Episode Details

Mixing Sports and Money: Adidas and the Commercialization of the Olympics | Cold Call

26 Jul 2023

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Horst Dassler, the son of the founder of Adidas, cultivated relationships with athletes and national associations – with the aim of expanding his family’s sports apparel business. In doing so, he created the first sports sponsorships for the Olympics, and ultimately became a key force behind the commercialization of sports today. Harvard Business School professor Geoffrey Jones explores the pros and cons of the globalization and commercialization of sport in his case, spanning from the 1930s to the 1970s, “Horst Dassler, Adidas, and the Commercialization of Sport.” This episode originally aired on Cold Call on July 27, 2021. You can also listen to this episode on HBR.org, and wherever you listen to podcasts: - HBR.org (transcript available here): https://hbr.org/podcast/2021/07/mixing-sports-and-money-adidas-and-the-commercialization-of-the-olympics - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mixing-sports-and-money-adidas-and/id1156646189?i=1000530164526 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5LbACgtFVUjfi5ffeWBma1?si=8150df100ced4f67 - Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/cold-call/episode/mixing-sports-and-money-adidas-and-the-commercialization-of-the-olympics-85699339 - Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLmhhcnZhcmRidXNpbmVzcy5vcmcvaGFydmFyZGJ1c2luZXNzL2NvbGQtY2FsbA/episode/dGFnOmF1ZGlvLmhici5vcmcsMjAxNi0wOS0xNjpjb2xkLWNhbGwuMDE1Mw?sa=X&ved=0CAIQuIEEahcKEwiw4vSE3qqAAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA Series Description: Harvard Business School’s legendary case studies, distilled into podcast form. About Harvard Business Review: Harvard Business Review is the leading destination for smart management thinking. Through its flagship magazine, books, and digital content and tools published on HBR.org, Harvard Business Review aims to provide professionals around the world with rigorous insights and best practices to help lead themselves and their organizations more effectively and to make a positive impact. Learn more at www.hbr.org. Chapters: 00:00 – Intro 1:40 – The Cold Call 3:41 – The Rise of Organized Sports/Olympics 6:45 –Adidas Origins 9:03 –Adidas’ Innovative Footwear 10:52 – Adidas Under Horst Dassler 19:16 – Ethics at Adidas 22:05 – Takeaway and Outro Follow Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/harvard-business-review/ https://www.facebook.com/HBR/ https://twitter.com/HarvardBiz https://www.instagram.com/harvard_business_review/ Sign up for Newsletters: https://hbr.org/email-newsletters #HarvardBusinessReview #business #management #harvardbusinessschool Copyright © 2022 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved.

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