Sports economics
The Department of Sports Economics develops and teaches key skills in the fields of sports economics and sports management. Its focus is on the optimisation of private and public sports organisations, the analysis of national and international sports systems, and the sustainable construction and efficient operation of sports facilities.
As a centre of competence for the economics and management of popular and competitive sport, the Department contributes to the development of sport policy decisions and measures at national and international level. It analyses the economic challenges and developments in popular and competitive sport with particular focus on club and professional sport, offers training and further education courses, and provides services for sports organisations and individual clients. In addition, it conducts applied research.
Courses
The Department of Sports Economics develops innovative teaching products, such as the Magglingen Thinkathlon. It analyses the economic significance of sport, examines new business models and innovations in sport, lectures on sports marketing and communication, analyses good governance and ethics in sports organisations, and advises on the planning, implementation and legacy of major sporting events as well as on the economic development of regions through sport. The knowledge gained from this flows into teaching.
The Department offers modules and specialised courses such as the SFISM BSc in Sports and the MSc in Sports. In cooperation with the SFISM’s Department of Economics it teaches sports and event management to bachelor students studying business administration.
The Department also offers three further education courses for managers, specialists and others who are interested, both from and outside the world of sport. The courses include a CAS in Sports Facilities, a CAS in the Strategic and Sustainable Development of Sports Disciplines and a CAS in Strategy, Leadership and Governance in Sports Organisations. The courses are part of the EMBA in Excellence in Sports Management, which the Department offers in cooperation with the Department of Economics.
Research
The Department of Sports Economics conducts applied research. Its qualitative and quantitative studies provide an important basis for national and international sport. The Department’s staff publish their work in national and international academic journals (European Sports Management Quarterly) and anthologies (Good Governance in Sport. Critical Reflections). They also compile academic or evidence-based reports (Elite Sport in Switzerland – Snapshot SPLISS-CH 2019).
Areas of research:
- Efficiency and effectiveness of elite sports systems
- National and international sports policy
- Strategic development of sports disciplines
- Good governance in sports organisations and sport systems
- Leadership and management
- Labour market and vocational fields
- Sport event governance
- Sport management expertise
- Sport and the mass media
- Strategies for promoting towns and regions through sport
To promote research and young talent in the area of sports management in the long-term in Switzerland and improve the exchange and transfer of knowledge, the Department founded the Sports Management Research Network in cooperation with the institutes of sports science at the University of Bern (ISPW), the University of Lausanne (ISSUL) and the Graubünden University of Applied Sciences (FHGR).
Services
One of the Department’s chief activities is providing evidence-based and research-driven advisory services to leaders in public- and private-sector sport. Services and projects are carried out in cooperation with local, regional, national and international partners.
In addition, the Department provides support and advice on building and managing sports facilities and spaces for physical activity (e.g. using architectural layouts), on developing organisations’ products and business models, on fostering sport and on promoting towns and regions through sport.
Main focus of sports economics
Sport facilities unit
The Sports facilities unit is a centre of expertise for building techniques and functionality, for commercial and spatial planning matters, and for the management and maintenance of sports facilities.
Sports systems
The Sports Systems expert group is responsible for the strategic and operative management and funding of national and international sports promotion. The group analyses interdisciplinary aspects of national and international sports systems, focusing on specific features of various stakeholders, including organisation, legal structure, material and formal objectives as well as funding. The group analyses how stakeholders interact within sport s systems and funding programmes, and looks at how sports promotion in Switzerland compares with that of other countries.
Organisational development
The Organisational Development expert group looks at the establishment and development of sports organisations and their challenges. It analyses interdisciplinary aspects of how sports organisations position itself, what strategies, processes and instruments they apply and how they can develop ethically and innovatively in the long term.
Internship in sports economics
Internship for students in sports management and sports economics at Swiss universities (3 months)
Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen SFISM
Hauptstrasse 247
2532 Magglingen