Thomas Karagiorgos

Purpose: There has been a growing criticism of the degree to which sports events are sustainable today and their ability to promote the sustainable development goals (SDGs). This study aimed to explore Greek running event organizers' attitudes towards sustainable management of their events, including the dimensions of environmental, social and economic sustainability, while examining at the same time the challenges that they face in adopting the SDGs. Design/methodology/approach: Thirty-one interviews were conducted with organizers of running events in Greece. Thematic analysis was employed to identify, analyse systematically and report patterns within the data, based on the three dimensions of sustainability. Findings: The analysis of the interviews showed that the Greek event organizers were aware of the importance of sustainable practices; they tried to develop strategies to limit the negative impacts of the events and maximize the positive ones; however, in most cases, their events were not used as a tool for promoting and provoking sustainable development. This is due to the lack of an integrated strategy at the regional and national levels, and a lack of technical knowledge. Research limitations/implications: This study was based on a qualitative design. A snowball sampling method was used, which obviously gives a non-probability sample. Another limitation of the study relates to merging all the different types of running events. Results were not produced separately for city and mountain running events. It will be interesting to conduct more focused studies in the future, considering the specific nature of some of the mountain running events. Practical implications: Well-designed and effectively managed running events can make substantial contributions to several SDGs, while reducing their potential negative impacts. The findings of this study highlight several practical implications and demonstrate the need for tailored strategies, depending also on the type of event. An important requirement for sustainable event delivery is the development of comprehensive sustainability plans during the bidding and early design phases. Social implications: The results showed the positive influence of running events on individual well-being, which is a prerequisite of social well-being. Sport events can contribute to SD3, as they can be associated with physical, psychological and social benefits. Originality/value: While it has been argued that sport events, if organized properly, can promote several of the SDGs, there is limited empirical research around running events. This study contributes to the literature by exploring whether running event organizers have adopted sustainable management practices in their events, under the three pillars of economic, environmental and social sustainability for promoting and delivering sustainable development, as it has been proposed as an ideal model.

The positive economic, social, and environmental influences of the active sport tourism market are well documented today. This study aimed to map brand association patterns across the different stages of the Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) within the context of winter skiing. The PCM was used as the theoretical framework to categorize participants into stages according to their skiing involvement levels. The data was collected from recreational skiers at two major ski resorts in Greece. Participants were classified into the PCM stages. The findings revealed that associations with the activity significantly discriminated against PCM stages. Product delivery associations were salient only at the Attraction stage, indicating the importance of functional evaluations for novice participants. In contrast, tradition and peer acceptance associations consistently predicted membership across all stages, highlighting their enduring symbolic and social relevance. Escape-related associations were diminished in higher commitment levels, whereas importance and affective associations emerged as key predictors in the Attachment and Allegiance stages. The study extends the PCM by integrating brand association theory in the context of sport tourism and offers practical implications for stage-specific branding strategies in participatory sports services.

Physical activity is today a major global problem, since it is associated with physical, psychological, and social health risks. Promoting active mobility by using walking and cycling as modes of transportation has been proposed as one of the strategies to promote physical activity in urban areas while also addressing several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. This study aimed to examine whether the adoption of active mobility behavior contributes to individual well-being and further test which constraints individuals face when adopting it. The sample of the study consisted of 294 citizens from Enterprise and Innovation a metropolitan area in Greece. The factorial analysis of the constraints active mobility scale confirmed the five dimensions: environmental, psychological, individual, social, and interest. The results indicated that citizens who reported the use of active mobility were more likely to report higher levels. Furthermore, lack of interest was not the main reason for not using active mobility. Instead, most of the reported constraints were directly or indirectly related to the inadequate, unfriendly, and unsafe urban infrastructure, which creates concerns about individual safety. The implications of these results are discussed.

Introduction: Because of the importance of having engaged sport fans on social media, research has also focused on the antecedents of fan social media engagement. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between team brand associations (i.e., benefits, product related attributes, and non-product related attributes) and individuals’ engagement with their favorite team on social media (i.e., consumption, contribution, and creation activities), while also considering the mediating role of sport team identification. Methodology: A quantitative approach was followed by using an electronic questionnaire, which was disseminated through a football-related Facebook page. The sample consisted of 213 fans of football teams who were followers of this page. Results: The findings indicated that benefits predicted the consumption and contribution dimensions of social media engagement, while non-product related attributes predicted only the consumption facet. Benefits and non-product related attributes were also found to be related to sport team identification. Sport team identification was shown to be associated with benefits and non-product related attributes, while it also acted as a mediating variable in the relationships between benefits and social media dimensions and in the relationships between non-product related and social media engagement dimensions. Conclusions: This research uncovers how team brand associations can be related to fan social media engagement and offers practical implications to sport managers aiming to engage their fans on social media.

Dance encompasses physical, emotional, and social elements, creating a dynamic platform for the exploration of well-being. As a therapeutic approach, dance movement further applies these dimensions to enhance emotional resilience, foster mindfulness, and improve overall mental health. This study examined the relationship between self-compassion and life satisfaction among 912 recreational dancers (80% female and 20% male) in Greece. Participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Confirmatory Factor Analysis validated the five-factor self-compassion model, and regression analysis identified predictors of life satisfaction. Self-kindness emerged as a strong positive predictor (β = 0.258, p < 0.001), while isolation (β = −0.307, p < 0.001) and self-judgment (β = −0.083, p = 0.029) negatively predicted life satisfaction. Common humanity (β = 0.064, p = 0.066) and mindfulness (β = 0.004, p = 0.907) showed no significant predictive effect. The model explained 21.7% of the variance in life satisfaction (R² = 0.217). Small but statistically significant differences in self-compassion dimensions were observed across dance styles. Partner-oriented dancers such as those practicing tango reported slightly higher self-kindness and mindfulness, while ballet dancers showed a small increase in self-judgment and isolation. Life satisfaction remained consistent across styles, highlighting dance’s overall contribution to well-being. These findings suggest that integrating self-compassion training into dance education and psychotherapy, particularly within a Therapeutic-Based Art Pedagogy framework, may contribute to emotional resilience, foster social connection, and promote mental health, positioning dance as a potentially transformative tool for holistic development.

There has been a noticeable shift towards sustainability in participatory sport, emphasizing practices such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. However, a credible international evaluation tool for assessing the effectiveness of CSR initiatives in sport and recreation services is lacking. This study aimed to adapt and validate a CSR questionnaire for Greek participatory sport, focusing on tennis. The influence of CSR on consumer trust and loyalty was also investigated. A sample of 250 tennis players from a private club in a Greek city participated. A questionnaire assessing CSR in environmental, economic, and social dimensions, was selected after an extensive literature review. Statistical analyses confirmed the questionnaire as a valid and reliable tool for assessing CSR among recreational sports participants. The results indicated that CSR initiatives significantly enhance participants’ trust in the club, which in turn bolsters the club’s credibility. However, CSR initiatives do not directly influence participants’ loyalty; instead, trust mediates the relationship between CSR and loyalty. This underscores the need to strategize on how to convert trust into sustained loyalty. The findings highlight the importance of CSR in building trust, protecting corporate reputation in times of crisis, and supporting long-term sustainability. They provide valuable insights for researchers and sport and recreation managers.

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the interrelationships among the dimensions of sport event experience, event satisfaction and event behavioral intentions.Design/methodology/approach: The sample was comprised of 186 individuals who actively participated in a mass participation sport event. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the relationships among the latent constructs.Findings: The results indicated that the dimensions of sport event experience predicted 55% of the variance of event satisfaction and 63% of the variance of event behavioral intentions was predicted by sport event experience dimensions and event satisfaction. Specifically, the sensory, affective and relational dimensions of experience sought to have a statistically significant and positive association with event satisfaction, while event satisfaction and the relational dimension of experience were found to have a statistically significant and positive correlation with event behavioral intentions. In addition, event satisfaction was found to mediate the relationships between sensory, affective and relational experiences and event behavioral intentions.Originality/value: The present study is one of the first that explores the relationships among sport event experience’s dimensions, event satisfaction and positive behavioral intentions in the context of sport event participation.

In an era marked by a growing emphasis on business ethics and sustainability, fitness centers face a compelling need to align their practices with their members’ perceived ethical values. To explore the role of ethics in the fitness industry’s expanding business landscape, this study draws upon established theories in consumer-perceived ethicality (CPE), business ethics, and customer segmentation strategies. The paper’s objectives were to adapt and validate the CPE scale for the Greek context and categorize fitness center members based on their perceived ethicality and to examine the impact of perceived ethicality on loyalty, word-of-mouth communication, and trust towards fitness centers. The research involved 286 fitness center members who completed a questionnaire measuring CPE, loyalty, trust, and word-of-mouth communication. Utilizing clustering analysis, two distinct consumer segments emerged, each demonstrating unique patterns of perceived ethicality. Intriguingly, both the high- and low-CPE groups assigned considerable importance to word-of-mouth communication, followed by trust and loyalty. These findings provide valuable insights for businesses in the fitness industry seeking to enhance their ethical reputation and bolster customer retention. Furthermore, the translated CPE scale holds the potential to contribute significantly to the ongoing discourse on consumer behavior regarding business ethics and sustainability within the fitness sector.