Sports Heroes and Mass Sports Participation – the (Double) Paradox of the 'German Tennis Boom'

Feddersen, Arne; Jacobsen, Sven; Maennig, Wolfgang

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1544320

Cited by 33 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…On average, Germans spend over €1000 per year on tennis-related goods and services, like tennis equipment, apparel or lessons (Wicker et al, 2010). Moreover, professional tennis in Germany has a very successful and unique history, which has already been discussed in the literature (Feddersen, Jacobsen, & Maennig, 2009;van Bottenburg, 2002;. 2.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The monetary value of the demonstration effect of professional sports

Mutter

Pawlowski

2014

European Sport Management Quarterly

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Research question: Professional sports fulfil important societal functions. Previous studies have already attempted to quantify the intangible benefits of successful national athletes or hosting major sporting events. This study chooses an alternative channel of quantification. Based on the theoretical framework of sporting role models, it analyses whether the individual relevance of professional sports increases the frequency of sport participation. To quantify this effect, it subsequently analyses whether the increased sport participation increases sport-related expenditure.Research methods: A quantitative research design based on primary data of approximately 500 German amateur tennis players was chosen. Unfortunately, the econometric identification of the effect of the relevance of professional sports on sport participation behaviours is aggravated by a selection bias. To circumvent this issue, instrumental variables were constructed based on the starting year of the surveyed amateurs' sport participation, which is considered to be exogenous. Results and findings: The results of the instrumental variable estimations show that amateurs with a higher relevance of professional tennis spend between 21.5% and 24.4% more time playing tennis. In addition, 1% more participation per week increases the yearly sport-related expenditure by approximately 0.45%. Consequently, approximately 200 million euros of the tennis-related expenditure of German amateur tennis participants could be attributed to professional tennis in Germany. Implications: The results of this study provide evidence for positive external effects of professional sports in Germany. These external effects could act as an additional rationale for the use of public funds to promote professional sports.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The monetary value of the demonstration effect of professional sports

Mutter

Pawlowski

2014

European Sport Management Quarterly

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“…While causality cannot be assumed with Western Australia's increase in junior membership, the literature does suggest that children might be more receptive to joining a sport club as the result of a sporting event (Feddersen, Jacobsen, & Maennig, 2009;Frawley & Cush, 2011). Another factor apart from the ASLSC, could be SLSA's junior surf lifesaver programme, which was introduced to reduce the barriers to participation for children (Surf Life Saving Australia, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative analysis of sport development event legacy: an examination of the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships

Hodgetts

Duncan

2015

European Sport Management Quarterly

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Research question: This study explores whether the conduct of an unleveraged major event, the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships, leaves a legacy in terms of making a contribution towards the ongoing sport development of surf life-saving. This is an area of event legacy research that has received little empirical research. Research methods: Secondary data sources from the event host organisation were used as indicators of sport development. Regression analysis, adjusting for changes in the outcome variable outside of the host location (Perth, Western Australia), was used to identify if hosting the event was associated with changes in indicators of attracting, retention and nurturing of sport members in the host location. Results and findings: The only significant adjusted results were a decrease in membership for the host club and an increase in competitor numbers for Western Australia and the Perth metropolitan area, suggesting hosting the event offered some retention and nurturing opportunities for sport development. Implications: This study contributes to sport event legacy literature through examining a non-mega, single sport event and its effects on sport development and suggests that hosting the event only had a limited effect on indicators of sport development. The study uses a regression analysis method that could be used to examine legacy from other events.

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“…Presumably, it is hoped that success at elite-level tennis will both inspire people to take up tennis and improve England's standing abroad. Interestingly, even the once-in-a-lifetime combination of German stars, Boris Becker, Michael Stich and Steffi Graff, was unable to inspire the take-up of tennis among the masses (see Feddersen et al 2009). The pattern of funding is revealing: the more money invested, the more medals Britain wins.…”

Section: Elite Sport Investmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why do governments invest in elite sport? A polemic

Grix

Carmichael

2011

International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics

213

176

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Elite sport currently enjoys high levels of investment in many advanced capitalist countries. The primary aim of this piece is to introduce and unpack the reasons generally given by states for prioritizing and investing in elite sport. While our core focus is the UK sport policy sector, many of the discussions will be relevant for other, advanced liberal capitalist systems (e.g. Australia and Canada) and even the now defunct dictatorships (e.g. the Soviet Union and the GDR). We show how commonsensical propositions (e.g. 'elite sport success promotes participation among citizens') are not always based on wide, existing research and evidence. The philosophy behind the United Kingdom's model of sport -and that of several other advanced states -we term a 'virtuous cycle' of sport, whereby elite sport success is seen to lead to both international prestige for the nation, a 'feel-good factor' among the population and, importantly, to an increase in participation among the masses. This, in turn, leads to a healthier nation and to a wider pool of people from which to pick the champions of the future. This article takes a closer look at the assumptions underlying such a model of sport.

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Sports Heroes and Mass Sports Participation – the (Double) Paradox of the 'German Tennis Boom'

Cited by 33 publications

References 15 publications

The monetary value of the demonstration effect of professional sports

The monetary value of the demonstration effect of professional sports

Quantitative analysis of sport development event legacy: an examination of the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships

Why do governments invest in elite sport? A polemic

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