The transformative impact of big data applications in sport marketing : current and future directions

Purpose: As big data (BD) has increasingly become an important tool for managers and researchers to transform sport management practices, the purpose of this research is to highlight diverse data sources and modern analytical techniques that will leverage BD as a means to advance scholarship in sport management. Design/methodology/approach: A comprehensive review of existing BD literature in sport management outlines new perspectives on BD research method and the application of BD in sport management. Findings: First, through a thorough review of the literature, a domain-specific conceptualization that incorporates the field's mission and priorities was developed. Second, potential data sources and different types of analytical opportunities was identified, highlighting strategies for developing methodological approaches that leads to novel research questions. BD analytics can allow for more flexibility in improving methodological capability to analyze data and, thus, provide more granular and predictive insights. Finally, this paper concludes with a discussion of BD's impact on three domains of sport management, whereby the organizations yield data-driven decisions. Originality/value: BD has the potential to transform the sport management operations and bridges the research-practice gap. BD research in sport management is instrumental for accumulating new knowledge and/or testing existing theories, either in a deductive fashion or by taking an inductive approach, as the field embarks to advance scholarship.