Examining Mentoring Relationships within the Sport Management Academy: perspectives of mentors and protégés

摘要

Mentoring has typically been studied in business environments, with fewer studies focusing on academic contexts and even fewer in the field of sport management. This study sought to examine the mentoring relationships among sport management doctoral dissertation advisors (mentors) and their former doctoral students (protΘgΘs). Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 13 participants. Participants collectively described examples of all of Kramu27s (1988) mentoring functions, with counselling, coaching, and exposure and visibility among the most frequently reported. Mentors and protΘgΘs described their current relationships as positive as well as both personal and professional in nature. Participants desired a wide range of characteristics in the other member (mentor or protΘgΘ) and cited numerous personal and professional benefits, including friendship and advanced career progression, as a result of their mentoring relationships. A discussion of these findings within the context of the relevant previous academic literature and suggestions for future research are also provided.