RISULTATI RICERCA

The inception of financial fair play (FFP) regulations in 2011 prompted debates about their potential impact on competitive balance within European football. Divisive arguments emerged: some anticipated a negative influence, foreseeing a decline in competitive balance, while others posited a contrary viewpoint, suggesting that these regulations could actually enhance competitive balance by diminishing the significance of financial supremacy. Amidst this discrepancy in perspectives, and unlike existing studies on major European football leagues, this investigation was prompted to scrutinize the influence of FFP on competitive balance within the Greek Super League. Utilizing the Herfindahl Index of Competitive Balance as the primary assessment tool, complemented by analyses involving the standard deviation of points, this study evaluated competitive balance within the league across 15 seasons, equally spread before and after the introduction of the FFP regulations. Echoing and even amplifying the concerns, the findings unveiled indications that FFP had engendered a decline in competitive balance within the Greek Super League, with a previously noted improvement abruptly halted and in fact reversed after the introduction of the FFP. This auspicious impact surpasses the intended primary objective of the regulations and underscores the influence they can have regarding the future (in)stability of club football. While acknowledging the imperative need for further exploration in this domain, this study represents an initial foray into understanding the effects of FFP regulations on competitive balance in medium and smaller sized European football.

This paper proposes a research model for investigating the effect on fan satisfaction and fan loyalty of the three dimensions of the customer engagement construct on Mobile Instant Messaging Apps when they are used as Engagement Platforms in a conversational marketing approach. To test the hypotheses, a sequential regression model was implemented. A survey was conducted on fans of a famous football team in Italy that has recently decided to use WhatsApp (Mobile Instant Messaging App - MIM) to allow fans to communicate directly with football players. The results highlight the importance of emotional engagement on fan satisfaction and the role of behavioural engagement through the use of WhatsApp for enhancing fan commitment. Fans who are engaged and more satisfied thanks to the use of MIM apps can be ambassadors for the sport brand thus affecting the fan behaviour-based relationship performance and the support to the team. For this reason, sports team managers need to consider the MIM app as a tool that can increase fan engagement.

This article aims to understand the importance of having a stadium owned by a football club as an added value if it is designed and managed from a socially responsible perspective in a context, that of Italian sport, which is still far from European standards in terms of infrastructure. The approach adopted focuses on the AlbinoLeffe Campus, serving as an example of how the ownership of a sports facility can shape and reflect socially responsible policies and practices adopted by a football club. The study examines the distinctive characteristics of the stadium considering the logistical, infrastructural, and environmental aspects underpinning its construction to act as a strategic lever to implement Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, a prerogative of club ownership. Some important managerial implications emerge from the analysis: 1) the need for a sustainable management approach for the stadium considering logistical, infrastructural, and environmental aspects; 2) the implementation of CSR strategies aligned with the company and the stadium’s characteristics.

This study delves into the financial strategies of Italian Serie A football clubs, focusing on the relationship between revenues obtained through the sale of players' tags and those from broadcasting and media rights. Using Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) as lens, this research aims to understand how clubs strategically manage these two critical revenue streams amidst external pressures and dependencies. The analysis of balance sheet data, from nine clubs over eight seasons, reveals a significant negative correlation between the two variables for “long-lasting” clubs, suggesting a potential shift in strategies in response to external market conditions, while it finds different results from incoming and/or growing ones. The findings offer insights for stakeholders in the football industry, emphasizing the need for agile management and governance structures.

Chiedersi quali siano gli spazi del lavoro sessuale non significa domandarsi semplicemente dove ci si prostituisce, ma soprattutto interrogarsi sulle specifiche dinamiche che si innescano all’intreccio di geografia e prostituzione. Da dove partire quindi? Da casa. Chi si prostituisce, al contrario di quanto comunemente percepito, non vive costantemente in tacchi, minigonna e pelliccia su un marciapiede. Le lavoratrici sessuali affittano, comprano, abitano, occupano, vengono sfrattate, costruiscono reti di solidarietà. Il lavoro sessuale risulta quindi un prisma attraverso cui guardare criticamente ai regimi abitativi e ai loro limiti. Partendo da una disamina di testi accademici e non, l’articolo si propone di rileggerli mettendo la casa al centro, e propone quindi un’agenda di ricerca che, a partire dalle esperienze di chi fa lavoro sessuale, possa contribuire ad analizzare e scardinare dinamiche strutturali che determinano chi, come e quando è ammesso nello spazio urbano, in particolare quello abitativo.

In riferimento alla letteratura crescente sulle forme estese dell’urbanizzazione, questo articolo esplora il nesso esistente tra estrattivismo e urbanizzazione. A partire dal caso argentino della miniera di litio Sales de Jujuy, propone una possibile chiave di lettura delle geografie del metabolismo urbano attraverso il concetto di inserimento strategico dei territori nelle catene globali del valore, approfondendo le forme di esclusione ad esso sottese. L’estrazione di terra, lavoro e acqua dai territori che circondano il Salar de Olaroz mostra come l’inserimento strategico non sia una direttrice di sviluppo territoriale unicamente vantaggiosa, come sostenuto tanto dalla letteratura sulle catene globali del valore quanto da diversi attori sul territorio. Le dinamiche descritte in questo articolo pongono invece al centro la distribuzione diseguale dei benefici e i conflitti spaziali che caratterizzano le geografie dell’urbanizzazione estesa.