Date of Conferral

7-29-2025

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Business Administration

Advisor

Irene Williams

Abstract

Despite its growth and potential, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) consistently struggles to generate profit, remaining unprofitable in its 28th (2024) season and heading into its 29th (2025) season. The inability of women’s professional basketball marketing leaders to generate increased revenue and fan engagement has limited the sport’s growth and visibility. Grounded in McCarthy’s four Ps of marketing concept that includes product, price, place, and promotion, the purpose of the qualitative pragmatic inquiry project was to identify and explore effective and innovative marketing strategies that marketing leaders use to increase the revenue of women’s professional basketball teams and their fan base. The participants were nine women’s basketball marketing leaders in the United States in the southeast, southwest, west, and northwestern regions, all implementing marketing strategies to increase the fan base. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and analyzed using thematic coding and analysis. The four emerging themes were understanding marketing trends, growing women’s professional basketball fan base, utilizing star players, and increasing fan attendance. A key recommendation for women’s professional marketing leaders is to build a strategic marketing plan relevant to what consumers want to attract new fans and to grow women’s professional basketball. The implications for positive social change include the potential for marketing leaders and team executives to expand women’s professional basketball, offering young girls aspirational role models, and reducing gender disparities in sports. This creates greater prospects for diversity, equality, and inclusion within the women’s professional basketball community.

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