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The main aim of this study was to develop a diversity management content model based on the organisational team sport intervention and to compile a process model to implement organisational team sport in an organisation in nine financial organisations in Gauteng, South Africa. The diversity constraints relevant in this study were age, gender, race, religious beliefs, physical abilities, ethnicity, generation gaps, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, physical abilities, education, income, political beliefs and income. The study was conducted among 63 sport participants and nine sport coordinators employed at nine financial organisations in Gauteng, South Africa. The data were collected by means of focus group interviews with sport participants and individual interviews with sport coordinators. The results indicate that organisational team sport interventions as a diversity management initiative do have benefits for the employees (i.e. the employees learn more about and from one another, communicate openly, become friends, trust and respect one another, are able to work together in a team, have equal opportunities and there is less stereotyping/discrimination) and for the organisation (i.e. productivity, the company is able to achieve its goals, employees are more cohesive and able to work together, there is creativity, new ideas are generated and client service improves). The findings of this study contribute valuable new knowledge to the literature on the diversity management content model based on organisational team sport interventions because no studies have been conducted on an organisational team sport intervention model that can be utilised as a diversity model in organisations. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / D. Com.

A indústria do esporte tem despertado cada vez mais o interesse de acadêmicos e profissionais das mais diversas áreas. Não só pela importância social que o esporte sempre teve no mundo, mas agora, também, pela importância econômica que essa indústria vem alcançado. O esporte deixou, há tempos, de ser apenas uma atividade de lazer. Se, para o público, ele ainda o é, para aqueles que trabalham nele, é claramente uma atividade de negócios. E, para disputar o jogo dentro das quatros linhas é necessário ter um time competitivo fora delas. Neste trabalho, consideramos as equipes esportivas como organizações e analisamo-las como firmas, com sua estrutura organizacional estreitamente relacionada à sua forma de apresentação ao público consumidor. Assumimos como premissa que essas organizações (times) não devem ser apenas organizadas como um win-maximizer, mas como um profit-maximizing. Neste sentido, o patrocínio vem ganhando cada vez mais importância na indústria do esporte. É difícil imaginar um grande time ou evento esportivo sem patrocínio. De um lado, os eventos e equipes participantes dependem dos recursos financeiros oriundos dos patrocinadores. Do outro lado, os patrocinadores utilizam de forma significativa o patrocínio como uma ferramenta estratégica de marketing. Assim, da mesma forma que os gastos globais com patrocínio vêm aumentando ano a ano, os esforços acadêmicos para medir o efeito do patrocínio vêm acompanhando este crescimento. No entanto, grande parte da literatura sobre patrocínio considera a influência do patrocínio na perspectiva do negócio. Estudos que analisem uma estrutura mais completa, desde a identificação do torcedor com o time até a compra final de produtos dos patrocinadores são raros. E é aqui que essa pesquisa se encaixa. Entendemos que o consumidor passa por constantes mudanças, que afetam os hábitos de consumo das pessoas e, por consequência, afetam as organizações. Um exemplo está na crescente demanda dos consumidores esportivos por produtos e serviços melhores. Além disso, a utilização cada vez maior de dispositivos móveis com internet e acesso às mídias sociais exige que as empresas repensem seu ambiente de negócios. Essa mudança no comportamento dos consumidores vem proporcionando a eles um novo papel. Os times e equipes esportivas devem assumir uma visão na qual o torcedor seja visto como alguém que contribui significativamente para o valor do produto e do serviço e que, ao mesmo tempo, direciona as estratégias da organização. Assim, os times devem buscar estratégias para aumentar o envolvimento ativo dos torcedores com o time e com as empresas patrocinadoras, incentivando-os a ser embaixadores da marca. Neste contexto, o trabalho teve como objetivo verificar se a lealdade do torcedor com seu clube pode ser transferida para as organizações patrocinadoras. Para alcançar esse objetivo, propusemos e testamos um modelo teórico multidimensional que permitisse mensurar desde a concepção da identificação com o time até a etapa de compra dos produtos dos patrocinadores. Assim, a partir da análise crítica de modelos propostos por diferentes autores, de diferentes áreas do conhecimento, foram desenvolvidos o modelo teórico e seus respectivos itens de mensuração. Os construtos principais desta tese foram: identificação com o time, lealdade ao time e lealdade ao patrocinador. A aplicação da escala desenvolvida para este trabalho se deu em duas amostras distintas e em momentos diferentes (amostra pré-teste: n=263; amostra teste: n=787). Para teste e refinamento da escala e do modelo, utilizamos a técnica de modelagem de equação estrutural PLS-SEM, por meio da qual os dados foram analisados em termos de validade convergente, validade discriminante e confiabilidade. Para tal, adotamos o uso da análise fatorial confirmatória. O modelo estrutural também foi testado e retestado por meio dos coeficientes de caminho, R2, Q2 e f2. Os resultados deste estudo mostram haver impacto considerável das variáveis antecedentes, benefícios sociais/não financeiros propostos neste trabalho, na identificação com o time. Ao mesmo tempo, a identificação com o time afeta positivamente e de forma significativa à lealdade ao time, que neste trabalho é analisada como um construto multidimensional formado por lealdade atitudinal, conativa e comportamental. Os testes realizados confiram o objetivo principal deste trabalho e permite inferir que a lealdade do torcedor ao time pode, sim, ser transferida para as empresas patrocinadoras. Em termos gerenciais, o conhecimento de novos antecedentes da identificação do torcedor com o time, bem como a clara distinção entre identificação, fanatismo e lealdade, permitirá às equipes formular estratégias mais assertivas para gerenciamento de suas marcas e o direcionar esforços de comunicação de marketing de forma mais eficaz. Para as empresas patrocinadoras, apresentamos um caminho alternativo para mensurar a eficiência e a eficácia do patrocínio e rentabilizar melhor os altos investimentos nesta área. Por fim, os resultados contribuem para a ampliação do conhecimento e do corpo teórico nos estudos da vantagem competitiva, comportamento do consumidor, lealdade e patrocínio. / The sports industry has attracted increasing interest from academics and professionals from various fields. Not only because of the social importance that sport has always had in the world but now, also because of the economic importance that this industry has achieved. For some time now, sport hasn\'t been just a leisure activity. If, for the public, it still is, for those who work in it, it is clearly a business activity, and to play the game within the four lines, it is necessary to have a competitive team outside of them. In this paper, we considered sports teams as organizations and analyzed them as companies, with their organizational structure closely related to their presentation to the consumer. We assumed the premise that these organizations (teams) should not only be organized as win-maximizer but as a profit-maximizing. In this sense, sponsorship is gaining more importance in the sports industry. It is hard to imagine a great team or sporting event without sponsorship. On the one hand, the events and participating teams rely on financial resources from sponsors. On the other hand, sponsors significantly utilize sponsorship as a strategic marketing tool. Thus, just as global spending on sponsorship is increasing on a yearly basis, the academic efforts to measure the effect of sponsorship have accompanied this growth. However, much of the literature on sponsorship considers the influence of sponsorship on the business perspective. Studies analyzing a more complete structure, from the fan\'s identification with the team to the final purchase of the sponsors\' products, are rare, and this is the point of this research. We understand that the consumer goes through constant changes that affect the consumption habits of people and, consequently, affect organizations. An example is an increasing demand from consumers for sporting goods and better services. In addition, the increasing use of mobile devices with Internet and access to social media requires companies to rethink their business environment. This change in consumer behavior is giving them a new role. Teams and their staff must embrace the vision in which fans are seen as people who significantly contribute to the value of the product and service and, at the same time, direct the organization\'s strategies. Thus, teams must seek strategies to increase the active involvement of the fans with the team and with the sponsoring companies, encouraging them to be brand ambassadors. In this context, this study aimed to verify that the fan\'s loyalty to his club can be transferred to the sponsoring organizations. To achieve this goal, we proposed and tested a multidimensional theoretical model that allowed us to measure all the stages of the process that we call loyalty transfer, starting with the identification with the team and ending with the purchase phase of the sponsors\' products. Thus, from the critical analysis of models proposed by different authors from different areas of knowledge, the theoretical model was developed, and its respective items were measured. The main constructs of this thesis were identification with the team, loyalty to the team, and loyalty to the sponsor. The application of the scale developed for this study took place in two different samples at different times (pre-test sample: n=267; test sample: n=787). For testing and refinement of scale and model, we used the PLS-SEM structural equation modeling technique, whereby the data was analyzed regarding convergent validity, discriminant validity, and reliability. To this end, we have adopted the use of confirmatory factor analysis. The structural model was also tested and retested by the R2, Q2 e f2 coeficients. The results of this study show that there is a significant impact of background variables and the social/non-financial benefits proposed in this study in identifying with the team. At the same time, identification with the team affects positively and significantly the loyalty to the team, which, in this study, is considered as a multidimensional construct composed of attitudinal, conative and behavioral loyalty. The executed tests confirm the primary objective of this study and allow us to infer that fan loyalty to the team can indeed be transferred to the sponsoring companies. In management terms, the knowledge of new background of fan identification with the team, as well as the clear distinction between identification, fanaticism, and loyalty, will enable teams to formulate more assertive strategies for managing their brands and direct marketing communication efforts more efficiently. For sponsors, we present an alternative way to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of sponsorship and better monetize high investments in this area. Finally, the results contribute to the expansion of knowledge and theoretical background in the study of competitive advantage, consumer behavior, loyalty, and sponsorship.

The top endorsed athletes in the world are most likely the ones who have the biggest impact on their sport. These athletes are usually among the best in their sport or they might have something special that creates a strong relationship between the athlete and his or her fans. It is possible to say that this relationship combined with their skills on and off of the fields, courts, or arenas is what makes these athletes special. Big companies all over the world feel attracted to these athletes and, as a result, they spend millions of dollars every year in order to make these athletes the face of their companies. This research investigates the relationship between the monetary values of the top 50 most endorsed athletes in the world and their behaviors. Companies spend millions of dollars every year on endorsement deals, so it is important that they pick the right athlete to represent them. Furthermore, the athletes that are being endorsed need to know if there is a possibility of gaining or losing endorsements based upon their behaviors. The methodology in this research utilizes Analysis of Variance to investigate this relationship.

The main aim of this study was to develop a diversity management content model based on the organisational team sport intervention and to compile a process model to implement organisational team sport in an organisation in nine financial organisations in Gauteng, South Africa. The diversity constraints relevant in this study were age, gender, race, religious beliefs, physical abilities, ethnicity, generation gaps, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, physical abilities, education, income, political beliefs and income. The study was conducted among 63 sport participants and nine sport coordinators employed at nine financial organisations in Gauteng, South Africa. The data were collected by means of focus group interviews with sport participants and individual interviews with sport coordinators. The results indicate that organisational team sport interventions as a diversity management initiative do have benefits for the employees (i.e. the employees learn more about and from one another, communicate openly, become friends, trust and respect one another, are able to work together in a team, have equal opportunities and there is less stereotyping/discrimination) and for the organisation (i.e. productivity, the company is able to achieve its goals, employees are more cohesive and able to work together, there is creativity, new ideas are generated and client service improves). The findings of this study contribute valuable new knowledge to the literature on the diversity management content model based on organisational team sport interventions because no studies have been conducted on an organisational team sport intervention model that can be utilised as a diversity model in organisations. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D. Com.

A indústria do esporte tem despertado cada vez mais o interesse de acadêmicos e profissionais das mais diversas áreas. Não só pela importância social que o esporte sempre teve no mundo, mas agora, também, pela importância econômica que essa indústria vem alcançado. O esporte deixou, há tempos, de ser apenas uma atividade de lazer. Se, para o público, ele ainda o é, para aqueles que trabalham nele, é claramente uma atividade de negócios. E, para disputar o jogo dentro das quatros linhas é necessário ter um time competitivo fora delas. Neste trabalho, consideramos as equipes esportivas como organizações e analisamo-las como firmas, com sua estrutura organizacional estreitamente relacionada à sua forma de apresentação ao público consumidor. Assumimos como premissa que essas organizações (times) não devem ser apenas organizadas como um win-maximizer, mas como um profit-maximizing. Neste sentido, o patrocínio vem ganhando cada vez mais importância na indústria do esporte. É difícil imaginar um grande time ou evento esportivo sem patrocínio. De um lado, os eventos e equipes participantes dependem dos recursos financeiros oriundos dos patrocinadores. Do outro lado, os patrocinadores utilizam de forma significativa o patrocínio como uma ferramenta estratégica de marketing. Assim, da mesma forma que os gastos globais com patrocínio vêm aumentando ano a ano, os esforços acadêmicos para medir o efeito do patrocínio vêm acompanhando este crescimento. No entanto, grande parte da literatura sobre patrocínio considera a influência do patrocínio na perspectiva do negócio. Estudos que analisem uma estrutura mais completa, desde a identificação do torcedor com o time até a compra final de produtos dos patrocinadores são raros. E é aqui que essa pesquisa se encaixa. Entendemos que o consumidor passa por constantes mudanças, que afetam os hábitos de consumo das pessoas e, por consequência, afetam as organizações. Um exemplo está na crescente demanda dos consumidores esportivos por produtos e serviços melhores. Além disso, a utilização cada vez maior de dispositivos móveis com internet e acesso às mídias sociais exige que as empresas repensem seu ambiente de negócios. Essa mudança no comportamento dos consumidores vem proporcionando a eles um novo papel. Os times e equipes esportivas devem assumir uma visão na qual o torcedor seja visto como alguém que contribui significativamente para o valor do produto e do serviço e que, ao mesmo tempo, direciona as estratégias da organização. Assim, os times devem buscar estratégias para aumentar o envolvimento ativo dos torcedores com o time e com as empresas patrocinadoras, incentivando-os a ser embaixadores da marca. Neste contexto, o trabalho teve como objetivo verificar se a lealdade do torcedor com seu clube pode ser transferida para as organizações patrocinadoras. Para alcançar esse objetivo, propusemos e testamos um modelo teórico multidimensional que permitisse mensurar desde a concepção da identificação com o time até a etapa de compra dos produtos dos patrocinadores. Assim, a partir da análise crítica de modelos propostos por diferentes autores, de diferentes áreas do conhecimento, foram desenvolvidos o modelo teórico e seus respectivos itens de mensuração. Os construtos principais desta tese foram: identificação com o time, lealdade ao time e lealdade ao patrocinador. A aplicação da escala desenvolvida para este trabalho se deu em duas amostras distintas e em momentos diferentes (amostra pré-teste: n=263; amostra teste: n=787). Para teste e refinamento da escala e do modelo, utilizamos a técnica de modelagem de equação estrutural PLS-SEM, por meio da qual os dados foram analisados em termos de validade convergente, validade discriminante e confiabilidade. Para tal, adotamos o uso da análise fatorial confirmatória. O modelo estrutural também foi testado e retestado por meio dos coeficientes de caminho, R2, Q2 e f2. Os resultados deste estudo mostram haver impacto considerável das variáveis antecedentes, benefícios sociais/não financeiros propostos neste trabalho, na identificação com o time. Ao mesmo tempo, a identificação com o time afeta positivamente e de forma significativa à lealdade ao time, que neste trabalho é analisada como um construto multidimensional formado por lealdade atitudinal, conativa e comportamental. Os testes realizados confiram o objetivo principal deste trabalho e permite inferir que a lealdade do torcedor ao time pode, sim, ser transferida para as empresas patrocinadoras. Em termos gerenciais, o conhecimento de novos antecedentes da identificação do torcedor com o time, bem como a clara distinção entre identificação, fanatismo e lealdade, permitirá às equipes formular estratégias mais assertivas para gerenciamento de suas marcas e o direcionar esforços de comunicação de marketing de forma mais eficaz. Para as empresas patrocinadoras, apresentamos um caminho alternativo para mensurar a eficiência e a eficácia do patrocínio e rentabilizar melhor os altos investimentos nesta área. Por fim, os resultados contribuem para a ampliação do conhecimento e do corpo teórico nos estudos da vantagem competitiva, comportamento do consumidor, lealdade e patrocínio. / The sports industry has attracted increasing interest from academics and professionals from various fields. Not only because of the social importance that sport has always had in the world but now, also because of the economic importance that this industry has achieved. For some time now, sport hasn\'t been just a leisure activity. If, for the public, it still is, for those who work in it, it is clearly a business activity, and to play the game within the four lines, it is necessary to have a competitive team outside of them. In this paper, we considered sports teams as organizations and analyzed them as companies, with their organizational structure closely related to their presentation to the consumer. We assumed the premise that these organizations (teams) should not only be organized as win-maximizer but as a profit-maximizing. In this sense, sponsorship is gaining more importance in the sports industry. It is hard to imagine a great team or sporting event without sponsorship. On the one hand, the events and participating teams rely on financial resources from sponsors. On the other hand, sponsors significantly utilize sponsorship as a strategic marketing tool. Thus, just as global spending on sponsorship is increasing on a yearly basis, the academic efforts to measure the effect of sponsorship have accompanied this growth. However, much of the literature on sponsorship considers the influence of sponsorship on the business perspective. Studies analyzing a more complete structure, from the fan\'s identification with the team to the final purchase of the sponsors\' products, are rare, and this is the point of this research. We understand that the consumer goes through constant changes that affect the consumption habits of people and, consequently, affect organizations. An example is an increasing demand from consumers for sporting goods and better services. In addition, the increasing use of mobile devices with Internet and access to social media requires companies to rethink their business environment. This change in consumer behavior is giving them a new role. Teams and their staff must embrace the vision in which fans are seen as people who significantly contribute to the value of the product and service and, at the same time, direct the organization\'s strategies. Thus, teams must seek strategies to increase the active involvement of the fans with the team and with the sponsoring companies, encouraging them to be brand ambassadors. In this context, this study aimed to verify that the fan\'s loyalty to his club can be transferred to the sponsoring organizations. To achieve this goal, we proposed and tested a multidimensional theoretical model that allowed us to measure all the stages of the process that we call loyalty transfer, starting with the identification with the team and ending with the purchase phase of the sponsors\' products. Thus, from the critical analysis of models proposed by different authors from different areas of knowledge, the theoretical model was developed, and its respective items were measured. The main constructs of this thesis were identification with the team, loyalty to the team, and loyalty to the sponsor. The application of the scale developed for this study took place in two different samples at different times (pre-test sample: n=267; test sample: n=787). For testing and refinement of scale and model, we used the PLS-SEM structural equation modeling technique, whereby the data was analyzed regarding convergent validity, discriminant validity, and reliability. To this end, we have adopted the use of confirmatory factor analysis. The structural model was also tested and retested by the R2, Q2 e f2 coeficients. The results of this study show that there is a significant impact of background variables and the social/non-financial benefits proposed in this study in identifying with the team. At the same time, identification with the team affects positively and significantly the loyalty to the team, which, in this study, is considered as a multidimensional construct composed of attitudinal, conative and behavioral loyalty. The executed tests confirm the primary objective of this study and allow us to infer that fan loyalty to the team can indeed be transferred to the sponsoring companies. In management terms, the knowledge of new background of fan identification with the team, as well as the clear distinction between identification, fanaticism, and loyalty, will enable teams to formulate more assertive strategies for managing their brands and direct marketing communication efforts more efficiently. For sponsors, we present an alternative way to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of sponsorship and better monetize high investments in this area. Finally, the results contribute to the expansion of knowledge and theoretical background in the study of competitive advantage, consumer behavior, loyalty, and sponsorship.

The recent departure of Czech football clubs participating in the top two competitions for the newly created League of Football Association (LFA) has given rise to a number of questions. This step is generally considered to be a significant step towards emphasising the differences between the professional and amateur areas of football in our country. The goal of this dissertation was to demonstrate the differences and the similar features in the management and leadership of this type of sports organisation on the basis of practical research undertaken in two selected clubs. FC Jablonec nad Nisou from the first division served as an example of the professional sphere, while FC Loko Vltavín was selected as a representative of the amateur game. The findings were then used to compare these two kinds of clubs in relation to various aspects of their complex functioning. General principles and specific features have been drawn from this for both qualitative levels. The results have particularly demonstrated the significant influence of club economics and the competitive environment, which mutually influence and to a certain degree determine the level of all other areas which the people from the club management are involved in.

The present study examined how athletic directors perceive their leadership roles in interscholastic athletics and the relationship of their leadership styles to their job satisfaction. The conceptual framework of this study was Bass and Avolio’s (1994) full range leadership model, also known as the transformational-transactional leadership model, which consists of 9 factors—5 transformational behaviors: idealized influence (attributed), idealized influence (behavior), inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration; 2 transactional behaviors: contingent reward and management-by-exception (active); 2 passive/avoidant behaviors: management-by-exception (passive) and laissez-faire. These 9 factors are measured by the Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). The study was also informed by Chelladurai’s multidimensional model of leadership in sport which focuses on transformational effects of sport leaders on individual satisfaction and group performance. The study was significant in that the effects of transformational leadership on individuals in sporting organizations have not been fully explored in previous research. Both the MLQ and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) served as data collection tools. A sample of 500 athletic directors from across the United States was invited to participate in an electronic survey. Usable data were returned by 55 (11%) of the original sample. Participants self-assessed their leadership styles via the MLQ and job satisfaction via the MSQ. Data were analyzed via canonical correlation analysis followed by canonical commonality analysis. One canonical root was interpreted (Rc2 = .22; pCanonical structure coefficients indicated that Transformational and Passive/Avoidant Leadership made major contributions to the predictor canonical variate; the dependent canonical variate was defined by both Intrinsic and Extrinsic Satisfaction. Canonical commonality analysis indicated that Transformational Leadership had the largest unique variance partition; the largest common variance partition was shared by Transformational and Passive/Avoidant. The analysis also indicated two variable suppressor effects. There was a moderate correlation between athletic directors’ leadership styles and their job satisfaction; however, the directionality of the relationships of the variables in the leadership set with satisfaction was unexpected: (a) the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction was found to be negative, and (b) the relationship between passive/avoidant leadership and job satisfaction was positive.

The dissertation comprises four manuscripts that aim to enhance the knowledge on strategic man-agement of professional football clubs within Germany, especially with regard to the prediction of success. Apart from manuscript A which is a review of extant literature of football manage-ment variables leading to success, and manuscript B, which is a qualitative investigation on sus-tainable success factors affecting professional football clubs, the remaining manuscripts C and D comprise two empirical studies; they can be further partitioned in manuscript C, investigating the prediction of failure with the worst-case scenario of bankruptcy and manuscript D, covering the prediction of failure and success in a proof of concept based on machine learning.

Fans of college sports embrace the idea of athletes playing sport and, in turn, receiving tuition scholarships that provide them an opportunity to trade athletic talent for a free education. A contradictory body of research using internal colonization theory posits that the trade of education for playing sports is not a fair exchange but is fraught with exploitation that continues to perpetuate subjugation. An accepted narrative in athletic competition is that the recruiting pipeline draws athletes from impoverished inner-city areas engaging young athletes who experience difficulties keeping up scholastically becoming academically resistant as they focus on their sport at the expense of their academics. Biopsychosocial and developmental neuroscience research recognizes outside social factors as variables that affect the development of the brain, thus influencing basic mechanical operations of specific brain structures. This dissertation breaks new ground by utilization of the 10-question Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Inventory to explore a possible relationship between ACE scores and Academic Resistance (AR), ACE scores and Locus of Control, and ACE scores and Identity Foreclosure. Using the T-test to determine a relationship between 194 participants’ ACE scores and AR, the findings showed the probability of Type I error of 5%, to be that the AR of student athletes with an ACE score >=2, n=94, to be significantly higher than the AR of student athletes with an ACE