Gashaw Abeza, Ph.D.

Dr. Abeza is an Assistant Professor at Towson University (TU) and a member of the University’s Academic Senate, representing College of Health Professions. Before joining TU, Dr. Abeza taught graduate and undergraduate students at Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX) and the University of Ottawa (Ottawa, ON). He was a visiting research fellow at the University of New South Wales (Australia) and Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia). Prior to returning to academia, Dr. Abeza had a successful career in sport management and marketing at a global level, and currently provides consultancy services to a range of sport organizations around the world. His research interest is in marketing communication, with specific areas of expertise in digital media related to sponsorship, ambush marketing, branding, and relationship marketing. He has researched and written extensively on the topic publishing over 45 journal articles and book chapters in outlets such as Communication & Sport, International Journal of Sport Communication (IJSC), Journal of Sport Management, Journal of Strategic Marketing, amongst others. He is the co-author of two previous books: one, on e-sport entitled “Implications and Impacts of eSports on Business and Society” (IGI global, 2019) and a second, on sport marketing entitled “Canadian Sport Marketing” (Human Kinetics, in press). Abeza serves as an ad hoc reviewer for a number of academic journals and was a special issue guest editor for IJSC on the topic of "Contemporary Issues in Social Media in Sport." Currently, he serves on the editorial boards of seven different academic journals: International Journal of Sport Communication; Sport, Business, and Management; Journal of Relationship Marketing; International Journal of eSports Research; Journal of Global Sport Management, Sport Marketing Quarterly, and International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship.

 Select Publications 

• Finch, D. J., O'Reilly, N., Abeza, G., Clark, B., & Legg, D. (2019). Implications and Impacts of eSports on Business and Society: Emerging Research and Opportunities: Emerging Research and Opportunities. IGI Global.

• Abeza, G., O'Reilly, N., Finch, D., Seguin, B. & John, N. (2020). “The Role of Social Media in the Co-Creation of Value in Relationship Marketing: A Multi-Domain Study”. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 28(6), 472-493.

• Abeza, G. (2020). “The Evolving #Rule40 of the Olympic Charter: Balancing the Interest of Sponsors vs Athletes.” In D., Chatziefstathiou, B., Garcia & B., Seguin (eds.), International Handbook of Olympic and Paralympic Games. Routledge

• Abeza, G., O’Reilly, N., & Seguin, B. (2019). “Social Media in Relationship Marketing: The Perspective of Professional Sport Managers in the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL.” Communication & Sport. 7(1), 80-109.

• Abeza, G., Finch, D., O’Reilly, N., MacIntosh, E., & Nadeau, J. (2019). “An Integrative Review of the Sport Relationship Marketing Literature: Transforming Insights into Action.” Journal of Sport Management, 33(4), 343-360.

• Abeza, G., O’Reilly, N., & Seguin, B. (2018). “The Sequential Funnel-Based Focus Group Design: Adapting the Focus Group for Research in Sport Management”. Journal of Global Sport Management

• Abeza, G., O’Reilly, N., Seguin, B., & Nzindukiyimana, O. (2017). “Social Media as a Relationship Marketing Tool in Professional Sport: A Netnographical Exploration.” International Journal of Sport Communication, 10(3), 325-358.

• Abeza, G., O’Reilly, N., Seguin, B. & Nzindukiyimana, O. (2015). “Social Media Scholarship in Sport Management Research: A Critical Review. Journal of Sport Management.” 29(6), 601-618.

 Courses Taught

• KNES 280 Introduction to Sports Industry

• KNES 345 Seminar and Field Experience in Sport

• KNES 391 Sport Event Management

• KNES 396 Independent Study

• KNES 452 Sport Marketing

• KNES 454 Sport Sales and Sponsorship

• KNES 472 Revenue in Sport/ Selected Topics