I’m Paulius, currently immersed in my PhD in Marketing, where I’m exploring the dynamics of value creation within sports ecosystems.
Being from Kaunas, Lithuania—the basketball mecca of Europe—I’ve always been inspired by the rich basketball history surrounding me. And I’ve always felt that Lithuanian basketball has more than enough traits to be hypegenic. This culture fueled my passion for sports, and in my early 20s, I volunteered with my university’s basketball team and worked as a sports journalist.
Beyond sports, after completing my Master’s degree, I’ve spent the last seven years running my own social media agency and being a part of a team that organized the biggest Comic Con event in the Baltic region, where I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with Hollywood actors and agents.
These experiences across sports, marketing, and academia have equipped me with a unique set of skills that blend perfectly for my PhD research.
Through my podcast and blog, Play of Values, I’m combining my passion for sports, media, and marketing, sharing insights on value creation in sports ecosystems and how we can push boundaries in both industries.
Articles published, related to the final PhD thesis:
Here’s a shortened version of my PhD Research project, that will help you understand better what this is all about.
“Why do professional athletes earn so much?” (Quirk and Fort, 2018). This, the authors argue, stems from sports being part of the entertainment industry, like film and music. Key drivers—fan interest and star influence—make athletes especially attractive to sponsors (Quirk and Fort, 2018). Fans, as primary consumers in the sports ecosystem, essentially enable athlete salaries to soar. For instance, Nike spends $4 billion annually on athlete endorsements (Irishexaminer.com, 2024), and the average NBA player’s salary has grown 15-fold over 50 years (Boardroom.tv, 2021; Basketballreference.com, 2024). Sponsors take on risk in this interdependent value exchange; cases like the Tiger Woods scandal have caused short-term losses, yet brands continue to increase athlete-centered ad budgets, betting on their impact (Stango and Knittel, 2014).
Notably, high pay and sponsorship are concentrated in U.S. major leagues, top stars, and elite European football. European basketball stars make over 2.5 times less than NBA averages (Eurohoops.net, 2023), top volleyball players make 10 times less, and WNBA players in the U.S. make 40 times less (essentialysports.com, 2024; frontofficesports.com, 2024). Even in the same sport ecosystem, geographical differences alone don’t explain pay gaps—NBA has almost twice the social media traction in Europe compared to EuroLeague (sportcal.com, 2024; euroleague.net, 2023). This raises questions about the factors driving fan behavior and why certain leagues, athletes, or entities hold more value.
Research shows media—particularly social media—play a pivotal role, linking sports entities and enhancing value. Wenner (2021) states, “no popular sport exists without popular media,” and social media has “changed the game” for fan engagement and monetization. Li and Huang (2014) found that one additional Twitter follower increases an NBA player’s salary by $1,514.
The sports ecosystem involves complex factors that impact the value of its entities, highlighting the need to understand why entities within and across ecosystems vary in fan interest and sponsorship. Reviewing prior studies (Maltese and Danglade, 2014; Collignon and Sultan, 2014; Rundh and Gottfridsson, 2015) reveals a gap: few explore how different sports entities affect each other’s value, the role of media, or the holistic interactions within the ecosystem. This indicates a novel research problem—how to leverage media to enhance ecosystem value. While most studies focus on isolated cases, this research seeks a holistic view of media’s role in shaping sports ecosystem value.
Research Object: Media’s impact on the value of sports ecosystem entities.
Research Aim: To develop a holistic model of media’s influence on the value of sports ecosystem entities.
Objectives:
U.S. scholars often study sports ecosystems, with limited research in Lithuania. Da Silva and Las Casas (2017) describe sports ecosystems as multiple segments with unique stakeholders, while Rundh and Gottfridsson (2015) identify key subjects like clubs, players, sponsors, and fans. Maltese and Danglade (2014) emphasize entertainment-focused subjects such as athletes and media.
Research shows sports ecosystem subjects often impact each other’s value and financial outcomes. Collignon and Sultan (2014) outline a sports ecosystem model that highlights interconnections between subjects. Da Silva and Las Casas (2017) add environmental factors, such as economic and cultural influences. Specific studies—like Humphreys and Johnson (2017) on NBA stars’ influence and Stango and Knittel (2014) on Tiger Woods’ scandal—illustrate individual subjects’ impacts, but none examine media’s comprehensive influence on the ecosystem.
In Lithuania, Čingienė et al. (2013) studied sponsorship success factors, Dilys (2015) examined collaboration between sports organizations and sponsors, and Tamulis (2021) explored brand-building in sports clubs. These studies focus on sponsor relations and sports’ economic impact rather than media influence.
Media’s role in sports ecosystems, especially in the U.S., is well-documented. Media is essential for sports’ growth (McChesney, 1989; Wenner, 2021), with advertising during events like the Super Bowl allowing sponsors to reach targeted audiences. The 1990s and 2000s saw increased interest in the impact of athletes and media on sports value, as with studies on Michael Jordan’s career changes (Crawford and Niendroff, 1999).
The concept of “value” varies; Zeithaml (1988) defines it as consumers’ perception of a product’s utility. In sports, value creation is key, with research often highlighting fan and sponsor relationships. Hosseini et al. (2024) and Wang et al. (2021) analyze fan engagement and its value to esports and traditional sports, while Lechner and Gudmundsson (2012) emphasize managerial roles in enhancing club value. Despite extensive research on individual subjects, a holistic view of interdependencies in sports ecosystems and media’s potential role in elevating smaller entities is still missing.
To achieve the research aim, both quantitative and qualitative methods are suitable, including literature review, surveys, case studies, in-depth interviews, and econometric modeling. Neuromarketing can further analyze consumers’ cognitive responses to media.
Content analysis would reveal interdependencies among sports ecosystem subjects and media impact. Surveys could identify influential subjects and media’s role in value changes. Case studies, supported by expert interviews and document analysis, would highlight effective media and marketing strategies. Statistical and econometric analyses would quantify media’s influence and subjects’ value interactions, while neuromarketing would identify the most effective media tools. Results will form the basis for a holistic model of media’s impact on the sports ecosystem’s value.
HELP ME WITH MY PHD. No spam, just 1-2 letters per month with latests updates and participation in my fans survey.
