Master Thesis
Sports Entrepreneurship
Case studies: A study on the development of sports entrepreneurial
success traits during a professional career in sports.
Author: Thomas Meeuwsen
Supervisor: Dr. Y. Song
University of Amsterdam (UvA) / VU University Amsterdam
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 1
Abstract:
This research paper examines the development of sports entrepreneurial success traits during a professional career in sports. The data is collected from qualitative case studies containing a professional field hockey player, an ex-professional tennis player, and an ex-professional ice-skater. The examination of the cases reveal that professional athletes develop market experience, self-confidence and the ability to
network during a professional career in sports. The developed sports entrepreneurial traits enhance the chance of entrepreneurial success in the sports industry.
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 2
Acknowledgements
One year ago I started the joint-master program in entrepreneurship at the VU and the UvA. I started this program in order to specialize myself in entrepreneurship and to give my starting career an extra impulse. I conducted this research because I am interested in the combination of entrepreneurship and professional sports.
First of all, I would like to gratefully and sincerely thank my thesis supervisor: Dr. Y. Song. She guided me through this period of graduation with her expertise in the topic of entrepreneurship, and her research experience.
Furthermore, I would like to gratefully and sincerely thank my respondents: Pirmin Blaak, Jacco Eltingh, and Bart Veldkamp. These respected sports entrepreneurs, with a history in professional sports, were willing to share information on their professional career in sports and their sports ventures.
Thank you for your contribution. Thomas Meeuwsen, July 1st 2016.
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 3
Table of content
Abstract ... 1
Acknowledgements ... 2
Table of content ... 3
1. Introduction ... 4
2. Literature review ... 7
3. Methodology ... 12
4. Case descriptions ... 14
4.1. Case 1: Pirmin Blaak – field hockey
4.2. Case 2: Jacco Eltingh – tennis
4.3. Case 3: Bart Veldkamp – ice skating
5. Analysis ... 17
5.1. Within-case analysis
5.2. Across-case analysis
6. Results ... 31
7. Conclusion ... 33
8. Discussion ... 35
8.1. Implications
8.2. Limitations
8.3. Future research
9. References ... 37
Appendix I ... 40
Appendix II ... 47
Appendix III ... 58
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 4
1. Introduction
Entrepreneurship is the driving force of economic growth, it creates jobs and it keeps the market competitive (Thurik & Wennekers, 2004). This is one of the reasons why academic research on
entrepreneurship is so important for entrepreneurs, employees, and for the local government.
Entrepreneurs perform a critical function in the economy, they explore new ways to organize factors of production, and they are the main producers of innovations (Schumpeter, 1934). But what is it that entrepreneurs do? Entrepreneurs combine people, capital and ideas in order to create a product or service that is new, or cheaper in production. It is important for entrepreneurs to know how to use their own talents and manage the talents of others (Lazear, 2005).
But which specific personal traits give entrepreneurs the capabilities to succeed in their own ventures? Are these personal traits nature, or are these traits developed during previous experiences? Entrepreneurial traits have been pointed out as a dominant reason for entrepreneurial success by new venture financiers. Researchers have renewed the interest in personal characteristics as predictors of entrepreneurial success (Baum & Locke, 2004).
Entrepreneurship occurs in every type of market. Entrepreneurship occurs in the transportation industry, the tourism industry, the construction industry, and in many more industries. The sports industry is a market in which entrepreneurship is starting to play a big role (Ratten, 2011). In the United States alone, the sports industry accounts for $220 billion dollars. Compare this to their car industry which accounts for $80 billion dollars (Santomier, 2002).
Sports has been examined with an angle from almost every discipline: management, marketing, sociology, psychology. Still, there is a clear lack of research on sports with an entrepreneurial angle. A research with an entrepreneurial angle in the sports industry will provide managers with the information to attenuate business crises (Ratten, 2011). The sports industry is large and therefore an attractive market for entrepreneurs. The industry employs a large number of people, and currently the sports industry is the most visible industry worldwide (Vanessa, 2012).
The elements mentioned above, combined with the relatively young state of research on sports entrepreneurship (Vanessa, 2012), makes academic research on entrepreneurship in the sports industry worthwhile.
There is no general accepted definition for sports entrepreneurship. The most broad definition on sport entrepreneurship refers to any innovative activity that has a sports objective (Vanessa, 2012). This definition is often seen as too broad and therefore we use a different definition in this paper.
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 5 venture (Greve & Salaff, 2003). A sports entrepreneur, the main topic of this research paper, refers to an individual who owns, launches, manages, and assumes the risk of a venture operating within the sports industry.
The unit of analysis in this paper is sports entrepreneurial success traits. Sports entrepreneurial success traits refer to entrepreneurial success traits applicable to the sports industry. Are the sport entrepreneurial success traits developed during a professional career in sports? Which sports entrepreneurial traits are developed during a professional career in sports? This translates into the following leading research question:
- Which sports entrepreneurial success traits do professional athletes develop during a professional career in sports?
We examine three sports entrepreneurial cases. The three cases consist out of Dutch entrepreneurs who have been, or are still active, as an international professional athlete. The entrepreneurs run a business in the sports industry.
The structure is as follows: First, the existing literature on entrepreneurship and sports
entrepreneurship is discussed in the literature review. The literature review focusses on the performance traits of (sports) entrepreneurs. Important entrepreneurial traits that determine entrepreneurial success are presented in table 1. The applicable entrepreneurial success traits will form the bases for the hypotheses.
Secondly, the methodology of the research is explained. This paper conducts inductive qualitative research in which a new grounded theory is formed.
The next section describes the three cases, followed by the analysis of the interview data. Subsequently, the results will be presented and the conclusions are interpreted.
At the end of the paper, implications and limitations of the research are discussed and suggestions for future research are made.
In current literature the development of sports entrepreneurial success traits during a professional career in sports is not examined. The findings will contribute to current literature as it will provide a new theory regarding sports entrepreneurial success. Moreover, the findings provide information on the development of sports entrepreneurial success traits during a professional career in sports.
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 6 results can also create an incentive for (ex) athletes to become an entrepreneur in the sports industry. Future research can strengthen or weaken the new grounded theory.
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 7
2.
Literature Review
Entrepreneurship is a very complex idea, it is never defined in the same way and it varies according to the context in which the phenomenon is placed (Van Praag, 1999; Ratten, 2012) . The phenomenon of entrepreneurship has numerous definitions. Current research has indicated the lack of one single definition (Gartner, 1990). The article by Van Praag (1999) provides a basic definition for an entrepreneur: ‘’Someone who starts a new business venture or acquires an existing one.’’ (Van Praag, 1999). According to Greve and Salaff (2003) an entrepreneur is commonly defined as an individual who owns, launches, manages, and assumes the risk of a venture. According to Bolton and Thompson (2004) an entrepreneur habitually creates and innovates. Baumol (1993) argues that an entrepreneur locates and puts new idea into effect. A more simpler definition is given by Hisrich (1990), an entrepreneur shows initiative. This paper defines an entrepreneur as an individual that owns, launches, manages, and assumes the risk of a venture (Greve & Salaff, 2003). A sports entrepreneur is an individual who owns, launches, manages, and assumes the risk of a venture operating within the sports industry.
Which specific personal traits give entrepreneurs the capabilities to succeed in their own venture? It is difficult to define important determinants of new venture success. Investors and entrepreneurial experts claim that new venture success depends on the entrepreneur. Unfortunately, understanding which personal traits of the entrepreneur are responsible for the performance of a new venture has shown to be difficult in past research (Herron & Robinson, 1993).
Research of the current literature provide us with information regarding entrepreneurial success traits.
Current literature provides us with various papers that research entrepreneurial success traits (Elfring & Hulsink (2003), Haranda (2003), Jo & Lee (1996), Van Praag (1999), Stuart & Abetti (1996)). According to Joseph Schumpeter, well known for his creative destruction theory (Schumpeter, 1942), the determinant to start as an entrepreneur depends on the ‘’willingness to start’’. The determinant to be successful depends on the leadership capabilities of the entrepreneur (Van Praag, 1999). Schumpeter defines an entrepreneur as an individual that both innovates and is a driver of growth (Henrekson & Sanandaji, 2013).
Furthermore, according to Frank Knight, a professor from the university of Chicago, the determinant to start as an entrepreneur depends on the ‘’ability to obtain capital’’ in combination with ‘’personal motivation’’. More importantly, the determinants to have success are ‘’the ability to deal with uncertainty’’, ‘’self-confidence’’, ‘’foresight’’ and ‘’intellectual capacity’’ (Van Praag, 1999).
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 8 Alfred Marshall, an early neo-classical economist, argues that the driver for entrepreneurship is being a ‘’risk lover’’. The entrepreneurial success traits of an entrepreneur are: ‘’intelligence’’, ‘’general ability’’ (family background and education), ‘’knowledge of trade’’, ‘’risk tolerance’’, ‘’leadership’’ and ‘’owning capital’’ (Van Praag, 1999).
The probability of entrepreneurial success depends on the related business experiences of the entrepreneur, and the initial firm size of a new venture. The larger the initial start-up, the higher the probability to success. In addition, the dummy variables male and age have a positive impact on entrepreneurial startup success (Haranda, 2003) .
Furthermore, the background of an entrepreneur has a positive influence on the success of a new venture. The education of the entrepreneur, and the experiences in the specific line of business, have a positive influence on the success of entrepreneurs. The growth of a new venture is positively correlated with the professional knowledge of the product. This knowledge is gained during previous experiences in the specific market. If the entrepreneur lacks knowledge on the specific market of business it will have a negative effect on the success of a new venture (Jo & Lee, 1996).
In addition, previous experiences or involvements in new ventures significantly and positively influence the early success of a new venture. The higher the previous management position in a previous ventures the higher the chance of entrepreneurial success in a new startup (Stuart & Abetti, 1990).
Elfring and Hulsink (2003) argue that a business network is one of the most important assets an entrepreneur can possess. An entrepreneurial network provides (nascent) entrepreneurs with new knowledge, capital, and more essential assets towards entrepreneurial success. The ability to form and maintain a business network is an important entrepreneurial success trait.
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 9
Table 1. Entrepreneurial success traits
Author Schumpeter
(1911,
1939)
Knight
(1921,
1971)
Marshall
(1890, 1930)
Haranda
(2003)
Jo & Lee
(1996)
Stuart &
Abetti (1996)
Elfring &
Hulsink
(2003)
Leadership
capabilities
Deal with
uncertainty
Intelligence
Previous
business
experience
Education
Previous new
venture
involvement
Networking
skills
Self
confidence
General
ability
Initial firm
size
Previous
experience
in line of
business
Level of
previous
management
role
Foresight
Knowledge
of trade
Intellectual
property
Risk
tolerance
The focus of this paper is to find the sports entrepreneurial success traits developed during a professional career in sports. According to Vanessa (2012) empirical and conceptual work on sports entrepreneurship is at its initial stage. A step towards development of this concept is conducting academic studies that can be tested empirically. Therefore, this paper aims to develop a new theory regarding the development of sports entrepreneurial success traits during a professional sports career.
The indication success might be different between sports entrepreneurs and ‘’traditional’’
entrepreneurs. Traditional entrepreneurs, also known as economic entrepreneurs, are constantly examined in the entrepreneurship literature, on accounts of their impact on the economy. Some sports entrepreneurs might not have pure economic reasons to start a venture. Their initial aim might be the creation of his or her own job, spending time with friends and family, combining work and hobbies, or even the desire to work at home. These type of entrepreneurs fall under the category ‘’life-style entrepreneurs’’ (Gomez-Valasco & Saleilles, 2007). It is important to distinguish life-style entrepreneurs from economic
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 10 entrepreneurs during academic research. The entrepreneurs might have a different outlook on
entrepreneurial success.
The entrepreneurial success traits in table 1 focus on entrepreneurship in general. The focus of this research is to research the development of sports entrepreneurial success traits during a professional career in sports. From the entrepreneurial success traits in table 1, four success traits are likely to be developed during a career in sports (see table 2). The four sports entrepreneurial success traits are presented in table 2. These entrepreneurial success traits form the basis for the hypotheses.
Table 2. Sports entrepreneurial success traits related to a career in sports
Entrepreneur
Professional Athlete
Previous experience in line
of business (Jo & Lee, 1996)
Previous experience in line of
business increases
entrepreneurial success
A professional athlete is
constantly present in the sports
market
Self-Confidence (Knight
1921, 1971)
Self-confidence increases
entrepreneurial success
A professional athlete is constantly in the picture and needs to perform under pressureDeal with Uncertainty
(Knight 1921, 1971)
The ability to deal with
uncertainty increases
entrepreneurial success
A professional athlete can win,
draw, or lose
Networking Skills (Elfring &
Hulsink, 2003)
Networking skills increase
entrepreneurial success
A professional athlete has a
well-known name in the
(sports) market
First of all, during a professional career in sports, athletes gain experience in the sports industry. They develop knowledge on the norms and values of the industry, and they gain knowledge on the business perspective of their field of sports. According to Jo & Lee (1996), previous business experience in the specific field of business is an important entrepreneurial success trait. Therefore, the first hypothesis regarding the research question is:
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 11 Secondly, professional athletes are constantly in the picture and they need to perform under pressure. Therefore, athletes develop self-confidence during a professional career in sports. Confidence is important in the field of entrepreneurship, it can convince potential clients, and it can make potential investors invest their money. According to Frank Knight it is considered to be an important
entrepreneurial success trait (Van Praag 1999). Therefore, the second hypothesis regarding the research question is: .
H2: Self-confidence is developed during a professional career in sports.
Thirdly, professional athletes need to work with a lot of uncertainties. A career in sports is not predictable. An athlete can win, draw, or lose. An athlete might get injured or transferred to a different team. These experiences make (ex) professional athletes able to adapt to uncertainties. According to Frank Knight, dealing with uncertainty is an important entrepreneurial success trait (Van Praag, 1999).
Therefore, the third hypothesis regarding the research question is:
H3: The ability to deal with uncertainty is developed during a professional career in sports.
Lastly, during a professional career in sports, athletes are in contact with colleagues, coaches, fans, and the media. These direct and indirect networking efforts provide the athlete with a particular set of networking skill. In addition, professional athletes can use their well-known name to form a business network. According to Elfring & Hulsink (2003) the ability to network is an important entrepreneurial success trait. Therefore, the last hypothesis regarding the research question is:
H4: The ability to network is developed during a professional career in sports.
The above presented hypotheses will be tested using three case studies . The case studies consist out of (ex) professional athletes that currently own a business in the sports industry.
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 12
3. Methodology
The objective of this paper is to conduct a new theory regarding the development of sports entrepreneurial success traits during a professional career in sports. In order to form this new theory we make use of the ‘’Eisenhardt method’’ (Eisenhardt, 1989). We use an inductive approach with qualitative interview data. The data is gathered from Dutch sports entrepreneurs with a history as a professional athlete. The three sports entrepreneurial cases are chosen for their richness of data and their disclosure of important information. The theory is presented in a proposition that can be tested in future research.
Using the Eisenhardt method (Eisenhardt, 1989) makes it important to investigate cases
originating from divers professional sports. Three cases originating from the same field of sport provide us with biased data that points towards the same direction. This type of biased data leads to a low external validity and a theory that is not generalizable across the sports industry. The cases examined in this paper originate from divers professional sports.
The first case analyzed is a sports entrepreneur with a history in professional field hockey. This sports entrepreneur is currently, next to his professional sports career, working on a sports project with an annual turnover of 250.000 euro’s (Appendix I).
The second case analyzed is a sports entrepreneur with a history in professional tennis. This sports entrepreneur has been a successful, grand slam winning, tennis player. He is currently working on various tennis projects (Appendix II).
The third, and last case analyzed in this paper, is a sports entrepreneur with a history in
professional ice skating. This sports entrepreneur won an Olympic gold medal in 1992. Currently he owns a sports marketing bureau and he is working on a new startup (Appendix III).
The Eisenhardt method is appropriate when researching new topic areas (Eisenhardt, 1989). According to Vanessa (2012) academic work on sports entrepreneurship is at a nascent stage. Sports entrepreneurial traits that are responsible for the success or failure of sports entrepreneurs are not widely researched (Vanessa, 2012). In addition, there are no academic results published on the development of these sports entrepreneurial success traits during a professional career in sports.
The data is gathered by means of in depth- interviews. The interviews are conducted face to face at a neutral locations of their preference. In addition, the interviews have no specific time limit in order to create a safe atmosphere in which the sports entrepreneurs disclose important information. During the gathering of the data an interview template with leading questions is used. An interview template steers the conversation without making the interview a direct interrogation.
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 13 The analysis of the gathered data consists out of within-case analysis, an individual analysis of the cases. And a cross-case analysis, an analysis of the interview data across the three cases (Eisenhardt, 1989). Cross-case analysis mobilizes the generated knowledge of the within-case analysis of the cases. Comparing the cases provides us with new knowledge (Van Wynsberghe & Khan, 2008).
After conducting the analysis the results will be presented in the results section. The results form the basis for testing the hypotheses and answering the research question. The paper will finalize with a new grounded theory.
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 14
4. Case Descriptions
This section introduces the case studies analyzed. A description of their sports careers and their entrepreneurial ventures.
4.1. Case 1. Pirmin Blaak – Field Hockey
Three case studies are analyzed. The first case analyzed is Pirmin Blaak, a former Olympic medal winning field hockey player. Pirmin Blaak is a successful goal keeper, 28 years old, and already started playing field hockey at a very young age. His dream has always been to play for the Dutch national team. This gave him the strength to train hard and work on his goal keeping skills. In the year 2000 Pirmin transferred from Barendrecht to a professional hockey club in Rotterdam. He was scouted for the youth teams in Rotterdam. In 2009 Pirmin made his debut in the first team of hockey club Rotterdam, where he eventually played 7 successful seasons (Appendix I).
Currently, Pirmin is transferring from hockey club Rotterdam to hockey club ‘’Orange Red’’ in Eindhoven. Playing for orange red provides him with the opportunity to play for the prices. In 2011, after the World Cup field hockey in New Zealand, Pirmin made his debut for the Dutch national field hockey team (Appendix I).
Pirmin Blaak studied physical therapy at the University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht. After one year, Pirmin knew this was not the right career path. The next educational challenge for Pirmin was at the University of Applied Sciences in Rotterdam. He studied ‘’Economics, Management and Law’’. During this bachelor program Pirmin got in contact with entrepreneurship. He decided to start a venture close to his personal interests. Pirmin already taught children the skills of goal keeping, and he travelled across country doing so. His current business partner, and a member of the hockey club in Rotterdam, stressed this was not the right way to go, goal keepers should visit him. After working out the details, he and his business partner started the sports venture ‘’GoalieWorks’’. ‘’GoalieWorks’’ is a regional training facility where field hockey goal keepers are trained. The company consists out of 12 schools and 700 goal keepers. The company grew rapidly and currently has a turnover of 250.000 euro’s. The company has 30 part-time employees (Appendix I).
4.2. Case 2: Jacco Eltingh - Tennis
The second case analyzed is Jacco Eltingh, a retired professional tennis players. Jacco is 45 years old. Together with his former tennis partner, Paul Haarhuis, he won 5 grand slam titles: the US open (1994), the Australian open (1994 & 1998), Wimbledon (1998), and Roland Garros (1995 & 1998). Jacco retired from professional tennis 18 years ago. Jacco always expressed his interests in business during his
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 15 career. During his professional career in sports Jacco enjoyed the discussions with business relations and the negotiations with sponsors. Jacco spotted his talent for connecting people at an early stage in his career (Appendix II).
Eventually, Jacco initiated his own company: ‘’Cheetah International’’. This holding launched its first product in 2002, ‘’Eltingh-Haarhuis Tennis Events’’. The product was launched together with his former tennis partner Paul Haarhuis. Paul preferred the tennis court above the business platform and eventually gave back the shares of the company. Jacco flourished as an entrepreneur and kept himself busy with various sports projects. Jacco has a variety of entrepreneurial activities. He gives corporate speeches, organizes tennis clinics, and is in the organization of the annual tennis classic (Appendix II).
Jacco was involved in separate companies as well. For instance, Jacco was involved in a
successful job agency with 140 employees. At this moment, Jacco has around 8 employees with an office at his home in Epe (Appendix II).
4.3. Case 3: Bart Veldkamp – Ice Skating
The third, and last case analyzed, is Bart Veldkamp. Bart Veldkamp is 48 years old and a former Olympic gold medal winning ice skater. Bart started skating internationally in 1986 with his biggest success in 1992 at the Olympic games in Albertville. Originally Bart is a Dutch ice skater, he switched countries in 1996 and started skating for Belgium. Switching countries meant that Bart had to start making money in order to let the sport happen. He started making business plans and sponsor proposals (Appendix III).
The entrepreneurial attitude runs in the family. He launched his own successful sports marketing and consultancy bureau. This company, at its peak, had a turnover of 2 million guldens. Currently Bart is focusing on his start up: ‘’Bart’s Bars’’. This startup is currently seeking another round of investors (Appendix III).
Bart was coached by his father throughout his ice skating career. His father taught him to always look for opportunities to be different and more efficient. Being different and more efficient means outcompeting your competition. In order to be competitive, in business and in sports, you need to be different. Bart is raised with entrepreneurial attitudes: ‘’If you want something you need to work for it, nobody is giving is to you’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). He has always been looking for opportunities.
Opportunities in his ice skating career, and opportunities in business (Appendix III).
Bart has been the coach of the United States national ice skating team in 2007 and 2008. Bart enjoyed working in the United States as the country gave him to opportunity to be free in his work.
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 16 Nevertheless, Bart discovered that being a traditional employee did not receive his personal preference (Appendix III).
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 17
5. Analysis
This section analyzes the data gathered from the three cases. The qualitative interview data is analyzed with qualitative analysis software (Nvivo 11). The interviews are coded in order to identify important and common themes within, and across the cases.
5.1 Within-Case analysis
This section analyzes the three cases individually. Subsequently, the three cases will be cross-case analyzed.
5.1.1. Developments in a field hockey career
The within-case analysis of Pirmin Blaak. Pirmin has a luxurious position. Pirmin makes enough money playing field hockey to earn a comfortable living. Therefore, he has been able to take risks, which in his case paid off. Pirmin Blaak attended, and eventually finish, an education at the a University of Applied Sciences in Rotterdam. He started physical therapy and switched to a business program. During this program Pirmin was introduced to entrepreneurship, he decided to start his own venture close to his personal interests (Appendix I).
Pirmin uses his sports network while doing business. ‘’This part generates my revenue’’ (Blaak, 2016). The fact that Pirmin is doing business using the field hockey connections gives him a competitive advantage compared to other sports entrepreneurs. His name provides him with more connection
opportunities than other sports entrepreneurs in the field. Pirmin plays for the Dutch national team, this makes it easier for Pirmin to put his company in the market and create publicity. Moreover, in 2012 / 2013 his team won the national title, and Pirmin went to the Olympic games. These years brought a lot of attention towards him and his company (Appendix I). ‘’That year everybody started knowing my name, of course this created positive attention towards my company as well’’ (Blaak, 2016).
The interview data points towards a clear evolvement of Pirmin’s personal traits, capabilities and characteristics. ‘’The personal traits I had back then are not comparable to the traits I have right now’’ (Pirmin, 2016). In the beginning of his career, Pirmin was not able to deal with the media. The media is always trying to get a great story out of an athlete. During his career in sports his oral skills and media techniques improved. Pirmin is able to steer a media conversation and give a political correct answer. It is a skill that develops during a professional career in sports (Appendix I).
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 18 Pirmin provided us with his personal opinion on the relationship between a professional career in sports and being a sports entrepreneur: ‘’I think that the combination of built up sports experiences, the sports mentality, and getting to know certain people is really helping my company. Without my
professional career in sports my business would have never been this successful. Without any doubt, really 100%’’! (Blaak, 2016).
The interview data provided us with evidence for the development of self-confidence. ‘’Very important, I became more confident in front of the camera. When you are nervous to talk to the media you say stupid things fast. At the moment, when I say something stupid that came out the wrong way, I have the confidence and the skills to talk it right at the spot. That is something you learn with the years’’ (Blaak, 2016).
Pirmin also elaborated on his confidence inside the field. ‘’I feel already that the more games you play under pressure, the more confident you get. It is a big difference between 1 or 2 games under
pressure, and 15 games under pressure. You get used to it’’ (Blaak, 2016). These phrases from the
interview are expressing self-confidence. The media circus experiences, in combination with the important games he played, influenced the self-confidence of Pirmin Blaak (Appendix I).
A common theme in the interview is networking skills. More explicitly, the ability to form and maintain a network. Pirmin is not aware of the expertise of his colleagues outside of the hockey field. ‘’I would have no idea what they do outside of the hockey field’’ (Blaak, 2016). Forming an excellent network might be difficult for Pirmin. However, Pirmin developed the ability to control his behavior in a way that pleases important ties. ‘’I do everything with a laugh on my face, I know what I can give them and I try to do that. You have to keep smiling even though you lost. These are your fans, but also potential customers for my company’’! (Blaak, 2016). Pirmin developed strong relationships with most of his (ex) teammates. The biggest part of Pirmin’s network is originating from the field hockey world, therefore the strong relationships are a major advantage regarding the formation of his business network (Appendix I).
Much of the interview data steers towards the ability to deal with setbacks, or the ability to deal with uncertainties. ‘’As a professional athlete you are constantly busy with the mental part of being an athlete. We received mental training, because of that I learnt a lot on how to do deal with mental setbacks. For instance, today I heard that I will be the second goalkeeper at the Olympic games. Everybody gave me disappointed reactions, a couple of years back I would have been very disappointed as well. But now I think I can handle this a lot better’’ (Blaak, 2016). This suggests that Pirmin is literally trained to deal with uncertainties and setbacks. However, interview data suggests that dealing with uncertainties and setbacks is still difficult for Pirmin. ‘’Looking at my sports career I do not really like change. I am afraid to change my sports career’’ (Blaak, 2016).
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 19 Regarding Pirmin’s sports ventures this is different. He is aware that a competitive businesses need to change and innovate constantly. He reads books on change management and is able to deal with the uncertainties of owning a business (Appendix I).
To finalize the within-case analysis of Pirmin Blaak. Pirmin is looking at the future at all times. His business makes money, 250.000 euro’s in turnover last year. Already he is looking for growing opportunities. The same is the case in his sports career. Transferring from Rotterdam to Eindhoven is following an opportunity to win prices. He works towards goals and directly sets new ones. He established his goal keeping school, and now he is trying to launch his own goalkeeping supply brand (Appendix I).
5.1.2. Developments in a tennis career
The within-case analysis of Jacco Eltingh. Just like Pirmin Blaak, Jacco Eltingh is financially independent due to his past career in professional tennis. Jacco denoted that he had time to look for opportunities. Other ex-athletes need to start instantly. This luxurious position gave Jacco a starting competitive advantage (Appendix II).
Jacco pointed out that he attaches much value to the people he meets. ‘’9 out of 10 times it has to do with the people that you meet. It can be that you meet smart business people that are smarter than you, or a good accountant, a very good marketing or sales manager’’ (Eltingh, 2016). Jacco never attended business school, still he is able to execute various business activities. The business skills he learnt from specialists in the field. It has never been difficult for Jacco to meet specialists. ‘’It helps if you have a famous name, it opens doors’’ (Eltingh, 2016). His sports achievements and his well-known name provided him with numerous invitations from important companies. After his tennis career he was invited to be the CEO of a company with 400 employees. ‘’They thought he is famous, he can speak alright and he is a good guy’’ (Eltingh, 2016). Back then, Jacco was 28 years old and had no business experience.
Jacco met the former CEO of Disney through his job as a board member of the ATP. Jacco has excellent opportunities to form a business network for his company. ‘’Sometimes it is easier for me, I always get in contact with a person. If I need to talk to one person in particular I get in contact with him within a couple of days. That is my advantage’’(Eltingh, 2016).
This phenomenon does brings problems. A famous athlete that made descent results in the sports world is not automatically a great businessman. People tend to expect a lot from (ex) athletes. Sometimes it is difficult for them to live up to those expectations (Appendix II).
A common theme in the interview data is self-confidence. ‘’The more pressure, the better I got usually. I enjoyed having the pressure, because that is what you train for’’ (Eltingh, 2016). At the end of a tournament the winner and the runner up need to speech in front of the audience. For an average human
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 20 being this can be very stressful. ‘’When I was 15 I already started winning the money tournament in Holland where a couple of hundred people came to watch. For me, it was much harder to beat the opponent than to give a little speech at the end of such a tournament’’ (Eltingh, 2016). During Jacco’s career the audiences grew, and giving a speech became a part of his career.
At one point in his career the audience in India started spitting towards Jacco. He was not able to finish a tennis match because of a knee injury. Jacco reacted by flipping them off in the presence of a camera. During the peak of his career Jacco felt extremely confident. ‘’You don’t feel like doing everything, you feel very confident and why would I do this?’’ (Eltingh, 2016).
The interview data repeatedly points towards experiences in the sports industry. Jacco has been present at big tournament throughout his career. Playing tennis at these tournaments evokes media attention. This media attention improved Jacco’s oral skills drastically.
More importantly, a (ex) tennis player has the advantage that Grand slams are a major sporting event. Sporting events this size attract a of sports sponsorship and a lot business. Experiencing the business aspects of these tournaments increases market experience (Appendix II).
Dealing with uncertainties and setbacks is a common theme in the interview with Jacco. ‘’You have to be able to take a beating ‘’ (Eltingh, 2016). In order to become a successful athlete, you have to be able to take a beating. Setbacks are a part of the game, you need to deal with them. Jacco has been able to take a beating inside of the tennis court. The only time Jacco is not able to take a beating is when he is not well prepared. ‘’When I knew I was well prepared, and that was 99.9% of the time, I could work hard and be better at accepting a losing game’’ (Eltingh, 2016).
Jacco is also able to deal with uncertainties and setbacks in business (Appendix II). ‘’If I lost a good opportunity, or I lost a business relation because it was my fold, within my possibilities, then I am pissed, I am seriously pissed. Then I have some talks, I learn from it, and then it is okay. Learn to move on, don’t stay in the past. What if, what if. What if is the worst skill in life. If you are a what if person’’ (Eltingh, 2016).
Jacco, in his own way, is able to deal with uncertainties and setbacks. The ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks in sports are similar to his ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks in business. This suggests a relationship between a professional sports career and the development of this ability (Appendix II).
To end the within-case analysis of Jacco Eltingh. Jacco points out that it is important for athletes to say ‘’no’’ to certain requests or offerings. In the beginning athletes tend to say ‘’yes’’ to every request and every offer. Likewise it is important for (ex) athletes to spot the opportunity. If (ex) athletes are not able to spot opportunities it is difficult for them to become a successful sports entrepreneur (Appendix II).
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 21
5.1.3. Developments in an ice skating career
The within-case analysis of Bart Veldkamp. Bart Veldkamp grew up in an entrepreneurial family, mainly consisting out of small business ownership. Bart attended the University of Applied Sciences and earned a degree in marketing. Most of his learning came from experiences. Bart had difficulties with referees, which can be traced back to problems with authority in general (Appendix III).
An important code in the interview data is self-confidence. Various phrases can be linked with confidence. However, the data is not consistent. There is evidence in favor of the development of self-confidence during his ice skating career. Bart outperformed during important races like the Olympic games. ‘’It looks like all the pressure became too much at the Olympics, because everybody was watching and press was there. But, you know, internal talks, the internal view you create of your world. That is what is deciding your success. So, at least, that was my experience’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). His self-confidence started developing at a young age. ‘’It develops, as a teenager I was already successful locally, so you get a local interview. And when you’re 18, 19, you get the national media for the first time. When you talk to the media it is just one guy, and one guy next to him with a camera’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). This quote from the interview reveals a certain model in which self-confidence is developed.
Other parts of the interview data reveal evidence against the development self-confidence during his ice skating career. He has been very sensitive for his own thoughts. ‘’ I was always very sensitive for my own thoughts. I was also, I had a big fear of losing. Especially at qualification races, I sometimes collapse and froze. Like total nerve breakdown’’ (Veldkamp,2016).
Nowadays Bart is convincing potential investors to invest their money in his new start up: ‘’Bart’s Bars’’. He contacts potential investors straight forward. ‘’If you need gold, go to the gold mine, don’t go to the neighbor and ask how do I get gold? Straightforward, go to the goldmine, it is simple’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). He is not afraid to directly contact potential contributors to his startup (Appendix III).
A famous name provides (ex) athletes with opportunities. Although ‘’Bart Veldkamp’’ isn’t the most famous name in the sports world, it still provides him with various opportunities. The people that know him are all at the age of being executives, which has a positive impact on the quest for investors.
‘’For example with the startup, I found a lot of companies that were willing to sponsor me. I can give them something in return, like an interview for a magazine. It has value, my name. So that helps, ehmm, so yeah, the investment in my career is still paying off’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). A famous name brings high expectations. Numerous businessmen like to meet an (ex) athlete, this leads to an excess of wasteful meetings. ‘’People think you have a lot money, so something they even first present the bill’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). In the case of Bart, enough businessmen understand he is able to do business. ‘’Some people really
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 22 understand it and they really see the value in you. And then you can do good business’’ (Veldkamp, 2016).
Enough data points towards excellent opportunities to form a business network. Still, an (ex) athlete needs to put in networking effort. Bart does not possess the necessary skills to network. ‘’I am not really a network enthusiast, I am really one on one. If there was a crowd of business people here, I would walk out and I go biking. Because that is what I like more’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). In his startup Bart is using his network established outside of the sports world (Appendix III).
The interview data indicates that Bart made a transition between countries. Bart conflicted with the Dutch ice skating system. Originally Bart was skating for the Netherlands, in 1996 he started skating for Belgium. This transition meant that Bart had to start making money. He started making business plans and sponsor proposals. These experiences made Bart highly knowledgeable on the topic of sports
sponsorship. Nowadays Bart owns a successful sports marketing and consultancy bureau. This bureau, at its peak, had a turnover of 2 million guldens. ‘’Yes, from the skating world I know a lot. The sports sponsoring, of course you know a lot about skating but sport sponsoring is kind of not only related to the sport. It is also creative business by itself. And that is also developing, I know a lot but not everything’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). Bart admits that previous experiences are not the only factor for success in his business, still the experiences had a significant impact.
In between, Bart has been busy with the development of a multi complex sports arena in Rotterdam. A complex project that took him 5 years. In this project he used his prior knowledge and market experiences (Appendix III).
The last prominent code discussed is the ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks. ‘’Work with setbacks. That is very clear out of sports. It is almost at a daily base’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). ‘’You learn a lot from failures, you learn from the hard times’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). At one point in his sports career, Bart was not able to skate at the top. His own mind was limiting him. It took several years to tackle this problem. Due to his sports career and professional mental training he developed great skills. ‘’When I finally, took me many years, started working on that. It is a skill, the same with your physical state, it takes you years, months, weeks, to learn. Later in my career, when I was already halfway, I really found out I was getting limited by myself. (..) So then I started mental training, I was training for races, I was
laying the bases of my mental training, this was a daily process. Then I got better’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). This professional mental training has been the backbone for his ability to deal with setbacks. This ability evolved towards an ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks in business. Every startup and business will face uncertainties and setbacks.
The trick is how to deal with these uncertainties and setbacks. ’’You have a business model and excel sheet with profits and losses. Then you see damn I have the wrong calculation, everything collapses. Sometimes you really feel the ground moving away from under your feet. Totally made mistakes on the
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 23 earning model or the business model. But you know that people make bars, they sell and they make money. So, if I make a mistake it is because I did something wrong and not that it is impossible. Because it is proven that people make money, so I have to look at what do they do differently or how they make money’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). The data suggests a development of the ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks. This ability is developed due to the combination of professional help and a professional career in sports (Appendix III).
5.2 Cross-Case analysis
In this section the interview data gathered is cross-case analyzed. Firstly, data across two fields is analyzed. Subsequently, data across all fields is analyzed. The cases are cross-case analyzed to mobilize the generated knowledge of the within-case analysis. The cross-case analysis will provide us with new knowledge (Van Wynsberghe & Khan, 2008).
5.2.1. Developments in a field hockey and tennis career
The data from the field hockey and tennis case are similar on various aspects. First of all, both cases provide us with data pointing towards the development of self-confidence during a professional career in sports. In both cases phrases can be directly traced back to this phenomenon. ‘’I became more confident in front of the camera’’ (Blaak, 2016). A quote from the interview in which Pirmin elaborates on his self-confidence. ‘’You don’t feel like doing everything, you feel very confident and why would I do this?’’ (Eltingh, 2016). A quote from the interview with Jacco Eltingh which strongly relates to the development of self-confidence. For Pirmin, the transition from an amateur hockey club to a professional hockey club meant a transition in life style. This lifestyle, in which an athlete needs to communicate with fans and media, develops self-confidence (Appendix I). Jacco had to give speeches as soon as he started winning tennis tournaments. Winning small tournament meant giving small speeches. Winning bigger tournaments meant giving large speeches. At the end of his career Jacco was competent to give speeches in front of thousands of people (Appendix II).
Regarding the ability to form and maintain a network it is necessary to differentiate tennis from field hockey. Comparing the data reveals that a professional career in tennis provides an athlete with more networking opportunities. Jacco’s tennis career provided him with several invitations from big companies. These invitations can lead to powerful business acquaintances. The former CEO of Disney has been an important factor for Jacco. ‘’It helps if you have a famous name, it opens doors’’ (Eltingh, 2016). His tennis career provided him with the opportunity to be on the board of the ATP, through this channel Jacco is able to track down important individuals for his company (Appendix II).
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 24 A career in field hockey leads to different networking opportunities. An (ex) athlete in the field of field hockey is able to connect with certain businessmen originating from field hockey. The name of a (ex) field hockey player is not as well-known as a (ex) tennis player. Pirmin did develop skills during his career which helps him to maintain his business network. This, together with the fact that his business network is mainly sports related, gives him a competitive advantage compared to other sports
entrepreneurs in the field hockey industry (Appendix I).
Certain athletes gain market experiences in their specific field of sports. Jacco gained knowledge in his field numerous times. A (ex) tennis player has the advantage that Grand slams are a major sporting event. Sporting events this size attract a lot of business. Playing tennis at these tournaments is bringing an extra impulse to your career. The sponsor conversations and the media attention improve your oral skills and knowledge. During his career, Jacco developed knowledge on major sporting events. The media experiences gave him the ability to answer political correct. ‘’It is something you learn’’ (Eltingh, 2016) (Appendix II).
Through experiencing important matches Pirmin is able to communicate with the media. This improved his oral skills. The improved oral skills are nowadays assisting him in dealing with important stakeholders of the company. ‘’The personal traits I had back then are not comparable to the traits I have right now’’ (Blaak, 2016).
The data gathered from Jacco’s case points towards the development of significant market experience during his professional career in sports. The size of the sporting events play a major role. The data from Pirmin’s case is not strong enough to claim a relationship between a professional sports career and the development of significant market experience (Appendix I).
An important code in both interviews is dealing with uncertainty, or the ability to deal with setbacks. The data suggests that (ex) athletes from the field of tennis and field hockey develop the ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks. However, the case of Pirmin also provide opposite data. Pirmin received professional mental training. This training is contributing to his ability to deal with mental setbacks. He will be the second goal keeper at the Olympic games and the mental training is currently assisting him to deal with this setback. On the other hand, changing teams is a mental challenge for Pirmin. He prefers to stay in Rotterdam because the transition to another team brings along multiple uncertainties. Dealing with uncertainties regarding his business is less troublesome for Pirmin. He reads a lot of books on change management, the knowledge gained assists him in doing business (Appendix I).
In order to be a successful athlete you need to be able to take a beating. Jacco is aware that the ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks is an essential ability. ‘’You have to be able to take a beating’’ (Eltingh, 2016). As long as Jacco is well prepared he is able to take a beating at the tennis court.
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 25 Taking a beating in business is similar. If he loses a business opportunity or a business prospect and it is his fold he is: ‘’seriously pissed’’ (Eltingh, 2016). However, he is able to learn from the mistakes and move on (Appendix II).
Comparing the data from the cases suggests that (ex) athletes from both disciplines are in some way able to deal with uncertainties and setbacks. Notable, in the case of Pirmin, the data suggests that this ability is not originating from his professional career in sports. In the case of Jacco there is data that suggests the development of this ability during a professional career in sports (Appendix I; Appendix II).
5.2.2. Developments in a tennis and ice skating career
The next section of the cross-case analysis analyzes the cases from the field of tennis and ice skating. Data in both cases suggest the development of self-confidence during a professional career in sports. Although, the case from the field of tennis shows significantly more data on this phenomenon. The case from the field of ice skating provides opposite data as well (Appendix II; Appendix III).
Bart underperformed under the pressure of qualifications races in the past. ‘’I was always very sensitive for my own thoughts. I was also, I had a big fear of losing. Especially at qualifications races, I sometimes collapse and froze. Like total nerve breakdown (Veldkamp, 2016).
Jacco never underperformed under pressure. ‘’The more pressure, the better I got usually, I enjoyed having the pressure, because that is what you train for’’ (Eltingh, 2016). (ex) Athletes from both disciplines tend to develop self-confidence during their sports career, with a significant advantage for tennis professionals (Appendix II; Appendix III).
The ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks has been an important code in both cases. The data suggests that athletes originating from both sports disciplines are able to deal with uncertainties and setbacks. In the case of Bart, the ability is partially developed during his professional career in sports. Bart received professional mental training. ‘’I started mental training, I was training for races, I was laying the bases of my mental training, this was a daily process. Then I got better’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). Jacco
developed this ability differently, he did not receive professional mental training. As long as Jacco is well prepared, he is able to take a beating inside and outside of the tennis court (Appendix II; Appendix III).
Both cases contain data that suggest that the ability to deal with uncertainty and setbacks is partially developed during a professional career in sports. The data in both cases is significant enough to claim a relationship (Appendix II; Appendix III).
Comparing the data regarding market experiences. Both sets of data suggests the development of market experience during a professional career in sports. Jacco was privileged to experience Grand slam tournaments during his career. The knowledge gained during these events is useful. However, a significant
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 26 advantage for Bart is noticeable. Bart decided to start skating for Belgium. The transition meant he was forced to start making money. He made various business plans and sponsor proposals. This forced experience in the market made him considerably knowledgeable on sports sponsoring. Nowadays Bart owns a successful sport marketing and consultancy bureau. The experiences gained during his ice skating career contribute to his success (Appendix III).
Compared to Bart, Jacco’s case provides less strong data on the development of market
experience. Still, the Grand slam experiences make the data on the development significant (Appendix II; Appendix III).
Another aspect on which the cases need to be compared is the ability to network. The first difference noticeable between the ex-athletes is their name in the market. Bart’s name is not known worldwide, but it provides him with networking opportunities. His name is responsible for multiple business invitations. These invitations do have a noticeable down side. ‘’People think you have a lot of money’’ (Veldkamp, 2016) (Appendix II).
Jacco’s name is almost known worldwide. His name has opened a lot of doors for the sports entrepreneur. The common pitfall is high expectations. Because an athlete made descent results in the sports world does not mean he is an excellent businessmen (Appendix II).
The ex-athletes from the field of tennis and ice skating have different networking capabilities. First of all, Bart is not born to network. He leaves a room filled with businessmen to go biking. On the opposite, Jacco enjoys networking, he feels blessed to have met the former CEO of Disney. Moreover, (ex) athletes from the field of tennis have a comparable advantage to (ex) athletes from the field of ice skating as they have a more famous name (Appendix II; Appendix III).
5.2.3. Developments in a field hockey and ice skating career
The last two cases cross-case analyzed individually are the cases from the field of field hockey and ice skating. Both cases provide data that suggest the development of self-confidence during a sports career. Both sports careers started with minor matches and races, in front of small audiences. With the years, matches and races became more important and the audience grew bigger. This phenomenon gave them a rising confidence level. In the case of Pirmin this confidence is still growing. ‘’I feel already that the more games you play under pressure. You get used to it’’ (Blaak, 2016). ‘’Very important, I became more confident in front of the camera’’ (Blaak, 2016). The media had influence on the (ex) athletes from both disciplines. It begins with local interviews and it builds up towards national television. By the end of Bart’s career, his confidence in front of the camera was significant (Appendix I; Appendix III). ‘’When you talk to the media it is just one guy, and one guy next to him with a camera’’ (Veldkamp, 2016)
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 27 under large pressure and this confidence is still growing. Bart, although he won an Olympic golden medal, was underperforming at big qualification races. His sensitive mind would numb his body (Appendix I; Appendix III).
Both cases provide enough data in favor of the development of self-confidence during a
professional career in sports, with a remote advantage for a professional career in field hockey (Appendix I; Appendix III).
The ability to network, or the ability to form and maintain a business network is the second aspect of comparison. The company of Pirmin is solely operating within the field hockey world. An excellent business network for him is concentrated with individuals from the field of field hockey. However, the downside is that Pirmin is not aware of the expertise of his (ex) colleagues (Appendix I).
For Bart, forming an excellent network is a bigger challenge. His ideal network does not solely contain individuals from the ice skating world. The brand awareness of their name is comparable across the country. Pirmin has the advantage that the formation of his ideal network is less complicated (Appendix I; Appendix III).
Pure networking skills provide Pirmin with a minor advantage. ‘’I do everything with a laugh on my face, I know what I can give them and I try to do that. You have to keep smiling even though you lost. These are you fans, but also potential customers for my company’’! (Blaak, 2016). He is aware of the fact that his behavior affects the (potential) stakeholders of his company. Bart admits to be less of networking enthusiast and that provides him with a disadvantage compared to Pirmin (Appendix I; Appendix III).
Both sports entrepreneurs gained market experience during their professional career in sports. Despite of the business education Bart received, most of his current knowledge can be traced back to market experience gained. Pirmin stressed that his personal traits evolved a lot during his sports career. ‘’The personal traits I had back then are not comparable to the traits I have right now’’ (Pirmin, 2016). A similarity between the cases is the media experiences gained. Both the (ex) athletes experienced media attention during their sports career. This experience provided them both with better oral skills. These oral skills assist them nowadays when dealing with stakeholders (Appendix I; Appendix III).
The main difference between the cases is obvious. Bart’s transition from the Netherlands to Belgium forced him to make business plans and sponsoring proposals. This experience made him
significantly knowledgeable in the field of sports sponsorship and marketing. This prior market experience is a clear competitive advantage compared to other sports entrepreneurs (Appendix I; Appendix III).
Furthermore, data from both cases suggest a positive development of the ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks. ‘’As a professional athlete you are constantly busy with the mental part of being an athlete’’ (Blaak, 2016). ‘’Work with setbacks. That is very clear out of sports. It is almost at a
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 28 daily base’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). ‘’You learn a lot from your failure, you learn from the hard times’’
(Veldkamp). Obviously, both sports entrepreneurs recognize the importance of the ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks (Appendix I; Appendix III).
Despite the fact that Pirmin is changing teams this summer, he has an aversion against the transition between teams. Luckily, this aversion does not hold in business. He is reading books on change management and is constantly innovating and changing his business. Pirmin is able to deal with the uncertainties and setbacks of business, but this ability is not originating from his career in sports (Appendix I).
Veldkamp is able to deal with uncertainties and setbacks in business. ‘’ Sometimes you really feel the ground moving away from under your feet’’ (...) ‘’It is proven that people make money, so I have to look at what do they do differently or how do they make money’’ (Veldkamp, 2016)
Both sports entrepreneurs received professional mental training during their sports careers. This mental training serves as the backbone for their ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks. The case of Pirmin provides no significant data on the relationship between the ability, and the development of the ability during a sports career. However, in the case of Bart the data suggests that the ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks is a combination of professional mental training and a professional career in sports (Appendix I; Appendix III).
5.2.4. Developments in a professionals sports career
This section cross-case analyzes the data gathered from all three cases. Important is the appearance of data that point towards the development of self-confidence among all three sports disciplines. The cases from the field hockey and tennis discipline provide the strongest data. Pirmin, Jacco, and Bart developed self-confidence during their careers. Performing under pressure, giving strong speeches. All aspects of a professional sports career is gradually developing from the beginning.
Moreover, the difference between the cases. Jacco and Pirmin perform well under high public pressure. Bart underperformed in his sports career during important qualification races (Appendix I; Appendix II; Appendix III).
The data gathered that can be linked to the ability to network is different across all three cases. The strongest data that suggests the development of the ability to form and maintain a business network is the data originating from the second case. Jacco received multiple invitations from big companies and met numerous important businessmen. He received no business education, however he capable to succeed in sports entrepreneurship. This is for a great part due to learning from his network (Appendix I; Appendix II; Appendix III).
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 29 is developed during a professional career in sports, except the data is less strong. Pirmin’s advantage is that his ideal business network is concentrated with individuals from the field hockey world. His name outside of the hockey discipline brings less leverage. Pirmin did develop the skills to satisfy stakeholders and potential customers (Appendix I; Appendix II).
The third case provides no significant data that suggests that the ability to form and maintain a business network is developed during a professional career in sports. The name of a professional ice skater provides some leverage while networking, just not as much as other sports disciplines. Bart does receive business invitations. The investment in his ice skating career is still paying off. Still, Bart has never been a network fanatic, and he did not develop this during his professional career as an ice skater (Appendix III).
The third case stands out from the other two cases in terms of the development of prior market experience. All three cases contain some data that might suggests that market experience is developed during a professional career in sports. Comparing the data makes case three stand out from the crowd (Appendix I; Appendix II; Appendix III).
The third case provides strong and significant data that suggests the development of market experience during a professional career in sports. Because of the transition Bart made from the
Netherlands to Belgium he had to start making money. The forced experience to make business plans and sponsor proposals made him significantly knowledgeable in the sports sponsoring market. The prior business experiences made him able to start and maintain a successful business in sports marketing and consultancy (Appendix III).
The data on the development of market experiences in the second case is weaker, but still
significant. Jacco developed market experience at Grand slams. The data on market experience in the first case is too fragile to suggest that market experience is developed during a professional career in sports (Appendix I; Appendix II).
The ability to deal with uncertainty, or the ability to deal with setbacks, is a common theme among all three cases. The cases provide data that suggests that the ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks is developed during a professional career in sports. (Appendix I; Appendix II; Appendix III).
Significant data is found in case 2 and 3. ‘’Work with setbacks. That is very clear out of sports. It is almost at a daily base’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). ‘’You learn a lot from your failures, you learn from hard times’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). During his career Bart developed skills to deal with uncertainties and setbacks. He received professional mental training, which is currently the backbone for this ability. The ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks in sports made him capable of dealing with uncertainties and setbacks in business. ‘’Sometimes you really feel the ground moving away from under your feet. Totally made mistakes on the earning model or the business model. But you know that people make bars, they sell and
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 30 they make money. So, if I make a mistake it is because I did something wrong and not that it is
impossible’’ (Veldkamp, 2016). The evolution of the ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks is not solely sports based. The combination of his professional sports career and the professional mental training provided him with this ability (Appendix III).
Jacco’s case provides similar data. Jacco is able to deal with uncertainties and setbacks in sports if he is well prepared. ‘’You have to be able to take a beating’’ (Eltingh, 2016). If Jacco is prepared for a game, he is able to take a beating from the opponent. The same is the case in terms of business. A lost opportunity is acceptable as long as it is not his fold. Therefore, significant data suggests that the ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks finds its roots in his professional career in sports (Appendix II).
The first case provides insignificant data regarding the development of the ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks during a professional career in sports. ‘’As a professional athlete you are constantly busy with the mental part of being an athlete. We received mental training and because of that I learnt a lot on how to deal with mental setbacks’’ (Blaak, 2016). This quote suggests that an excellent ability to deal with uncertainties and setbacks is developed during his professional sports career. However, Pirmin has an aversion against the uncertainties of transitioning between teams. Luckily, Pirmin is able to deal with uncertainties and setbacks in business. This ability is not developed during his professional career in sports, it is developed by reading books on change management (Appendix I).
Thomas Meeuwsen Master Thesis 31
6. Results
This section provides the results of the analysis. The results of the analysis are presented in table 3. The results form the basis for testing our hypotheses.
In table 3 the characteristic of the four hypotheses are linked to each case study. The table visualizes the results from the case analyzes. Each sports entrepreneurial success trait is given a specific development score regarding a professional career in field hockey, tennis, and ice skating. The scope of the scores range from (±) to (+ +).
Consequently, each sports entrepreneurial success trait is awarded with three scores. The maximum development score a sports entrepreneurial success trait can receive is 3 times (++). The minimum development score a sports entrepreneurial success trait can receive is 3 times (±), which means no significant evidence is found to suggest the development of the sports entrepreneurial success trait during a professional career in sports.
The results vary between 0 and +6. A hypothesis is accepted if the total development score of the sports entrepreneurial success traits +3 or higher.
