115 Culture, Ethnicity, and Sport Management: A New Zealand Perspective David R. Thomas Lorna Dyall University of Auckland There is a growing recognition of the need to understand the impacts of culture and ethnicity on sport consumption, and to identify the consequent implications for sport management and marketing. Styles and patterns of sport involvement vary across cultures, sometimes requiring that associated rules, rituals, and ceremonies be modified or adapted to fit particular cultural settings. Patterns and styles of interpersonal communication also vary across cultures. Two dimensions of cultural difference in interpersonal communication – inclusion versus exclusion and egalitarianism versus respect – have particular potential to affect sport participation negatively if they are not accommodated appropriately. Depending on their sensitivity to cultural differences, the policies and practices of sport managers in multi- cultural settings can enhance or worsen inter-ethnic relations, recruitment, turnover, motivation, and involvement. Needed research and implications for the management of sport are highlighted. The topic of culture and ethnicity is an important one that has not been as extensively developed in sport management as it has in other business contexts. Culture and intercultural communication have received considerable attention in marketing, workplace management, and international business (e.g., Fatehi, 1996; Fish & Wood, 1997; Gallois & Callan, 1997; Usunier, 1996). Yet contemporary texts in sport management (e.g., Parkhouse, 1996; Trenberth & Collins, 1999) and sport marketing The authors are with the Department of Community Health, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand. E-mail for David Thomas: dr.thomas@auckland.ac.nz Sport Management Review, 1999, 2, 115–132 © 1999 SMAANZ