How digitalization is shaping Business model innovation in soccer teams

The emergence of what has often been referred to as the “digital era” has greatly expanded research on the impact of digital technologies to BMI (Business Model Innovation). Technological innovations are disrupting current market conditions, challenging industry- specific standards, and converting traditional business paradigms into smart ones. Building on BMI literature, we investigate at which extent digital technologies are able to reshape business models in the soccer industry. We argue that digital transformation is impacting each of the building blocks that are composing business models of soccer clubs. We also argue that digital technologies facilitate the way firms deal with an appropriate balance between sport and financial objectives. By using primary and secondary data sources, we examine the way in which digital technologies are reconfiguring SCM (Supply Chain Management), athletes management, key partnerships, RMs (Revenue Models), and CRM (Consumer Relationship Management) in the soccer industry. The findings of this paper contribute to extant literature by expanding our understanding on the impacts of digital transformation on business model innovation.