About

Kyle Bunds is an Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Programs at the College of Natural Resources. His research and teaching focus on the connection between sport and the environment, with particular emphasis on sport, water, and air pollution. He investigates how decisions related to infrastructure, development, and environmental management influence social inclusion, sustainability, and community development. Dr. Bunds is interested in long-term sustainable solutions to environmental crises and explores the political, economic, social, and communicative processes involved in capital development. He examines how sport can serve as a vehicle or impediment in addressing these environmental and social concerns. Currently, he is working on a book titled 'Sport, Politics and the Charity Industry: Running for Water,' which explores the intersections of sport, water, charity, and the body. His scholarly contributions include guest editing special issues on political economics and sport, serving as Associate Editor for the Journal of Amateur Sport, and engaging in various research projects funded by notable organizations. His work emphasizes understanding the role of sport in environmental activism and community engagement, contributing to the broader discourse on sustainability and social justice in the context of sport and environmental policy.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Medicine
• Political Science
• Business
• Gerontology
• Clinical psychology
• Gender studies
• Environmental resource management
• Finance
• Economics
• Ecology
• Psychology
• Psychotherapist
• Environmental planning
• Public economics

Selected publications

• Sacrificing for sport: a qualitative examination of the experiences of sport employees and their partners

  Sport Business and Management An International Journal · 2026-03-05

  articleSenior author

  Purpose There is a growing body of literature on work experiences within the sport industry. As these experiences become better understood, it raises concerns about the ripple effects on the employee's household, particularly the impacts on their partner. Therefore, the current study seeks to further understanding of the existing work–family relationships, utilizing family systems theory and self-determination theory. Design/methodology/approach We interviewed 25 couples where at least one partner works in college sport using a phenomenological approach to elucidate the lived experiences of the employee and partner. Findings Findings show a wide discrepancy in the perceptions of work experiences and personal and professional sacrifices between employees and partners. Three sub-themes (partner support and sacrifice, travel and event attendance, and boundary management) illustrate how employees often viewed the personal-professional trade-offs as necessary for working in the sport industry, whereas partners felt they must sacrifice their careers, overcompensate for a lack of partner availability, and face growing isolation. Originality/value These findings extend current understanding of family systems theory and self-determination theory by demonstrating how individuals within the family system can perceive the same situation, relationship and/or culture as vastly different. Therefore, despite the interconnectedness of the family system, individual perspectives can and may be divergent. Further, the findings illustrate partners may not be able to meet their basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness and competence as they prioritize the sport employee's career over their personal and professional well-being. Practical implications for individuals and their families, as well as organizations, are discussed.

  PublisherDOI

• How Self-Determination Theory Explains the Dynamic Ecosystem of Esports: From Gaming to Life Skills

  Journal of Global Sport Management · 2026-03-09

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Adult Sports Participation and Physical Activity: How About Curling?

  Journal of Healthy Eating and Active Living · 2024-10-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Despite its well-documented physical and psychosocial benefits, sport remains the least engaged form of physical activity (PA) among adults. Many adults may lack the skills needed to play or continue to play sports and aging adults are more likely to avoid participation for fear of poor performance or injury. A sport that shows great promise for adults seeking new sports participation outlets is curling. Curling is a team sport comprised of four interchangeable positions working collectively to deliver granite stones across a sheet of ice in an effort to outscore the opponent team. While it seems reasonable that walking on ice, "throwing" a 44 lb granite stone across a sheet of ice, and periodically sweeping while walking on ice over a two-hour period would generate at least a moderate amount of physical activity, research to date is quite limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to objectively measure the amount and intensity of PA achieved by average recreational curling participants during a typical curling match. Members of a curling club in NC were asked to wear ActiGraph Accelerometers (model GT3X) while they participated in their regularly scheduled curling match. All participants had at least one year of curling experience. Curling matches lasted between 90 and 120 minutes. Participants were asked to indicate their age, gender, and curling position during the match (lead, second, vice, skip) which were matched with accelerometer data. Overall, 110 participants (37 female, 73 male, avg. age 50 yrs) spent most of their curling time in light or moderate-intensity activity (18.1% Sedentary; 49.5% light; 32.4% moderate; .03% vigorous). In terms of minutes, the average participant spent 35.9 minutes engaged in Moderate-to-Vigorous PA (MVPA) per curling experience. This represents 23.9% of the weekly 150min of MVPA suggested by the CDC. Estimates of METs indicated that curling would be classified on the border of light and moderate physical activity. While total step data indicated that participation in beginning curling could make a significant contribution toward meeting the 10,000 - 13,000 daily step recommendation with an average of 2936 steps (~30%) within the curling sessions. The second position had the highest percentage of moderate activity level and a small percentage of vigorous activity. No other position reached a vigorous level. The skip position had the highest amount of sedentary activity as well as light activity. Females had a higher level of moderate activity in comparison to males. However, males reached a small amount of vigorous activity. The age group of 18 - 36 had the highest amount of moderate activity and the lowest amount of sedentary activity. This age group reached an average of 41.0 minutes of MVPA per curling experience. The age group of > 58 had the highest amount of sedentary activity and the lowest amount of moderate activity. Findings clearly show that regardless of position, curling participants achieved a moderate amount of physical activity during typical gameplay and that a majority of playing time was spent engaged in light or moderate levels. Participants should consider playing in one of the first three positions to maximize the amount and intensity of PA achieved while playing. Furthermore, since curling also requires balance, coordination, muscular strength, multitasking, strategic reasoning, and can cater to most physical challenges without compromising the integrity of the game, it may be an ideal sport to promote for adults of all ages and sport abilities. Findings should be used to inform strategies for promoting curling as an opportunity for team sport involvement that has the added value of contributing to daily physical activity. However, access and opportunities to play, especially for underserved populations, are limited. Given that most curling clubs in America are private and require a membership to play (Kanters, et. al, 2023), partnership arrangements between existing clubs and public parks and recreation departments could increase both access and opportunities to play.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The relationship between the environment and physical activity-related motivational trajectories

  Psychology of sport and exercise · 2024-08-24 · 12 citations

  articleOpen access

  The study explores motivational profiles for physical activity, using self-determination theory’s full continuum of motivational regulations, and examines their stability over three months. Furthermore, it investigates whether physical environment and community characteristics are associated with transitioning between profiles, as well as the sociodemographic differences in these motivational transition pathways. Data were collected from 305 U.S. residents at three time points. The three profiles—‘low in motivation’ (23.5 % of the sample in wave 1), ‘self-determined motivation’ (41.4 %), and ‘ambivalent motivation’ (35.0 %)—were relatively stable. Staying in the low-in-motivation profile was negatively associated with being active in social settings, community support, perceived environmental restorativeness, and availability of physical activity opportunities. Having a higher education and income, being male, employed, married or in a partnership, and identifying as White were associated with being in a motivationally positive profile in the last wave of the study. These profiles reported higher activity and life satisfaction. • We examined U.S. residents’ motivation profiles for physical activity over 3 months. • We identified 3 profiles: low in motivation, self-determined, ambivalent motivation. • People from the latter two profiles reported higher activity and life satisfaction. • Community support positively relates to transitioning to the latter two profiles. • The physical environment-transitioning correlations are unique for each profile.

  PublisherDOI

• Patient capital and no net loss: Applying institutional theory to understand publicly‐owned mitigation banking in an urban context at a United States port

  Public Administration · 2024-07-06 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract As urban areas grow, ecosystem extent and condition continue to decline. Some countries have adopted “no net loss” policies that require compensatory actions for unavoidable ecosystem losses. In the US, mitigation banking has emerged as a means of offsetting losses, but the system remains dominated by private commercial banks and mitigation outside of an urban context. With this in mind, we seek to understand the institutional drivers of innovative finance for urban mitigation projects at the public agency level. Applying institutional logics and institutional isomorphisms as theoretical foundations, we conducted a qualitative case study of innovative finance for habitat restoration at the Port of Seattle, a public port in Seattle, Washington (USA). Findings from interviews, focus groups, and document analysis suggest that hybrid institutional logics, unique organizational characteristics, and coercive and normative isomorphisms drive organizational change in this context, but significant barriers exist to establishing similar systems in the US.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Environment and the Active Body

  2023-01-01

  otherSenior author

  After reading this chapter, the student will be able to do the following:■ Define concepts central to the active body-environment nexus■ Understand the factors that satisfy or constrain the physiological needs of the active body■ Recognize the interdependence of personal and environmental factors th

  PublisherDOI

• Paying for <scp>nature‐based</scp> solutions: A review of funding and financing mechanisms for ecosystem services and their impacts on social equity

  Sustainable Development · 2023 · 56 citations

  • Political Science
  • Business
  • Environmental resource management

  Abstract Funding and financing challenges remain a persistent barrier to implementing nature‐based solutions that enhance ecosystem services, facilitate adaptation to climate change, and combat environmental stressors in cities. In the absence of adequate public financial resources, private funds are often expected to fill the gap. But market‐driven, nature‐based solutions can contribute to an inequitable distribution of urban ecosystem services by focusing on net benefits provided by nature. To help foster sustainable development and ensure that nature‐based solutions reach diverse and historically marginalized populations and communities, this scoping review explores the ecosystem services provided by nature‐based solutions and the payment mechanisms that produce and maintain them, focusing on literature on the United States. Findings suggest that the net benefits provided by nature‐based solutions and the available payment mechanisms vary based on the solution utilized (e.g., urban trees, parks, community gardens). Further, the distribution of benefits from nature‐based solutions is influenced by local historical, cultural, political, economic, and environmental contexts, the voices included in decision‐making, and the payment mechanisms used. Inspired by social equity principles, we present a framework for ecosystem service provision that is sensitive to market‐driven funding, financing, and partnerships. Practitioners can use this framework to assess whether payment schemes work in tandem with place (the local context) and process (governance and planning approaches) to ameliorate or exacerbate disparities in nature‐based solutions and the benefits they provide to people.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Role of Organizational Values for Sustainable Development: The Case of Forest Green Rovers and the Promotion of Plant-based Diets

  Marketing ZFP · 2023-01-01 · 2 citations

  article

  The study aims to explore the role of a professional sport team’s organizational values to promote the consumption of plant-based diets among fans. The case study focuses on Forest Green Rovers, a football club with a strong mission to sustainable development. First, a document analysis (44 documents, 56,057 words in total) was conducted to explore the development of sustainable organizational values and how the sport organization markets their values towards fans. The findings reveal that Forest Green Rovers was able to overcome concerns regarding their sustainability approach and was successful in implementing sustainability in the value system of both the organization and the stakeholders, thereby stimulating behavioural change. Second, a survey of Forest Green Rovers fans (n = 107) reveals that the adoption of a plant-based diet by fans is positively associated with team value internalization, which relates positively with fans’ intention to eat plant-based foods in the future. Thus, internalization of organizational values may play a crucial role for promoting future sustainable actions among individual customers.

  PublisherDOI

• Community building in virtual participation charity sport events

  Journal of Marketing Management · 2023-09-11 · 9 citations

  article1st author

  ABSTRACTThe study aims to explore the drivers of community building in virtual participation charity sport events. The authors conducted a case study of virtual charity events governed by Team World Vision, the sports arm of a global not-for-profit service organisation. They conducted semi-structured interviews with World Vision marketing managers and virtual running race participants, analysed survey and podcast interview data, and performed a document analysis. Four overarching themes were revealed as drivers of community building: community engagement, social networking, impression management, and fitness philanthropy practicing. The study uncovers the peculiarities of the virtual format that helped build virtual communities and create excitement around the cause, such as digitised communication plans, social media- and technology-facilitated opportunities to connect both locally and globally, and the adapted fundraising strategies in the virtual format.KEYWORDS: Virtual communitycause-related marketingCOVID-19digital marketingphysical activitycommunity engagement Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. See Nowell and Boyd (Citation2010) for a critique on the theory.2. Also, the virtual format may have allowed participants to stay safe during COVID-19.3. One might argue that self-reflection and interest in the cause may have decreased during COVID-19 because people were interested in their own and their family's health and were occupied with mastering tasks around COVID-19 related restrictions (e.g. home schooling, working from home). Especially during this time, people may have had other things on their mind than supporting social causes by virtual event participation. Such aspects might have influenced what practices were performed by the members during the COVID-19 pandemic.4. Brand use was identified by Schau et al. (Citation2009), but not in our study. This is not surprising given the focus of Schau et al.s" (Citation2009) work on brand communities. McMillan (Citation2011, pp. 509–510), in his work on local community building, refers to membership/spirit, influence/trust, integration of fulfilment of needs, shared emotional connection/art, time symbolised in rituals, common symbols, and traditions/shared stories, as well as spiritual bond emerging from shared history. Within each of these themes, McMillan (Citation2011) identifies a complex structure involving 'at least five or six subelements' (p. 509). To reduce complexity, we mostly relate to Schau et al. (Citation2009) in highlighting the novelty of our findings.Additional informationFundingThis research was supported by the Harold and Muriel Berkman Charitable Foundation Marketing Research Grant to Dr. Elina Tang.Notes on contributorsKyle BundsKyle Bunds is an Associate Professor of Sport and Sustainable Community Development in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at NC State University. His research interests include environmental sustainability, community equity, and community development. His work has been published in Sustainable Development, Journal of Sport Management, Sociology of Sport Journal, and Qualitative Inquiry amongst others.Yihui (Elina) TangYihui (Elina) Tang is Associate Professor of Marketing in the College of Business at Northern Illinois University. Her publications have appeared in the Financial Times' top business journals such as Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Marketing Science, and Journal of the American Statistical Association. Her work has been featured by Adweek, American Marketing Association, CBS, Missourian, among other outlets.Joerg KoenigstorferJoerg Koenigstorfer is Professor of Sport and Health Management in the School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Germany. He investigates managerial decisions of sport and health companies, and their impact on consumers and welfare. His work was published in the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, the Journal of Sport Management, and Sport Management Review, among others, and was cited by various mass media outlets. He is Associate Editor for the European Sport Management Quarterly.

  PublisherDOI

• The Contribution of Sport in the Rehabilitation Process of Disabled Military Veterans: A Case Study of the 2016 Invictus Games

  Journal of Global Sport Management · 2022-02-03 · 11 citations

  articleOpen access

  A growing body of research highlights the positive impacts of sport and physical activity upon the physical and mental well-being of traumatically injured military personnel. This study, conducted at the 2016 Invictus Games in Orlando, Florida, sought to understand the role of sport in the rehabilitation process of military personnel who have undergone traumatic injury or have experienced chronic illness. Data were derived from in-depth focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and open-ended questions with competitors, team managers, and family members. Findings indicated that the use of sport and physical activity has been an effective rehabilitation tool for those who competed. Tactics such as goal setting and team mentality, often critical components of both sport and military training, are helpful in allowing these competitors to reconnect with their military identity, without the negative implications of self-comparison.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Jonathan M. Casper

  North Central State College

  20 shared

• Michael B. Edwards

  11 shared

• Jason N. Bocarro

  North Carolina State University

  10 shared

• Michael A. Kanters

  North Central State College

  9 shared

• Joshua I. Newman

  Florida State University

  9 shared

• J. Aaron Hipp

  North Carolina State University

  8 shared

• Gareth J. Jones

  Temple University

  8 shared

• Joerg Koenigstorfer

  8 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Forest Biometrics

  North Carolina State University

  2007

• M.S., Forest Biometrics

  University of Georgia

  2002

• B.S., Forest Resources

  University of Georgia

  2000

Awards & honors

• Wellcome Burroughs Foundation GAPS (2016-2020)
• NC State Distance Education Learning Technology Applications…
• NC State Distance Education Learning Technology Applications…
• NC State Sustainability Fund NC State Student Athletics Sust…
• Center for Human Health and Environment Development and demo…