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Thilo Kunkel

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Thilo Kunkel

  • School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management

    • Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management

      • Professor

Biography

My research is positioned on the intersection of strategic management and marketing. I analyze consumer data to help organizations build their brand, engage consumers, activate sponsorships and foster consumer loyalty. I am specialized in examining brands and brand relationships within different brand architectures to provide insights into the positioning of brands in a competitive environment. The application of my research provides relevant stakeholders with solutions to improve the consumer experience, foster stakeholder engagement, and increase revenues.

Research Interests

  • My research is positioned on the intersection of strategic management and marketing. I analyze consumer data to help organizations build their brand, engage consumers, activate sponsorships and foster consumer loyalty. I am specialized in examining brands and brand relationships within different brand architectures to provide insights into the positioning of brands in a competitive environment. The application of my research provides relevant stakeholders with solutions to improve the consumer experience, foster stakeholder engagement, and increase revenues.

Courses Taught

Number

Name

Level

SRM 5215

Sport Marketing

Graduate

SRM 5216

Strategic Management in Sport and Recreation

Graduate

Selected Publications

Recent

  • Bredikhina, N., Kunkel, T., Kennedy, H., & Fumagalli, F. (2025). Exploring the determinants of women football players’ Instagram popularity. Sport Management Review, 28(3), 523-548. Informa UK Limited. doi: 10.1080/14413523.2025.2468037.

  • Doyle, J.P., Su, Y., Kelly, S.J., Filo, K., & Kunkel, T. (2025). Investigating consumer preferences and perceptions of brands across men’s and women’s sport: a brand architecture approach. Sport Management Review, 28(2), 370-395. Informa UK Limited. doi: 10.1080/14413523.2024.2442188.

  • Gupta, K., Su, Y., Kunkel, T., & Funk, D.C. (2025). Paying while playing: examining the influence of interaction with gamified elements in fantasy sports on in-app spending. European Sport Management Quarterly, 25(2), 175-196. Informa UK Limited. doi: 10.1080/16184742.2024.2301970.

  • Doyle, J.P., Kunkel, T., Kelly, S.J., Filo, K., & Cuskelly, G. (2024). Seeing the same things differently: exploring the unique brand associations linked to women's professional sport teams. In Strategic Brand Management In and Through Sport (pp. 9-23). Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003590859-2.

  • Kunkel, T. & Funk, D. (2024). Guest editorial: The sport x service experience: an opportunity for sport service management research. Journal of Service Management, 35(1), 46-52. Emerald. doi: 10.1108/josm-01-2024-496.

  • McDonald, H., Pallant, J., Funk, D.C., & Kunkel, T. (2024). Who doesn’t like sport? A taxonomy of non-fans. Sport Management Review, 27(1), 67-89. Informa UK Limited. doi: 10.1080/14413523.2023.2233342.

  • Bredikhina, N., Kunkel, T., & Kudesia, R. (2024). Authenticity Negotiation: How Elite Athletes (Re)Present Themselves as Personal Brands. Journal of Sport Management, 38(1), 53-70. Human Kinetics. doi: 10.1123/jsm.2022-0089.

  • Kunkel, T., Hayduk, T., & Lock, D. (2023). Push it real good: the effects of push notifications promoting motivational affordances on consumer behavior in a gamified mobile app. European Journal of Marketing, 57(9), 2592-2618. Emerald. doi: 10.1108/ejm-06-2021-0388.

  • Doyle, J., Kunkel, T., Su, Y., Biscaia, R., & Baker, B.J. (2023). Advancing understanding of individual-level brand management in sport. European Sport Management Quarterly, 23(6), 1631-1642. Informa UK Limited. doi: 10.1080/16184742.2023.2276809.

  • Ramos, R.F., Biscaia, R., Moro, S., & Kunkel, T. (2023). Understanding the importance of sport stadium visits to teams and cities through the eyes of online reviewers. Leisure Studies, 42(5), 693-708. Informa UK Limited. doi: 10.1080/02614367.2022.2131888.

  • Kunkel, T., Kennedy, H., Baker, B.J., & Doyle, J.P. (2023). The State of Quantitative Research and a Proposed Research Framework in Social Media. International Journal of Sport Communication, 16(3), 344-351. Human Kinetics. doi: 10.1123/ijsc.2023-0123.

  • Cocco, A.R., Kunkel, T., & Baker, B.J. (2023). The Influence of Personal Branding and Institutional Factors on the Name, Image, and Likeness Value of Collegiate Athletes’ Social Media Posts. Journal of Sport Management, 37(5), 359-370. Human Kinetics. doi: 10.1123/jsm.2022-0155.

  • Bredikhina, N. & Kunkel, T. (2022). Make It Count: Examining Outcomes of Activation and Advertising-Like Event Sponsorship. Event Management, 26(7), 1447-1467. Cognizant, LLC. doi: 10.3727/152599522x16419948391131.

  • Gupta, K., Su, Y., Kunkel, T., & Funk, D. (2022). The super engagers of freemium gamified services: using multimethod approach to examine why highly interactive consumers become paying consumers. INTERNET RESEARCH. 10.1108/INTR-07-2021-0434

  • Bredikhina, N., Gupta, K., & Kunkel, T. (2022). Superboosting the athlete social media brand: events as an opportunity for follower growth. EUROPEAN SPORT MANAGEMENT QUARTERLY. 10.1080/16184742.2022.2074497

  • Baker, B.J., Kunkel, T., Doyle, J.P., Su, Y., Bredikhina, N., & Biscaia, R. (2022). Remapping the Sport Brandscape: A Structured Review and Future Direction for Sport Brand Research. JOURNAL of SPORT MANAGEMENT, 36(3), 251-264. 10.1123/jsm.2021-0231

  • Pizzo, A., Kunkel, T., Jones, G., Baker, B., & Funk, D. (2022). The strategic advantage of mature-stage firms: Digitalization and the diversification of professional sport into esports. Journal of Business Research, 139, 257-266. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.09.057.

  • Kennedy, H., Kunkel, T., & Funk, D.C. (2021). Using Predictive Analytics to Measure Eff ectiveness of Social Media Engagement: A Digital Measurement Perspective. SPORT MARKETING QUARTERLY, 30(4), 265-277. 10.32731/SMQ.304.1221.02

  • Doyle, J., Filo, K., Thomson, A., & Kunkel, T. (2021). Large-Scale Sport Events and Resident Well-Being: Examining PERMA and the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. JOURNAL of SPORT MANAGEMENT, 35(6), 537-550. 10.1123/jsm.2020-0258

  • Kunkel, T., Baker, B.J., Baker, T.A., & Doyle, J.P. (2021). There is no nil in NIL: examining the social media value of student-athletes’ names, images, and likeness. Sport Management Review, 24(5), 839-861. Informa UK Limited. doi: 10.1080/14413523.2021.1880154.

  • Kunkel, T., Lock, D., & Doyle, J. (2021). Gamification via mobile applications: A longitudinal examination of its impact on attitudinal loyalty and behavior toward a core service. Psychology and Marketing, 38(6), 948-964. doi: 10.1002/mar.21467.

  • Su, Y., Kunkel, T., & Ye, N. (2021). When abs do not sell: The impact of male influencers conspicuously displaying a muscular body on female followers. Psychology and Marketing, 38(2), 286-297. doi: 10.1002/mar.21322.

  • Zhou, X., Funk, D., Lu, L., & Kunkel, T. (2021). Solving the Athleisure Myth: A Means-End Chain Analysis of Female Activewear Consumption. Journal of Sport Management, 35(1), 81-93. doi: 10.1123/JSM.2019-0358.

  • Doyle, J., Kunkel, T., Kelly, S., Filo, K., & Cuskelly, G. (2021). Seeing the same things differently: exploring the unique brand associations linked to women’s professional sport teams. Journal of Strategic Marketing. doi: 10.1080/0965254X.2021.1922489.

  • Pizzo, A., Jones, G., Baker, B., Funk, D., & Kunkel, T. (2021). Sensemaking of Novelty: The Dynamic Nature of Integrating Esports Within A Traditional Sport Organization. Sport Management Review, 1-23. doi: 10.1080/14413523.2021.1935609.

  • Lee, M., Kunkel, T., Funk, D., Karg, A., & McDonald, H. (2020). Built to last: relationship quality management for season ticket holders. European Sport Management Quarterly, 20(3), 364-384. doi: 10.1080/16184742.2019.1613438.

  • Kunkel, T. & Biscaia, R. (2020). Sport Brands: Brand Relationships and Consumer Behavior. SPORT MARKETING QUARTERLY, 29(1), 3-17. 10.32731/SMQ.291.032020.01

  • Su, Y., Baker, B.J., Doyle, J.P., & Kunkel, T. (2020). The Rise of an Athlete Brand: Factors Influencing the Social Media Following of Athletes. SPORT MARKETING QUARTERLY, 29(1), 33-46. 10.32731/SMQ.291.302020.03

  • Na, S., Kunkel, T., & Doyle, J. (2020). Exploring athlete brand image development on social media: the role of signalling through source credibility. European Sport Management Quarterly, 20(1), 88-108. doi: 10.1080/16184742.2019.1662465.

  • Kunkel, T., Biscaia, R., Arai, A., & Agyemang, K. (2020). The role of self-brand connection on the relationship between athlete brand image and fan outcomes. Journal of Sport Management, 34(3), 201-216. doi: 10.1123/JSM.2019-0222.

  • Su, Y. & Kunkel, T. (2020). The significance of a sponsored event on lesser-known brands in a competitive environment. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 30(4), 579-593. doi: 10.1108/JPBM-07-2019-2468.

  • Kunkel, T., Doyle, J., & Na, S. (2020). Becoming more than an athlete: developing an athlete's personal brand using strategic philanthropy. European Sport Management Quarterly, 1-21. doi: 10.1080/16184742.2020.1791208.

  • Doyle, J., Su, Y., & Kunkel, T. (2020). Athlete branding via social media: examining the factors influencing consumer engagement on Instagram. European Sport Management Quarterly. doi: 10.1080/16184742.2020.1806897.