The development of NBA in China: a glocalization perspective

Abstract

Purpose Building upon the framework of glocalization, the purpose of this paper is to summarize the development of National Basketball Association (NBA) in Chinese market, explore its successful and unsuccessful places, and propose strategies of glocalization for the NBA as well as other overseas sport leagues. Design/methodology/approach The current case study was organized by summarizing the developmental history of NBA in China, analyzing its current promotional practices, investigating into its marketing strategies, and extrapolating practical references for other sport leagues aiming to penetrating into the Chinese marketplace. Findings The current case study concluded that when facing the current challenges, the NBA needs to bring authentic American cultural commodities while adding Chinese characteristics to accommodate local fans. Meanwhile, the NBA management needs to continue seeking ways to work out and through the differences in government models and cultural contexts between China and USA. In addition, this study suggested that the research framework of glocalization would be an ever intriguing inquiry needed for other sport organizations or leagues seeking expansion to overseas markets. Originality/value A thorough case study with the NBA that has achieved huge successes in Chinese markets will provide valuable implications for sport leagues to broaden their overseas markets.

Korean MLB players: the effects of motives and identification on fan loyalty

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Using international sport events as part of a brand construction strategy

“…We transcribed all the interviews in order to conduct a thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Similar procedures have been used in previous research in sport marketing (Zhou et al, 2017). The goal was to find major themes that capture participants' discourse about the use of international events and about the positive and negative consequences of hosting these types of events for the brand Mexico.…”

“…Theoretical models: connecting sports events with brand destination strategy Our review of the theoretical and empirical literature focuses on articles examining the use of sports as a component of a destination branding strategy (Knott and Hemmonsbey, 2015;Zhang and Zhao, 2009) and articles assessing how major sport leagues such as the NBA have tried to increase their presence on different countries besides their country of origin (Zhou et al, 2017). Both sets of literatures are relevant because they serve to illustrate the branding opportunities for destinations and also the opportunities for some professional leagues, which is probably the strongest motivator to expand to other countries.…”

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“…Given that the theoretical and empirical literature on emerging markets is scant, our research approach is exploratory and descriptive (Yin, 1994). Yet, this does not mean that we ignore the relevant literature to guide our investigation (see Dongfeng et al, 2017;Zhou et al, 2017 for recent conceptual papers on sports in China and case study on the challenges faced by the NBA in China). In order to reach our research goals, we would first discuss the nature of the brand Mexico, followed by the discussion of the relevant theoretical and empirical literature.…”