The main objectives of Master Thesis were the investigation about the contribution of startups to sport industry through digital innovation. Throughout a methodic and rigorous cataloguing of the most important international and Italian startups that have characterized and revolutionized Sport in recent years, we offer a detailed description of the industry about geographic, technological and economic aspects, the highlighting of relevant trends and a study aimed to the identification common and distinctive traits among startups operating in the sector. The Literature research provided the definition of startups as the main source of innovativeness of sport industry. North America proved to be the more fertile area and in particular United States, demonstrating to be the main country in term of number of startups and amount of money invested in startups’ activities related to sport. According to “Macro-areas Model” of Osservatorio DigitalSport of Politecnico di Milano, four Macro-areas of implementation of digital innovation has been identified: Athletic Performance, Fan Experience, Sport Firm and Administrative Offices, Public Bodies, Events. Athletic Performance is the broader area, followed by Fan Experience. Platform is the most used technology among all, followed by App and IoT. We also asked to Italian startuppers operating both in Italy and abroad for the reasons justifying differences between Italian and abroad realities. According to interviewed entrepreneurs, the main causes of this imbalance are the low propensity to innovate in Sport, the low propensity to risk, the lack of alignment between investing timing and startups’ requirements, the inexperience of Venture Capitalists in the field of Sport, the different evaluation schemes towards startups and the slow and complex bureaucracy of Italy against other countries. It has also been possible to identify a common evolution path, for startups working in Sport industry, that foresees the possibility to expand their business towards new micro-segments, new geographical markets, new sports, new macro-areas and new industries.
Questo lavoro di Tesi si prefigge l’obiettivo di indagare il contributo che le startup hanno apportato al settore Sport attraverso l’innovazione digitale. Grazie ad una metodica e rigorosa catalogazione delle più importanti startup internazionali e italiane che hanno caratterizzato e rivoluzionato lo Sport negli ultimi anni, viene offerta una descrizione dettagliata del settore, riguardo aspetti geografici, tecnologici ed economici, l’individuazione dei trend più importanti ed uno studio volto all’identificazione di tratti distintivi e comuni tra le startup operanti nel settore. L’analisi bibliografica ha permesso l’identificazione delle startup come la principale fonte di innovazione del settore sportivo. Il Nord America, ed in particolare gli Stati Uniti, ha dimostrato di essere l’ambiente perfetto per queste imprese sia per il numero di startup sia per denaro investito in attività di startup legate allo Sport. Ricorrendo al “Modello delle Macro-aree” dell’Osservatorio DigitalSport del Politecnico di Milano, sono state evidenziate 4 Macro-aree di implementazione dell’innovazione digitale: Athletic Performance, Fan Experience, Sport Firm and Administrative Offices, Public Bodies, Events. Athletic Performance è l’area più ampia, seguita da Fan Experience. Le piattaforme software rappresentano invece la tecnologia più diffusa, seguita dalle app e IoT. Si sono inoltre chieste a startupper italiani, operanti sia in Italia che all’estero, le ragioni dietro le differenze tra le realtà italiane ed estere. Le principali cause di questo sbilanciamento sono state rilevate nella bassa propensione ad innovare nello Sport, la bassa propensione al rischio, la mancanza di allineamento tra il tempo di investimento e le necessità delle startup, l’inesperienza dei Venture Capitalist in ambito sportivo, i diversi schemi di valutazione delle startup e la lenta e complessa burocrazia italiana dell’Italia rispetto ad altri paesi. È stato poi possibile identificare un cammino di evoluzione comune per le startup sportive, che vede la possibilità di espandere il proprio business verso nuovi micro-segmenti, nuovi mercati geografici, nuovi sport, nuove macro-aree e infine nuovi settori.
Digital innovation in sport industry : analysis of the emerging startups
COLOMBO, GABRIELE GIUSEPPE;BUGATTI, MATTIA
2015/2016
Abstract
The main objectives of Master Thesis were the investigation about the contribution of startups to sport industry through digital innovation. Throughout a methodic and rigorous cataloguing of the most important international and Italian startups that have characterized and revolutionized Sport in recent years, we offer a detailed description of the industry about geographic, technological and economic aspects, the highlighting of relevant trends and a study aimed to the identification common and distinctive traits among startups operating in the sector. The Literature research provided the definition of startups as the main source of innovativeness of sport industry. North America proved to be the more fertile area and in particular United States, demonstrating to be the main country in term of number of startups and amount of money invested in startups’ activities related to sport. According to “Macro-areas Model” of Osservatorio DigitalSport of Politecnico di Milano, four Macro-areas of implementation of digital innovation has been identified: Athletic Performance, Fan Experience, Sport Firm and Administrative Offices, Public Bodies, Events. Athletic Performance is the broader area, followed by Fan Experience. Platform is the most used technology among all, followed by App and IoT. We also asked to Italian startuppers operating both in Italy and abroad for the reasons justifying differences between Italian and abroad realities. According to interviewed entrepreneurs, the main causes of this imbalance are the low propensity to innovate in Sport, the low propensity to risk, the lack of alignment between investing timing and startups’ requirements, the inexperience of Venture Capitalists in the field of Sport, the different evaluation schemes towards startups and the slow and complex bureaucracy of Italy against other countries. It has also been possible to identify a common evolution path, for startups working in Sport industry, that foresees the possibility to expand their business towards new micro-segments, new geographical markets, new sports, new macro-areas and new industries.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2016_12_Bugatti_Colombo.pdf
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/131081