Kyriaki Kaplanidou

Professor University of Florida

  • Gainesville FL

Kyriaki Kaplanidou's research explores the impacts and legacies of sport events on communities.

Contact

University of Florida

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Biography

Kyriaki Kaplanidou's primary research explores the impacts and legacies of sport events on communities. Specifically, she examines residents’ perceptions of such impacts and legacies and the level of support they provide for an event when they observe quality of life benefits in their community. In addition, her research examines the impact of the sport event experience on sport event participants’ intentions to continue to exercise and take part in more sport events. She has conducted research for the International Olympic Committee related to the legacy of the Olympic Games and a number of sport related organizations. She has professional experience working with the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

Areas of Expertise

Olympic Games
Sport Consumer Perceptions About Event Experiences
Impacts and Legacies of Sport Events on Community Development
Sport Event Tourism

Media Appearances

Beijing 2022: National legacy seems assured but international legacy remains an open question

The Hill  online

2022-01-28

The pandemic has impacted the Olympic calendar tremendously, and, unfortunately, it is still causing challenges for the Beijing 2022 Games organizers, who are taking extraordinary measures to avoid a coronavirus outbreak that impedes competition. That alone is daunting enough, but China and the International Olympic Committee also face a challenge in ensuring a lasting legacy — international and national — for these games.

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The enduring legacis of the Tokyo Olympic Games

The Hill  online

2021-08-09

From the absence of spectators to the hesitancy of companies to showcase their sponsorships and, most significantly, resistance from many of the country’s people, the legacies of these games may be unparalleled for the Olympic movement.

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Trucking executive’s latest drive: youth sports

IBJ  online

2016-12-02

Kyriaki Kaplanidou, a professor in the Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sports Management at the University of Florida, said the key to being successful with complexes like this is collaborating with local government and sports tourism agencies. Otherwise, the facility could miss out on opportunities for tournaments and leagues.

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Social

Articles

Exploring Partnerships in Sport Event Delivery

Event Management

Ran Zhou, et al.

2021-09-16

In order to provide high-quality sport events and cultivate economic, social, and environmental benefits in the local community, regional sport commissions in the United States form partnerships with organizations across sectors. Building on Parent and Harvey’s (2009) partnership framework, this study seeks to reveal the components and processes of the collaboration between sport commissions and their partners in the delivery of sport events and subsequent outcomes.

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Social capital from sport event participation: scale development and validation

Leisure Studies

Ran Zhou, Kyriaki Kaplanidou and Christine Wegner

2021-04-20

Participatory sport events can generate substantial social benefits for the participants. A key benefit derived from participatory sport events is the development of social capital. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid instrument that measures social capital among active sport event participants. Using three different samples of running event participants, the proposed Sport Event Participation Social Capital Scale (SEPSCS) was tested, purified, and validated.

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Sport events and community development: resident considerations and community goals

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship

Kyriaki (Kiki) Kaplanidou

2020-09-05

The purpose of this paper was to provide a discussion on using sport events for community development through the lenses of community development theories and perceived event impacts.

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Spotlight

2 min

The World Cup proved to be big for sports and Qatar's business future

The 2022 FIFA World Cup was one of the world’s most-watched sporting events, but it also provided an opportunity for exponential growth for business development in the Middle East. Qatar was selected as the first country from the Middle East to host the worldwide tournament over 12 years ago, allowing plenty of time to prepare for the competition and create everlasting business relationships. Kyriaki Kaplanidou, a UF professor and researcher, published a study in 2016 for the Journal of Business Research, working alongside her fellow colleagues. The study followed the industrial progress made in Qatar after its 2010 selection and demonstrated how their networking efforts improved the Persian Gulf region business infrastructure. “The country has invested a great deal of time and money to expand its physical and human resources. They’ve had to understand how business is done in other countries, learn innovative construction techniques and develop their human capital in areas of knowledge, skill and awareness of other cultures and business practices,” Kaplanidou said. Kaplanidou and her team interviewed 24 Qatar sports organizations stakeholders, both indirectly and directly involved with the 2022 World Cup. Her research found that almost all the interviewees highlighted Qatar’s characteristics that either impede or improve their current development status. The most highlighted criteria pertained to labor cases pertaining to hazardous working conditions and displayed racial discrimination, as the United Nations put Qatar on blast for their treatment of infrastructure workers. The government decided to implement changes and with the introduction of new, stricter labor laws, Qatar is now considered one of the most worker-friendly places in the Gulf Region. Despite all the controversy surrounding the FIFA World Cup host country, fans were still excited to cheer on their team of choice, and the tournament provided Middle East countries with something to be proud of. “It will be interesting to see if the country can reposition itself in the business world and establish its presence in other industries now that it has gained new experience and knowledge through the process of preparing for this mega event,” Kaplanidou said. By Halle Burton

Kyriaki Kaplanidou