Books by Nico Schulenkorf
Sherry, E., Schulenkorf, N., Phillips, P. and Rowe, K. (Eds) (2024): Managing Sport Development: An International Approach, 2nd Edition. Routledge, London, 212 pages. ISBN: 978-1-00330-341-1
Now in a fully revised and updated second edition, Managing Sport Development is a complete intro... more Now in a fully revised and updated second edition, Managing Sport Development is a complete introduction to sport development, covering key concepts and theory as well as best practice in the management, implementation, and evaluation of sport development programs. The book explains what sport development is, and how it works, in both of its main areas of operation: the development of sport (creating pathways for participation and talent development) and sport for development (using sport as a tool to achieve outcomes beyond sport). Including international cases and data throughout, as well as discussion of both able-bodied and disability sport, it examines the organisation and governance of sport development programs around the world and how to achieve the right outcomes. This new edition includes new and expanded coverage of topics including sustainable development; the impact of COVID-19; integrity and human rights; careers in sport development; the role of coaches, change agents, and volunteers; and the research process and knowledge sharing. The book includes a range of useful features to aid understanding, such as learning objectives, real-world data and examples, key terms, and review questions.
Schulenkorf, N., Welty Peachey, J., Spaaij, R. and Collison-Randall, H. (Eds) (2023), Handbook of Sport and International Development. London: Edward Elgar Publishing. 472 pages. ISBN: 978-1-80037-891-9.
With sport sustaining a prominent place in international development policymaking, discourse and ... more With sport sustaining a prominent place in international development policymaking, discourse and delivery, this comprehensive Handbook provides a contemporary, multi-disciplinary overview of state-of-the-art scholarship in this critical space. It investigates the role that different sport initiatives – from community-focused projects to large-scale events – can play across a great variety of development contexts.
Frawley, S. and Schulenkorf, N. (Eds) (2022), The Routledge Handbook of Sport and COVID-19. London: Routledge. 418 pages. ISBN: 978-1-032-00907-0.
Featuring authors, cases and examples from around the world, the book explores the impact of COVI... more Featuring authors, cases and examples from around the world, the book explores the impact of COVID-19 on sport at all levels, from community sport – where local clubs, gyms and development programmes had to find ways to survive with pitches closed and projects cancelled – to the major professional sport leagues and sport mega-events, with events postponed and teams playing in empty stadia. It considers the economic, social and developmental impacts of the pandemic, including physical, mental and social wellbeing, and looks at how key professional and community sport organisations have reacted to the crisis, reflecting on the lessons learnt and preparations for future pandemics and challenges of similar size and significance.
Herold, D.M., Joachim, G., Frawley, S. and Schulenkorf, N. (2022), Managing Global Sport Events: Logistics and Coordination. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing. 140 pages. ISBN: 978-1-802-62042-9.
Managing Global Sport Events: Logistics and Coordination provides a look behind the scenes of la... more Managing Global Sport Events: Logistics and Coordination provides a look behind the scenes of large-scale sports events, combining the previously separate but inextricably bound areas of sports, logistics and coordination management. This first volume of the ground-breaking Sports Management series enters uncharted territory and advances our inter-disciplinary knowledge across sport, event and logistics studies, informing both contemporary sport management theory and practice.
Schulenkorf, N., Schlenker, K., Rammal, H., Welty Peachey, J. and Morgan, A. (2022): Managing and Leveraging Events: Business and Social Dimensions. London: Routledge. 192 pages. ISBN: 978-0-367-42827-3
This book explores and advances the latest concepts and developments in event management theory a... more This book explores and advances the latest concepts and developments in event management theory and practice. Drawing on the ever-growing event management literature – and supported by theories and concepts from parent disciplines – the book examines challenges and opportunities related to maximising business and social benefits for those working in different event management positions in a variety of contexts. Written by an international team of five management scholars, the book investigates event management and leverage from various angles, including international business, event business studies, sport management, community development, and business strategy. It does so by offering a combination of theoretical approaches as well as contemporary cases from around the world.
Preview: https://www.routledge.com/Managing-and-Leveraging-Events-Business-and-Social-Dimensions/Schulenkorf-Schlenker-Rammal-Peachey-Morgan/p/book/9780367428273
Siefken, K., Ramirez, A., Waqanivalu, T. and Schulenkorf, N. (Eds), (2022): Physical Activity in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. London: Routledge. 288 pages. ISBN: 978-0-367-36223-2
This book critically evaluates the complex relations between physical activity, health imperative... more This book critically evaluates the complex relations between physical activity, health imperatives and cultural and social opportunities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It explores the uncertainty of knowledge around physical activity behavior and its distinctive meanings in LMIC contexts, the factors influencing physical activity, and how populations across the world understand and live the concept of physical activity. It discusses the key challenges and opportunities for sustaining physical activity within geographically and culturally diverse contexts of LMICs; introduces the reader to contemporary global physical activity approaches, models and policies; and presents case studies from around the world, including Asia, Africa, South America, the Pacific and Europe.
Preview: https://www.routledge.com/Physical-Activity-in-Low--and-Middle-Income-Countries/Siefken-Varela-Waqanivalu-Schulenkorf/p/book/9780367362232
This book explores the global developments in sport leadership and practice. Drawing on the vast ... more This book explores the global developments in sport leadership and practice. Drawing on the vast and ever-growing leadership literature, the book examines advances in leadership theory and practice in the context of the challenges faced by those working in global sport management positions. It explores the various dimensions of leadership, with a particular focus on the development of leadership theory. It also looks at the operational and contextual elements of leadership in a global sport environment. Finally, it reflects on the status quo and explores future challenges and research opportunities for leadership and global sport management.
Schulenkorf, N. and Frawley, S. (Eds). (2017), Critical Issues in Global Sport Management. Abingdon: Routledge. 298 pages. ISBN: 978-1-138-91123-9
Critical Issues in Global Sport Management will provide researchers, students and practitioners w... more Critical Issues in Global Sport Management will provide researchers, students and practitioners with a collection of chapters that examine the latest concepts and challenges faced by the global sport industry. The book identifies and evaluates current issues and complexities faced by those charged with the responsibility of managing sport in compound business contexts as well as intricate social environments.
Sherry, E., Schulenkorf, N. and Phillips, P. (Eds). (2016), Managing Sport Development: An international approach. Abingdon: Routledge. 190 pages. ISBN: 978-1-138-80271-1
In recent years, sport has been used as an instrument through which wider development objectives ... more In recent years, sport has been used as an instrument through which wider development objectives are pursued. This includes sport as a means to create awareness about the risks of HIV; sport as a vehicle to counter inter-group hostility; and sport as an environment where children can find respite in the wake of military conflict. The use of sport for development purposes is neither simple nor inherently successful. It is therefore regrettable that some of the agents and organisations involved in development programs provide evangelistic accounts of their activities, thus suggesting that field work is unproblematic. By contrast, this book provides a critical approach to sport-for-development, acknowledging the potential of this growing field but emphasising challenges, problems and limitations – particularly if programs are not adequately planned, delivered or monitored. The book features both critical theory and reflective praxis, and will thus be useful to both academics and practitioners.
Papers by Nico Schulenkorf
Schulenkorf, N., Welty Peachey, J., Chen, G. and Hergesell, A. (2024): “Event Leverage: A Systematic Literature Review and a New Research Agenda”, European Sport Management Quarterly, 24(3), 785-809
For the past 20 years, the concept of event leverage has underpinned a variety of academic resear... more For the past 20 years, the concept of event leverage has underpinned a variety of academic research across different event settings and with diverse goals in mind. Despite the significant increase in event leverage publications as well as growing interest from event planners and policymakers, scholars have yet to synthesize academic contributions in this burgeoning field. Our systematic review addressed this issue and provides a new agenda for event leverage research. We conducted a systematic review of event leverage literature that followed a well-established six-step process. Specifically, we identified and interrogated 92 relevant publications to determine key findings. We identified a growing trend of event leverage publications overall; a publication focus on (sport) business/management and tourism/hospitality journals; a predominance of mega- and large-scale event settings; a concentration on business/economic and social goals; a strong emphasis on empirical studies with qualitative research approaches; and a lack of research contributions from scholars in low-and middle-income countries. Based on our findings, we discuss practical and theoretical implications and conclude by proposing a future agenda for event leverage research that recommends an advancement of leverage conceptualizations; a diversification of research contexts and benefactors; a specification of focal outcomes related to a different event types and sizes; an expansion of perspectives including an acknowledgement of changes over time; and a clarification of terminology used in event leverage scholarship.
Over the last 20 years, the growing recognition of sport as an enabler of sustainable development... more Over the last 20 years, the growing recognition of sport as an enabler of sustainable development has allowed Sport for Development (SFD) to emerge as a dynamic research field featuring contributions from a wide range of scholarly disciplines. Within this research, evaluation has played a prominent role, especially against the background of omnipresent demands to ‘prove impact’ and legitimize the field. Despite the growth of scholarly activity, the field remains largely scattered with limited interdisciplinary engagement. This article presents an overview of the conceptualization and implementation of SFD research and evaluation, encompassing study types and methodological approaches. Findings were generated from a scoping review of publications on research and evaluation activities in the SFD field, guided by the newly proposed Evaluation Research Framework. They highlight that the field is suffering from terminological imprecisions that lead to vague and often undifferentiated debates about methodologies and approaches. Moreover, there remains a limited progression of theoretical advancements in SFD, with purposeful engagement across disciplines and innovative developments still being underutilized. We conclude that if SFD scholars remain within their disciplinary silos and do not move towards a common interdisciplinary research understanding, the field will continue to suffer from confusing theorization processes with limited prospects for further academic advancement and practical development.
As a response to the increasing threat to sport events from climate change and expectations aroun... more As a response to the increasing threat to sport events from climate change and expectations around climate change mitigation, sport event managers increasingly engage in environmentally-related initiatives that aim to reduce GHG emissions. One of the major contributors to GHG emissions at large sport events is spectators' travel and, thus, their associated modal choices. Building on the Sport Logistics Framework (SLF) and using the case study of Rapid Vienna, the largest football club in Austria, this study investigates spectators’ modal choice to systematically assess the total GHGs emitted by spectators at a professional football home game. Data was obtained from two sources: a) an extensive data set collected on Rapid Vienna season ticket holders, and b) three surveys at home games which, together, constituted 3317 valid responses. The calculation of the GHG emissions resulted in 99,548 kg GHG emissions per home game or 6.0 kg GHG emissions per spectator. It was also found that 42.4 per cent spectators arriving by car emit 71.6 per cent of GHG emissions, while in contrast, 52.8 per cent of spectators using public transport emit 27.1 per cent of GHG emissions. The results also indicate that the possession of an annual public transport ticket seems to determine travel behavior, i.e. the majority of spectators with an annual ticket are using it, while spectators without a ticket are using a car. As such, this paper not only provides an opportunity for academics and managers to benchmark the data in order to identify initiatives to reduce the impact of GHG emissions, but also allows for the systematic measuring of the environmental impact of fan and spectator travel.
Joachim, G.J., Schulenkorf, N., Schlenker, K., Frawley, S. and Cohen, A. (2024): “‘It’s given us a much wider perspective’: exploring the domestication of design thinking into sport management practice”, Sport Management Review, 27(4), 481-501
The perpetual evolution of sport users highlights human-centred challenges for sport organisation... more The perpetual evolution of sport users highlights human-centred challenges for sport organisations who aim to serve their users optimally. This study looks to the broader field of management to identify design thinking–a human-centred means of generating value for users–as a concept that might enable sport organisations to identify and fulfil the unmet needs of their users. A qualitative case study approach was used to explore how a professional sport organisation “domesticated” a design thinking activity–the Lightning Decision Jam (LDJ)–into its practice. The organisation was found to have intuitively modified the LDJ to meet their needs. Adopting the LDJ was also found to have improved the organisation’s practice in several ways, including the structured implementation of reflection and, thus, the enhanced generation of organisational knowledge.
Sharp, P., Oliffe, J.L., Bottorff, J.L., Rice, S., Schulenkorf, N. and Caperchione, C.M. (2023): “Connecting Australian masculinities and culture to mental health: Men’s perspectives and experiences”, Men and Masculinities, 26(1), 112-133. DOI: 10.1177/1097184X221149985
Masculinities and culture are intertwined and have significant implications for men’s mental heal... more Masculinities and culture are intertwined and have significant implications for men’s mental health. This study aimed to explore influences of Australian masculinities and culture on men’s mental health. Five focus groups were conducted with men (N = 43) living in New South Wales, Australia. Three overarching themes were identified: (1) a history of strength and self-reliance: taketh as we are, she’ll be right, (2) social and geographical divides: surrounded by men but never actually connecting, and (3) male socialisation and generational dissidence: not getting the wisdom from the men that have gone before me. Participants’ perspectives and experiences offer a reference point and lens for understanding challenges and enhancing efforts to promote Australian men’s mental health. Gender transformative program strategies are proposed to promote men’s mental health and help-seeking.
English, M., Canuto, K., Schulenkorf, N., Evans, J., Curry C., Slaiter, C. and Caperchione, C. (2023): “Co-designing a health promotion program for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls: lessons learnt”, Health Promotion International, 38(2), daad011. Despite progression in the ethical and methodological conduct of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Isl... more Despite progression in the ethical and methodological conduct of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research, disparities still pervade, indicating limitations in knowledge translation. One identified gap is a lack of documented experiences detailing how ethical guidelines may be practically applied. This paper aims to (i) describe the research processes involved in co-designing a physical activity and psychosocial health program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls and (ii) highlight learnings of the collaborative research journey. The Criteria for Strengthening Reporting of Health Research involving Indigenous Peoples (CONSIDER) statement was used to document participatory research activities undertaken with an Aboriginal community partner. Building upon the CONSIDER statement, Aboriginal (N = 3), Torres Strait Islander (N = 1) and non-Indigenous (N = 4) research team members engaged in critical reflection to identify lessons learnt. Researchers identified a tension between participatory research principles and the expectations of funding agencies and research institutions. Consequently, timelines must be flexible to foster meaningful community engagement and participatory processes. Additionally, researchers and community stakeholders are encouraged to embrace tensions that may associated with participatory research or the pressures Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers face from their community and organization. Furthermore, differences in professional (i.e. occupational) and cultural knowledge systems need to be acknowledged and accounted for within the early stages of a project to ensure informed decision-making. Identified lessons will assist relevant stakeholders in the development of future Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health programming, ensuring the most appropriate health solutions are devised with community.
Joachim, G.J., Schulenkorf, N., Schlenker, K., Frawley, S. and Cohen, A. (2022): “‘This is how I want us to think’: Introducing a design thinking activity into the practice of a sport organisation”, Sport Management Review, 25(3), 428-453 As sport users continue to evolve, so must the approaches sport organisations take to optimally s... more As sport users continue to evolve, so must the approaches sport organisations take to optimally serve them. From the field of management, design thinking arises as a promising means of pursuing the human-centred generation of value for users. To establish the suitability of design thinking activities for use in sport management practice, we undertook a qualitative case study intervention within a commercial sport organisation. An activity derived from design practice, known as the Lightning Decision Jam (LDJ), met emergent criteria of suitability for adoption in practice. Further, the introduction of the activity linked to themes of design thinking in a manner consistent with previous explorations of design thinking in sport management research and practice. As such, this study builds on nascent but evolving work on design thinking in sport management and carries implications for both fields.
The professionalization of sport for development (SFD) has resulted in the evolution of increasin... more The professionalization of sport for development (SFD) has resulted in the evolution of increasingly complex organizational environments. As such, these initiatives are often balancing divergent goals such as financial, sport and community outcomes. However, previous research provides minimal insight into how SFD managers handle such tensions, and frequently oversimplifies the realities of these conflicts. To address this knowledge gap, we aim to explore the experiences of SFD managers employed within Australian National Sporting Organizations engaged in SFD programming across Asia and the Pacific. Adopting a basic qualitative methodology, our findings demonstrate how managers are challenged with complexities, tensions, and resourcing. Drawing upon paradox theory, our results also highlight how managers navigate these challenges, including scaling back programs, collaboration, promoting work, fostering local autonomy, and seeking synergies. Through this study, we build upon theoretical understandings of SFD management roles and paradoxes. Further, we offer practical insight into the challenges and strategies of managing SFD hybrids.
Whitley, M., Collison-Randall, H., Wright, P., Darnell, S., Schulenkorf, N., Knee, E., Holt, N. and Richards, J. (2022): “Moving Beyond Disciplinary Silos: The Potential for Transdisciplinary Research in Sport for Development”, Journal of Sport for Development, 10(2), 1-22 The Sport for Development (SfD) field is transdisciplinary by nature, and yet scholars tend to st... more The Sport for Development (SfD) field is transdisciplinary by nature, and yet scholars tend to stay within their disciplinary perspectives in their study of SfD. There is a need for more collaborative and collective approaches in SfD research. Transdisciplinary research facilitates conceptual, theoretical, philosophical, and methodological innovations that transcend disciplinary boundaries, creating new knowledge that can advance a field. The purpose of this paper is to critically review the disciplinary trends in SfD research within (respectively) sport sociology, social anthropology, sport management, public health, leisure, sport pedagogy, and sport psychology, with a particular focus on where there may be intersection, duplication, obfuscation, and omission between these disciplines. Disciplinary intersections are then considered, along with gaps in the SfD evidence base that are ripe for transdisciplinary research. The paper concludes with an exploration of possibilities for future transdisciplinary research in SfD.
Schulenkorf, N., Sherry, E., Siefken, K., Tauhalaliku, U. and Richards, J. (2022): “Health Interventions as Vehicles for Increased Sport Participation for Girls and Women: Socio-Managerial Insights from a Netball-for-Development Program in Tonga”, Journal of Sport for Development, 10(1), 25-39 Against the background of ever-rising non-communicable disease rates, an area that has received i... more Against the background of ever-rising non-communicable disease rates, an area that has received increased attention from sport-for-development practitioners and academics is sport-for-health (SFH). SFH projects attempt to contribute to the development of healthy lifestyle behavior and physically active societies through sport-related programs and interventions. The purpose of this paper was to explore the socio-managerial challenges and opportunities of a netball-based SFH program in Tonga. Based on local focus group and interview data, findings were grouped under five overarching themes: strategic management of volunteer network, sociocultural barriers, public space management, events and tournaments as incentives, and collaboration across local and national sports. In discussing these findings in context, we provide implications for managing culturally sensitive SFH projects in the Pacific region and beyond.
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Books by Nico Schulenkorf
Preview: https://www.routledge.com/Managing-and-Leveraging-Events-Business-and-Social-Dimensions/Schulenkorf-Schlenker-Rammal-Peachey-Morgan/p/book/9780367428273
Preview: https://www.routledge.com/Physical-Activity-in-Low--and-Middle-Income-Countries/Siefken-Varela-Waqanivalu-Schulenkorf/p/book/9780367362232
Papers by Nico Schulenkorf