Book Evaluation - Routledge handbook of sports sponsorship

Ferrand, A., Torigiani, L., & Camps I Povill, A. (2007). Routledge handbook of sports sponsorship. New York, NY: Routledge.

Strategy for finding the book

During our class session about digital references, I chatted with a librarian at the Undergraduate library. I asked him if he could find me any books about sports sponsorship and he supplied me with a list of books and their call numbers.

Rationale for selection of the book

The librarian offered a lot of suggestions but the title of this book included my search topic so I thought that it would be have specific information on it. I found the book in Davis library and just by scanning the front and back covers of the book, I decided that it would be very beneficial to my research.

General evaluation of the book

Because it is called a handbook, I instantly thought that it would be a complete guide through the sponsorship process. It also includes a complete overview of sports marketing and sports management theory and insight into the roles of key stakeholders such as athletes, commercial sponsors, and the media.

Credibility: The authors are also credible sources: for example, Alain Ferrand is Head of the Department of Sports Management at the University of Lyon in France.

Currency: The information in the book is credible because it is up-to-date, it was last published in 2007, and it includes all the current trends in sports marketing and sponsorship.

Intended Audience: The authors are not just speaking to a general audience. The content of this book is designed especially for those who have a strong interest in learning the business of sports marketing and sponsorship. The book specifically states that it is aimed at people such as event organizers, professional athletes, existing or potential sponsors, and students in the fields of management, communication, marketing and sports management.

Example strategies used to search within the book

First I read the introduction to make sure the book was relevant to my research. I then looked through the table of contents for certain subjects that I was looking for. I used the index for keywords pertaining to my research and looked at the index of figures and tables for visuals.

A brief summary of the information yielded by the book

The book comprises various elements about the world of sports sponsorship. It shows how strategies have progressed in the past ten years and how the social impact of sporting events has helped the progression of the business. It defines a stakeholder and how sponsors define and secure a relationship between stakeholders. The book provided inside details about the business such as how to identify the most attractive offers and markets, or and how to identify where the competition comes from and how to outperform it.

A revised draft of my research question

What is the process that sponsors go through in order to sponsor professional athletes and sporting events and how does the sponsorship benefit each party?

I chose to revise my research question to focus on the information on the book. The new draft question is more specific and makes it easier to find information on my topic.