Dissecting sport management in the digital age

Dissecting sport management in the digital age

Two Massey University staff will next month present research at the European Association of Sport Management conference in Dublin, Ireland.

The theme this year is Sport Management in the Digital Age – something Ashleigh Thompson knows a lot about.

The 28-year-old lectures in Sport Management and Coaching at Massey University, and wrote a thesis after studying the use of social media at Wimbledon as part of a case study on all four tennis Grand Slams.

Her research is one of the first studies to explore the use of social media by sport event brands, incorporating fans’ perspectives. It garnered feedback from international scholars as a very unique and interesting contribution to current sport management research.

Ashleigh says her findings revealed “social media has facilitated the break-down of traditional consumer-brand barriers, allowing fans to develop an emotional connection with these sport events”.

Her presentation, entitled ‘You forget they’re actually a brand: Fans’ perceptions of event social media usage’, is based on her PhD findings. She is hoping to publish her research in the European Journal of Sport Management later this year.

School of Sport and Exercise Associate Professor Andy Martin supervised Ashleigh’s thesis, and says, “Her work and expertise has increasingly attracted international interest.”

Mr Martin is also presenting at the 23rd annual conference. His presentation Graduate experiences of experiential learning in sport management, focuses on enhancing best practice in cooperative and work-integrated education.

Prior to the conference, Associate Professor Martin will be spending a week as a visiting professor at Charles University in Prague, to continue collaborative research with staff from one of Europe’s oldest faculties of physical education and sport.

Ashleigh Thompson leaves on Monday, and Andy Martin flies out on Sunday. Both are available for interviews this week, or over the phone from Europe prior to the conference, which is being held in Dublin September 9-12.

For more information visit http://www.easm2015.com/

ENDS

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