Sport studies is becoming an increasingly popular discipline, but the most effective research methods used to investigate the multi-faceted nature of the empirical sporting world have yet to be identified. This book makes a timely and relevant contribution to a broader methodological project as the first systematic examination and explication of qualitative research methods within sports studies. Bringing together leading experts in the field, Qualitative Methods in Sports Studies assesses a variety of approaches, ranging from social historical, media text, and personal narrative to ethnographic and interview-based qualitative research methodologies. Drawing on the diversity of sport studies literature, contributors outline the major issues and strategies associated with each method and highlight best practice exemplars to follow. What are the future opportunities and avenues for further investigation within sports studies research? What are the true assets of qualitative data collection and analysis? Answering these and countless other questions that are critical for the future of the discipline, this practical research guide is an essential reference tool for students and scholar

This book examines how the emergence of new media brings brought challenges to the North American sport industry, discussing challenges in terms of a shift from an information economy to an attention economy perspective. Historically, the arrival of new forms of media, including radio and television, were not universally supported by sports leagues, wary of existing industry relationships with stakeholders, and new media have made the multi-sided market model of professional sports leagues - which has focused on protection and exploitation of league content - inefficient, and calls for a new model to integrate new media into the market. By integrating platform theory with the Service Dominant Logic (SDL) of marketing we describe how the multi-sided market of professional sports is evolving into a platform ecosystem, and the role of its most important customers - the fans - will also evolve from end users, to value co-creators, complementors and innovators. This book will create a new way of understanding the evolution of professional sports leagues and future growth of the industry, and lay the foundation for new research within the academic realm of sport management and sports marketing.

Sport studies is becoming an increasingly popular discipline, but the most effective research methods used to investigate the multi-faceted nature of the empirical sporting world have yet to be identified. This book makes a timely and relevant contribution to a broader methodological project as the first systematic examination and explication of qualitative research methods within sports studies. Bringing together leading experts in the field, Qualitative Methods in Sports Studies assesses a variety of approaches, ranging from social historical, media text, and personal narrative to ethnographic and interview-based qualitative research methodologies. Drawing on the diversity of sport studies literature, contributors outline the major issues and strategies associated with each method and highlight best practice exemplars to follow. What are the future opportunities and avenues for further investigation within sports studies research? What are the true assets of qualitative data collection and analysis? Answering these and countless other questions that are critical for the future of the discipline, this practical research guide is an essential reference tool for students and scholar