Sport management researchers have not studied sport markets, despite their importance to the discipline. In this dissertation, I report on two ethnographic case studies where I worked with new sport organizations to design and conduct market research. Working in this capacity, I observed how sport management practitioners conceive of and create markets. The results add to Michel Callon’s performation program for market studies as well as his and Bruno Latour’s Actor-Network Theory. Callon argued that economists and other market scientists make markets with their theories. This performational relationship holds for marketers, practitioners, workers, consumers, and all who take it on themselves to configure markets—the implication is that markets may be formatted innumerable ways. Thus, the valid question is not the existence of markets, or their essence, spread, or domination, but their design and, therefore, the strategies for intervention. I use a case study of a failed market research project with New Rugby and a case study of a successful market research project with City FC to show six moments of performation: 1) actionable distinctions (practitioners’ pragmatic definitions); 2) translations and reverse translations (changing another’s interests to be commensurable with one’s own); 3) enrollments (the result of a successful translation); 4) concessions (changing a statement or interest to accommodate new actors); 5) chains of reference (entities linked via mediators that transport parts of each entity to the next in line), and; 6) managerial implications (the form market statements take in market-ing practice). I describe how employees of City FC adopted sport management research, namely the Psychological Continuum Model (Funk & James, 2001; 2006), and use this example to show how sport marketing theories successfully, if weakly, performate sport markets. I also describe how various actors used market research to conceive of a market for City FC prior to and during the inaugural season. Using this and other empirical material, I devise a model for sport market development whereby organizations use actors internal to their network to create markets; they then use these markets to translate various internal and external actors, such as league commissioners, city officials, and squabbling industry experts, but also attendees, consumers, and other groups in the city. These findings show that demand markets in sport are material achievements that marketers and sociologists need to study as a type of civil engineering. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2017. / June 28, 2017. / Actor-Network Theory, Demand Markets, Economic Sociology, Market Development, Performation, Spectator Sport / Includes bibliographical references. / Joshua I. Newman, Professor Directing Dissertation; Randall G. Holcombe, University Representative; Jeffrey D. James, Committee Member; Michael D. Giardina, Committee Member.

The number of females participating in high-performance track and field continues to increase. However, there has not been a corresponding increase in the number of women in head coaching and other leadership positions (Acosta & Carpenter, 2012; Shaw & Allen, 2009). This dearth of female coaches has been studied extensively in collegiate and professional team sports (Acosta & Carpenter, 2012; Kamphoff 2010; LaVoi & Dutove, 2012; Leberman & Palmer, 2009; Norman, 2008; Robertson & Marshall, 2010). Accordingly, this dissertation extends this literature by examining the phenomenon in an individual sport at the high-performance level. Some sport management scholars have concluded that sports organizations are infused with institutionalized gender ideologies that contribute to the marginalization of women (Burton, 2015; Claringbould & Knoppers, 2012, Cunningham, 2008). Therefore, combining institutional theory with gender concepts to analyze the gendered environment and gender politics of coaching in elite track and field, I examine the opportunities and challenges of female coaches as they work in a male-dominated environment. The research was guided by the following questions: (1) How do female coaches perceive the effects of institutionalized gender practices and discourse within (inter)national track and field organizations? (2) According to women coaches, how are dominant gender ideologies and gendered organizational practices diffused across various high-performance track and field organizations? (3) How does the process of gender institutionalization influence female coaches’ professional development? and (4) In what ways do female coaches respond to and develop strategies from which to navigate the process of gender institutionalization? For this analysis, I used a qualitative approach and conducted nine semi-structured interviews with elite-level female coaches from different countries to construct a representation of these gender politics and institutionalization processes, the impact on their careers, and the strategies they implemented to navigate opportunities and challenges they encountered within organizational structures of track and field. My findings show that gendered policies, practices, and behaviors marginalizing women in the sport are widespread and work across temporal, geographic, and cultural boundaries. However, the emergent themes also highligted the willingness and preparedness of the coaches to pursue their careers with dedication and determination. They articulated the desire to effect change and be a part of change. Further, they acknowledged they are already observing incremental change, as the number of women competing in the sport, working in leadership positions, and coaching at all levels of track and field has increased. This analysis adds to existing research that has highlighted institutionalized organizational processes and practices including gender ideologies as contributing factors to the marginalization of women across the sports sector and organizations (Burton, 2015; Claringbould & Knoppers, 2012, Cunningham, 2008; Knoppers, 1992). Additionally, it gives voice to a minority population of female coaches in high-performance track and field. Finally, this research underscores the existence of gender inequity in international coaching, but it also confirms the viability of change. Keywords: Gender bias, institutional theory, institutional entrepreneurship, track and field, high- performance / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2018. / March 05, 2018. / Gender bias, High-performance, Institutional entrepreneurship, Institutional theory, track and field / Includes bibliographical references. / Joshua Newman, Professor Directing Dissertation; Gerald Ferris, University Representative; Michael Giardina, Committee Member; Hanhan Xue, Committee Member.

Hispanics and Asians account for nearly $3 billion in annual spending in the United States (Pew, 2016), positioning them as groups of interest for marketers. In the study of ethnic populations, scholars have identified two factors that have an impact on the consumer behavior decision making process – acculturation and perceived risk (Berry, 1997; Smith Castro, 2003; Trimble, 2003). Yet, sport marketers have by-and-large failed to adequately study these elements when examining differences in sport consumer behavior across ethnic populations (Gacio Harrolle & Trail, 2007; Kwon & Trail, 2001). Through the use of quantitative research methods (i.e., survey distribution, statistical analyses), I investigated the impact that acculturation and perceived risk have on the consumption of sport in general and American football specifically. These inquiries were guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1985; 1991). I first examined the impact that acculturation has on sport in general and football specific media and merchandise consumption (i.e., Research Aim 1). Second, six elements representing perceived risk were tested as mediating factors in the relationship between acculturation and consumption of American football media and merchandise (i.e., Research Aim 2). Based on previous findings in the literature, it was expected that significant and meaningful differences would be reported across both research aims. The results were dissimilar to previous findings in the literature. Through a review of the results I concluded the respondents are not avid followers or consumers of sport. I also found that both Asian and Hispanic respondents strongly disagreed with items representing perceptions of risk when consuming American football. No significant differences in sport consumption were reported across levels of acculturation. A conclusion from these findings is that degree of familiarity with the perceived culture in the United States does not seem to impact sport consumption behavior. Evidence was also provided in favor of significant mediating effects in the relationships between acculturation and consumption of American football. However, considering the low mean scores across all risk factors the mediating effects were not found to be significant or have a practical application for this group of respondents. Based on the comprehensive results from the study, I offer theoretical and practical implications for the study of minority ethnic groups. Specifically, I call attention to the results of the open-ended question and how individuals of minority status in the United States perceive risk in their daily lives. I conclude by outlining the several issues in the current study and provide several suggestions and directions for future scholarship on sport consumer behavior and consumption among ethnic minorities specifically. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2018. / June 13, 2018. / Acculturation, Asian Studies, Hispanic Stuidies, Risk, Sport Consumption / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey D. James, Professor Directing Dissertation; Robert Schwartz, University Representative; Amy C. H. Kim, Committee Member; Joshua I. Newman, Committee Member.

Hispanics and Asians account for nearly $3 billion in annual spending in the United States (Pew, 2016), positioning them as groups of interest for marketers. In the study of ethnic populations, scholars have identified two factors that have an impact on the consumer behavior decision making process – acculturation and perceived risk (Berry, 1997; Smith Castro, 2003; Trimble, 2003). Yet, sport marketers have by-and-large failed to adequately study these elements when examining differences in sport consumer behavior across ethnic populations (Gacio Harrolle & Trail, 2007; Kwon & Trail, 2001). Through the use of quantitative research methods (i.e., survey distribution, statistical analyses), I investigated the impact that acculturation and perceived risk have on the consumption of sport in general and American football specifically. These inquiries were guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1985; 1991). I first examined the impact that acculturation has on sport in general and football specific media and merchandise consumption (i.e., Research Aim 1). Second, six elements representing perceived risk were tested as mediating factors in the relationship between acculturation and consumption of American football media and merchandise (i.e., Research Aim 2). Based on previous findings in the literature, it was expected that significant and meaningful differences would be reported across both research aims. The results were dissimilar to previous findings in the literature. Through a review of the results I concluded the respondents are not avid followers or consumers of sport. I also found that both Asian and Hispanic respondents strongly disagreed with items representing perceptions of risk when consuming American football. No significant differences in sport consumption were reported across levels of acculturation. A conclusion from these findings is that degree of familiarity with the perceived culture in the United States does not seem to impact sport consumption behavior. Evidence was also provided in favor of significant mediating effects in the relationships between acculturation and consumption of American football. However, considering the low mean scores across all risk factors the mediating effects were not found to be significant or have a practical application for this group of respondents. Based on the comprehensive results from the study, I offer theoretical and practical implications for the study of minority ethnic groups. Specifically, I call attention to the results of the open-ended question and how individuals of minority status in the United States perceive risk in their daily lives. I conclude by outlining the several issues in the current study and provide several suggestions and directions for future scholarship on sport consumer behavior and consumption among ethnic minorities specifically. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2018. / June 13, 2018. / Acculturation, Asian Studies, Hispanic Stuidies, Risk, Sport Consumption / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey D. James, Professor Directing Dissertation; Robert Schwartz, University Representative; Amy C. H. Kim, Committee Member; Joshua I. Newman, Committee Member.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. E. Newton Jackson, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Sport Management, Recreation Management, and Physical Education. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Mar. 11, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Project (M.S. Ed.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 43). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.(Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Summary in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references.

Spectator sports are one of the largest industries in the United States (Byon, Zhang & Baker, 2013). In this regard, sports marketers and organizations have focused on maintaining or attracting spectators utilizing various promotion methods. However, according to a Sport Business Research Network (SBRnet, 2012) report, the trend of attendance at Division I college football games has declined since 2010. Specifically, the NCAA member schools reported that the average attendance of Division I-FBS decreased from 45, 912 to 44,970 from 2010 to 2012. Due to the fact that attendance at college football games has seen some decline, it has become more important for sports marketers and organizations to better understand factors affecting consumers in order to attract consumers (Byon, Zhang & Baker, 2013). Researchers have studied various factors affecting why spectators attend a sporting event (Chen & Rylander, 2008). Yoshida and James (2010) mention that customer satisfaction is one way to assess spectator's intention of revisiting. To predict customer's satisfaction and behavioral intention of revisiting, researchers have examined service quality variables and core product quality variables and found that overall service quality has had a significant influence on both satisfaction and consumers' behavior intentions (Yoshida & James, 2010; Wakefield & Blodgett, 1996). Therefore, it is important for sports organizations and sports marketers to provide good service quality to positively impact spectator satisfaction. In addition, scholars have found that spectator satisfaction may vary based on personality traits (Anand, 1977; Barrick & Mount, 1991). John (2003) found that the satisfaction of perceived service quality varied by customer personality traits. John (2003) also suggested that it will be useful to examine what types of personality traits affect perceptions of service quality. In a sport context, Donavan, Carlson and Zimmerman (2005) stated that "individual differences may exist that stem from personality differences" (p. 31). In this sense, they argue that assessment of individual personality traits can be utilized by sports teams and sports managers to influence attendance (Donavan, Carlson & Zimmerman, 2005). Building from the information about individual differences, the proposed study will include a measure of spectators' personality traits to determine if there are differences in ratings of satisfaction with service quality. The main purpose of this study is to examine spectators' personality traits, and customer satisfaction with dimensions of service quality and core product quality. The current study was quantitative; paper and pencil questionnaires were used. The instruments in this study were adapted from existing studies. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed to spectators who attended football games at Florida State University. A descriptive analysis was conducted to assess the frequency of age (based on date of birth), gender, race and year in school. I analyzed the data to assess evidence of reliability pertaining to the constructs of interest: service quality, core product quality, and satisfaction. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to test, and subsequently found, that there were significant differences in ratings of satisfaction, service quality, and core product quality based on the four personality traits. Overall, spectators with Influence and Steadiness as a primary personality traits had a higher mean score of service quality, core product quality, and satisfaction, while spectators characterized by Dominance and Conscientiousness had a lower mean score. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the Master of Science. / Spring Semester, 2015. / March 6, 2015. / Personality traits, Satisfaction, Service Quality / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey James, Professor Directing Thesis; Amy Chan Hyung Kim, Committee Member; Joshua I. Newman, Committee Member.

In this dissertation, I examine how a particular mode of thinking has come about—that is, how an increasingly number of sport management scholars have conceived of sport-based inter-/trans-actions as "consumption" and those who engage with sport thus as "consumers." The question is important as the academic discipline seems to parallel the sport industry, contracting upon a version of sport that is overwhelmingly competitive, commercialized, professional, highly-spectacularized, and mass-consumed. Despite the isomorphic acceptance of market-based approaches to sport management, the field has rich practical, pedagogical, and theoretical roots in education, health, and recreation from which the present consumer-model stands as a radical departure. To resolve this ostensible contradiction, it is first necessary to understand how the present has come to be; thus, an analytic tool is needed to assay the present state of the field, evaluate its trajectory, and trace its effects. Intellectuals have long debated the merits of sport. Many agree that sport can be beneficial when it is played (cf. Zeigler, 2007). However, when sport is engaged in other ways (i.e., spectating a competition, purchasing sport paraphernalia, or asserting allegiance to a team/player), the societal benefit is a bit more opaque, drawing proponents for its cultural and economic significance and critics who challenge sport’s highly spectacularized form, rampant commercialization, and flattening effect on society, for example. Despite this tension, much of the research published in the leading sport management journals is uncritical, adopting deductive-nomothetic approaches to inquiry that produce generalizable, managerially relevant findings with clear commercial implications (see Frisby, 2005; Newman, 2014; Zeigler, 2007). At the same time, idiographic research from alternate (post-modern) onto-epistemic paradigms has been marginalized, as has scholarly inquiry in the once vibrant educational tradition (ibid). Adopting a Foucauldian perspective, I conducted a genealogical analysis of sport management research texts published in four leading journals—Journal of Sport Management (JSM), Sport Management Review (SMR), European Sport Management Quarterly (ESMQ), and Sport Marketing Quarterly (SMQ)—to examine how scholarly discourse has inscribed the field over the last 30 years. I explored how a growing faction of sport management researchers, as expressed in scholarly texts, have come to conceive sport-based engagements as the meaningful consummation of autonomous consumer choice, while also defining what consumer outcomes are possible and acceptable. Ultimately, my aim was to deconstruct the operation of power within the field that exerts itself as a diffuse code of culture governing the production of truth and knowledge. The epistemological premise for the current research project hinges on two genealogical concerns: 1) how particular versions of the sport consumer and sport consumption are made to appear true and solid; and 2) how, in sport management research discourse, certain ways of thinking about the sport consumer have become dominant over others. In pursuit of these aims, an alternate narrative of sport management research is proposed, one that recounts the historical conditions that have advanced the field towards "tautological inefficaciousness" (Newman, 2014, p. 607). Throughout this work, I demonstrate how a sport consumer knowledge culture has rendered sport engagements and identities in ways that bolster market-based approaches to how "sport" and "management" are theorized and practiced. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2016. / November 17, 2016. / consumer culture, discourse, genealogy, political economy / Includes bibliographical references. / Joshua I. Newman, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jennifer M. Proffitt, University Representative; Jeffrey D. James, Committee Member; Michael D. Giardina, Committee Member.