Discourses on town development and regional revitalization through sports, including community sports clubs, are expressed in various ways, which makes cases difficult to evaluate and comparatively analyze. Therefore, this study aims to conceptualize sports town development to enable discussions based on a common understanding of sports town development. For this purpose, as a first step, in preparation for forming an original recognition of “sports town development”, town development modified diversely by sports was morphologically organized (Issue 1), and various theories on general town development, which is the base term of ‹sports town development›, were reviewed to examine the concept of town development (Issue 2). The second stage consists of the formation of the original recognition and the naming concept. Discourses related to sports town development were reviewed to organize its understanding (Issue 3). Then, integrating the concept of town development examined in the first stage, an original recognition of “sports town development” and a naming concept of ‹sports town development› were formed (Issue 4). As a result, town development is perceived as “a multilayered social network movement that constructs autonomous and creative regional spheres”, and the original recognition of “sports town development” is understood as a movement to create value co-creation and a civic public sphere around sports and regions, established through overlapping social networks around sports, intersecting gazes, and reciprocal relationships, which is purposefully and intentionally practiced to achieve certain objectives. The conceptual elements indispensable for this original recognition comprise a multilayered social network composed within the context of regional life and reciprocal norms, civic and autonomous value cocreation by multiple stakeholders around sports and regions, and purposeful and sustainable practice. These elements encompass the naming concept of ‹sports town development›, that is, the definition became “a purposeful and sustainable practice of value co-creation around sports and regions by multiple stakeholders belonging to a multilayered social network equipped with regional context and reciprocal norms”.

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Although Japan’s community-based professional sports organizations are widely recognized as essential entities that bring economic and social benefits to their communities, some teams have unstable management. Due to the unpredictable nature of the games in spectating sports, which is the main product, and the fact that this business model is greatly affected by natural disasters and infectious diseases, sports organizations require stable management that can respond to any crisis or change. In the present study, we focused on organizational resilience, defined as the ability of community-based professional sports organizations to cope with crisis and change. We developed a conceptual model to explore the structure, antecedents, and consequences of organizational resilience and conducted a questionnaire survey on managers (n = 36) of community-based professional sports organizations in Japan. The results revealed that organizational resilience is a two-dimensional concept consisting of resource possession and responsiveness. The results of a partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis revealed that entrepreneurial orientation affects responsiveness and resource possession, that community trust positively affects resource possession, and that responsiveness positively affects social performance and time required to recover from the effects of COVID-19. Based on the results, this study discusses management strategies for community-based professional sports organizations to make sustainable contributions to local communities and sports environments, even when facing a crisis. A more in-depth discussion of the conceptual model with a larger sample size and model validation by team size needs to be conducted in a future study.

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Sports services diversification in open service management (OSM) of public-school sports facilities is a policy requirement and an academic necessity. However, there are few examples of diversification of sports services in OSM, and little accumulation of academic knowledge. Therefore, we present here a case study of an operating entity that have diversified its sports services, describe the historical process of sports service diversification, and examine factors that facilitate diversification. The subject of the study was the OSM Committee of D Public Elementary School (D-OSMC) in A Municipality. Data were collected from interviews with persons familiar with the history of the OSM of D-OSMC and of City A, and from related documents. D-OSMC diversified its sports services over a 10-year period from around 2000, and currently offers four types of sports services. The results of the study revealed that D-OSMC achieved sports services diversification via an interaction relationship between the accumulation of management resources through commercialization and their utilization. First, recognition of operational issues by the leader was an important factor in launching new sports services, for the reason that a new project is generally unlikely to be launched if the leaders are unaware of problems. Backing from other members of the community who supported the initiative also facilitated the launch of the project. The findings suggest that existing social capital within the community encouraged the cooperation of these members. Second, to enable satisfactory timetabling for all activities, at the initiation of the project, the D-OSMC took care to avoid scheduling conflicts between the registered organizations. Following the initial commercialization, the new business gained legitimacy, which was used to expand the activity time available to D-OSMC. Finally, D-OSMC acquired new business ideas, human resources, and other management resources from stakeholder networks outside the organization through relationships formed through the business activities. These networks were used to further develop the business plan by boundary spanners who had the authority to make decisions regarding the business plan.

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Comprehensive sports clubs are operated by citizens, they do not participate fully. In the context of this challenge, this study examines how citizens can become more involved in the operational roles of comprehensive sports clubs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine citizens working in these clubs, and the data were analyzed using the modified grounded theory approach. The results of the study revealed that creating systems that peers can collaborate on deepens citizen involvement in managing comprehensive sports clubs. Initially, most citizens “participated only within the scope of their duties,” such as attending meetings. However, some “began to develop a better understanding” of the club’s situation such as club’s mission and the presence of enthusiastic citizens. These individuals express desires to “give back” and “make some thoughts come true,” and “comprehend the significance of participating alongside fellow citizens.” Furthermore, citizens “developed a sense of solidity” for operation and “envied being part of a circle of people,” and thus “inclined to join the fellows.” Later, when the citizens actually joined the operations club, they gradually began to feel “the impression like it could continue,” attributing this perception to the habit of “creating systems that can be worked on by their peers,” such as defining paths for realizing various activities in club operation, understanding each other's characteristics, and sharing roles. They improve the desire to realize the mission, and “expand their role” for the sake of their peers who support them daily and acquire qualifications out of a sense of “being appropriate” for their roles. This increased their sense of belonging and made them want to “make this club better.” These experiences fostered the sense that “the community is becoming a place where people feel at ease” and that “it is connected to growth and vitality,” leading to “the meaning of mutual aid becoming clear.” In addition, feelings of “confidence and dreams swell” in the operation of the comprehensive sports clubs and, “I will continue to do this” were formed. This suggests that by defining a path to realize the various activities in club operation, leveraging each other's strengths, and taking action to build a sense of trust, citizens become motivated to participate in management and strive to develop a comprehensive sports clubs. Specific measures for citizen participation in the operation of voluntary sport organization include direct outreach, social gatherings, and certification opportunities. However, the results of this study suggest that beyond these measures, strategies and relationships within operations are important factors.

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This study aimed to examine the “ba” of multisport in Japan. Multisport means playing more than one sport, and “ba” of multisport in this study is “framework that includes the components involved in participating in multisport, such as individuals and the relationships between individuals.” It is clear that multisport has educational and physical benefits, and although there is an abundance of research recommending multisport to reduce the risk of injury and acquire a high level of motor skills, there has been little discussion of multisport in Japan. It has been reported that the value of “Once you decide on one thing, you should follow it through to the end” in club activities as “single-mindednessism”. In particular, he criticizes the single-mindedness of Japanese club activities, which can have a negative impact from a modern educational perspective. He goes on to point out that in the United States, it is not uncommon for children to experience multisport throughout junior high and high school. In other words, the essence of these problems, including single-mindedness in club activities, is a type of coercion that prevents students from engaging in independent, spontaneous activities. The present case study analyzes the data collected by qualitative methods and relies on a single case study. The subject was a male athlete from A Prefecture Talent Identification and Development, who is both a track and field and skeleton athlete. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, asking questions such as “Why did you start track and field?”, “Why did you start skeleton?”, “Why do you balance track and field and skeleton?”, and others “About multi-sports and club activities”. As a result, we obtained mainly responses on how he started track and field and skeleton, his achievement of multisport, and the relationship between multisport and club activities. We also asked about his impressions of the training environment and instructors for both track and field and skeleton, as well as of his impressive activities in A Prefecture Talent Identification and Development. It was considered that the subject came to multisport through A Prefecture Talent Identification and Development and has continued in multisport to the present, and that the club activities that required him to devote himself to athletics activities in high school guaranteed his freedom of activity through an explanation of the skeleton federation and his own independent activities. From this, we conclude that it is essential for the “ba” of multisport in Japan to eliminate coercion and guarantee the freedom to participate in activities. The significance of this study is that it focused on multisport, which has seldom been discussed in Japan, and showed the process of multisport athlete. Wider accumulation of academic research on multisport is expected in the future.

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In the Japanese context, the discussion of research methodologies in the field of physical education and sport management has stagnated. One possible solution to this is to gain an understanding of the developing trends in research methodologies in international sport management. Therefore, this study aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of global trends in sport management research methodology through a quantitative and qualitative review. The analysis focused on 18 review articles related to research methodologies. The key findings of the analysis are as follows:
(1) Since 2010, review articles concerning research methodologies have been published at a rate of one or two articles per year. These results indicate that even internationally, the number of articles specifically addressing research methodologies is not particularly high.
(2) Review articles on research methodologies were categorized into five distinct groups: “research trends” (three articles), “research methods” (three articles), “diffusion strategies” (two articles), “theory development and application” (six articles), and “ideology” (four articles). Each category incorporated studies that organized overall research trends, proposed new research methods, examined various strategies for the diffusion of academic findings, provided discussions on the significance and specific approaches for theory development, and explored methodological approaches to the cultural characteristics of a sport.
Based on these trends, the present findings indicate that diverse perspectives and approaches should be used to advance research methodologies in physical education and sport management in Japan. Moreover, the findings emphasize the need for academic societies to provide more opportunities for the study and discussion of research methodologies.

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