Description

Mixed methods research in sport marketing

Gashaw Abeza+, Norm O’Reilly++, Mark Dottori+, Benoit Séguin+ and Ornella Nzindukiyimana+++

+School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada;

++Fox Professor of Business, Department of Sports Administration, University of Ohio, Athens, OH, USA;

+++School of Kinesiology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

ABSTRACT

Much has been researched in the field of sport marketing over the past decades, and the field’s community of scholars have employed diverse quantitative and qualitative research methods. However, limited information exists on the state of mixed methods in the field. In response, this study examines the use of mixed methods in sport marketing via a content analysis of 451 articles published over the period of two decades. Findings revealed that the utilization of mixed methods in sport marketing is still in its infancy and has received little scholarly recognition. The work in part addresses this matter through presenting mixed methods design typologies that help answer the field’s scholars such questions as why, what, how and where we are mixing.

KEYWORDS: Sport marketing; research methods; field of study; sport management; qualitative research; quantitative research