21st Century Sports: How Technologies Will Change Sports in the Digital Age

This book outlines the effects that technology-induced change will have on sport within the next five to ten years, and provides food for thought concerning what lies further ahead. Presented as a collection of essays, the authors are leading academics from renowned institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Queensland University of Technology, and the University of Cambridge, and practitioners with extensive technological expertise. In their essays, the authors examine the impacts of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and robotics on sports and assess how they will change sport itself, consumer behavior, and existing business models. The book will help athletes, entrepreneurs, and innovators working in the sports industry to spot trendsetting technologies, gain deeper insights into how they will affect their activities, and identify the most effective responses to stay ahead of the competition both on and off the pitch.

Sascha L. Schmidt is a Professor of Sports and Management at the WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management in Dusseldorf, Germany, an affiliate of the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard, and a member of the Digital Initiative at Harvard Business School. He serves as Director of the WHU Center for Sports and Management and as Academic Director of the SPOAC - Sports Business Academy by WHU. His research and writings focus on growth and diversification strategies as well as future preparedness in professional sports.