Aaron C.T. Smith

This revised and extended second edition evaluates the diverse approaches to organizational change that have defined the field. Explaining the assumptions and implications that accompany these diverse philosophies, this book demystifies the complexities of conflicting perspectives and delivers valuable insights into the research and practice of organizational change. Philosophies of Organizational Change employs a critical analysis of scholarly writings that have shaped the evolution of alternative perspectives on change. It examines twelve unique approaches to change, charting the territory from philosophy and theory to practice and implications. By uncovering the deep assumptions associated with organizational change, the book supplies readers with a comprehensive analytical toolkit with which to pursue change in an unprecedented era of organizational disruption. Offering a guide through contradictory approaches to implementing change, this book will appeal to scholars and researchers in organization theory. It will also be valuable for MBA and DBA students, as well as undergraduate business students engaging with critical debates on theories and tools for introducing change.

In a sporting world dominated by media and money, an understanding of sport branding is an essential skill for any sport manager. Success means being able to ‘brand’ – and therefore differentiate – a sport club, player, code, or event in a highly competitive entertainment market. For anyone seeking to understand or manage sport, this book offers an immediate and salient insight into the complex and dynamic process of creating a powerful sport brand. The book explains how a sport brand goes beyond just an identifying badge, reinforced by a name or a logo that helps sport consumers recognise a product or an organisation. It reveals how a brand becomes linked with consumers’ opinions and perceptions of a sport product and the organisation that owns it. Readers will learn how to create a powerful brand that has both recognition in the market and strong associated imagery, by imbuing it with a spirit of the past through appeals to tradition, by endowing it with human qualities of emotionality, thought, and volition, and through the use of characters, colours, texts, and symbols. It also provides a brief guide to the new domains of digital sport branding and social media. Concise, informative, and entertaining, this is an essential resource for anyone exploring or practising the business of sport.

Analysing the trends that are emerging in sport enterprises such as advancements in technology and social media, the authors of this illuminating book tackle the issue of how to create new opportunities in such a changing industry. Providing valuable reading for sports business scholars, this book draws on examples from inventive companies as well as inspirational sports leaders and illustrates the various drivers behind innovation. Addressing the need for a culture of innovation within sports enterprises, the authors reveal sustainable ways for companies to stay ahead of the game in an increasingly competitive global sport market.

Analysing the trends that are emerging in sport enterprises such as advancements in technology and social media, the authors of this illuminating book tackle the issue of how to create new opportunities in such a changing industry. Providing valuable reading for sports business scholars, this book draws on examples from inventive companies as well as inspirational sports leaders and illustrates the various drivers behind innovation. Addressing the need for a culture of innovation within sports enterprises, the authors reveal sustainable ways for companies to stay ahead of the game in an increasingly competitive global sport market.

Based on research findings and detailed, original cases, this book charts the new innovation imperative, where organizations must deliver on dual goals: an efficient return on current operations, and a burgeoning pipeline of new products. It argues that the two pursuits cannot be achieved through a bland compromise, or by switching priorities back and forth. Only a ‘dual’ organization capable of amplifying the tension can optimize efficiency while seeding innovation. Reinventing Innovation examines the nature of dual organizing, presents a series of in-depth cases to reveal its principles, and explains how to fortify organizations with ‘ambidexterity’ capabilities. Ideal for tertiary students, academics, and practitioners, Reinventing Innovation contains a rich balance of theoretical principles, case insights, and practical guidance.

Belief change lies at the heart of all human aspirations. From career progression, weight loss, spiritual commitment, and ideological passion, to love, grief, war, identity, and sport, beliefs guide our lives and to a great extent, determine our success, satisfaction and happiness. Cognitive Mechanisms of Belief Change is relevant to anyone interested in the machinations of how this occurs. It explains how certain ideas and concepts steal a place in the mind because they latch on to hardwired ways of thinking, experiencing, and behaving. Concepts throw light upon the mind’s desires, which in turn casts a kaleidoscope of silhouettes against the walls of thought, with those taking distinct shape forging the outlines for beliefs to inhabit. Beliefs infiltrate our minds, and this book shows how they arrive and change in ways critical to our sense of meaning and identity.

Introduction to Sport Marketing is an accessible and engaging introduction to key concepts and best practice in sport marketing. Aimed at students with little or no prior knowledge of marketing, the book outlines a step-by-step framework for effective sport marketing, from conducting market analysis and developing a strategy, through to detailed planning and implementation. The book has a wider scope than other sport marketing textbooks, recognising that students are just as likely to have to employ their marketing skills in community sport or the not-for-profit sector as in professional sport, and therefore represents the most realistic and useful sport marketing text currently available. Now in a fully revised and updated second edition, the book has expanded coverage of digital and social media, product innovation, services and relationship marketing, and key contemporary issues such as social responsibility and sustainability. It features a much wider range of international cases and examples, covering North America, Europe, and the vibrant and rapidly developing sport markets in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America. Every chapter includes a range of useful features to help the reader to engage with fundamental principles and applied practice, such as problem-solving exercises and review questions. Introduction to Sport Marketing is an essential textbook for any degree-level sport marketing course.