Sport communication research: A social network analysis

Sport communication research has experienced exponential growth since the 1980s. As one of the four primary sport management functions, sport communication has formed a synergistic relationship with sport management. Researchers have documented this relationship and the continued role of communication within sport. The current study explored the evolution of sport communication research through social network analysis (SNA). This methodological approach offers a visual display of research collaborations and helps identify areas for growth among researchers, academic institutions, and topics in an effort to expand research productivity and diffusion. From January 1980 to June 2015, 1255 sport communication researchers shared 2537 collaborations and authored 1283 publications. Their studies most frequently examined topics such as gender, mass media, and sport consumption. The number of researchers, publications, collaborations, and researchers per publication increased over time. A select group of researchers hailed from a smaller number of universities and emerged as key contributors to the field. The findings underscore the importance of prominent researchers, academic institutions, and collaborations in the production of sport communication research. The study also outlines the benefits of using SNA to investigate a field's development and growth opportunities. (C) 2016 Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.