The Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era
Introduction
Impacts and Implications, Edited book; Chapter proposal deadline 15 Sep 2020
INTEREST CATEGORY: SECTORS
POSTING TYPE: Calls: Other
Author: Arne Baruca
Call for Chapters: Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era
Editors
Armand Faganel, Arne Baruca, Igor Rižnar
Call for Chapters
- Proposals Submission Deadline: September 15, 2020
- Full Chapters Due: November 15, 2020
- Submission Date: February 26, 2021
Introduction
Sports consumption, as a product of the development of social productive forces to a certain stage, is a personal consumption behavior aiming to pursue fitness and entertainment after satisfying the existence consumption (Zang & Wang 2012). The concept of sport providing a secret language, a shared passion, and an emotional connection to the people resonates universally (Traxton 2020). And as a result, professional sports leagues ferociously marketed their products everywhere, which resulted in an impressive global growth of the sports industry. Accordingly, markets around the world have been growing in their receptiveness to the power of sports, as the sport became a great opportunity to reach millions of fans that were following their favorite leagues and clubs via all kinds of media, in addition, many were also flying all over the globe to follow their heroes in live games. Consequently, the competition within the sports industry rose: for sponsors, for media revenue, for fan attention. Besides the professional sports leagues’ global hunger for market share, changes also occurred due to the rise of digital media, e-sports, short-form video, content-led e-sports sponsorship, and the addition of new women’s sports formats (Nielsen 2018). All these forces, together with increasing health awareness prospected to see further growth for sportswear, sports equipment industry, and sport participation. All that global growth connected to the sports industry, let the Business research company (2019) forecasted a rise for the global sports market at an annual growth rate of around 6% to nearly $614 billion by 2022. Abruptly the world witnessed the Covid-19 pandemic, sports’ seasons ended abruptly, people’s escape from reality suddenly vanished, their spending attitudes changed, live games and commercial flights were suspended, hotels were impossible to book, and consumers practically turned into prisoners within their own homes. No live sports matches to follow on any media either, so specialized sports channels were forced to play old recordings, or in ESPN’s cases, they quickly adapted and started to air a Michal Jordan special (Last Dance) that was marketed for months, earlier than projected. Even athletes themselves struggle to stay relevant and thus, try to be creative to enhance their brand value in these difficult times. And as of this writing, the majority of the sports leagues are still shut down, with a few exceptions like the German Bundesliga or the UFC fighting matches, both of which performing in empty venues, and thus, still projecting a diminished experience compared to the pre-Covid19 era.
Objective
It is expected to collect a visionary set of contributions of renowned academicians and professionals working over the issue of the sports industry and its consumption. Let’s explore the changes that will be created by these unexpected disruptions to the sports industry, fans consumption, and recreational habits. Especially, since it looks like the virus is here to stay at least for a while.
Target Audience
Academicians, researchers, professionals, decision-makers, main-actors from various disciplines, public in general.
Publisher
This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), publisher of the “Information Science Reference” (formerly Idea Group Reference), “Medical Information Science Reference,” “Business Science Reference,” and “Engineering Science Reference” imprints. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com. This publication is anticipated to be released in 2021.
Important Dates
- September 15, 2020: Proposal Submission Deadline
- September 20, 2020: Notification of Acceptance
- November 15, 2020: Full Chapter Submission
- December 15, 2020: Review Results Returned
- January 15, 2021: Final Acceptance Notification
- February 26, 2021: Final Chapter Submission
Inquiries
Full Information
https://www.igi-global.com/publish/call-for-papers/call-details/4760