Innovating to grow sport: The wider context of innovation in sport

Abstract

Innovation is nothing new to sport, but represents everything that is 'new' and can facilitate a competitive advantage. Broadly defined, innovation is the introduction of a new idea or behaviour in the form of a technology, product, service, structure, system or process on to the market (Damanpour, 1992; Daft,1978; Zaltman, Duncan and Holbeck, 1973). It is different to invention. Innovation moves beyond the discovery of a new idea to solve a problem and instead focuses on the market introduction of that invention to end-users or consumers (Garcia & Calantone, 2002; Osborne & Brown, 2005). In sport, technology innovation is well-established. However, the topic of management innovation for competitive advantage is critical to sport organisations and gathering momentum.