Susmit S. Gulavani, Niveditha Karthikeyan, Simran Kaur Sethi, James Du
Sport human brands represent transformative sport figures with the potential to drive socio-cultural change. This study investigates how the sporting success of Manu Bhaker, a sport human brand, influences public perceptions of women’s participation in sports in India. Using a case-based approach, the study explores how Bhaker’s achievements impact perceptions of women’s empowerment and challenge traditional gender roles in sports in India. Methodologically, an artificial intelligence algorithm was incorporated to develop psychometric survey items, and structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data. Findings highlight Bhaker’s role in (re)shaping societal attitudes toward women in sport, suggesting that her success serves as a symbol of empowerment and challenges the existing gender roles pertaining to sports in India. This research contributes to sport management scholarship by demonstrating how the branding and visibility of female athletes can drive socio-cultural transformation in patriarchal societies like India specifically and Global South broadly.
Keywords: Sport branding, women’s sports, transformative sport research, Global South, artificial intelligence
APA Citation: Gulavani, S. S., Karthikeyan, N., Sethi, S. K., & Du, J. (2026). Breaking barriers: Examining societal impacts of sport human brand using artificial intelligence and structural equation modeling. International Journal of Sport Management, 27(1), 1-31.
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