The new sport management reader

Sport, like other phenomena we find in social life, is subject to the inequalities of race, gender, economics, and politics. Each of the chapters in this book rejects the purity and neutrality of sport; as such they add to our understanding of sport and the organizations that deliver it. . . . If we use the ideas of critical theory and expand the geographic scope of our research, we will be able to improve an expanding and rapidly growing area of study. From the Foreword by Trevor Slack. The New Sport Management Reader provides students and scholars with a selection of the state-of-the-art research and new conceptual thinking in the field of sport management by a diverse and prominent group of researchers. It is the first anthology to situate sport management within the broader frameworks of sport sociology and cultural studies, a process already begun in general business studies.The chapters that comprise this collection are divided into three sections: Part I challenges sport management students and scholars to engage with epistemologies and methodologies associated with critical theory to better contextualize their thinking and research. Part II features critically informed research focused within three key topical areas of sport management: marketing and sponsorship, consumption, and governance and policy development. Thirteen case studies provide wide-ranging examples of research on the global sports industry through which students, professors, and professionals alike can form cross-cultural analyses. Part III presents work on emerging themes such as economic development, human rights, media culture, and sports tourism. Conceived and developed as a clarion call for a more critical, reflexive approach to sport management education and practice, The New Sport Management Reader is designed to spark debate, discussion, and reflection and to better inform research questions and professional practice in the future. This book is essential reading for all students, scholars, and professionals interested in achieving a better understanding of the globalized nature of the sports industry and to improving future practice and research.