Analysis of the processes of corporate communication of Spanish professional sports clubs. Exploratory research.

Abstract

Nowadays, sport organizations management shows a permanent failure and a notable delay regarding business management trends. The Information society (Castells, 1998), sports in the digital age (Moragas, 2007), management of intangible assets as a new paradigm (Costa, 2008) and the need of stability in the sector (Campos, 2006) are the context of a professional practice where academic contributions have been modest in spite of the valuable precedents of Hopwood (2005), Olabe (2009) or Ginesta (2009). This research, through exploratory research, analyses marketing and corporate communication processes in sport professional organizations (LFP and ACB) as well as the establishment of an approach to the situation of corporate theory (Villafañe, 2009) in the sector. The methodology used is qualitative and it is based in thirteen indepth interviews to professionals from seven clubs contrasted by an expert panel. Conclusions reveal duality among clubs regarding Direction of Communication, clubs choose short term projects, a reduced use of techniques and tools specialized in communication and marketing, the absence of systematical research and feedback, and the indetermination of identity. In spite of this situation, professionals successfully develop their work thanks to their long experience, the instinctive application of corporate theory principles.