Gina Pauline and Jeffrey S. Pauline
The purpose of the paper is to examine the demographic make‐up of volunteers and their motives for participating in a professional tennis event.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to examine the demographic make‐up of volunteers and their motives for participating in a professional tennis event.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a cross‐sectional descriptive study to investigate the primary motivation of volunteers from a US Open Series professional tennis event. A MANOVA was also conducted to compare the volunteer motivation factors (purposive, egoistic, leisure, material, external) by demographic factors (gender and age).
Findings
Volunteers' demographics closely resemble the tennis participation population and are similar to other tournament volunteers in the sport of golf. Volunteers were strongly motivated by material and purposive factors. Gender and age had no significant effect on the motivation to volunteer.
Research limitations/implications
The sample being from a single event can limit the generalizations, but the work can serve as a framework for more extensive studies, including focusing on a women's event to examine the differences in motivation.
Practical implications
Implications of the results are provided in an effort to assist sport managers to design quality volunteer experiences that enhance the overall experience, supporting episodic volunteers' work ethic, and management of the event. There is clear evidence that volunteer satisfaction is higher when their motives are met. It is intended that this research will offer more support for event organizers based on the growing usage of volunteers and concerns in the sport industry.
Originality/value
This study is the only one that examines tennis volunteers in general as well as exploring the effect of the dependent variables of gender and age on motivation.
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The purpose of this editorial is to introduce the special issue on the relationship of performance management to sports teams.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this editorial is to introduce the special issue on the relationship of performance management to sports teams.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper explains the importance of performance management to sports teams and justifies the need for the special issue.
Findings
The paper finds that there are a variety of different types of teams that operate in the sports context, including professional league teams, college teams, teams at the workplace, volunteer teams and coaching teams.
Originality/value
This editorial provides an overview of this special issue, which comprises eight original papers that are best practice examples of the latest developments in the research on teams in the sports context. Each of these articles is briefly discussed in terms of its contribution to the literature.
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David Pierce, Jeffrey Petersen, Galen Clavio and Bradley Meadows
The purpose of this study is to examine the current state of job announcements relating to sport ticket sales and service positions in the USA.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the current state of job announcements relating to sport ticket sales and service positions in the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
Content analysis methodology was utilized to examine 733 sport sales job announcements from two subscription‐based sport job websites posted over a six month time period.
Findings
Sport sales jobs were geographically clustered with over half of the positions within only eight states, led by California (12.7 percent), New York (9.3 percent), Texas (7.2 percent), and Florida (7.2 percent). The majority of organizations posting jobs were specific teams or integrated sport/entertainment companies owning specific teams (76 percent), followed by media firms (11 percent), outsourced sales firms (6 percent), and sporting goods companies (6 percent). Of the 12 major job types, inside sales positions were the most common (32.3 percent) followed by sponsorship sales (13 percent) and media advertising (12 percent). Logistic regression revealed that directors and non‐entry level hires were more likely to supervise other salespeople and utilize consultative sales techniques, while a strong work ethic and cold calling was sought from entry‐level personnel.
Practical implications
Sport sales hiring managers and sport management academicians can utilize survey results in preparing education and training programs for entry‐level sport salespeople, including the use of experiential learning and sport sales combined.
Originality/value
As the first study to empirically examine the nature of sport sales positions, it provides academicians and future sport management and sales employees with the elements of sport‐related sales most prized within the sport industry.
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Pauline Assenza and Alan B. Eisner
After decades of successful expansion, The Reader's Digest Association's products were mature. With an average readership age for the flagship Reader's Digest magazine of 50.3 in…
Abstract
After decades of successful expansion, The Reader's Digest Association's products were mature. With an average readership age for the flagship Reader's Digest magazine of 50.3 in 2004, efforts to develop new products had so far failed to entice a significant number of younger customers. Following a financial downturn in 1996, positive financial results remained illusive. Several major changes instituted by Thomas O. Ryder, CEO since 1998, including acquisitions, re-capitalization, restructuring and systematic re-engineering of the corporate culture, had proven mildly successful, but RDA, as well as the entire publishing industry, faced a persistent decline in profitability. Could RDA fulfill its stated mission to create “products that inform, enrich, entertain and inspire people of all ages and cultures around the world”, and could it do this by continuing to rely on the 80-year old Reader's Digest magazine?
States that there are concerns within the banking industry that its image may be confused, which raises the question, by what criteria do the stakeholders perceive their banks…
Abstract
States that there are concerns within the banking industry that its image may be confused, which raises the question, by what criteria do the stakeholders perceive their banks and, consequently, how can banks establish programmes to develop their image? Concludes that Britons are largely satisfied with the performance of banks, and are less antagonistic than the media indicate.
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The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the history and development of transaction log analysis (TLA) in library and information science research. Organizing a…
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the history and development of transaction log analysis (TLA) in library and information science research. Organizing a literature review of the first twenty‐five years of TLA poses some challenges and requires some decisions. The primary organizing principle could be a strict chronology of the published research, the research questions addressed, the automated information retrieval (IR) systems that generated the data, the results gained, or even the researchers themselves. The group of active transaction log analyzers remains fairly small in number, and researchers who use transaction logs tend to use this method more than once, so tracing the development and refinement of individuals' uses of the methodology could provide insight into the progress of the method as a whole. For example, if we examine how researchers like W. David Penniman, John Tolle, Christine Borgman, Ray Larson, and Micheline Hancock‐Beaulieu have modified their own understandings and applications of the method over time, we may get an accurate sense of the development of all applications.
Not many weeks back, according to newspaper reports, three members of the library staff of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London were dismissed. All had…
Abstract
Not many weeks back, according to newspaper reports, three members of the library staff of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London were dismissed. All had refused to carry out issue desk duty. All, according to the newspaper account, were members of ASTMS. None, according to the Library Association yearbook, was a member of the appropriate professional organisation for librarians in Great Britain.
Mark Simon, Chanel Stachel and Jeffrey G. Covin
The relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and performance is often moderated by different factors. Specifically, scholars have called for research examining…
Abstract
The relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and performance is often moderated by different factors. Specifically, scholars have called for research examining whether commitment to long-term objectives improves EOʼs effectiveness, believing that commitment may help firms overcome obstacles associated with EO. In response, we collected survey data from executives in 126 small, high-technology firms, and found that EO and commitment to objectives enhanced sales growth. In addition, the study determined that commitment to objectives was associated with greater increased sales growth of companies high in EO, as compared to those low in EO.
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Can Yalcinkaya and Safdar Ahmed
This chapter explores the theoretical foundations of Hazeen, a Muslim blackened death metal band formed in 2015 by the authors - Safdar Ahmed on guitar and vocals, and Can…
Abstract
This chapter explores the theoretical foundations of Hazeen, a Muslim blackened death metal band formed in 2015 by the authors - Safdar Ahmed on guitar and vocals, and Can Yalcinkaya on the drums and darbuka. It provides insights into the musical and performative practices of our band that are informed by traditions of black and death metal, but which also re-interpret them through an engagement with anti-fascist, anti-Islamophobic politics as well as Sufi/batini elements. Hazeen responds to a rising tide of Islamophobia in Australia, using our lyrics and performances to attack racist stereotyping and the dehumanisation of Muslims. In our performances, we dress in black, Islamic attire and apply ‘corpse paint’ to become the much feared ‘other’ of the post-9/11 world - the monstrous, rabid, zombie-like Muslim that has haunted the right wing/conservative imagination in the West. Our lyrics address such issues as the inhumane treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia, halal food conspiracies, orientalism and the so-called ‘clash of civilisations’. This chapter presents a critical exegesis of Hazeen’s output in the form of live gigs, art performances and studio recordings. It seeks to identify Hazeen’s place within the broader Australian metal scene, posing questions of authenticity and how metal enables us to question hegemonic notions of identity. Hazeen’s use of art spaces as venues of performance and involvement in the indie/zine community highlights an unconventional position within the local metal scene.