Professional sports: a magnifying mirror of management

Business Science Institute
20 hours ago
6 min read

Emeritus Research Director, CNRS

Professor at École Polytechnique (IP Paris)

*Member of the faculty of the Business Science Institute

Introduction: Professional sports, an industry in transition

In management sciences, certain topics spontaneously appear more legitimate and interesting than others. No one is surprised to see theses devoted to the automotive, energy, health, public organizations, and even cultural industries. However, there is very little research and few specialists in sports management, a field still considered secondary. Things are changing, however. The economic flows associated with the mediation and professionalization of sports now make the challenges of managing and sharing value undeniable. Moreover, the Business Science Institute has not remained on the sidelines of these developments. In very different fields, Andre Witte (Frankfurt 2) defended a DBA in 2024 on the perspectives of the operational determinants of risk perception for the development of executives in professional soccer. For his part, Kevin Josse (Paris 9) focuses his DBA, also from an HR perspective, on the “passionate profession” dimension of sport, more specifically on the determinants of voluntary departures in the equestrian sector. Another example is Nouri Melki (Paris 8), who examines the impact of governance on the performance of sports federations, using the case of Taekwondo. The members of the BSI faculty are not standing on the sidelines of these developments. For example, Professor Denis co-supervised a PhD thesis recently defended at Paris-Saclay on the institutional and strategic impact of new entertainment ecosystems in sport, based in particular on football (Brossillon, 2025), and the author of this text himself has very recently looked at the field of e-sport (Benghozi, 2025).

As all this work shows, professional sport is no longer just a spectacle or a popular pastime. In just a few decades, it has become a structured, highly capitalized global industry that is deeply embedded in the digital and media economy (Desbordes, 2022). Clubs, leagues, and event organizers operate like real businesses: they define a value proposition, arbitrate between different sources of revenue, manage rare talents, invest in tangible and intangible assets, and interact with multiple stakeholders (fans, sponsors, media, public authorities, investors). As such, sport is an emblematic and privileged field of application for management. On the one hand, it calls for the mobilization of traditional conceptual frameworks in terms of competitive strategy, value creation, governance, human resource management, innovation, and social responsibility. On the other hand, it provides particular insight into contemporary management issues: market globalization, the attention economy, financialization, digital transformation, and rising societal demands.

Economic and brand strategies

From a marketing and strategy perspective, professional sports institutions seek to build a sustainable competitive advantage by operating as brands where the competitive advantage is based on intangible assets (brand, fan base, reputation, stadium) rather than on a single sporting performance, which is by definition uncertain. Merchandising, licensing, global partnerships, and control of online rights are all growth drivers, converting their sporting performance into intangible assets that generate recurring revenue. Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG, and the Los Angeles Lakers illustrate this logic of brand globalization.

However, professional sports differ from traditional markets in that there is a strong interdependence between competitors, and we can clearly talk about coopetition. Indeed, an attractive championship requires a minimum of competitive balance, but also the ability to agree on rules and collectively negotiate rights or sponsorship. This constraint explains the central role of leagues and federations, which act as regulatory and cooperative bodies by organizing the distribution of media rights, imposing financial rules (salary caps, financial fair play), and negotiating with broadcasters and public authorities. From a management perspective, this involves aligning the individual strategies of athletes and clubs with the collective performance of the ecosystem.

Human resources: talent, leadership, and career management

Athletes are rare talents who must be managed in a context of high uncertainty, while their governance raises ethical and managerial issues. In professional sports, athletes are key human resources, but also economic assets. Their value depends on their performance, potential, and media image. Transfers, contracts, and salaries reflect this market logic. But management must also accommodate short careers imposed by the aging of the body, uncertain success, and high exposure to media pressure. The response cannot be purely economic (salaries, incentives, bonuses); it also requires specific support for athletes: mental preparation, retraining, and reputation management. We must also mention the associated ethical issues: diversity, gender equality, protection of young athletes, and the fight against doping and discrimination. Leadership stability is often a key performance factor, as illustrated by the examples of clubs and athletes who have built their success over the long term. This is why the role of coaches, agents, support staff, and managers has become omnipresent and has evolved significantly, as they must combine sporting, managerial, and media skills.

Investments, platformization, and sustainability issues

In this context, in sport as elsewhere, digitalization is changing the value chain of sport. First, GPS and heart rate sensors, video analysis, advanced statistics, and artificial intelligence now feed into recruitment, training, effort management, and injury risk processes. The case of baseball franchises popularized by the movie Moneyball shows how data can become a source of competitive advantage over financially better-equipped competitors. But sports clubs and institutions have also developed their own digital platforms (apps, streaming, social media) on a broader scale. In doing so, they are seeking to capture a larger share of the value created, which has historically been dominated by broadcasters. The NBA is a prime example of this platform strategy: short content, international targeting, and personalization of the experience. For managers, the challenge is twofold: diversifying revenue and gaining a better understanding of viewers through usage data.

But as the recent example of the French professional soccer league shows, such dynamics are hampered on the one hand by the dominance of major platforms in terms of media rights and online broadcasting (DazN, BeIn, Amazon, and Canal+ in this case), and on the other hand, the significant investments required to ensure control over broadcasting and the growing costs of professionalization and infrastructure (salaries, stadiums, training centers, digital equipment). As a result, professional sport is attractive but also increasingly needs investors: large companies seeking visibility, sovereign wealth funds, investment funds and even billionaire personalities. Clubs are seen as assets with high growth potential, particularly thanks to media rights and international growth.

However, this financialization raises questions of governance and meaning: to what extent can a club be treated as a mere financial asset without undermining its local and social roots? Because sports consumers are not like other consumers. Their attachment is emotional, identity-based, and often intergenerational. Management must therefore preserve the authenticity of the bond with fans and supporters, while developing commercial strategies. The controversies surrounding the creation of a European Super League have shown the limits of a purely financial approach: ignoring supporters can undermine the legitimacy of an economic project that is profitable on paper.

In addition, managers can no longer ignore the growing importance of environmental issues. They must reconcile these development dynamics with growing demands for social and environmental responsibility: energy consumption, travel, and the carbon footprint of major events.

The evolution of sports consumption: experience, emotions, and engagement: from competition to global spectacle

The significance of these new economic and managerial approaches to sport lies in the fact that attending a sporting event is no longer limited to watching a match or competition. Institutions are investing in the overall experience: entertainment in stadiums, catering, concerts, digital interactions. The stadium is becoming a multifunctional entertainment venue. In the United States, with entertainment, music, cheerleaders, and more, sports franchises organize matches as “shows.” In Europe, stadium management is now explicitly valued as a venue for events and not just competitions: see the example of the Stade de France.

Conclusion: sport, a laboratory for today's management

Professional sport is therefore now an open-air laboratory for economic and managerial transformations. As was also mentioned in the case of cultural industries (Benghozi, 2024), the study of sport provides a concrete understanding of issues that go far beyond the sports sector: how to create value in an attention economy, how to manage exceptional human assets, and how to reconcile economic performance with social legitimacy. In this sense, professional sport is not a separate domain, but a laboratory or magnifying mirror for the challenges of today's management.

References :

Benghozi et Simon (2025), From Niche to mainstream: the advent of esports, Special Issue “ New data and new methodologies for cultural economics ” (Bacchini F., Benghozi P-J. et Iannaccone R. eds), Economia della Cultura, Anno XXXV, 2025 / n. 1, pp. 109-130.
Benghozi PJ (2024), Cultural Industries: The Innovation Lab for the Entire Digital Economy - Including AI?, Economia della cultura, 2024, issue 2-3, 249-259.
Brossillon B. (2025), De l’industrie aux nouveaux écosystèmes de divertissement : transformations institutionnelles et impacts stratégiques pour le sport professionnel, Thèse de doctorat de l'université Paris-Saclay, 407p.
Desbordes, M. (2022), Marketing international du sport : Digital, e-sport et pays émergents. De Boeck Supérieur.

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