Marketing and Commercialization
Sports Industry in Cuba: The Commercialization of Sporting Goods
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Anelys Alberto
The present study aims to analyze the influence of the precariousness of the sports industry in Cuba in the decrease of the taste and culture of baseball on the Island. The problem has as its source issues of dissimilar origins but the shortcomings of sporting goods created in the national territory, from t-shirts to souvenirs, and mediocre marketing in the sphere emerged as one of the main causes in the results of a survey applied to young people between 19 and 35 years old from the capitals of seven Cuban provinces. In interviews with players and in two factories where the articles are made, the poor quality of the trousseau and the implements that the athletes use to go out to the diamond were evidenced. The industry works with a technology from the 60's of the last century, from Bulgaria, Germany and other countries of the socialist camp, plus Chinese machines of 2011. From the analysis of content (textual, visual and sound) of baseball publications and games transmissions of the National Series, the emptiness of articles, shows and advertising campaigns in terms of quality and idiosyncrasy was evident. There is also a marked shortage of items such as posters of athletes and teams, caps, shirts, cards, pennants of players, key chains, ashtrays, towels, glasses and others. Among the respondents a preference for football was found, while the Cuban industry in the current conditions can not compete with the media chains and the traffic of information about foreign players.
Outcome Uncertainty, the Superstar Effect, Talent and Live Attendance in Professional Boxing
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session David Chaplin
The relationship between outcome uncertainty, the superstar effect, talent and live attendance at professional boxing matches is analyzed for forty-three contests. The implied probability the underdog will win (taken from bookmaker odds) is used to model outcome uncertainty, while the time-adjusted average number of Twitter Followers of the combatants in a given boxing match is employed as a proxy for the superstar effect and knockout percentage and possession of an Olympic medal in boxing serve as proxies for talent. Utilizing a log-log multivariate regression model (with live attendance as the dependent variable, explanatory variables of outcome uncertainty, the superstar effect, average knockout percentage and a dichotomous variable to capture if one or both combatants is an Olympic Medalist), we find only the superstar effect to have a statistically-significant impact on live attendance in professional boxing.
Olympic Dreams or Broken Promises: Evaluation of the XXII Olympic Winter Games’ Vision and Impact on Infrastructure, Environment, Athletic Venues, and Tourism
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Nataliya Bredikhina
As often mentioned in the academic literature and in the media, the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi became a record-breaking event in terms of investments made, amount of media attention drawn, and scope of impact produced on the host region. The current paper aims to investigate the disparity between promises made in regards to the potential impact of the Sochi Olympics and presented in the 2014 IOC Evaluation Commission Report versus the actual effects of the Games, evaluated based on the information drawn from official documentation of environmental and human rights organizations, news reports, and various media sources. The analysis focuses on four major dimensions of the Games’ impact: infrastructure, environment, athletic venues, and tourism. The work shows that fulfillment of promises and benefits of the Sochi Games for the Russian population have been very questionable. The event has been associated with numerous acts of violation of environmental laws and local residents’ human rights, corruption, and tremendous economic losses. However, the 2014 Winter Olympics’ gigantic costs and negative impact on the host region is not a unique trend. Similar tendencies have been associated with most mega-events staged in the 20th and 21st centuries.
