The Uniqueness of Spectator Sport from a Strategic Management Perspective: The Case for Spectatoritis

This conceptual paper uses a strategic management approach to assess the unique structure of the business of spectator sport. We argue there is a lack of business competition because franchises are simultaneous co-producers, collaborators, buyers, and suppliers. Consequently, mainstream strategic management frameworks that rely on competitive environments are ill-equipped to evaluate the nuances of spectator sport. In response to these observations, we develop multiple new and modified frameworks, including a spectator sport supply chain that inextricably links the participatory and spectator sport segments. Through this hierarchy of training, participants evolve from paying customers to inputs to production. Spectator sport and its supply chain are then positioned in the center of a revised industry model to develop a theory of spectatoritis, which is a rational explanation for why spectator sport is not only a natural focus for research, but also furnishes considerable promise for the development of unique sport management theory.