Journals Information
International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences Vol. 13(1), pp. 182 - 189
DOI: 10.13189/saj.2025.130120
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The Benefits from Share of Search (SoS) Analyses for Predicting Membership Development in Sports Federations: A Pilot Study
Florian Riedm眉ller *, Hans-Dieter Gerner , Sofia Adrianz茅n D铆az
Faculty of Business, University of Applied Sciences Nuremberg, Germany
ABSTRACT
The long-term development of membership numbers in sports clubs and federations is well documented through statistical surveys, such as annual sports development reports. However, studies dedicated to analyzing membership developments have a considerable time lag due to their retrospective approach, which poses a risk for future member acquisition and retention strategies. Modern market research methods attempt to address this challenge by using econometric approaches to deliver solid explanations and forecasts based on identified systematic patterns. Share of Search (SoS) analyses are already successfully used in various industries to forecast the development of market shares. This involves measuring the effect of the development of online search queries in Google and other search engines in one period on the change of market shares in the following period. For the first time, this approach is transferred to a pilot study that observes the membership development of 20 sports federations in Germany. This study shows that online search queries have a high explanatory power for membership development in sports. Therefore, SoS studies can be used accordingly as a relevant indicator for future planning in sports management.
KEYWORDS
Membership Development, Sports Federations, Online Search Engine Queries (OSEQs), Share of Search (SoS)
Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Florian Riedm眉ller , Hans-Dieter Gerner , Sofia Adrianz茅n D铆az , "The Benefits from Share of Search (SoS) Analyses for Predicting Membership Development in Sports Federations: A Pilot Study," International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 182 - 189, 2025. DOI: 10.13189/saj.2025.130120.
(b). APA Format:
Florian Riedm眉ller , Hans-Dieter Gerner , Sofia Adrianz茅n D铆az (2025). The Benefits from Share of Search (SoS) Analyses for Predicting Membership Development in Sports Federations: A Pilot Study. International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences, 13(1), 182 - 189. DOI: 10.13189/saj.2025.130120.