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Globalized Sport Management in
Diverse Cultural Contexts
The World Association for Sport Management (WASM) was founded to facil-
itate sport management research, teaching and learning excellence, and profes-
sional practice, across every continent. The WASM book series is designed to
support those aims by presenting current research and scholarship, from well-
established and emerging scholars and practitioners, on sport management
theory, policy and practice. Books in the series will explore contemporary issues
and key challenges in sport management, and identify important new directions
for research and professional practice. Above all, the series aims to encourage
and highlight the development of international perspectives, international part-
nerships, and international best practice in sport management, recognizing the
globalised nature of the contemporary sport industry.
Part I
Uniqueness and comparisons 27
Part II
Social issues and opportunities 177
Index 294
Contributors
Cheri L. Bradish is the Loretta Rogers Research Chair in Sport Marketing with
the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University, Canada.
Kyu Ha Choi is a PhD student in Sport Management and a Graduate Teaching
Assistant at the University of Georgia, USA.
Alicia Cintron is an Assistant Professor in Sport Management at the University
of Cincinnati, USA.
William Crossan is an Assistant Professor of Sports Management at the Faculty
of Physical Education and Sport of the Charles University in Prague, Czech
Republic.
Flávia da Cunha Bastos is Associate Professor of Sport Management and
Director of the Laboratory of Management, Policies, Marketing and Com-
munication in Sport and Physical Education (LAGECOM) at the School of
Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
Russell L. Curtis, Jr. (Retired/Deceased) Professor Emeritus of Sociology
Department at the University of Houston, USA.
Heidi Grappendorf is an Associate Professor and Director of the Sport Manage-
ment Graduate Program at Western Carolina University, USA.
Meg Hancock is an Associate Professor and Interim Department Chair at the
University of Louisville, USA.
Chris J. Henderson is Visiting Assistant Professor of Sport Leadership and
Management at Miami University, USA.
Lauren M. Johnson is a PhD student in Sport Management and Manager of the
International Center for Sport Management at the University of Georgia, USA.
Euisoo Kim is a PhD student in Sport Management and a Graduate Teaching
Assistant at the University of Georgia, USA.
Szczepan Kościółek is a Doctoral Student in the field of economy and a Junior
Lecturer at Jagiellonian University in Poland.
viii Contributors
Introduction
It is often stated that we are living in the era of globalization and that the eco-
nomic integration of international society significantly contributes to the notion
of a global village. Yet, it is ironic that the promotion of international free trade
is derived from the protectionism of the Great Depression. Throughout the
global economic recession in the 1930s, many countries gave up free trade and
began to impose high rates of tariffs for imported goods to protect and boost
their domestic economy. The negative impacts of protectionism led to the
global economic recession being unexpectedly prolonged; as a consequence,
international society had turned toward trade liberalization by the late 1930s
(Dür, 2010). Ever since, global society has tried to promote international trade
by reducing trade barriers through such trade organizations as the General
Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) and World Trade Organization
(WTO). In recent years, many countries have pursued the signing of bilateral or
regional trade agreements that provide exclusive benefits among members
involved in national coalitions (Zhang, Pitts, & Kim, 2017).
Due to the promotion of freer trade, business sectors have become increas-
ingly more internationalized as exchange of goods, services and labor forces
are much more convenient and accessible than ever before. It is not surprising
to find that many corporations have been actively seeking cross-border busi-
ness opportunities and becoming multinational. The trend is being acceler-
ated even more due to the rapid development of transportation,
communication and information technology (IT) that enables corporate
global operations to be more effective, cheaper and easier. For example,
advanced shipbuilding technologies have allowed vessels to carry much larger
volumes of goods per voyage, which has significantly contributed to the reduc-
tion of global transportation costs. Cheaper transportation costs have con-
tributed to a large number of corporations building factories in emerging
economies, e.g., China and Vietnam, in pursuit of competitive labor and pro-
duction costs. Consequently, it is more difficult to find domestically produced
consumer goods in many developed economies such as the United States and
2 Lauren M. Johnson et al.
Western European nations (Pitts & Zhang, 2016; Zhang, Chen, & Kim, 2014;
Zhang, Huang, & Wang, 2017).
A company can even be so global that the price of specific products provides
a reference for the economic indexes of a certain country. The Economist, one of
the most prominent economics magazines, each year announces its “Big Mac
Index”: Big Mac is a representative hamburger of McDonald’s and the variation
of Big Mac price across countries provides a meaningful reference that enables
economists to compare such economic indicators as cost, pricing, affordability
and lifestyle. For example, findings of numerous studies indicate that the price
index of a Big Mac is highly correlated with the wage level (Ashenfelter &
Jurajda, 2001), real exchange rate (Parsley & Wei, 2007) and purchasing power
parity (Ong, 2003; Pakko & Pollard, 2003). These phenomena provide a snap-
shot of how much the world economy and contemporary corporations are glo-
balized today.
Consistent with mainstream business, the sport industry has developed
rapidly under the global trend and benefited in various respects. The sport
industry as a whole has entered the global marketplace because of the com-
petitive nature of leagues and organizations that employ players, coaches and
administrators from various parts of the world in order to have the best talents
they can find. The Olympic Games and World Cup represent worldwide sport-
ing events that bring together multiple countries that all play and enjoy the
same sport in their respective regions. The first modern Olympic Games, held in
Athens, Greece in 1896, drew 311 athletes from over 13 nations. This global
meeting of the world’s best athletes was the very start of the sport industry
expanding across borders (Crosset & Hums, 2015). Without the globalizing
forces, the popularity of many professional sports such as soccer and basketball
would be limited to their country of origin and they could not gain such global
attention as they enjoy now. About a century ago, baseball and basketball were
played and consumed mostly in the United States while the popularity of soccer,
which is perceived as the most globalized sport, was limited among international
Spanish nations (Ramaswamy, 2009). However, today, each match of the
world’s most famous soccer league, the English Premier League (EPL), is
watched by an average of 12 million people. EPL matches were broadcast by 80
stations in 212 territories globally in 2016, generating over $5 billion in inter-
national TV deals for EPL besides its $8 billion domestic TV deals for the
2016–2019 seasons (Curley & Roeder, 2016). These figures provide a reference
to the degree to which the professional sport industry is currently international-
ized in contemporary society.
The international growth of many amateur and professional sports has helped
create an enormous demand for sporting goods from both professional athletes
and recreationalists. It is not surprising to find a large number of sporting goods
manufacturers growing rapidly and operating factories across the globe to serve
consumer needs (Smart, 2007). For example, Nike, which was incorporated in
1967, operates international branch offices and subsidiaries in 51 countries;
Globalized sport management in context 3
$5.8 billion out of its $6.2 billion of cash, cash equivalents and short-term invest-
ments were held by foreign subsidiaries as of May 31, 2017 (Nike, 2017). Mega
sport events such as the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Associ-
ation) World Cup and the Olympic Games have contributed considerably to the
globalization of sports and gained enormous attention from international society.
During the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympic Games, 206 National Olympic
Committees with 11,237 athletes participated in the event (Willis, 2016). Sim-
ilarly, 209 countries participated in the qualifying rounds to make the final list
and only 32 teams were invited to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia (Fédéra-
tion Internationale de Football Association [FIFA], 2018). With these large
numbers of participants from around the globe, historical TV viewership for both
events has grown rapidly. For instance, via various platforms such as TV and
streaming on digital devices, 356,924 hours of coverage of the Rio de Janeiro
Games were reported and half the global population watched the games on tele-
vision, which was an increase of 96.7 percent compared to the previous Summer
Olympic Games (International Olympic Committee [IOC], 2016).
Sport labor migration is another sign of the internationalization of sports. In
most professional sport clubs and leagues in both advanced and developing eco-
nomies, it is not difficult to find foreign athletes on the roster. Not only do these
athletes play pivotal roles in bringing competitiveness and high quality to
games, but they also attract foreign media and fans, which often results in better
financial performance for sport organizations (Thibault, 2009; Zhang, Kim, Mas-
tromartino, Qian, & Nauright, 2018). Maguire (1996) investigated the role of
international athlete migration and found that professional ice hockey players
from Canada made a significant contribution to the development of European
ice hockey leagues. When Chan-ho Park, the first Korean baseball player in
Major League Baseball (MLB), began to perform extremely well as a starting
pitcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1997, MLB became one of the most
watched sports in Korea and his performance even contributed to the sport
media company formed jointly between ESPN and MBC in 2001 to broadcast
MLB in Korea (Cho, 2009). Yet, it was not until the late 1980s and early 1990s
that the cross-border movement of athletes began to occur in professional sports
such as soccer, basketball and ice hockey (Butler & Dzikus, 2015). It appears
that without globalization, the international movement of talented athletes
would have been limited and the benefits many professional teams are enjoying
by recruiting them would have been marginal.
While the sport industry has enjoyed the expanded opportunities and
increased benefits of globalization, critical and complex issues have also arisen
in managing sport teams, leagues and organizations. In this chapter, critical ana-
lyses are conducted of both advantageous and challenging perspectives of cross-
cultural and managerial issues in the global sport industry. In a preliminary
effort to address the challenges, discussions on emerging trends and managerial
practices are made; certainly, empirical studies are suggested to further analyze
related concepts and variables and seek viable solutions.
4 Lauren M. Johnson et al.
Perceived challenges
In the world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), the cross-border M&A are
known to be less successful than domestic transactions and the logic behind this
is that barriers in culture and communication degrade the benefits of integration
(Mendenhall, 2004). The arguments on the challenges of cross-cultural diver-
sity in organizational and management settings are mainly classified in three
ways: (a) group cohesiveness, (b) group communications, and (c) mispercep-
tion/misinterpretation/misevaluation. In general, people tend to be attracted to
and feel more ease around and contentment with group members who are like
themselves (Pfeffer, 1983). Ziller (1972) mentioned three theoretical explana-
tions for diversity effects on groups regarding cohesiveness: (a) group members
emphasize a status congruity among members, (b) cohesiveness increases when
perceived similarity enhances attraction and thus homogeneity reinforces the
closeness of groups and (c) to facilitate social comparison, people tend towards
seeking homogeneity in groups or creating homogeneity through pressure to
conform. It was argued that highly cohesive groups have better communications
than less cohesive groups (Lott & Lott, 1965). According to the social identity
theory, cultural homogeneity in management groups may increase satisfaction
and cooperation and decrease emotional conflict (Richard, Barnett, Dwyer, &
Chadwick, 2004). Less effective communications in diverse workgroups is
another potential obstacle in performance (Steiner, 1972). Fiedler (1966) spec-
ulated that culturally diverse groups experienced a less pleasant atmosphere and
greater communications difficulties than more homogeneous groups in his
empirical study. Communication differences due to culture often become the
main source of misunderstandings, which could ultimately weaken the effective-
ness of groups. Cox (1994) emphasized that “once the existence of these differ-
ences is acknowledged, an obvious action step is to educate members on
cross-cultural differences so as to minimize their detrimental effects” (p. 39).
There is apparently a need for some extra efforts for culturally diverse and
heterogeneous groups to coalesce in order to create an environment in which
these groups are able to communicate smoothly.
Human perception patterns are selective, learned, culturally determined,
consistent and inaccurate (Adler & Gundersen, 2007). The distorting impact of
perceptual lenses makes people see things that do not exist. Misinterpretation is
another potential hindrance in culturally diverse settings. The process of
making sense from perceptions and interpretation occurs when an individual
gives meaning to observations and his or her relationships to the matter (Adler
Globalized sport management in context 9
& Gunderson, 2007). Categories and stereotypes are typical examples of misin-
terpretation; these may cause counter-productivity when people and things are
unconsciously miscategorized. According to Adler and Gunderson (2007), an
individual evaluation process is more strongly affected by cultural conditioning
than perception and interpretation because an individual’s own culture often
becomes the measurement standard. In other words, individual culture works as
self-reference criteria. It is one’s nature to perceive, interpret and evaluate
others by one’s own standards and criteria. This phenomenon brings challenges
in managing situations of cross-cultural diversity at times.
2008; Tainsky & Winfree, 2010; Thibault, 2009). Even so, there are concerns
that these foreign-born players potentially hamper the growth of home grown
players by taking spots in the roster, allowing fewer domestic players on the field
(Madichie, 2009; Niemann & Brand, 2008). For example, the home grown
players in the EPL have been consistently decreasing from about 70 percent in
the 1992–1993 season to 35 percent in the 2014–2015 season (Curley &
Roeder, 2016). The EPL had over 60 percent of their athletes in the 2017–2018
season coming from countries outside of England or Wales. Manchester City,
the top team in the league according to league standings, had players from 11
different countries. Before quotas on foreign players were implemented in the
European soccer leagues, Chelsea Football Club, one of the most prominent
football clubs in the EPL, once had a roster that was filled with foreigners only
(Aisch, Quealy, & Smith, 2017). The tours and tournaments of the U.S.-based
Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) faced a similar situation. Over the
last 20 years, the number of leading American golfers in the LPGA decreased
sharply so that only seven among 34 the LPGA tournaments held in 2017 were
won by golfers from the United States (Ladies Professional Golf Association
[LPGA], 2017). Given this phenomenon, it is argued that more American
players need to be on the leaderboards to attract U.S. fans and local sponsors to
the league (Briggs, 2017). Consequently, today many professional sport leagues,
whether in developed or developing economies, have quotas on foreign players
to promote competency, recognition and development of local talents (Tainsky
& Winfree, 2010).
While securing competency of home grown talents is an issue for many
leagues globally, some leagues in the developing countries face another problem,
namely losing top domestic talents to capital-intensive leagues, with most going
from the economically disadvantaged countries. It is imperative to invest large
amounts of time and money to develop sporting talents; once these young
players are seen as highly competitive in the global market, clubs and teams
with capital offer better financial packages to them, thereby exploiting all the
effort poured into them by donor countries (Niemann & Brand, 2008; Poli,
2005). For example, the CSL not only recruited world-famous soccer players,
e.g., Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Júnior, but also brought many Asian talents
from its neighboring countries such as South Korea and Japan by offering much
higher wages and benefits before the Asian quota was abolished in 2017. The
phenomenon is unavoidable since players as individuals are going to look for
better financial opportunities and will be keen to play in a better league. Evi-
dently, it is critical for financially restricted teams and leagues to make good
decisions on selling or acquiring athletes. These teams should develop strong
negotiation skills in preparation for selling their talents, achieving talent acqui-
sitions, and developing programs and procedures to keep and motivate top per-
formers (Gong et al., 2015).
Despite the positive impacts of staging a mega sport event on the hosting
country in relation to local economy, destination image and urban development
12 Lauren M. Johnson et al.
find a way to attract these players by leveraging the money they make from
sponsorships and the resources that their country can provide to these families
(Walt, 2018).
The ability of the sport industry to create similar customer experiences and
fulfill diverse consumer desires across countries has resulted in a globalized
market. According to Johansson (2000), although consumers in certain geo-
graphical areas have differing preferences, country borders are no longer the
defining factor for market segmentation. Major features in the customers of a
global market include having an increased agreement about and expectation of
products and experiences, common preferences in how they enjoy their leisure
time, and the ability to physically travel to the event and transfer funds
throughout the world in an efficient manner regardless of the geographical loca-
tion. Features of a global market also include the ability for multiple nations to
compete with each other on a high level, the merger of firms large and small to
expand their market outreach, and the use of extended networks for connecting
potential customers throughout the globe.
Marketing strategy is different according to the different sectors of the sport
business. For instance, in spectator sports, marketers must create a global
strategy that helps attract more fans to a match or sporting event or increase the
number of individuals that consume the event through an electronic device.
When spectators attend global sporting events the benefits include revenue
from ticket sales, apparel and merchandise sales, and transportation, lodging and
food revenue for the local economy. However, video broadcasts also desire that
there are many people attending the events they cover as a visual prop to
produce an exciting atmosphere (Fullerton, 2007). For global sporting events, a
bidding process often takes place to determine who will receive the rights to
host a certain event. In order to reap the benefits of the financial and visibility
implications of hosting an event, there must be a strategy in place that helps
present the future host venue and city in the best possible light. This includes
obtaining influential sponsors and aligning the venue with high profile and pres-
tigious events (Supovitz & Goldwater, 2014).
Sport marketers have a unique job that has many new issues and opportun-
ities when entering global markets. The sports industry provides an economic
activity that is highly centered on the experiences of the consumer. Sports fans
are passionate, emotionally invested, and actively supportive of their favorite
sports teams and players (Legae, 2005). The uniqueness of globalized sport is
that it encompasses many strategies combined into one because communication
through marketing is essential at almost every level. There is a general reliance
on cooperation in sports. Sport organizations operating global events must col-
laborate with other teams, the media and host venues and cities in order to
properly produce and promote their product. Creating a competitive sporting
competition now involves “removing demographic, socio cultural and geo-
graphic barriers” to attract the best athletes and appeal to fans of equally diverse
backgrounds (Legae, 2005, p. 5).
Globalized sport management in context 15
Marketing mix
Before expanding into the global marketplace, it is common practice for an
organization to conduct a SWOT analysis to assess the feasibility and con-
sequences that might arise from an expansion both internally and externally
and accordingly to develop an effective market mix. The SWOT analysis con-
sists of an examination of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Before expanding overseas, marketers and managers must take a look at these
factors to properly assess and execute a marketing strategy that will best fit their
goals and business profile (Kotler, 2001; Shilbury, Quick, & Westerbeek, 1998).
When entering the global marketplace, sport marketers must decide if they
should introduce a new product for new markets or homogenize their products
for worldwide use. Globally there has been a push for the standardization of
products but often this cannot always be the case around the world. Different
versions of apparel are often sold overseas including different colorways for
national pride, or different material for areas with various weather conditions.
Some organizations that extend their products globally produce the same prod-
ucts under different brand names in foreign markets. This can be the result of
certain names or phrases being copyrighted, translation issues, or objections to
the cultural implications of a brand name. For example, clothing retailer TJ
Maxx goes by the name TK Maxx in Europe. This was originally done to
provide separation from the popular brand TJ Hughes (Kane, 2014).
Promotion in a sport context can include logos, phrases and culturally spe-
cific campaigns that are unique to the organization. The promotion of sport
teams, organizations, players and products is a multifaceted entity that must be
thoroughly strategized in order to have the biggest impact. The definition of
promotion in a global sport market context is a public form of marketing that an
individual, event, team, or organization undertakes with the expectation of
achieving certain corporate objectives in multiple countries. Athletes are
increasingly being used to market products because of their passionate fan bases
and ability to get the attention of large populations as a credible source (Amis
& Cornwell, 2005; Fullerton, 2007). New issues involving promotion include
fan oriented campaigns that are personalized to their interests and desires. Many
fans want promotional offers to incorporate what they value in their everyday
life in a consistent medium. Newspapers, radio advertisements, and television
commercials are becoming less and less effective. In global markets, where cen-
sorship may be a concern, marketers must find individualized ways to reach their
target populations. The promotion of sport products through social media and
online forums now allows for multiple organizations to execute partnerships
through an interactive online community. Media relations also serve as a huge
promotional tool in sports. Television programs and broadcasting stations are
pressured to create new content and sport stories daily to keep up with the con-
stant user generated information that social media provides for consumers. In
return, players, leagues and events are constantly being talked about and even
16 Lauren M. Johnson et al.
Marketing communications
A challenge in marketing efforts in global markets has centered on a shift in
how consumers want to be interacted with. Today, consumers want constant
communication and interaction with the teams and brands that they are sup-
porting. Rewards and incentives, customer experience events, customized
product packages and statistical data on their favorite teams and players can
provide them with a customized fan experience that makes them feel closer to
the organization. Social media is an emerging tool that many sport brands and
organizations have used to market their products and events, and now they must
continuously listen to the pulse of what their consumers want. This will in
return help satisfy customer needs and could lead to more fans and revenue in
the future. There is also a growing trend in the type of consumers that are now
being acknowledged as integral target markets for sports teams and products.
These groups include ethnic minorities, women, LGBTQ people and people
with physical and mental disabilities.
Segmentation in the global sport market place can influence how sporting
events and products are communicated and promoted. Current issues in market-
ing segmentation in the global marketplace include finding the best mediums to
communicate with a particular group of people that are the most likely to
engage in a product or service. Resources and time will be wasted if marketing
and promotional campaigns are not relevant to a particular country or region.
18 Lauren M. Johnson et al.
Marketers must also continuously update research that is done on the demo-
graphics and psychographics of their consumers to be able to react quickly to
any cultural changes that are happening to an area’s outlook on a particular
sport or event. The internet has been monumental in eliminating several com-
munication barriers across borders by creating and retaining relationships that
lead to new and repeat sales, and to future consumers who are curious about a
particular business. The marketing of sport globally to consumers involves
breaking down intrinsic motivation and factors in order to get people to buy in
and rally around the sport or activity. The internet and ease of communicating
with people across borders help marketers find a way to connect to a sporting
event or organization (Mastromartino et al., 2017). Westerbeek and Smith
(2003) stated that a well maintained online community can give fans an emo-
tional stake in the business through “curiosity, empathy, or excitement”
(p. 168). Several issues and opportunities can be solved and explored through
this notion of managing marketing strategy by building an online community.
Significant revenue is now generated from the e-commerce of sport products
which have built loyal fans and consumers around an online database. This in
return brings sponsors who want to have access to those fans who may serve as
their organization’s target market.
The quickly changing landscape of building and maintaining online com-
munities globally in sport has now shifted into social media campaigns that
regularly give fans the chance to engage with the makers of their favorite prod-
ucts, sport teams, players and personnel. Every professional North American
sport team in the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL has a social media presence of
some kind through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat. Through social
media, consumers from different countries interact and organizations benefit
from the user generated content that results in word-of-mouth advertising and
peer recommendations. Non-sport businesses also use social media and internet
marketing campaigns to grow their brand through the support and sponsorships
of different players, leagues and teams (Cateora et al., 2013).
As the number of smartphones increases globally, the number of mobile
phone applications grows even more greater as a result of businesses and indi-
viduals delivering content to consumers, building customer loyalty and generat-
ing sponsorship revenue. Apps (applications), as they are called, provide
creativity between producers and consumers that can help enhance a customer’s
experience of a product or sporting event. Many of the sporting events are now
being watched through streaming services that enable live content on smart-
phones, tablets and computers. Virtual reality is also a phenomenon that will
allow for consumers to watch desired content in high definition intended to
rival the experience of actually being at an event. Organizations must now
incorporate some of these desired experiences into their sporting events in order
to compete with the technology at the fingertips of a consumer. There is a
growing trend for companies to market their venues as technologically advanced
arenas that incorporate interactive apps, high definition viewing screens and
Globalized sport management in context 19
data that is obtainable from a mobile device to stay up to date on team statistics
and information. Marketers are now tasked with finding creative ways to adver-
tise through all of the mediums where content is being consumed.
Forming partnerships
A trending opportunity for global sport organizations to grow and expand is in
collaboration and partnerships. This allows multiple organizations to serve their
customers and gain new entry into markets. An opportunity in marketing for
organizations wishing to align themselves with sports teams is in jersey sponsor-
ships that provide for a high visibility among consumers and those in their
target markets. For the 2017–2018 season, the NBA allowed one sponsor to be
displayed on the front of the jerseys worn by the players. This leads for oppor-
tunities for businesses to align themselves with companies that share their
values and fit into the vision they see for their company. The Los Angeles Clip-
pers agreed to a $20 million dollar deal with the dating app Bumble that was
founded by a woman and has built a platform that inspires women. This is the
first NBA team to partner with a female-driven company. The Los Angeles
Clippers has the largest female leadership team in all of sports with six women
in top leadership positions.
Sports are being played all over the world; as a result, there are fans around
the world of similar demographics who have similar interests. Industrial product
marketers realize that sport provides sizable audiences who can be predicted
with consistent accuracy. Global sporting events now rely heavily on sponsor-
ship dollars in the forms of presenting partners, investors and participant incen-
tives. Non-sport businesses have also grown increasingly global and benefit
substantially from sponsorships of athletes, leagues and sports events (Mullin,
Hardy, & Sutton, 2014). Organizations are relying heavily on individual
athletes to represent their brand in all aspects of their life. Amis and Cornwell
(2005) stated that having the ability to transcend national or ethnic borders
would be a quality that organizations look for in an athlete. This representation
is now heightened by the ability of these athletes to post pictures on online plat-
forms of themselves wearing or using brands and products for millions of their
fans to see and comment on. The problem with this growing trend is that often
these players make bad decisions or have views on controversial topics that go
against the company’s mission and values. To combat a potential marketing dis-
aster contracts with these athletes include moral clauses that provide grounds
for termination of contract at any time for actions that are not in line with the
organization’s guidelines.
chapters, which are organized into two main sections: (a) uniqueness and com-
parisons and (b) social issues and opportunities. The chapters are contributed by
a total of 26 scholars representing nine countries or territories around the world.
Drs. Pitts and Zhang would like to take this opportunity to thank these eminent
scholars for their remarkable contributions to the completion of this book
project. This book is commissioned by the WASM Executive Board, represent-
ing this organization’s leadership and commitment to develop, summarize, syn-
thesize and analyze knowledge that helps enhance the global sport industry. It
covers a range of key research and practical issues in globalized sport manage-
ment in diverse cultural contexts of both global and local settings. The book
combines scholarly output derived from diverse inquiry protocols, such as review
of literature, documentary analysis, qualitative research and quantitative
investigations.
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24 Lauren M. Johnson et al.
Uniqueness and
comparisons
Chapter 2
Introduction
The physical, psychological, and social benefits for youth who are actively
involved in sport and physical activity are well documented in the literature
(Bouchard, Shephard, & Stephens, 1994; Bouchard, Shephard, Stephens,
Sutton, & McPherson, 1990; Colchico, Zybert, & Basch, 2000; Curtis &
Russell, 1997; Quinney, Gauvin, & Wall, 1994; Steinbeck, 2001). Sport provid-
ers also emphasize that sport participation helps prepare youth to become
responsible, independent, and contributing members of society (Martens, 2003).
Physical education teachers, sport providers, and policy makers must therefore
be cognizant of research in the field of youth sport that investigates the indi-
vidual and social factors that influence sport participation. Mullin, Hardy, and
Sutton’s (2000) sport consumer behavior model indicated that both individual
and environmental factors affect sport involvement. Similarly, Shank (2002)
identified internal, external, and situational factors. Individual factors are iden-
tified as those linked to internal or psychological processes such as motivation,
perception, learning and memory, attitudes, physical characteristics, and self-
concept. Environmental factors refer to external socio-cultural and situational
factors such as cultural norms and values, class, ethnicity, and gender relations,
significant others, geographic conditions, and sport opportunity. Shilbury,
Quick, and Westerbeek (1998) also argued that consumer behavior is as much
situation specific as it is person specific. Although the influence of individual
and psychological factors may be important determinants of youth sport parti-
cipation, the focus of this chapter will be to examine data that relates to the
social and cultural factors that may influence youth sport participation.
Given the impact of globalization in the twenty-first century, international
comparisons of youth sport participation patterns provide an interesting oppor-
tunity to investigate social factors and operational systems from a cross-cultural
perspective. In Europe for example, different studies have compared sport parti-
cipation profiles across a number of countries (Coordinated Monitoring of Parti-
cipation in Sports [COMPASS], 1999; European Opinion Research Group
[EORG], 2003; Rodgers, 1977). In these surveys, however, the samples were
30 Marijke Taks et al.
drawn from participants who were 16 years old and older – thus excluding a
major segment of the youth population. In addition, few surveys focused on
comparing youth sport participation profiles on an international scale (De
Knop, Engstrom, Skirstad, & Weiss, 1996). Research by De Knop and De Mar-
telaer (2001), and Scheerder and Breedveld (2004) examined youth sport parti-
cipation between Flanders (Belgium) and the Netherlands. De Knop and De
Martelaer concluded that for youth sport in both countries, participation was
more strongly tied to the aspect of the quality of the sports activities offered,
rather than the quantity of involvement or programs offered. According to
Scheerder and Breedveld (2004) the involvement in sports slightly decreased in
Flanders among the younger population, while in the Netherlands little to no
growth was detected. In Flanders, club membership increased in the 1990s,
whereas it decreased in the Netherlands.
Comparative research in the sociology of sport presents a number of meth-
odological and interpretative challenges. Henry (2002) identified two of these
challenges. He suggested that one challenge
Contextual framework
participation (e.g., Moens & Scheerder, 2004; Wright, MacDonald, & Groom,
2003). Research into age and gender differences in youth sport participation has
also been well documented (Scully & Clarke, 1997) with the general conclu-
sion being that females participate less than males, and that sport participation
among youth decreases with increased age. In contrast to research regarding the
adult population, however, empirical data on the social stratification of youth
sport has received less attention (Scheerder, Vanreusel, Taks, & Renson, 2005).
This line of research suggests that socio-cultural variables also affect the sport
participation and consumption patterns of youth. These factors may include:
(a) generation-related variables (cohort analysis); (b) subject-related demo-
graphic variables (including age, sex, and birth order); (c) family-related vari-
ables (i.e., family size, parental level of education, parental professional status,
family income, parental and siblings’ participation behavior); and, (d) school
and leisure-related variables (peers, school, media; Taks et al., 1993).
Given this context, the Canadian and Flemish data sets available for this
study include a selection of socio-cultural background indicators in addition to
sport participation statistics. Thus, the possible influence of socio-cultural back-
ground variables on youth sport participation patterns may be analyzed and
compared for the Canadian and the Flemish sample. In light of the fact that
both countries share a comparable industrialized status and the liberal demo-
cracy philosophy, we do not expect a major socio-economic status divergence
between these two populations. However, due to the differences in the sport
delivery system, we expect that club sport participation in Canada will require
more capital resource, and as such, will be more socially stratified compared to
Flemish club sport participation (Hypothesis 3).
Purpose of study
The purpose of this study is to compare: (a) youth sport participation profiles
(i.e., level of involvement, organizational context, and sport preferences);
(b) the impact of socio-cultural background characteristics on youth sport parti-
cipation; and, (c) the impact of the parents’ sport participation on the sport
participation of youth in Canada and Flanders. The analyses will test the
following four hypotheses:
Method
Participants
The Canadian and Flemish samples are represented in Table 2.1. In Canada,
2,400 surveys were distributed, and 1,127 samples were returned for analysis (47
percent response rate). The Flemish sample consisted of 2,176 youngsters, with
a response rate of 71 percent, and non-respondents were not systematically dis-
tributed in any particular social category (Scheerder et al., 2002). The Canadian
34 Marijke Taks et al.
sample is representative for the high school population in Canada, while the
Flemish sample is representative for the high school population in Flanders.
In the Canadian sample, the teen segment, 12–17 years of age, was targeted.
The sample represented a cross-section of youth from six Canadian provinces
(British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward
Island, and Quebec). Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to youth,
between grades 9 and 12, at ten Canadian high schools. A convenience sam-
pling approach was utilized (Jackson, 1999). An elite sport ranking of a national
sport governing body was used to identify schools with an adequate scholastic-
athletic environment. From the national list, separate lists were made for each
province. Every school on the provincial list was contacted and sent an informa-
tion package. Any school that was permitted to participate in the study by its
administration and was interested in the project was included in the sample.
The use of an elite sport ranking to select the sample limited the inferences that
could be made from the data. Nevertheless, 44.2 percent of the respondents self-
identified as varsity athletes, subsequently yielding a balance between varsity
and non-varsity preferences within the sample. The sample also included diverse
representations from English and French schools, and private and public sectors.
The Flemish sample was proportionally stratified according to: (a) the school
population in each province (N = 5); (b) the population in each school board
(community, private, provincial or municipal); (c) the population in each
school program (humanities or ‘academic’, technical, and vocational); and,
(d) the level of urbanization of the school’s place of residence. Since the Cana-
dian sample included grade 9 to grade 12 students, and the Flemish sample
included grades 7 to 12, the Flemish sample has a slightly higher proportion of
youth at younger ages (Table 2.1).
Survey instruments
The Canadian survey consisted of 75 multiple choice, rank-order multiple
choice, and open-ended questions that were designed to investigate the socio-
cultural, psychological and consumer profile of youth and sport (Bradish,
Lathrop, Stevens, & Sedgwick, 2000). For the purpose of this study, multiple
N % N %
Note
* 12 missing, the total Canadian sample was 1,127.
Comparison of youth sport participation 35
over the professional status, because there were more difficulties to overcome in
streamlining the professional status compared to the educational level. More-
over, the educational level is commonly accepted as an indicator for measuring
social status and social position (Elchardus, 2002), and Wilson (2002) argued
that cultural capital, measured by the educational level, better explains social
class and sport involvement than economic capital, which is measured through
the income status. However, a new variable was constructed, which regroups
the educational level of the father and the mother, using the HOMALS data
reduction procedure within SPSS. This technique estimates category quantifica-
tions and the object scores that separate categories of nominal variables as much
as possible and divides cases into homogeneous groups. Only one dimension was
withdrawn and the time interval–related eigenvalues measured 0.801 indicating
a good fit. The results of this re-scaling procedure were divided into three cat-
egories (low, medium, and high). Each category holds the same share of
respondents (approximately 33 percent). The new variable refers to the ‘paren-
tal educational level’ (PEL) and was calculated for the Canadian and Flemish
samples separately.
Sport involvement of the parents (FA-SP and MO-SP) also needed stream-
lining between both samples. Parental sport involvement was self-reported in
the Canadian sample, while this was based on actual participation characteris-
tics in the Flemish data: ‘low’ being equal to ‘no participation in sport or less
than 1 hour/week’, ‘moderate’ being equal to ‘participating 1 to 3 hours per
week’, and ‘high’ being equal to ‘more than 3 hours of sports per week’.
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Bismarck et la
France
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Language: French
BISMARCK
ET
LA FRANCE
d’après les Mémoires du Prince de Hohenlohe
PARIS
NOUVELLE LIBRAIRIE NATIONALE
11, R U E D E M É D I C I S , 11
MCMXV
DU MÊME AUTEUR
qui
dans sa pleine liberté d’esprit
retrouva
la politique des rois de France
et combattit
le principe des nationalités
A LA GLORIEUSE MÉMOIRE
DES
ZOUAVES PONTIFICAUX
Les essais que nous rassemblons ici ont, pour la plus grande
partie, paru au cours de ces deux dernières années dans la Gazette
de France. Des documents nouveaux, de récents ouvrages
d’histoire, des polémiques ouvertes, la commémoration de grands
événements, forment tour à tour le sujet de ces études détachées.
Elles ont un lien cependant.
Après le tiers d’un siècle écoulé, nous sentons plus que jamais
que notre pays a perdu toute sécurité depuis 1870. Sa situation et
son avenir sont en perpétuel danger dans une Europe bouleversée
par la formation de l’Italie et de l’Allemagne. Notre régime politique,
qui ne mérite pas la confiance des patriotes, aggrave encore nos
périls. Mais d’où viennent nos défaites ? Qui a créé les puissances
dont nous sommes entourés et menacés ? Ce n’est pas, à notre
avis, une occupation vaine que de rechercher les responsabilités et
les origines de ces événements solidaires. Nous voudrions écrire un
jour un ouvrage d’ensemble sur les causes de ces révolutions
européennes qui ont anéanti un ordre de choses tout à l’avantage de
la France, et dont la disparition a été pour elle une catastrophe.
Cette catastrophe a une filiation certaine et des ouvriers connus. On
voit aujourd’hui comment il eût été possible de l’empêcher, par
quelle succession d’erreurs et de fautes elle s’est produite. Qu’on
veuille bien trouver ici quelques études préparatoires à un plus
grand travail sur le rôle respectif des institutions, des idées et des
hommes dans la formation de ces deux grands États nouveaux, dont
la naissance a détruit l’équilibre européen et modifié du tout au tout,
non seulement les conditions d’existence de notre pays, mais celles
aussi de l’ancien monde tout entier.
Le prince de Bülow, chancelier de l’Empire allemand, disait le 14
novembre 1906 à la tribune du Reichstag :
« La France était un royaume solidement constitué lorsque
l’Allemagne et l’Italie ne constituaient encore que de simples
expressions géographiques ; c’était un solide bloc de marbre entre
des plaques de mosaïque disjointes.
« C’était par conséquent une sorte de nécessité absolue, dans
chaque ou presque chaque rencontre avec l’un de ces deux pays
voisins, si ce dernier n’était pas soutenu par un tiers, que la France
fût la plus forte… Je n’ai pas besoin de montrer davantage comment
la politique française, des siècles durant, prêta la main aux querelles
intestines allemandes en prenant parti pour les courants, pour les
éléments centrifuges. 1870 vint mettre un terme à cette longue
période de coopération française en Allemagne. Alors l’Allemagne
ne reconquit pas seulement les territoires frontières qui lui avaient
été arrachés au temps de sa désunion, partant de son impuissance,
mais en même temps l’unité au dedans et l’unité au dehors. »
Le prince de Bülow résume très exactement ici, de son point de
vue allemand, l’histoire de trois siècles. Il ne manque à ce tableau
que de montrer la cause d’où procèdent de si grands changements.
Mais le chancelier fut formé à trop bonne école pour l’ignorer. Cette
cause, Bismarck la savait, comme la savait Cavour. Tous les esprits
vraiment politiques s’accordent depuis longtemps à reconnaître que
si la situation de la France en face de l’Allemagne s’est renversée,
c’est par les conséquences directes et par le contre-coup inévitable
de la Révolution. Les événements de 1870 sont inexplicables si l’on
ne tient pas compte des circonstances et des courants nouveaux qui
sont sortis des idées de 1789.
L’œuvre glorieuse de notre monarchie ne fut pas seulement de
faire la France, de la constituer morceau à morceau. Ce que nos rois
avaient créé, ils l’entourèrent d’un admirable système de défenses et
de protection, dont le chef-d’œuvre fut de maintenir dans leur état de
« mosaïque disjointe » les deux pays que la France avait devancés
par son unité : l’Allemagne et l’Italie.
Pourquoi l’unité italienne et l’unité allemande, si longtemps
entravées, ont-elles fini par être réalisées ? Pourquoi les peuples
d’outre-monts et les peuples d’outre-Rhin eurent-ils au XIXe siècle le
bonheur inespéré de sortir de leur anarchie ? Pourquoi la France
abandonna-t-elle sa politique naturelle, sa politique tutélaire, et
renonça-t-elle de gaîté de cœur à ce privilège, qui faisait sa sécurité,
de n’avoir, sur ses frontières de l’est, au lieu de puissants Empires,
que des voisins divisés ? Comment cette faute, dont le discours du
chancelier de Berlin, à défaut de l’expérience de quarante années,
fait mesurer l’étendue, a-t-elle pu être commise ? Ici, l’histoire toute
seule répond. Dès que la France a été privée de ses chefs, de ses
conducteurs et gardiens naturels, de ses Capétiens nationaux, on a
vu, par une fortune inattendue, les maisons rivales sortir de leur
médiocrité, les Hohenzollern et les Carignan-Savoie ceindre de
nouvelles couronnes. Édifiant contraste : à tout affaiblissement de la
monarchie en France, a correspondu l’accroissement des
monarchies rivales et ennemies.
Certes, la France privée de la dynastie à qui elle doit l’existence
n’a pas été sans connaître des jours de gloire, et même des jours de
prospérité. Mais il se trouve qu’elle a constamment payé les plus
brillants de ces « interrègnes » par des catastrophes, quelquefois à
longue échéance, toujours à long retentissement. Triste histoire de
vies, de forces, de ressources et de chances dilapidées que celle de
la France depuis 1789 ! Les idées révolutionnaires, dont Napoléon
fut le soldat, mettent la France au pillage, l’Europe en feu, préparent
contre nous-mêmes la naissance des nations. La monarchie revient
pour réparer ces ruines. Les traités de 1815, restaurant l’œuvre des
traités de Westphalie, nous garantissent pour plus de trente ans la
sécurité et la paix. Mais ils avaient rendu, en expiation de Waterloo,
la France plus petite que Louis XVI ne l’avait laissée. Au moment où
il vient de conquérir Alger et où il va restituer à la patrie son honneur
avec ses frontières du nord-est, Charles X est criminellement
renversé. La monarchie de juillet tombe à son tour. Et les temps
révolutionnaires recommencent. Des idées et des principes funestes
à la patrie prévalent. Un autre Bonaparte se fait leur champion aux
applaudissements des jacobins, des libéraux, et même des
conservateurs bornés. Le second Empire finit sur une catastrophe
sans précédent. Il y aura désormais une Italie, une Allemagne. Les
rêves napoléoniens et révolutionnaires sont accomplis. Le « droit
des peuples » est proclamé, mais au profit de deux monarques. Et la
France amoindrie reste sous le coup d’une perpétuelle menace.
Cette fois, il n’y avait pas eu de Bourbon pour sauver ce qui pouvait
encore échapper de ce grand naufrage. Une autre succession de
fautes, qui sont des trahisons, car elles eurent la complicité de
l’étranger, avait empêché la restauration de Henri V. Ainsi les idées
révolutionnaires triomphaient : elles avaient établi l’anarchie en
France, un roi à Rome, un empereur à Berlin.
Il apparaît aujourd’hui, par la suite de ces coûteuses
expériences, que les idées de 1789, après avoir dissocié la France,
dénaturé l’État, détruit les familles, les corps de métier, les
provinces, ont, en outre, à l’extérieur, nui au prestige et à la grandeur
de notre pays, ont même préparé ses défaites. Par un inexorable
mouvement de balance, tandis que la France, privée de ses rois et
trahie par les principes du libéralisme et par la religion des Droits de
l’Homme, était abaissée et mutilée, les peuples voisins, appuyés sur
des dynasties ambitieuses, réalisaient des espérances, autrement
vouées à un échec nécessaire. Ces dynasties ont brillamment profité
du concours que leur apportaient la Révolution et l’Empire, toujours
alliés pour l’erreur et pour le mal.
Dans la proportion même où elle a servi les idées de 89, la
France a compromis et sacrifié ses intérêts les plus évidents.
L’histoire du principe des nationalités nous en donne un frappant
exemple. Directement issu des dogmes révolutionnaires, propagé
par les armées de la Révolution, proclamé par Napoléon Ier, repris
par Napoléon III dans le testament de Sainte-Hélène, article de foi
de toutes les gauches depuis 1815 jusqu’à 1870, le principe des
nationalités, qui a fait et qui fera couler encore plus de sang que tous
les conquérants réunis, a directement causé nos désastres. C’est lui
seul qui a provoqué les grandes guerres modernes, dévoratrices de
vies humaines. Ce sont ses effets qui suspendent aujourd’hui sur les
peuples la menace d’effroyables conflits. C’est lui qui, en créant
deux monarchies militaires et en jetant dans leurs bras, malgré ses
répugnances, l’Autriche effrayée des incendies que ce principe
allume entre ses frontières et jusqu’en Orient, est responsable de
cette Triplice qui pèse sur le monde européen tout entier. C’est par
une de ses dernières conséquences, enfin, que le système de la
paix armée opprime les populations, les accable d’impôts, aggrave
la misère et arrête la civilisation. Or, quel principe plus que celui des
nationalités mérite d’être appelé un principe de gauche ? La
démocratie et le libéralisme l’ont considéré et le considèrent même
encore comme un article essentiel de leur programme. Et lorsque
Thiers ou Proudhon, libres intelligences politiques, le critiquaient et
dénonçaient ses périls, toute la gauche les accusait de défection, et,
leur infligeant sa suprême injure, les traitait de réactionnaires.
C’est, en effet, la réaction qui nous eût sauvés des événements
de 1870 et de leurs conséquences. Nous savons aujourd’hui que,
dans l’histoire de la France contemporaine, ce sont toujours les
idées de contre-révolution qui ont ou qui auraient le mieux servi la
patrie. Plus extrême elle est vers la droite, plus une idée a de
chances d’être conforme à l’intérêt français. Nous avons entendu un
jour M. Camille Pelletan expliquer, devant un auditoire populaire,
qu’il ne fallait jamais craindre de voter pour le candidat avancé parce
que plus un député est rouge, plus on doit être sûr qu’il servira bien
la République. Aujourd’hui surtout que le divorce entre la République
et la patrie est consommé, que la République poursuit ouvertement
toute sorte de fins étrangères à l’intérêt national, il n’est pas moins
vrai de dire que plus un homme est « blanc », plus une idée est de
droite, plus on peut être assuré que la France se trouvera bien de
l’homme et de l’idée. Les meilleurs Français du dix-neuvième siècle,
et il faut dire les meilleurs parce qu’ils furent non seulement parmi
les plus courageux mais parmi les plus clairvoyants, parce que, avec
le patriotisme, la vérité politique habitait sous leur tunique, ce sont
les zouaves pontificaux. Cette légion de catholiques et de royalistes,
qui a fait l’admiration de Renan et mérité la haine de Bismarck, a
défendu deux fois la France : sous les murs de Rome contre l’unité
italienne, dans la plaine de Patay contre l’unité allemande. Et les
braves qui sont tombés sur les champs de bataille romains ou sur
les champs de bataille de l’Ouest, devant Garibaldi, fourrier de
Victor-Emmanuel, ou devant les régiments de Guillaume Ier,
payaient de leur sang les idées révolutionnaires, les principes de
gauche, favorables à l’étranger seul, et donnaient l’exemple vivant
de ce qu’il eût fallu faire avec résolution et avec esprit de suite pour
le salut et l’intérêt de la nation française. Leur hymne, où le nom de
Rome est joint au nom de la France, rappelle avec raison qu’en
sauvant la Ville catholique on eût en même temps sauvé notre pays.
Tandis que les politiques et les diplomates vacillaient, Charette et
ses soldats, fermes dans leurs traditions et guidés par elles, allaient
à l’action dans le sens français. C’est pourquoi Proudhon, penseur
intrépide, philosophe sans parti, lorsqu’il brave l’opinion de son
temps pour s’opposer au mouvement insensé qui emportait les
Français vers la cause de l’Italie-une, Proudhon reconnaît et atteste
que c’est à l’extrême droite que se trouvent la sagesse, la
prévoyance et la vérité nationale. Cet accord de Charette et de
Proudhon, du soldat et du critique, c’est un des plus beaux exemples
de l’entente naturelle et spontanée qui, en vingt circonstances, s’est
faite au dix-neuvième siècle entre les plus traditionnels et les plus
libres esprits. Et cette entente se renoue sous nos yeux, plus étroite
et plus active que jamais, depuis que l’imminence du danger a
révélé aux Français que de funestes erreurs les conduisent aux
abîmes.
Dès qu’on se place au point de vue de l’intérêt national, on est
obligé de constater que les idées révolutionnaires coïncident avec le
désastre et la ruine, les idées de contre-révolution avec le bien
public. Le Play, à la recherche de la meilleure organisation des
sociétés, considérait la prospérité des peuples comme le seul signe
certain de l’excellence de leurs coutumes. La prospérité, la réussite,
le succès, il ne doit pas y avoir d’autre criterium, en effet, pour nous
autres hommes qui vivons la dure vie de ce monde. Or, comment
jugera-t-on une philosophie politique qui, après une expérience de
cent vingt années, ce qui est une expérience assez complète, n’a
réussi qu’à gâcher les ressources naturelles de notre pays, à perdre
ses plus beaux avantages, à compromettre sa situation et ses
chances, à le laisser enfin abaissé et menacé, mais au profit de
l’étranger ? Le patriote, surtout s’il a conscience que le nationalisme
français trouve une justification supérieure dans les siècles de
civilisation et de culture qu’il représente, le patriote se voit désormais
contraint de renoncer à la démocratie, au libéralisme, à l’idéal
républicain. Comme le disait Ernest Renan au moment où la France
illusionnée célébrait le centenaire de 1789 : « En guerre, un
capitaine toujours battu ne saurait être un grand capitaine ; en
politique, un principe, qui, dans l’espace de cent ans, épuise une
nation, ne saurait être le véritable. »
Le principe de 1789, c’est le mauvais capitaine qui conduit aux
désastres. Nous voyons aujourd’hui qu’il est responsable de toutes
les défaites et de tous les deuils français. La nation qui accueillit
jadis avec un enthousiasme insensé ces idées de mort et de ruine
en a souffert trop de maux pour pouvoir les aimer encore et les
regretter jamais.
Bismarck et la France
D’APRÈS
LES MÉMOIRES DU PRINCE DE HOHENLOHE
I
LES SUITES D’UNE MÉDIATISATION DE 1806.