Management Research question: Sports economic theory and management models have frequently been criticized for not sufficiently explaining phenomena in sport management. This article addresses this gap by proposing a conceptual framework that can be used to understand sport management problems and derive appropriate strategies. Research method: The framework proposed in this conceptual article has been developed through a critical review of existing literature on sport management and theoretical considerations based on the service-dominant logic. Results and findings: The sport value framework provides ten foundational premises on value co-creation in sport management and suggests three levels for its analysis. The main contribution is a new and better theoretical basis for explaining phenomena in sport management compared with traditional sport economic thinking. Moreover, the sport value framework provides guidance in structuring research in sport management. Practical implications: The framework encourages researchers and practitioners to rethink their strategies by applying a different logic that captures the complexity of sport management.

His research addresses current issues in sport and consumer behaviour including social media, anti-brand communities, value co-creation, and consumer engagement. Together with Herbert Woratschek and Chris Horbel he published the 'sport value framework' and was guest editor of the ESMQ 2014/1 special issue on 'value cocreation in sport management'.

How context shapes value co-creation: Spectator experience of sport events This paper applies the perspective of service-dominant logic, specifically value co-creation in service ecosystems to the context of sports. It builds on the notion that co-created value can only be understood as value-in-context. Therefore, a structural model is developed and tested for different contexts of spectating live broadcasts of football games during the Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup 2014. The context-specific contributions of the cocreating actors, spectators' experience evaluations, and the resulting contextspecific value perceptions from the spectators' perspective are identified. The results highlight that the relative influence of the main co-creating actors and the relative importance of the value dimensions differ across contexts. Service providers (in sports) should identify how consumers evaluate experience and which dimensions of value are most important to them in the context under consideration. This will help them to successfully facilitate value co-creation, make meaningful value propositions and achieve strategic benefit for themselves.

Citation:Popp, B. and Woratschek, H. service/product brands. The results demonstrate that identification, satisfaction, and price image significantly influence both loyalty and word of mouth. Moreover, we find significant interrelationships among the constructs: identification positively influences both satisfaction and price image, which also increases satisfaction. By disclosing the relative importance of three separate ways of gaining and retaining customers, this study helps managers more appropriately choose the right mix of branding, pricing, and relationship marketing. From an academic point of view, our research is the first to explicitly examine the effects of the concept of identification for price management and to integrate variables from the fields of branding, relationship marketing, and behavioral pricing, which have separately been identified as particularly important determinants of marketing outcomes.

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This study integrates consumer-brand identification and customer satisfaction as core relationship drivers to study their interrelationships as well as the effects on customer loyalty and word-of-mouth communication. Considering multiple interacting targets of identification in brand communities, the empirical study unfolds the multifaceted, context-specific relevance of identification and satisfaction: While the effect of identification on brand loyalty is mediated by customer satisfaction, satisfaction has no significant effect on community loyalty. Moreover, brand communities are particularly useful for gaining new customers, whereas no increase in brand loyalty could be found. Managers are generally advised to specify constructs of interest related to different relevant targets of identification.

Research question: A key task for sports managers of elite sports clubs is to create an ideal environment that enables athletes to perform at their best. Therefore, we investigate the relationship among monetary incentives, organizational support, and athletic performance in elite team sports.