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Entrepreneurial orientation in sports entrepreneurship - a mixed methods analysis of professional soccer clubs in the German-speaking countries

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Abstract

In recent years, sports entrepreneurship has emerged as a promising discipline in the field of sports management research. However, the research field is still fragmented. This study gives an overview of sports entrepreneurship and coopetition research and is the first work analyzing EO and performance in professional sports. First, quantitative results about EO, organizational performance and coopetition of 22 professional soccer clubs were obtained. Following the mixed method approach, the data was then extended by qualitative expert interviews. Entrepreneurial orientation had a significant positive relationship with both financial and sporting performance of professional soccer clubs in German-speaking countries during the 2017/18 season. We suggest coopetition as a promising strategy for professional soccer clubs to succeed. Hence, our study fosters the concept of sports entrepreneurship and offers evidence that entrepreneurial orientation is a well-suited managerial approach to enhance organizational performance in professional soccer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Skinnarilankatu 34, 53850, Lappeenranta, Finland

    Jonas Hammerschmidt & Matthias Filser

  2. Menlo College, 1000 El Camino Real, Atherton, CA, 94027, USA

    Fabian Eggers

  3. École Supérieure du Commerce Extérieur, ESCE International Business School, 10 rue Sextius Michel, 75015, Paris, France

    Sascha Kraus

  4. School of Management, Swansea University, Bay Campus, Swansea, Wales, UK

    Paul Jones

  5. ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Winterthur, Switzerland

    Matthias Filser

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  1. Jonas Hammerschmidt
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  3. Sascha Kraus
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Correspondence to Jonas Hammerschmidt.

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Hammerschmidt, J., Eggers, F., Kraus, S. et al. Entrepreneurial orientation in sports entrepreneurship - a mixed methods analysis of professional soccer clubs in the German-speaking countries. Int Entrep Manag J 16, 839–857 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-019-00594-5

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