Contents for SMQ Issue 14:3
| Effect of a Psychological Skills Training Program on Swimming Performance and Positive Psychological Development Authors: Michael Sheard, Jim Golby |
| Abstract: Research has shown that psychological skills training can be effective in enhancing athletes?performance and positively influencing cognitive and affective states (cf. Williams & Krane, 2001). However, to date, little work has been conducted inves¬tigating such processes with adolescent high-performing swimmers. The present study examined the effects of a seven-week psychological skills training (PST) pro¬gram on competitive swimming performance and positive psychological development. Thirty-six national level swimmers (13 boys, 23 girls; M = 13.9 years old) followed a PST program for 45 minutes per week. The intervention consisted of goal setting, visualization, relaxation, concentration, and thought stopping. Performance times were obtained from official meets. Participants completed seven inventories measuring quality of performance, and six positive psychological attributes: mental toughness, hardiness, self-esteem, self-efficacy, dispositional optimism, and positive affectivity. Findings demonstrated that there was a significant post-PST program improvement in three separate swimming strokes, each over 200 m. Non-significant improvements were shown in 10 other events. There was also an overall significant improvement in participants?post-intervention positive psychological profiles. |
| ‘The Flying Pig’: Building Brand Equity in a Major Urban Marathon Authors: Douglas J. Olberding, Jay Jisha |
| Abstract: In a relatively short period of time, The Flying Pig Marathon has developed a reputation as a |
| Attachment, Allegiance and a Convergent Application of Stakeholder Theory: Assessing the Impact of Winning on Athletic Donations in the Ivy League Authors: Dan Covell |
| Abstract: This study investigates how an Ivy League school’s football season ticket holders demonstrate their attachment and allegiance to the intercollegiate athletic product through the application of stakeholder theory as a marketing-based construct. This paper merges the tenets of stakeholder theory and the theoretical constructs of attachment and allegiance initially investigated in Covell (2004) to understand the interests and values of these stakeholders, how they demonstrate attachment and allegiance to the sport property, and how they perceive the importance of winning in relation to their proclivities toward charitable donations to the school’s athletic funds. Despite numerous assessments, the true impact of athletics on donations across all of intercollegiate athletics remains at best unclear. However, the findings indicate that from an assessment of self-reported athletic giving histories, the stakeholders studied here demonstrated attachment and allegiance to the property by not altering athletic fund donations based on the team’s on-field performance. |
| A Social Identities Perspective on the Effects of Corporate Sport Sponsorship on Employees Authors: Thomas M. Hickman, Kathreine E. Lawrence, James C. Ward |
| Abstract: Integrated marketing communications usage, in particular, corporate sport sponsorship in conjunction with the marketing mix, has continued to mount over the past several years as companies strive to advance brand awareness and improve corporate image with respect to target markets. The popular press suggests that sponsorship can function as a tool for internal marketing, which is defined as a managerial strategy designed to motivate and enable organizational members to adopt a customer orientation, or to meet the needs of external customers. We explored the relationship between sponsorship and employee morale and expected that employees who are fans of the sponsored sport would be most positively impacted. We found sponsorship affinity to be positively related to organizational commitment and willingness to satisfy customers. Our study illustrates that sport sponsorship can be a form of internal communications, altering and enhancing a company’s culture at different levels of the organization. |
| Sport Celebrities and the Right of Publicity Take a New ‘Twist’ Authors: Steve McKelvey |
| Abstract: In 1997, Tony Twist, a retired NHL player and noted tough-guy |
| Scott Radecic, Senior Principal, HOK Sport + Venue + Event Authors: |
| Abstract: An interview with Scott Radecic, Senior Principal of HOK Sport + Venue + Event |
| Predicting Women’s Division I Sports Attendance: An Analysis of Institutional Characteristics Authors: D. Erin Shackelford |
| Abstract: A great deal of research is devoted to the study of factors affecting spectator attendance; however, the majority of these studies have focused on men¡¯s sports. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to analyze the relationship between specific factors and spectator attendance at selected NCAA Division I women¡¯s sporting events. Based on a review of related literature, five characteristics that may affect attendance were selected for this study: city population, student enrollment, competition from other Division I universities, competition from professional sports teams, and previous season¡¯s winning percentage. These characteristics were analyzed to determine how they predict attendance at NCAA Division I women¡¯s basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball events. Results indicated that previous season winning percentage and the presence of other Division I institutions predicted attendance for women¡¯s sports. Student enrollment predicted attendance for each of the sports except women¡¯s soccer. |
| Build It and They Will Come? The Women’s United Soccer Association: A Collision of Exchange Theory and Strategic Philanthropy Authors: Richard M. Southall, Mark S. Nagel, Deborah J. LeGrande |
| Abstract: Founded in 2001, the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) began its existence basking in the reflected glory of the unprecedented media coverage of the 1999 Women’s World Cup Finals. However, for any sport league to be successful, it must generate sufficient revenue to cover operating expenses. While the WUSA declared itself a major league and based its strategic plan on a philosophy of being the world’s premier women’s professional soccer league, its fan base suggested a much more |
| The Effects of Attitude Toward Commercialization on Purchasing Intentions of Sponsors’ Products Authors: Zhu Zhang, Doyeon Won, Donna L. Pastore |
| Abstract: This study investigated the effects of college students’ attitudes toward commercialization and their psychological attachment to an intercollegiate athletic program on their purchasing intentions of sponsors’ products. The relationships between attitudes toward commercialization and psychological attachment were also examined. Data were collected from college students (N = 124) of a large Midwest University. A series of hierarchical regression analysis revealed that attitudes toward commercialization and psychological attachment together explained 28 percent of the variance in purchasing intentions; attitudes toward commercialization uniquely explained 12 percent of the variance in purchasing intentions after controlling for psychological attachment. However, of the three subdimensions of psychological attachment, only team identification was significantly associated with purchasing intentions while team commitment and school identification did not have significant effects on purchasing intentions. In addition, our study found an interaction effect between team identification and attitudes towards commercialization on purchasing intentions. |
