The abstract about the unique aspects of sports business outlines fundamental features of the industry’s nature. With time, the sport has become a large industry, which brings a lot of profit, however drastically different from any other conventional business structures. The following essay will reflect on the article’s main points to simplify and sum up the author’s thoughts and intentions, investigating the unpredictable and perishable features linking it to business industries.
The author initially outlines that the sports industry significantly evolved, turning into a commercial enterprise, with different aspects becoming more technical and commercialized. To set the concrete scope of the following article, the authors state that despite the increasing commercialization of sport, it still has a distinct set of characteristics that distinguish it from other types of businesses (Riot et al., 2018). The authors emphasize the industry’s growing heterogeneity, causing unprecedented business challenges, which becomes the article’s central theme.
Unpredictability and competitive balance are some of the distinguishable features of the sports business. Sports is one of the few industries, which success depends on unpredictability. The sport’s commodity is unreliable compared to the consumer-directed product marketers, who promote consistency, while sports marketers promote the unexpected thrill. For example, in the mobile phone device industry, the goal is to be the best and the only reliable manufacturer, where they continuously seek product differentiation to attract customers and remove rivals (Riot et al., 2018). Thus, uncertainty about the sports industry’s result improves the product’s quality built upon the spectators’ suspense and enthusiasm.
Other substantial features of the sports business, are intangibility and financial base. The fact that the sport is highly subjective creates strong personal identification and emotional attachment, making both positive and negative impacts on the industry (Riot et al., 2018). Many brands build a strong fan base, which brings high profit and subsequent customer satisfaction. Sports organizations have a unique economic base that includes high fixed costs that are difficult to adjust despite changes in the league tables (Riot et al., 2018). Moreover, the business is fundamentally built on mutually beneficial relationships with various stakeholders, including their fans, sponsors, sports officials, broadcasters, and players.
The authors describe perishability as a feature that is unique to the sports business. The sports products are usually created in anticipation of demand and are relevant only for a short period. Such characteristic significantly differs from the companies that produce goods at a place of least cost and ship them to customers at points of greatest demand, whereas in sports, people travel themselves to witness entertainment (Riot et al., 2018). Although marketers predict a possible alienation of fans due to the commercialization of sport, the people working in the industry provide everything to achieve high customer satisfaction for the limited time of events.
Concluding, the summary presents a more concise, to-the-point representation of the article. Additionally, it outlines the prominent point authors tried to convey throughout the piece, about peculiarities of the sports business. The summary provides a clear picture of the industry, giving substantial comparisons to the other companies, thus presenting more evidence and interpretation.
References
Riot, C., Kennelly, M., Hill, B., & Trenberth, L. (2018). The unique aspects of the sport business. Managing Sport Business: An Introduction (2nd Edition), 10–14.