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The impact of technology on sports – A prospective study

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  • Frevel, Nicolas
  • Beiderbeck, Daniel
  • Schmidt, Sascha L.

Abstract

Rapid technological progress and digitalization have considerably changed the role of technology in sports in the past two decades. As the human limits of performance have been reached in many disciplines, reaching future limits will increasingly depend on technology. While this represents progress in how athletes train and compete, similar developments await sports managers in the way they lead sports organizations and sports consumers in the way they consume and engage with sports. Using the SportsTech Matrix (i.e., a framework to capture how different types of technologies provide solutions to different user groups in sports), we examine how technology will impact sports in the future. We present a Delphi-based prospective study with quantitative and qualitative assessments from 92 subject matter experts for six future projections and 35 non-Delphi prospective survey items. We find that, by 2030, technology will significantly impact all three user groups in sports: athletes, consumers, and managers. For athletes, experts anticipate technology to play a major role for sporting performance improvements. For consumers, the consumption of sports content will continue to change significantly. For management, new types of manager profiles in terms of backgrounds and skill sets would be desirable. We discuss two possible future scenarios: (1) a probable future and (2) a game changer. Our findings should provide relevant insights for decision-makers and other stakeholders in sports and raise promising directions for future research.

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  • Frevel, Nicolas & Beiderbeck, Daniel & Schmidt, Sascha L., 2022. "The impact of technology on sports – A prospective study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:182:y:2022:i:c:s0040162522003626
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121838
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