No abstract

Purpose -With the licence season 2013/2014 onwards Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Financial Fair Play (FFP) fully came into force. Among other things, FFP demands from the clubs to operate within their own revenues in order to counteract the increasing over indebtedness in European club football. The purpose of this paper is to cast further light on the relationship between UEFA and the clubs as the main actors of FFP and to derive implications to UEFA to improve the efficacy of this regulatory intervention. Design/methodology/approach -This paper explicitly examines the case of FFP from an agency theory perspective. A positivist agency approach is applied in order to describe and explain (potential) problems in the relationship between UEFA and the clubs. Findings -The paper demonstrates that the relationship between UEFA and the clubs corresponds in many aspects to a classic principal-agent problem. A potential conflict of interest between both actors is outlined which together with asymmetric information creates incentives for opportunistic behaviour on the part of the clubs. The necessity of a stronger emphasis and communication of the economic and sport ethical legitimacy of FFP is detected. Practical implications -It is suggested that UEFA should consider taking a more proactive stance and endeavour to prevent non-compliance not only by limiting the opportunities to do so but also by providing information as well as education. Originality/value -FFP is supposed to have ground-breaking consequences for European club football. This is the first paper to systematically examine (potential) agency problems inherent in FFP.

No abstract

A B S T R AC TSocial media has become an important tool for sport organisations to interact with fans. In particular for sports that have smaller marketing budgets and that do not receive mainstream media coverage on a daily basis, social media platforms provide unique communication and marketing opportunities to overcome such challenges. This study investigates the motives of fans to communicate on the Facebook page of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). It is the first study that focuses on the use of social media in the context of an international sport federation. Knowledge about the gratifications sought by fans while interacting on social media is important for organisations to develop more customised online content, as this may help to reach further goals such as maintaining public interest, reinforcing brand awareness or developing closer relationships with stakeholders. By identifying eight categories in our data that help understand the motives for interacting on Facebook, we extend the academic understanding of sport fans' motives in the context of social media. Among the most frequent fans' motives were the desire to demonstrate expertise and express emotional attachment as well as to seek and provide information. Based on our findings, we derive implications that can be relevant for managers of (niche) sport organisations with limited financial and personal resources. The first and most straightforward recommendation is to appeal to fans' motives when interacting on social media. Making sport fans feel that their voices are heard is also crucial for increasing engagement and trust as well as strengthening relationships.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract