Business Commons^™

Understanding The Role Of Motivation In Professional Athletes, Michelle Gacio Harrolle, Melissa Klay

Journal of Applied Sport Management

Our study examines the overall motivation of professional athletes in an effort to assist sport organizations in understanding their most important asset, the players. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences and motivations of professional athletes within a team setting. Researchers conducted individual semi-structured interviews with 13 professional American football players. Seven themes were present within the data including a love of the game, selfmotivation, sense of community, professional development, engagement with fans, assist the league, and lack of financial support, which was identified as a deterrent to motivation. Teams should increase investment in the professional …

An Analysis Of Running Event Consumer Behaviors, Thomas Aicher, Jason Simmons, Alicia Cintron

Journal of Applied Sport Management

The purpose of this study was to examine the motives, constraints, and event selection factors affecting consumers’ decisions to participate in running events, specifically for a running festival in the Midwest United States. In partnership with a large running festival in the Midwest United States, data were collected via an online questionnaire. In total, 1,650 individuals completed a portion of the survey with 1,235 completing the additional questions for this investigation yielding a 74% completion rate. Based on the results of this study, runners’ autonomous motivation was significantly greater among those who participated in more events or longer distances during …

Motivation, Satisfaction, And Retention Of Sport Management Student Volunteers, James E. Johnson, Chrysostomos Giannoulakis, Nathan Felver, Lawrence W. Judge, Pierce A. David, Beau F. Scott

Journal of Applied Sport Management

Sport management programs often partner with intercollegiate athletic departments or community sport organizations to provide student volunteers. Motivating, satisfying, and retaining the student population may constitute a challenge for academic program stakeholders. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between motivation, satisfaction, and retention of volunteers at undergraduate sport management programs. Three hundred and twenty-two undergraduate students from five Midwestern institutions completed a 46-item questionnaire assessing their volunteer motivation, satisfaction, and retention. Results indicated students were predominantly motivated to volunteer by Love of Sport and Career motivation factors. Career, Social, Understanding, and Enhancement motivations significantly aided in …

Sec Football Away Game Consumption: The Roles Of Motives, Subcultural Identification, Contextual Dimensions And Destination Image In Sport Tourism, Robert Bruce Daniell

Doctoral Dissertations

The popularity of college football, specifically Southeastern Conference (SEC) football, is at an all-time high. Extant research analyzes consumer behavior in sport consumption settings; however, the away game sport tourist is often overlooked. Given the economic impacts associated with sport tourism, a deeper understanding of the college football sport tourist is desirable. This study utilized a research model grounded in social identity theory and motivation theory to examine the relationships among various sport consumption motives, subcultural identification, and destination image applied to SEC football away game sport tourists.

The results of the study indicate that SEC football away game sport …

Examining Corporate Social Responsibility In Thailand: A View From Thai Companies, Nutthanun Rajanakorn

Doctoral Dissertations

This study aims to understand the perceptions and meanings of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of Thailand. Phenomenology was used to explore the inquiry of how Thai executives perceived and implemented their companies’ CSR. Twenty long-interviews were conducted with Thai executives who were directly involved in and in charge of CSR in their companies. Several themes emerged from the study, and the findings were presented in the aspects of their perceptions of CSR involvement, the motivations, the benefits, and the overall meanings of CSR. Giving back, caring for and helping /sharing, and developing and creating are three themes …