Description
The active economy incorporates several disciplines that include sport performance, sport business, recreation, tourism, physical activity, urban planning, leisure, and health and wellness, among others. From an academic and policy perspective, these disciplines are typically viewed as distinct, with only limited spillover, and consequently, limited research explores the interaction between them. However, each individual sector can be studied as interdependent rather than autonomous. By viewing the various sectors as part of a complex active ecosystem, policymakers and practitioners are better positioned to shape broad opportunities while maximizing the community value of sports, recreation, and wellness.
Understanding the Active Economy and Emerging Research on the Value of Sports, Recreation, and Wellness provides a new view on the fields of sport, recreation, and health and wellness by exploring the interaction between these traditional separate disciplines. It includes sub-groups of the active economy such as health and wellness, active apparel and accessories, active equipment and sports betting but also ties in sub-groups from the ancillary sector such as tourism, design and infrastructure, media and content, and professional services. This book is intended for professionals, educators, and researchers working in the fields of sports, recreation, and health and wellness, as well as economists, executives, managers, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in how sports, recreation, and wellness operate in the active economy.
Author's/Editor's Biography
David Finch (Ed.)
David J. Finch holds a PhD in management and is an active educator, scholar and practitioner. He currently holds several academic appointments including Associate Professor at Mount Royal University’s Bissett School of Business in Calgary, a Visiting Fellow at the Henley Business School at the University of Reading (UK) and an Adjunct at the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph. Dr. Finch is also the Associate Director of the Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Mount Royal. Dr. Finch has authored over 50 scholarly papers and published in journals such as the Academy of Management Learning & Education, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Sport Management and the Corporate Reputation Review. Prior to joining academia, Dr. Finch held progressively senior roles in areas of corporate strategy in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. with Bell Canada Enterprises, Rogers Communications and Harris Corporation and he was a founding partner of T1 Agency.
David Legg (Ed.)
David Legg is a Professor and past Chair for the Department of Physical and Health at Mount Royal University in Calgary. He is the Past President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee and past board member for the 2015 Pan Parapan American Games in Toronto. David has also served on the International Paralympic Committee’s Sport Science Committee. In June he was elected President of the International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity. Dr. Legg also worked with the Calgary BidCo for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games.