a profession.

Sport can include active and inactive participation from the athletes on the field to the referees and spectators outside the field (O’Reilly et al, 2015). This means that people engage in sport in different ways depending on their needs. In addition, there are a variety of benefits from sport including better social cohesion and increased health benefits. Therefore, sport is considered a global language that has helped with cultural understanding.

The constant trial and error nature of sports innovation means that there is a sense of camaraderie between the sport innovators and the users. This is helpful for the creation of sports innovation as it makes a contribution to society. There is strong evidence that sport provides a platform for innovation opportunities and the emergence of new technology. This is based on the large amounts of money fans, clubs and governments are willing to spend to ensure that their athletes and teams win events.

Despite the positive perception of innovation there are some negative consequences of innovation in sport due to the high-pressure environment, which drives competition. This has meant that there is some debate about what is good or bad innovation in the sports context. The strong bonds people have to a sport mean while most are focused on winning there can be a tendency to keep the status quo. This is changing more with the internationalization of sport opening up new markets and business opportunities.

Sport business

Sport business organizations are answerable both to their stakeholders but also the global community (Spaaij and Westerbeek, 2010). Taylor and McGraw (2006:23) state “the sport industry’s distinctiveness is exemplified by features of intangibility, heterogeneity and inseparability of production and consumption.” This means that the intangibleness refers to sport being a form of entertainment that is enjoyed through experience. This has resulted in players and spectators taking pleasure in sport and engaging in sport because of an emotional attachment. Heterogeneity refers to the many different kinds of sport people can consume from traditional sports such as tennis to newer adventure sports including kitesurfing. In addition, there are various types of sport ranging from individually orientated ones to team sports. This has led to the increased use of technology in sport, which has given rise to more online and computer games related to sport, such as fantasy football where a person chooses their dream members of a team. The inseparability of the consumption and production of sport means that often to play sport requires an allocation of time and energy engaged in an activity.

Sport is based on rules that govern how a game is played. This requires a coordinated approach to adapting to new innovations while maintaining the rules of the game. Innovation is essential for the sports sector as it is used for progressive development. Innovative sports organizations spend time on research to facilitate the entry into new markets and establishing of new ideas. Moreover, the move for innovation in sport is supported by a general trend toward innovation in the global economy. This is reflected in sports organizations trying to support new ideas as a way to improve overall performance.

More sports consumers are focusing on innovation as a result of competition among sports for consumer dollars. The search for innovation in sport consists of anything from new logos or branding to development of playing techniques. The core of innovation in sport is moving away from established practices in order to incorporate new ways of doing things. Innovativeness in sport involves creating new processes that involve an advancement in the way things are currently conducted. This is due to there being a tendency of sports organizations to be innovative but needing to rely on their creative mindset. Therefore, innovation is crucial to the growth of sports organizations as a result of its role in leveraging new ideas.

Sport industry

The sport industry is comprised of the commercial, non-profit and public sectors, which are often interrelated depending on the sports context. Sport teams have provided a sense of community and belonging based on geographical and historical association (Wann and Weaver, 2009). This community connection has enabled partnerships to develop between sport, business and government entities further facilitating social cohesion. By increasing connections in a community, innovations can incorporate a number of different stakeholders. More companies are finding that utilizing innovation in a sports context can influence their success. In order to facilitate sports innovation there should be a connection between business, government and people. This is due to the sports industry being complex and it includes a range of segments from footwear and clothing, facilities and equipment, nutrition to technology devices.

More sports organizations are becoming innovation motivated as a way to develop business savvy revenue streams. This is a result of the competitive global landscape, leading sports organizations to look for the next big thing as a way to increase their competitiveness. In addition, there are more online resources for sport that has made sport dependent on technology innovation. This has resulted in one of the most rapidly growing areas of business being sport business and innovation is part of this growth.

The sport industry is estimated to be one of the top ten industries in the United States and it affects other industries (Zaharia et al, 2016). This has led to more dialogue in the sport industry about how to foster innovative activities. Sport management has become a more business-orientated discipline due to its focus on profit maximization and competitiveness (Zaharia et al, 2016). This change has been a result of the emphasis on business in sport instead of a pure leisure or physical activity. The future of sport business is connected to innovation as a result of its role in encouraging creativity and strategic thinking.

Innovation

Most definitions of innovation refer to it as the carrying out of new combinations. Broadly, innovation can be considered as the process of renewal and renovation as it allows previous ways of thinking to reemerge and new approaches to improve current conditions (Poutanen et al, 2016). Innovation can involve a dynamic and evolutionary process that incorporates creativity (Link and Siegel, 2007). This means that while in the past research has been considered innovation mostly as a linear and simple process, more recently it has been considered as a non-linear and harder process to explain (Ratten and Ferreira, 2017).

Baregheh et al (2009:1324) state “innovation may involve a wide range of different types of change depending on the organizations resources, capabilities, strategies and requirements.” There are a range of innovation definitions but most emphasize the degree of newness (Baregheh et al, 2009). This has led to there being a debate about what is new but it...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Lists of tables
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• 1 Sports innovation management: an overview
• 2 Creativity and innovation
• 3 Transformational leadership
• 4 Innovative marketing
• 5 Culture, social and sustainable innovation
• 6 Open innovation
• 7 Corporate entrepreneurship
• 8 Technology innovation
• 9 Future directions for sports innovation management
• Index