Editor-in-Chief Lecture
Author
Professor of Sport Management. University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
Abstract
With the establishment of scientific and professional organizations in the field of sport management such as the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM, 1970), the European Association for Sport Management (EASM, 1993), and the Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand (SMAANZ, 1995) ,other associations were also formed in Asia (ASM), Africa (AASM), Latin America (ALGEDE), and elsewhere. During this period, sport management journals experienced significant growth as well. The first well known sport management journal, the Journal of Sport Management (JSM, 1987), was published by NASSM, and today the number of specialized sport management journals has exceeded 30. Moreover, sport management research is published in more than 100 additional journals related to the field. The Sport Management Digest (SMD) is also published in collaboration with the Russian International Olympic University and the World Association for Sport Management (WASM). In each issue, it analyzes the content of articles from the top 10 sport management journals. In its first volume and first issue (2021), the journal states that NASSM and the efforts of Chelladurai (2005) have greatly influenced the development of sport management knowledge. He an Indian born professor of sport management, is honored annually with an award named after him (the Chella) given to the top sport management researcher.
In Iran, there are about 22 specialized sport management journals, around 10 sport science journals related to sport management, and numerous additional non sport journals that also publish research in this area. Since 2010, many articles have analyzed the content of these journals or the entire body of sport management research. Their overall findings show that sport management research has shifted: from descriptive to theoretical (theory driven) approaches; from school and university sport to club sport and non educational sport organizations; from quantitative to qualitative methods; from amateur to professional sport; from men’s sport to gender related topics; and toward theorizing and theory building.Given this trend, it appears that the instruction content in sport management programs and body of knowledge in sport management is no longer determined by the educational and practical needs of sport organizations and occupations. Instead, its future is increasingly shaped by research, especially qualitative studies, theorizing, and theory development. Only through this process can the scientific foundation of the field be strengthened, its status elevated, and its boundaries more clearly distinguished from other sport sciences (such as sport sociology) and non sport fields (such as management). This is what enables the discipline to move from a semiprofession toward becoming a specialized professional field.
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