Evaluation of the Web as Marketing Tool in Sport by the Sport Managers in Greece

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to confirm whether the evaluation tool MASSQ (“Marketing Assession of Sport Sites Questionnaire”, Tsitskari, Costa, Tzetzis & Kioumourtzoglou, 2004) which was in the past answered by Greek sport fans may also be used for the evaluation of internet marketing by the sport managers. The sample consisted of 66 managers of basketball, soccer, volleyball, handball and water polo sport clubs of the first Greek category. Factor and reliability analysis (Conbach alpha) were conducted to the managers’ data. Moreover, Independent samples t-test and ANOVA were conducted to examine mean differences for gender and educational level. The factor analysis showed that the evaluation of sport internet marketing is a multidimensional concept and that “product” (α=.74), “price-place” (α=.91), “promotion” (α=.80) and “public relations” (α=.84) are proved to be very important factors. The analysis of the sample’s demographic characteristics showed some extremely displeasing results: i) very few women work as marketing managers or sport managers in Greek sport clubs and ii) the educational level of Greek sport managers is quite low. This research, through a thorough analysis of the opinions and the evaluation of marketing variables that appear or should appear in sport sites by the sport managers, identifies internet based opportunities for developing competitive advantages and provides recommendations for the use of the internet in sports marketing.