A bibliometric analysis of four sport management journals

Citation analysis is a powerful tool to better understand the intellectual foundations of a field and to identify those journals publishing the majority of important articles. The purpose of this study was to identify the most frequently cited sport management and non-sport management journals based on an analysis of the reference lists of manuscripts published in the Journal of Sport Management, Sport Marketing Quarterly, European Sport Management Quarterly and Sport Management Review. Results showed that the Journal of Sport Management was the most cited journal followed by Sport Marketing Quarterly. Three management journals, three marketing journals, two sport sociology journals and two psychology journals were identified as the most cited non-sport management journals. In-field citations to seven core sport management journals accounted for 16.4 percent of all citations, raising questions about the balance between citations within the field compared to those from outside the field. Focus of the sport management and marketing journals was also considered in relation to factors impacting on citation trends.