Exploring the Struggle of a Professional Football League and Its Clubs in Wider Sport Entertainment Field
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Exploring the struggle of a professional football league and its clubs in wider sport entertainment field Aimo Rantanen Supervisor: Damon Golsorkhi Department of Management and Organisation Hanken School of Economics Helsinki 2017 HANKEN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Department of: Management and Organisation Type of work: Master’s thesis Author and Student number: Aimo Elmeri Date: 25.4.2017 Rantanen, S143630 Title of thesis: Exploring the struggle of a professional football league and its clubs in wider sport entertainment field Abstract: This thesis report aims to explicate how a professional football league, Finnish Veikkausliiga, and its clubs struggle for their position in wider context of sport entertainment field. The main emphasis is to provide an account on the intrinsic challenges and how the meaningful stakeholders engage in shaping the field dynamics. The chosen research approach to meet the aims is grounded theory, resulting in conceptual model explaining the struggle of the professional football league. Following the principles of grounded theory methodology, this thesis was conducted by using qualitative data collection methods and relevant analysis methods, including open, axial, and theoretical coding processes. The results of eight in-depth interviews and the grounded theory model were complemented with appropriate secondary data sources received from the stakeholders involved and available content on the internet. The results suggest that a professional football league and its clubs operate in a complex and challenging environment, while struggling with the intrinsic causality dilemma to achieve international success and obtain financial resources. A fundamental element of the causality dilemma is the adhesive and transmitting role of public audience, impacting the field dynamics and being impacted by the field dynamics. Regarding the struggle of turning the causality dilemma into a virtuous cycle, or trying to avoid the vicious circle, a well-aligned and mutually benefiting strategies across stakeholder groups are required to facilitate gradual progress. This thesis advances sport management research with a novel and pervasive approach to understand professional sports leagues and the stakeholders, while offering valuable insights to practitioners within professional football and sports in general. Keywords: grounded theory, professional football, professional sports, chicken or the egg causality dilemma, field theory, organizational study 1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research problem ................................................................................................ 1 1.2 The research gap ................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Statement of purpose and the aim of thesis ........................................................ 4 1.4 Delimitations ....................................................................................................... 6 1.5 Structure of thesis ............................................................................................... 6 1.6 Key definitions and concepts used in this thesis ................................................. 7 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................... 8 2.1 Professional sport leagues .................................................................................. 8 2.1.1 Professional football .................................................................................... 9 2.1.2 Value captures in football ..................................................................... 10 2.1.3 Professional sports league product and media ..................................... 12 2.2 Field-theoretical approach in relevant context ................................................. 16 2.2.1 Bourdieu’s practice theory .................................................................... 17 2.2.1.1 Field-theory............................................................................ 18 2.2.1.2 Capital-theory ........................................................................ 19 2.2.1.3 Habitus-theory ....................................................................... 19 2.2.2 Alternative field-theoretic approaches ................................................ 20 2.3 Theoretical framework for analyzing the professional team sports field ......... 23 2.4 Summary of the literature review ..................................................................... 27 3 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................... 29 3.1 Scene for the empirical research .......................................................................29 3.1.1 Professional team sports field in Finland .................................................. 31 3.1.2 Media and sports in Finland ................................................................. 32 3.1.3 Veikkausliiga ......................................................................................... 34 3.2 Research methodology ...................................................................................... 35 3.2.1 Research paradigm for exploring the multiple reality constructions of meaningful individuals at the fields ...................................................... 36 3.2.2 Case study research strategy with grounded theory approach ............. 37 3.2.3 Qualitative data collection methods in grounded theory ..................... 41 3.2.4 Empirical data analysis ........................................................................ 44 3.3 Research quality ............................................................................................... 46 3.3.1 Potential criticism of the research approach ....................................... 46 3.3.2 Criteria for measuring quality of grounded theory thesis .................... 47 3.4 Summary of the methodology section .............................................................. 49 4 RESULTS ................................................................................................. 51 4.1 Analytical processes when coding the transcribed interview data ................... 51 4.1.1 Paradigm model around the central phenomenon of professional football league struggle for legitimacy, credibility, and progress ...................... 51 4.1.2 Central category – Chicken or the egg- causality dilemma in professional football .............................................................................. 52 4.2 Main themes and their categories ..................................................................... 53 4.2.1 Intrinsic challenges restraining the progress of professional football league 54 4.2.1.1 Lack of success at the international level – clubs and national team ....................................................................................... 55 4.2.1.2 Lack of or poor implementation of joint strategies among the football family ........................................................................ 56 4.2.1.3 Loose and ineffective co-operation models media partner ... 57 4.2.1.4 Poor ability to develop long-term and large-scale commercial partnerships with businesses .................................................58 4.2.2 Characteristics of a football league as a sports entertainment product 59 4.2.2.1 Incoherent identity and low accreditation of Veikkausliiga within the football family and across stakeholder groups ..... 59 4.2.2.2 Uniqueness of features of a football league and its clubs as sports entertainment product for their partners .................. 60 4.2.2.3 Low level of attractiveness to the public audience ................ 61 4.2.3 Operational environment of the professional football league ..............62 4.2.3.1 Cultural heritage of the society in terms of sports – hunger for success ....................................................................................62 4.2.3.2 The competitive level of international football ...................... 63 4.2.3.3 Unfavourable economic and geographical realities within the country .................................................................................. 64 4.2.4 Strategies and action plans of the football league and surrounding stakeholders in response to the central phenomenon ......................... 66 4.2.4.1 Close collaboration with powerful and meaningful stakeholders .......................................................................... 66 4.2.4.2 Stakeholder groups’ objectives and operational measures disregarding Veikkausliiga and its clubs’ interests ................ 67 4.2.5 Actualized practices pertaining to the central phenomenon of professional football league’s struggle for legitimacy, credibility, and progress……………………………………………………………………………………..68 4.2.5.1 Prevalence of business rules in professional football ........... 69 4.2.5.2 Politics and personal interests in professional sports and football in Finland................................................................. 69 4.2.5.3 Dynamics of the relationships among and between the stakeholders and the football league ..................................... 70 4.2.6 Conclusive impacts altering the dynamics in the operational environment of a professional football league ...................................... 71 4.2.6.1 Failure on or off the pitch resulting in legitimacy and financial detriments (vicious circle) .....................................