Nicholas Masafumi Watanabe

The star effect on attendance demand has been well documented in the literature. However, prior research has primarily relied on reported match attendance to assess the impact of superstars. Our study advances the literature by analyzing Lionel Messi’s impact on demand using secondary market ticket prices. Focusing on his 2023 transfer to Inter Miami, we quantify his impact on Major League Soccer, showing how elite talent shapes demand in emerging professional sport leagues. Our findings suggest that Messi’s arrival increased Inter Miami home game ticket prices by 1,113%–1,237% and Inter Miami away game ticket prices by 410%–477% in 2023. Additionally, we identify a spillover effect of Messi on ticket prices for matches not involving Inter Miami, though the impact varies by team, with many experiencing either insignificant or negative changes in home game prices after Messi’s arrival. These results offer valuable implications for team and league business operations.

Grounded in a nexus of sport sociology and economics inquiry, the present study examined the rental market at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games, considering increased rent as a critical antecedent to gentrification. Specifically, econometric analyses based on a difference-in-differences design were employed to examine longitudinal data of rent transactions in the hosting districts. The findings suggested that rental prices went through varied phases of fluctuation with a potential consequence of gentrification. As such, the results shed light on housing struggles and gentrification as a form of controversy brought about by the construction of sport facilities and hosting events. Therefore, they provided in-depth and empirical evidence to critique socioeconomic inequalities underneath the neoliberal political agenda in sport as well as the revanchist politics prevalent in today’s neoliberal world.

Purpose: This study examines the net impact of the 2018 Winter Olympics on temporary housing prices in Gangneung, South Korea, from 2012 to 2023. Amid growing scrutiny of the Games' long-term economic sustainability, particularly in smaller, less urbanized regions, this study offers empirical evidence on localized housing market effects in a non-Western context and assesses the broader, often untested, economic and social benefits of the Olympics. Design/methodology/approach: Employing the synthetic control method, this study compares rental prices in Gangneung with rental prices in non-host cities nationwide exhibiting similar economic and housing characteristics. Findings: Contrary to expectations of economic gains from hosting the Games, the findings indicate no significant increase in monthly rent prices in Gangneung relative to other cities. In fact, rental prices showed limited change during the Olympics and in the immediate years following, challenging the notion that hosting such mega-events generates positive fiscal returns. Originality/value: The findings offer important insights into the discourse on the intangible benefits of winter sport mega-events and provide lessons for planning sustainable future initiatives. They suggest that substantial public investment in the Winter Olympics may fall short of expected social and financial returns, especially after staging the events, underscoring the need for careful economic impact assessments in less developed communities.

TikTok has rapidly become a mainstream social media platform, particularly popular among younger populations. However, young people's perceptions of TikTok's use as a teaching–learning tool remain largely unexplored. To address this literature gap, this study involved an educational intervention in which TikTok was integrated into sport management classes at a Spanish university through active learning methodologies. Specifically, it sought to assess changes in students’ perceptions before and after the intervention across three key dimensions: TikTok’s usefulness as a teaching tool, its contribution to professional development, and its potential for industry engagement. To assess students' perceptions of TikTok, a pre-test and post-test were conducted with 48 students (71% male, 29% female) enrolled in the course. Quantitative findings revealed statistically significant positive changes across all three dimensions, suggesting that the intervention positively impacted students’ perceptions of TikTok’s educational, professional, and industry-related value. These findings were reinforced by qualitative data collected through open-ended responses, in which students highlighted TikTok as a creative, motivating, and professionally relevant learning tool. The results of this study offer both theoretical and practical insights that may be valuable to educators and educational institutions considering the strategic integration of social media such as TikTok into higher education.

Universities and instructors seek to design educational experiences and programs that help students learn and develop professionally. One effective approach to doing so involves using active teaching-learning approaches in which students take the lead and learn by engaging in real-world situations that require reflection and decision-making. Social media platforms hold some potential for hosting such teaching-learning activities, and can facilitate connections between the university and the professional world through active learning approaches. This study focuses on exploring the educational use of Pinterest, a social media platform emphasizing the audiovisual component. An educational experience was designed using Pinterest in a sport management course, requiring students to generate pins and boards based on audiovisual material they captured from sports facilities and equipment with their smartphones, thus connecting theory with practice. A total of 247 students (77.7% male and 22.3% female) completed a questionnaire to assess their perceptions of Pinterest’s educational opportunities. Findings demonstrate Pinterest’s educational potential, showing that students perceived learning as more productive, benefited from peer and faculty opinions, experienced a flexible hybrid teaching-learning environment, and developed their professional profiles. These results provide valuable evidence that can inform university educators’ design of social media-based experiences grounded in active teaching-learning approaches.