Investing in sport management: The value of good theory

This paper reflects on why and how there should (continue to) be an investment in sport management by investing in the application and development of theory. Good theory does not just describe, it explains. Thus, in a fundamentally applied field like sport management it is important that the body of knowledge is derived from theory-based and theory-building research. It is equally important that practice and student learning is founded on good theory that guides explanation, prediction and effective management of the sport enterprise. The paper focuses particularly on how, as scholars, we can invest in theory through research, whether it is borrowing, adapting, and extending theory from other disciplines, or generating new theory within sport management that is intentionally relevant to the field. (C) 2012 Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.