Public interest versus private property rights. Ownership structures of public-interest organisations
Outline
For several years, research in the economics of sport has been embroiled in an intense debate: who owns football? To date, no efforts have been made, however, to examine insights into the ownership structures and property rights of football clubs in the context of broader business aspects. Such efforts would facilitate an analysis of a) the interests and roles of other stakeholder groups (stakeholder theory) and b) influences of society-specific institutional systems that shape national ownership regimes and structures in the context of public interests.
Based on the issue of competitive balance, the project sets out to examine how increasing marketisation, internationalisation and professionalisation have led to a rise in private ownership in football and to investigate the societal impact of that development.
Project activities
Publications
Scientific publications
- Dörrenbächer, C.; Geppert, M.; Bozkurt, Ö. (2024): "Multinational corporations and grand challenges: part of the problem, part of the solution?", In: Critical Perspectives on International Business, 20(2), 153-163.
- Bozkurt, Ö., Geppert, M. (eds.) (2021): A Research Agenda for International Business and Management, Edward Elgar: Cheltenham.
- Geppert, M.; Bozkurt, Ö (2021): “A Research Agenda for International Business and Management: The promises and prospects of thinking outside the box”, In: Ö. Bozkurt and M. Geppert (eds.): A Research Agenda for International Business and Management, 1-20.
Media and podcasts
- "Die Super League kann jederzeit kommen“, Interview about property structures in football with Mike Geppert in Börsenzeitung (30.06.2022).
- "Fußball-System unter Druck – wie Jenaer Forscher Investorenmodelle untersuchen wollen“, Interview wit Mike Geppert in MDR (23.08.2021).
- "Fußball ist wie Wasser“, talk about property structures in zu Eigentumsverhältnissen in professional soccer with Mike Geppert in Thüringer Allgemeine (03.07.2021).
Lectures
- "Conflicts over private property: discursive struggles about the establishment of private professional men's football league in Europe", Presentation by Andrea Dietl and Mike Geppert at the panel "Beyond good and evil: unravelling the bright and the dark sides of organizational power" of the European Academy of Management (EURAM), University of Bath (25.-28.06.2024)
- "Ownership concentration in organizations of public interest: The case of European professional men's football", presentation by Mike Geppert, Third Paper and Idea Development Workshop "Advancing Management Theory with Sports Data", Stockholm School of Economics (06.-07.05.2024).
- “Einfluss privater Investitionen im europäischen Profifußball und daraus resultierende Konflikte”, lecture by Mike Geppert at „Online-Talk Fußball“ of the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung (23.11.2023).
- “Conflicts over private property: Discursive struggles about the establishment of private professional men’s football league in Europe” Vortrag von Andrea Dietl und Mike Geppert auf der Jahrestagung des Sonderforschungsbereichs Strukturwandel des Eigentums SFB 294, Erfurt, (04.-06.10.2023)
- “Wem gehört der Fußball”, lecture by Mike Geppert at Panel discussion on the topic „Who owns football“ of the Center for Research in Sports Administration (CRSA) at University of Zurich (09.06.2021).
Events
- Internationaler Paper Development Workshop (PDW) “Conflict over private property in professional football”, with contributions from Christoph Breuer (Köln), Andrea Dietl (Jena), Mike Geppert (Jena), Jan Goldenstein (Jena) and David Webber (Southampton) and contributions to the discussion by Andreas Hilger (Regensburg) and Thomas Steger (Regensburg), an University of Regensburg (16.-17.11.2023).
- Andrea Dietl und Mike Geppert: Organization and moderation of the international panel 4.1: “The role of and the conflict over private property in professional football - Germany and England compared” with guest contributions by Christoph Breuer (German Sport University Cologne) and David Webber (Solent University Southampton) at the annual conference of the Collaborative Research Centre Structural Change of Property SFB 294, Erfurt, (04.-06.10.2023)
