Sport management: Thematic mapping of the research field

The aim of the study is to map the thematic landscape of the sport management research field. The research process is focused on the following study questions: (1) what are the leading thematic areas attracting the attention of academia? (2) what are the emerging topics in research on sport management? The method of highfrequency keywords co-occurrence analysis was used to identify leading and emerging topics within the research field. Bibliometric data for analysis were retrieved from the Scopus database. The VOSviewer software supported the analysis process and visualization of its findings. The study points out the following leading thematic areas in the research field: (1) professional sport management, (2) physical activity and health, (3) sports staff, (4) IKM in sport management, (5) governance in sport, (6) sport education and learning, (7) humans in sport, (8) fans in sport. Among the emerging topics of scientific inquiry, the following issues are recognized: (1) the use of new information technologies (including social media), (2) sustainable development in sport, (3) fan satisfaction, and (4) physical activity (including grassroots). Taking into account the increase in the number of publications in the research field observed in the 2010s, and the lack of other studies dealing with topic profiling, the study aimed at identifying leading and emerging topics within the sport management research field seems to be valuable both for theory and practice of sport management. Mapping the structure of the field and identifying thematic clusters creates added value especially from the point of view of sport management theory. Co-occurrence analysis of high-frequency keywords unveils a variety of topics and approaches cultivated in the field and relationships among these topics. Pointing out 'hot' (emerging) topics provides guidance for scholars searching ideas for new, interesting research. From the point of view of business practice, the study develops situational awareness of sport managers highlighting the issues they should pay special attention to and supports them in identifying research gaps to be submitted for exploration in further studies by academia, closing the reciprocal loop between theory and practice.