Sport Management Studies

Identifying the Opportunities Arising from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Sport Context: A Thematic Analysis

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor in Sport Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

2 Ph.D. Candidate in Sport Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify the opportunities arising from the COVID-19 pandemic in sport context. This research has been a qualitative exploratory study that has been done using a thematic analysis method. The statistical population of the study included experts in the field of sports management and futurology, and according to the nature of the research, 12 experts were interviewed as a statistical sample through snowball sampling until reaching the theoretical saturation. The tool used in the research was a semi-structured interview. The thematic analysis of the data by Braun and Clarke’s (2006) method led to the extraction of 76 codes, 12 sub-themes and six main themes. The findings showed that "E-learning", "Virtual Sports", "New Culture", "Social Responsibility", "Science, Technology and Innovation", and "New Entrepreneurship" are among the explored opportunities that have been introduced to the sports field due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the research findings, despite the challenges posed by the prevalence of COVID-19 for the field of sports, it is possible to take advantage of the existing opportunities to strengthen and develop some aspects of sports, and thus cope with some of the threats and challenges posed by Corona.

Keywords

  1. Alon, I., Farrell, M., & Li, S. (2020). Regime type and COVID-19 response. FIIB Business Review, 9(3), 1-9.
  2. Bacq, S., Geoghegan, W., Josefy, M., Stevenson, R., & Williams, T. (2020). The COVID-19 virtual idea blitz: Marshalling social entrepreneurship to rapidly respond to urgent grand challenges. Business Horizons, 63(6), 725-723.
  3. Baggish, A., Drezner, J. A., Kim, J., Martinez, M., & Prutkin, J. M. (2020). Resurgence of sport in the wake of COVID-19: Cardiac considerations in competitive athletes. Journal of Sports Med, 54(19), 6-8.
  4. Blauwet, C. A., Robinson, D., Riley, A., MacEwan, K., Patstone, M., & Dubon, M. E. (2020). Developing a virtual adaptive sports program in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic. PM & R: The Journal of Injury, Function, and Rehabilitation, 13(2), 211-216.
  5. Boyatzis, R. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
  6. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101.
  7. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. London, UK: SAGE.
  8. Callos, N. (2020). Volunteer at the Olympics: 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games and beyond. Volunteer Forever. Available at: https://www.volunteerforever.com/article_post/volunteer-at-the-olympics-2020-tokyo-summer olympic-games-2022-beijing-winter-olympic-games-and-beyond/ (Accessed 25 January 2020).
  9. Chakraborty, I., & Maity, P. (2020). COVID-19 outbreak: Migration, effects on society, global environment and prevention. Science of the Total Environment, 728, 1-7.
  10. Cooper, S. L. (2020). Promoting physical activity for mental well-being. ACSM’s Health Fit, 24(3), 12–16.
  11. Cortez, R. M., & Johnston, W. J. (2020). The Coronavirus crisis in B2B settings: Crisis uniqueness and managerial implications based on social exchange theory. Industrial Marketing Management, 88, 125-135.
  12. DeVaney, J., Shimshon, G., Rascoff, M., & Maggioncalda, J. (2020). How can universities adapt during covid-19? Available at: www.timeshighereducation.com/sites/default/files/how-canunviresities-adapt-covid19_whitepaper.pdf (Accessed 5 May 2020).
  13. Doern, R., Williams, N., & Vorley, T. (2019). Special issue on entrepreneurship and crises: business as usual? An introduction and review of the literature. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 31(5-6), 400-412.
  14. Drewes, M., Daumann, F., & Follert, F. (2020). Exploring the sports economic impact of COVID-19 on professional soccer. Soccer & Society, 3, 1-13.
  15. Evans, A. B., Blackwell, J., Dolan, P., Fahlén, J., Hoekman, R., Lenneis, V., ..., & Wilcock, L. (2020). Sport in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic: Towards an agenda for research in the sociology of sport. European Journal for Sport and Society, 17(2), 85-95.
  16. Ferreira, J.J., Fayolle, A., Ratten, V, & Raposo, M. (Eds). (2018). Entrepreneurial Universities. UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
  17. Lachance, E. L. (2020). COVID-19 and its impact on volunteering: Moving towards virtual volunteering. Leisure Sciences, 43(1-2), 1-7.
  18. Leung, T., Sharma, P., Adithiyangkul, P., & Hosie, P. (2020). Gender equity and public health outcomes: The covid-19 experience. Journal of Business Research, 116, 193-198.
  19. Liu, H. K., Harrison, Y. D., Lai, J. J. K., Chikoto, G. L., & Jones-Lungo, K. (2016). Online and virtual volunteering. In D. H. Horton, R. A. Stebbins, & J. Grotz (Eds.), Palgrave handbook of volunteering, civic participation, and nonprofit associations (pp. 290–310). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
  20. Mataruna-Dos-Santos, L. J. (2020). Innovating in sport management: The impact of COVID-19 on technological advancements in the sports industry. Information Technology innovations in Economics, Finance, Accounting, and Law, 1(7), 1-1.
  21. Mutz, M., & Gerke, M. (2020). Sport and exercise in times of self-quarantine: How Germans changed their behaviour at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 56(3), 305-316.
  22. Nicola, M., Alsafi, Z., Sohrabi, C., Kerwan, A., Al-Jabir, A., Iosifidis, C., ..., & Agha, R. (2020). The socio-economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19): A review. International Journal of Surgery, 78, 185-
  23. Parker, H., &Ameen, K. (2018). The role of resilience capabilities in shaping how firms respond to disruption. Journal of Business Research, 88, 535-541.
  24. Parnell, D., Widdop, P., Bond, A., & Wilson, R. (2020). COVID-19, networks and sport. Managing Sport and Leisure. Advance online publication, 1-7. DOI: 1080/23750472.2020.1750100
  25. Ratten, V. (2020a). Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the entrepreneurship education community. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 14(5), 753-764.
  26. Ratten, V. (2020b). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and sport entrepreneurship. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 26(6), 1-9.
  27. Ratten, V., Dana, L. P., & Ramadani, V. (2017). Internationalisation of family business groups in transition economies. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 30(4), 509-525.
  28. Rexhepi, G., Ramadani, V., & Ratten, V. (2018). TQM techniques as an innovative approach in sport organizations management: Toward a conceptual framework. International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 20(1), 18-30.
  29. Runyan, R. (2006). Small business in the face of crisis: Identifying barriers to recovery from a natural disaster. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 14(1), 12-26.
  30. Teychenne, M., White, R. L., Justin, R., Schuh, F. B., Rosenbaum, S., & Bennie, J. A. (2020). Do we need physical activity guidelines for mental health: What does the evidence tell us? Mental Health and Physical Activity, 18, 100315.
  31. World Health Organization. (2020). Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Advice for the Public. Available at: https: //www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public (Accessed 4 April 2020).
Sport Management Studies
Volume 13, Issue 68
September and October 2021
Pages 171-196

  • Receive Date 21 October 2020
  • Revise Date 16 January 2021
  • Accept Date 31 January 2021

Home

Publication Ethics

Submit Manuscript

News

Journal Metrics

Contact Us