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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004. / UMI number: 3199305. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 278-289). Also available online (World Wide Web)

My thesis gives insight on directing a main stage production at the collegiate level as a student. Specifically directing Tradin’ Paint, an original piece from playwright Catherine Bush a native of Abingdon Virginia, and a company playwright for the Barter Theatre. In the thesis I discuss how I arrived at different conclusions for my show through different research. I discuss the experience of being a director over professors, and my own peers, and how all of these challenges and discoveries eventually gave me a finished product to be proud of. If a director were to look at this work, they will find chapter two interesting, as it is my prompt book, with blocking and little notes on the script. This thesis is a great representation of a student directing thesis: Directing a Main stage Show.

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of and attitudes toward social networking as a tool for use by NASCAR speedways and to gauge track perceptions on the effectiveness of social media as a marketing tool. Individual NASCAR tracks were surveyed (n=22, 84.6% response) to explore current track social media practices and the potential impact of social networking sites on NASCAR marketing and consumer relations. Results found that individual tracks as well as the two major ownership groups highly agreed about issues concerning the use of social media to increase sales and to develop fan bases. However, they also agree there are other marketing tactics that are still more effective than social media at this time.

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This study sought to explore the leadership styles and theories employed throughout the existence of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The research examines the decision process and subsequent outcomes, exploring how they ultimately affected the business and trajectory of the sport. NASCAR is the product of unique and specific characteristics of racing enthusiasts who turned their passion into an international empire. This illustrates how leadership styles, specifically dictatorial leadership, successfully managed decisions of the business. Through the use of qualitative research to review historical accounts of events, this study strives to explain how leadership guided the business from small beginnings to a worldwide phenomenon. Data collected included document review, observations, and an interview. Synthesis of the data showed that each of the four primary leaders (Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Brain France, and Jim France) used the autocratic/dictatorial leadership style as they directed the sport. Historical evidence shows that this style of leadership was required to build the sport and move it to its current recognized level. Recommendation for further study encourage future scholars to revisit the long-term impact of Brian France’s leadership once more time has passed since his negatively charged removal from the leadership position. Researchers would need to also examine the leadership of Jim France because at the time of this study he has been in his leadership position for less than two years.

Purpose: This study is a micro-level perspective of value co-creation in spectator sport. By examining sport through the value co-creation lens, the dual role of the customer as both a contributor to and a beneficiary of value is acknowledged and the importance of stakeholder interactions is emphasized. This study analyzes the extent to which two theoretically and managerially important factors—attendance frequency (i.e. first-time attendee vs repeat attendee) and resident type (i.e. local resident vs domestic traveler)—impact value creation in the recurring live sporting event setting. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from spectators who attended a National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) sanctioned racing event. Multigroup structural equation modeling was performed to examine the proposed pathways, and multigroup t-tests were used to compare the model across both groups for each moderating variable. Corresponding path coefficients were then compared using Chin's (2004) recommended equations and procedures. Findings: The study found organization-related value propositions to be the more common antecedents of value, while customer appearance had a strong negative association with hedonic value, and attendance frequency and resident type influenced certain value perceptions. Sport organizations should consider the expectations and motivations of various customer groups and provide offerings designed to meet the specific needs of different fan segments based on the spectator's experience with the sport product and the distance traveled to attend the sport event. Originality/value: This paper advances the authors’ understanding of value creation in sport by showing how customer perceptions of value associated with the sport organization and other customers can be moderated by certain behavioral and geographic factors.

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During the second half of the 20th century the Stock Car Racing enjoyed substantial growth and development. General enthusiasm for fast cars built within American culture by racers, hot rodders, and automaker advertising campaigns helped fuel rapid acceptance of production-based racing. Widespread popular fascination with automotive speed helped stock car racing withstand criticism of the violent nature of the sport leveled by public safety groups and politicians during the first decade of its organization. Indeed, the perceived rebelliousness of stock car racing helped drive stock car racing to develop a loyal fan base in the American South. For the National Association for Stock Car Automobile Racing (NASCAR) control over the technology of competition and the conduct of race events brought respectability, scale, and profitability to this entertainment phenomenon between 1949 and 1979. The power to specify technology offered NASCAR leverage over the actions of racers who, despite their status as independent contractors, remained fiercely loyal competitors. Control over the technology of competition also helped maintain strictly stock perceptions of NASCAR racing that made corporate sponsorship attractive to automakers and held the interest of the general public. After initial forays across the nation, NASCAR chose advantageous concentration on the southeastern markets where racing spectacle found the most enthusiastic and devoted audience. This thesis is an account of the process of systematization that brought the grass-roots phenomenon of production-based to a region and an nation, and how NASCAR relied on a stock-appearing racecar as a device to simultaneously control participants, lure corporate promotional dollars, and attract fans.

NASCAR has become one of America's fastest growing spectator sports, and corporate sponsors have played an important part in this upsurge in popularity. Race teams, drivers, and sanctioning bodies use the income that sponsors provide to operate at NASCAR events. This study provides an analysis of how corporate sponsorships have changed the way that NASCAR is presented in print journalism. Using Burke's method of indexing, NASCAR-related titles in the New York Times and the Johnson City Press from 1950 to present day are analyzed. The analysis reveals not only a steady increase in the number of NASCAR-related titles, but 4 indices of meaning that are most often used (Specific Races/Locations, NASCAR, Specific Names, and Sponsors) and that organizations should consider before they plan to promote their products using NASCAR.