CFP: Special Issue on Entrepreneurial Sports Brands

I had to double check my spelling of "entrepreneurial" a couple of times, but I think I got it right...
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Journal of Brand Management

Special Issue on Entrepreneurial Sports Brands

Brands are an important part of the sports industry, and as this industry has a multi-billion dollar global sales revenue, the entrepreneurial ways of utilizing brands in sport is crucial. Entrepreneurial sports brands are brands that have been innovative, risk taking or proactive in their approach to managing their brand. Innovative, risk taking and proactive entrepreneurial strategies appeal to sports companies, sports organizations and sport stars wanting to stay ahead of their competition. Additionally, entrepreneurial sports brands, in many cases, engage in philanthropic and social causes that differentiate them from other brands in the market. With sports television telecasts and sporting events attracting high numbers of worldwide audiences it is through innovative branding techniques (for example, the partnering with non-profit groups, such as the Nike and Lance Armstrong's Live Strong Campaign collaboration), that companies stay innovative. Other companies in the sports industry have been risk takers by entering niche markets such as snowboarding, as in the case of Oakley and Tag Heuer, in order to evolve and to become global brands that have a lifestyle appeal. Moreover, companies are often entrepreneurial by proactively hiring athletes that have an image that mirrors their brand (Yoon and Choi, 2005).

The entrepreneurial nature of sports brands means that, as they are constantly changing and evolving, they have triggered interest from complementary sectors in technology and education (Ross, 2007). There have been numerous studies examining branding in sports, such as brand loyalty in professional sports (Kaynak, Salman and Tatoglu, 2008), branding in college sports (Donavan, Janda and Suh, 2008) and branding in event sponsorship (Gwinner and Eaton, 1999). However, less is known about how entrepreneurship ties in with brand management. In particular, more academic and practitioner interest is required on how to utilize entrepreneurial strategies to build brands, and on the development of corporate and social entrepreneurship in managing sports brands.

This special issue aims to capture the entrepreneurial spirit of sporting brands by providing a forum of discussion of ideas across the spectrum of brand management. A mix of academic and practitioner orientated papers will be included in the special journal issue. In addition, it is hoped that papers will come from various geographic locations around the world. Examples of possible topics that can be included in the special issue are:

• Entrepreneurial drivers of sporting brand value
• How to utilize entrepreneurial branding in global sport companies portfolio management
• Entrepreneurial purchasing and sale of sporting brands
• Innovative marketing techniques of sport stars to become brands
• How visual aids can be used entrepreneurially in sports branding
• How to entrepreneurially manage sporting brands
• Examples of entrepreneurial sports brand experiences
• How innovative technology such as podcasts and interactive television have affected sporting brands
• The role of social entrepreneurial marketing in developing sports brands

All types of methodologies including qualitative and quantitative are welcome in this special issue. The deadline for papers is August 1^st 2009. All papers will be double blind peer reviewed and follow the Journal of Brand Management author guidelines found at www.palgrave-journals.com/bm.instructions.html. Any questions about the special issue can be directed to the guest editor. Submissions should be sent in a word document format to the guest editor:

Dr. Vanessa Ratten
Assistant Professor,
Palumbo Donahue School of Business
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, USA
Email: vanessaratten@gmail.com