Entrepreneurship: Think, Create and Act

Abstract

This chapter introduces entrepreneurship as a driver of innovation, social change, and economic development. It argues that entrepreneurship is critical for sustaining economic prosperity through job creation as it improves the competitiveness of an economy and creates new wealth. However, it is equally important to maintain the entrepreneurial spirit even inside established organisations in order to produce a high level of entrepreneurial development and a climate of innovation. The chapter further notes that entrepreneurship should be seen as a core element of sports. Sport enterprises embarking on an entrepreneurial journey for the first time are faced with the need to quickly adapt to situations. Many sport enterprises lack an awareness of the ripple effects that policies, norms, markets and numerous other factors can have on their intended actions. Learning how to ‘play the game’ means learning how to effectively react and even stimulate the ripples in order to not only survive, but thrive in creating new opportunities. The chapter leads to the question of whether sport enterprises can learn how to be entrepreneurial so as to achieve their ambitions. It concludes that entrepreneurship can be seen as a management process wherein entrepreneurial behaviour is crucial to the long-term vitality of sport enterprises.

Case Study: Entrepreneurship—Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers are an American Professional Basketball team that play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) league , competing in the Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. The team are based in the Philadelphia Metropolitan area, are the 25th most valuable NBA team and play at the Wells Fargo Centre. The team was founded in 1946 originally playing as the Syracuse Nationals.

Despite periods of low attendance, criticism from general managers in the league , disappointed fans booing the losses and low morale among players there have been progressive leaps forward off the court for the Sixers. The franchise made innovative strides with digital acquisitions, the launch of their very own Innovation Lab and a strategy to foster and grow innovative start-ups with a new focus on eSports to leverage the brand, and enter new markets.

The Sixers have become renowned for having one of the best organisational cultures in the US. In times when the world is going digital and communications and social engagement is more digital than ever the Sixers have found room in their strategy to work on the ‘human touch’. They have the biggest sales team in the league and focus on making a personal connection with consumers. If a fan turns up to a game they want that individual to feel comfortable and be greeted like they are at home. This feeling of comfort is what draws the fans to the game and a strategy used to ensure sustainable ticket sales.

The Sixers were also identified by Entrepreneur, as one of the best places to work in Philadelphia. An employee survey assessed the Sixers based on 10 core qualities ; collaboration, innovation, agility, communication, support, wellness, mission and value alignment, work environment, responsibility and performance. The current political climate offers the Sixers the opportunity to create unity by bringing people together and driving change. With the team now beginning to see the fruits of their labour on the court they can offer more focus on their back-office business activities. This entrepreneurial activity can be leveraged by the brand to enter new markets and tap into more consumer interests. As the marketing machine of the Philadelphia 76ers begins to roll the franchise is building its new digital markets to become part of an innovative ecosystem that offers a seamless marketing link for the franchise to deliver content, products, services and merchandise tailored to the consumer needs of its fans.

The digital ecosystem that is being built around the eSport space is an innovative approach from the Sixers. Investing in start-ups coming through their own Innovation Lab and facilitating the growth of eSport Entrepreneurs on site allows the Sixers to integrate these sectors throughout their marketing strategies . The success of the NBA 2K league (PlayStation Game) and the Sixers’ entrepreneurial activities have enabled the franchise to keep ahead of the game in terms of strategic innovation . The Sixers now sell ads in the virtual e-Sports universe by offering sponsorship in the virtual arena, as well as on-court logos and as a patch on their virtual jerseys. These innovations are creating new revenue streams for the franchise.

The challenge that many franchises of this magnitude have with developing their innovative ecosystems around eSports is the lack of business behind them to sell it. The current gap in innovative activities is often sporadic in sports enterprises yet the Sixers have found a way to overcome these innovation gaps by creating their own talent incubators to feed the needs of their consumers. By creating a space for entrepreneurs to flourish, developing new algorithms and analytics to assist gamers to improve, the opportunity for the Sixers to connect with a wider fan base by integrating their entrepreneurial activities in emerging markets has materialised.

The franchise is a forward-thinking seeking to offer the best personal consumer experience possible. The executives behind the franchise have been failed entrepreneurs themselves and understand the needs and pitfalls of the entrepreneurial experience. They have enabled a new generation of millennial entrepreneurs to have the support needed to scale their businesses which in turn offer support to the Sixers’ wider marketing strategy. This unique ecosystem they have created fosters an innovative environment and that has enabled the Sixers the opportunity to grow their business both on and off the court.