Exploring why professional team sport clubs are almost always able to survive despite financial mismanagement, inflated player salaries and persistent deficits, this book provides new evidence on how to explain this phenomenon. It looks at the context in which many clubs operate - the soft budget constraint - and how the clubs in this respect resemble state-owned enterprises in socialist countries or big banks in financial crises. Chapters discuss the challenge of hardening the budget constraint, including UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulation. They include new data about the soft budget constraint phenomenon, including evidence from Central and Eastern Europe. Leading scholars in the field develop the theoretical approach to the topic using institutional theory, dialogue with critics and discussions on the merits and limits of soft budgets. The book also investigates key case studies of bailouts and liquidation of professional sports teams. This will be an invigorating read for scholars and students of sports economics and sports management. It will also be helpful to managers and directors in professional sports clubs looking for a better understanding of the soft budget constraint.

This important book presents theoretical and empirical studies of the current reorganization of economic, political and social relations in Britain, West Germany and Scandinavia. An international list of distinguished contributors provide critical and well-informed commentaries on issues such as the transition from 'Fordism' to 'Post-Fordism', discourses and strategies of flexibility, the recomposition of labour markets and labour processes, the changing functions of the welfare state, and the transformation of the state. The arguments are illustrated using cases drawn equally from these three significant and distinct patterns of political economy. In particular, the book assesses how the need for increased 'flexibility' influenced the intellectual and organizational responses of these countries to the crises of the late 1970s.

Risk Management Professionals seek to identify, analyze, and document the risks associated with a company's business operations, as well as monitor the effectiveness of risk management processes and implement needed changes. The PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP) (R) certification not only highlights the ability to identify and assess project risks, mitigate threats, and capitalize on opportunities, but it also enhances and protects the needs of the organization. Gaining distinction as a PMI-RMP sets the Risk Management Professional apart from other professionals and brings credit to an organization. The exams from the Project Management Institute are not easy, so whether you are running a course as an instructor or studying by yourself, you need a good study guide to maximize time spent studying and one which enhances the chances of passing the exam. Test takers sitting for the exam need a study guide that suggests which study materials are best to read in preparation for the exam, presents exercises to enhance learning and understanding, and provides sample exam questions. Most study guides just explain the contents of the exam without providing the tools to maximize learning. Klaus Nielsen, an Authorized Training Partner with PMI, translates the PMI examination content outline for April 2022 into what people need to do and know in preparation and provides them with exercises and prep questions as a quick and easy check to ensure they are on the right path in preparation for taking the exam. This book helps maximize the chance of passing the exam.

Risk Management Professionals seek to identify, analyze, and document the risks associated with a company's business operations, as well as monitor the effectiveness of risk management processes and implement needed changes. The PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP) (R) certification not only highlights the ability to identify and assess project risks, mitigate threats, and capitalize on opportunities, but it also enhances and protects the needs of the organization. Gaining distinction as a PMI-RMP sets the Risk Management Professional apart from other professionals and brings credit to an organization. The exams from the Project Management Institute are not easy, so whether you are running a course as an instructor or studying by yourself, you need a good study guide to maximize time spent studying and one which enhances the chances of passing the exam. Test takers sitting for the exam need a study guide that suggests which study materials are best to read in preparation for the exam, presents exercises to enhance learning and understanding, and provides sample exam questions. Most study guides just explain the contents of the exam without providing the tools to maximize learning. Klaus Nielsen, an Authorized Training Partner with PMI, translates the PMI examination content outline for April 2022 into what people need to do and know in preparation and provides them with exercises and prep questions as a quick and easy check to ensure they are on the right path in preparation for taking the exam. This book helps maximize the chance of passing the exam.

Agile Portfolio Management deals with how an organization identifies, prioritizes, organizes, and manages different products. This is done in a streamlined way in order to optimize the development of value in a manner that's sustainable in the long run. It ensures that a company provides their clients with the best value for their investment. A good portfolio manager understands and follows the agile principles while also considering the various factors needed to successfully manage numerous teams and projects. The project management offices of many organizations are faced with the reality of more and more agile deliverables as part of agile transformations; however, they lack the knowledge to perform these tasks. Researchers and practitioners have a good understanding of project, program, and portfolio management from a plan-based perspective. They have common standards from Axelos, PMI, and others, so they know the best practices. The understanding of agile on a team level is fairly mature and the knowledge of more agile teams (scaling) is increasing. However, the knowledge of agile portfolio management is still limited. The aim of this book is to give the reader an understanding of management of a portfolio of agile deliverables, what the options are (theory), what we know (research), and what others are doing (practice). Many organizations in banking or insurance, to name a few, are in the middle of major agile transformations with limited knowledge of the practice. In this book, the author collects and analyzes common practices in various industries. He provides both theory and, through case studies, the practical aspects of agile portfolio management.

Strategic Choice and Path-Dependency in Post-Socialism focuses on the distinctive institutional legacies of state socialism and their impact on the transformation of Poland, Hungary and the former Czechoslovakia. Strategic dilemmas and problems of institutional design involved in the transition from state socialism to democratic and market-orientated societies are also addressed in this ground breaking volume.A distinguished group of scholars from Eastern and Central Europe, as well as the West, addresses the transformation process from the institutional and evolutionary perspectives in political economy and the social sciences. The first part presents six essays by Western scholars reflecting on institutional design, strategic dilemmas, path-dependency, and the dynamics of post-socialism with a general relevance to the transformation process. The remaining papers provide detailed, contemporary analyses of the transformation of Poland, Hungary, and the former Czechoslovakia respectively. Each part covers the same broad set of themes so that the reader obtains an insightful and authoritative overview of the problems of institutional design, strategic dilemmas and path dependency. This strong combination of theoretically informed comparative analysis with up-to-date case studies, drawing on several years' experience of the countries discussed, will ensure that this major new volume will be welcomed by students and researchers interested in Eastern and Central Europe, comparative economics, politics and sociology.

The concept of institutions has become increasingly important in the analysis of both social cohesion and economic change. Institutions and Economic Change reflects the shift of perspective from the allocation of scarce resources to the creation, distribution and use of new resources, especially knowledge. It presents theories of the relationship between institutions and economic change as well as their application in fields such as innovation, the firm, technical change, markets and economic systems. The overall theme of the book focuses on the relationship between institutions and change within the economy, specifically, the roles of learning, knowledge, trust and norms. These issues are addressed from institutional and evolutionary perspectives by an internationally acclaimed group of scholars, including Benjamin Coriat, Giovanni Dosi, Geoffrey Hodgson, Jan Kregel, and Bart Nooteboom. The first section expands these themes, and outlines prospects for future theoretical developments. The second and third parts examine innovation and firms, theoretical and empirical studies of technological change and perspectives on the firm and the relations between firms. In the final part, the authors discuss the economic role of moral norms, a challenge to the idea of optimal allocation of resources in economic equilibrium and evaluate the variety of capitalist economic systems. This innovative book will appeal to economic scholars and students interested in the theory of the firm, economic change, innovation and evolutionary and institutional economics.

With these essays, the writers help to put the mass of changes in the former USSR and the Eastern Bloc into a larger historical and sociological perspective by considering the social complexity which surrounds any political and economic system. Seen in this light, it is easier to understand why the surgical implants of the free market into Eastern Bloc and former Soviet countries have not been accepted.

This book is based on the premise that mainstream economics has become excessively specialized and formalized, entering a state of de facto withdrawal from the study of the economy in favour of exercises in applied mathematics. The editors believe that there is much scope for synergies by engaging in an encounter with economics and the other social sciences. The chapters in this book offer important new contributions to such a development. A select group of highly regarded contributors illustrate the potentially enlightening relationship between economics and a wide range of social science disciplines. In addition, some important concepts for economic analysis - for example the notion of routines, of social capital and of flexibility - are explored from the vantage point of several social sciences. Postgraduate students in most social science disciplines and in economic sociology will find much to interest them in this book, as will students of psychology and economics.

Written by European professors and focusing on the specificities of European sport, When Sport Meets Business analyses the growing commercialisation of professional sport in recent years and explains how it has developed into a major global industry. Structured into four sections, the book covers the key issues in the Business of professional sport: The New Sport Environment - Analysing the consequences of increasing commercialisation by looking at the multi-billion dollar sports goods industry; the effects of globalisation and how commercial influences have made running one of Europe's most popular sports. Sport Marketing and Media - Investigating the role media and marketing has in commercialisation, with emphasis on the growth of sponsorship; media rights in European club football and the growing influence of social media in sport. Sport and Finance - Relating to the economics of European sport: there is an investigation into the financial policies employed by European Football clubs, specifically in regards to the Financial Fair Play regulations, and the topical issue of high level corruption. Sporting Events - Looking at additional factors that affect professional sport: highlighting the impact an Olympic Games can have on a host city and the longevity of an Olympic urban legacy. The authors have included insightful case studies from across the continent, including anti RB-Leipzig media campaigns in Germany, financial policies at England's Chelsea FC, French Tennis Federation corporate responsibility, Media rights in Spain's LaLiga, the sponsorship viability for Ukraine's Klitschko brothers and the case of Denmark's Viborg F.F. Suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students in sport related courses, including sport management, sport economics, sport marketing and the sociology of sport.

Written by European professors and focusing on the specificities of European sport, When Sport Meets Business analyses the growing commercialisation of professional sport in recent years and explains how it has developed into a major global industry. Structured into four sections, the book covers the key issues in the Business of professional sport: The New Sport Environment - Analysing the consequences of increasing commercialisation by looking at the multi-billion dollar sports goods industry; the effects of globalisation and how commercial influences have made running one of Europe's most popular sports. Sport Marketing and Media - Investigating the role media and marketing has in commercialisation, with emphasis on the growth of sponsorship; media rights in European club football and the growing influence of social media in sport. Sport and Finance - Relating to the economics of European sport: there is an investigation into the financial policies employed by European Football clubs, specifically in regards to the Financial Fair Play regulations, and the topical issue of high level corruption. Sporting Events - Looking at additional factors that affect professional sport: highlighting the impact an Olympic Games can have on a host city and the longevity of an Olympic urban legacy. The authors have included insightful case studies from across the continent, including anti RB-Leipzig media campaigns in Germany, financial policies at England's Chelsea FC, French Tennis Federation corporate responsibility, Media rights in Spain's LaLiga, the sponsorship viability for Ukraine's Klitschko brothers and the case of Denmark's Viborg F.F. Suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students in sport related courses, including sport management, sport economics, sport marketing and the sociology of sport.