EXSC671 - The Business of High Performance Sport

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Unit rationale, description and aim

Within society, high performance sport can be viewed through both economic and social lenses. The dominance of the economic lens means that, in many cases, the business model developed by high performance sport organisations will determine the engagement approach adopted and the value provided to stakeholders.

This unit aims to develop in students an understanding of business model structures, strategies and activity systems that operate in, and are relevant to, the high performance sport industry, as well as the contribution that the industry can make from a social and community perspective.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Summarise knowledge of governance structures and systems relevant to high performance sport (GA5)

LO2 - Evaluate the role of communications, media and corporate social responsibility in the primary activities of a business in particular sport (GA2, GA9)

LO3 - Appraise business models in the context of the high performance sport industry (GA8)

LO4 - Design planning and decision making strategies in high performance sport contexts (GA9)

Graduate attributes

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

Content

Topics will include: 

• The position of sport in society  
• Governance structures and operations 
• The value proposition for corporates and consumers 
• The industry of sport and Porter’s 5 Forces 
• Strategy, planning, insights and innovation 
• Strategic human resource management  
• The sport organisation value chain 
• Communications & Media: awareness and attitude drives your brand 
• Community Engagement: growing your sport and making a difference 
• Technology, information and data analytics – the impact on decision making 
• Corporate Social Responsibility 
• Stakeholder engagement  

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

ACU Online

This unit uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of knowledge essential to the discipline. Students are provided with choice and variety in how they learn. Students are encouraged to contribute to asynchronous weekly discussions. Active learning opportunities provide students with opportunities to practice and apply their learning in situations similar to their future professions. Activities encourage students to bring their own examples to demonstrate understanding, application and engage constructively with their peers. Students receive regular and timely feedback on their learning, which includes information on their progress.

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to best enable students to achieve unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes, standards-based assessment is utilised, consistent with University assessment requirements. A range of assessment strategies have been purposefully designed for the assessment of learning outcomes reflecting the principles of authentic assessment design and include:

• Assessment Task 1: a quiz, to assess knowledge and understanding of the unit;
• Assessment Task 2: a written task, to assess understanding and application of the unit content and communication of argument; and
• Assessment Task 3: a case study, to assess critical thinking, and application of unit learnings.

Students must achieve a cumulative grade of at least 50% across all assessments.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Babiak, K., & Wolfe, R. (2009). Determinants of corporate social responsibility in professional sport: Internal and external factors. Journal of Sport Management, 23(6), 717. 

Ferkins, L., Shilbury, D., & McDonald, G. (2009). Board involvement in strategy: Advancing the governance of sport organizations. Journal of Sport Management, 23(3), 245-277. 

Johnson, M. W., Christensen, C. M., & Kagermann, H. (2008). Reinventing your business model. Harvard Business Review, 86(12), 57-68. 

Pedersen, P. M., & Thibault, L. (Eds.). (2014). Contemporary Sport Management (5th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. 

Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 78-92. 

Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business Review, 89(1/2), 62-77. 

Porter, M. E. (1996). What is strategy? Harvard Business Review, 74(11/12), 61-80 

Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2006). The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harvard Business Review, 84(12), 78-92. 

Smith, A. C., & Westerbeek, H. M. (2007). Sport as a vehicle for deploying corporate social responsibility. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 2007(25), 43-54. 

Zott, C., & Amit, R. (2013). The business model: A theoretically anchored robust construct for strategic analysis. Strategic Organization, 11(4), 403-411.