Dynamics of publication in international scientific reviews in sport management: Towards an Agenda 21

Scelles, Nicolas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6177-5307 (2020) Dynamics of publication in international scientific reviews in sport management: Towards an Agenda 21. Management et Organisations du Sport, 1. pp. 1-71.

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Abstract

I had the honour to be keynote speaker for the Sport Management Colloquium organised by the Université Rennes 2 in June 2018. The organisers asked me to present a communication on the international dynamics of sport management. To do so, I attempted to identify the themes currently tackled in scientific reviews in sport management from an international perspective. This article is based on the aforementioned keynote, updated since then until the 31st May 2020. Sport management is defined in a broad sense: it includes not only sport management stricto sensu (including sport strategy) but also sport analytics, business, communication / media, development, economics, finance, law, marketing, policy and sociology. My focus is on research in English. To tackle the topic, it is necessary to clarify three points: 1.Determine what is considered as current research: published since 2014. 2.Identify journals: 54 considered. 3.Define a strategy for theme identification: focus on special issues (SIs). Based on this approach, 240 SIs have been identified. I divided data into intellectual bins that ultimately reflect common themes between SIs. The methodology described here made me able to identify 21 recurring themes, justifying the idea of an Agenda 21. These 21 themes are grouped in 7 categories (3 per category): I.Reality of Sport in the 21st Century: 1. Globalization; 2. Impacts / Legacy of Mega Sports Events; 3. Austerity. II.Sport Policy and Politics: 4. Development and Peace; 5. Health and Wellbeing / Doping; 6. Sport Policy and Politics: Others / Broader. III.Need for Changes: 7. Governance / Corruption / Integrity / Reputation; 8. Corporate Social Responsibility / Sustainability; 9. New Media. IV.Adaptation, Creation and Optimisation: 10. Innovation / Knowledge Creation; 11. (Social) Entrepreneurship / Value Co-Creation; 12. Performance / Multiple Objectives / Key Success Factors. V.Overlooked and / or Specific Publics: 13. Youth; 14. Females / Gender; 15. Other Overlooked and / or Specific Publics. VI.Overlooked Sports, States and Events: 16. Overlooked Sports; 17. Overlooked States; 18. Overlooked Events. VII.Recognition: 19. Research, Education, Practice and Impact; 20. Uniqueness of Sport; 21. External Recognition / Sport and Other Sectors. For each of the 21 themes, the findings provide the number of SIs, journals, colleagues considered as key editors based on the number of SIs edited, and further details about the SIs edited by key editors / internationally recognised colleagues / published by selected journals / on a specific aspect of the broader theme under investigation. The Agenda 21 helps provide an overview of the different aspects published in international scientific reviews in sport management, demonstrating its international dynamism and the depth of the topics covered. It intends to prove useful to the international academic in sport management community for internal and external communication.