David Fleischman
Senior Lecturer in Marketing, School of Business and Creative Industries
Email: dfleish@usc.edu.au
Telephone: +61 7 5430 1216
David researches and publishes primarily in the fields of services marketing, higher education and sport. His research incorporates a transformative services lens to investigate the service experience of consumers and the resulting marketing implications.
Research
Publications
Book chapter | Peer reviewed
Elite athlete well-being and life after sport ↗
by Popi Sotiriadou, Max Kalis and David Fleischman
2026
Managing High Performance Sport, 2nd Edition
This chapter explores the multifaceted nature of elite athlete well-being, emphasising the importance of a holistic approach to health that integrates physical, mental, emotional, and social components. It delves into the prevalence of mental health issues among elite athletes, highlighting the unique stressors they face, such as performance pressures, injury, career transitions, and personal challenges. The chapter also examines the critical role of athlete well-being in performance optimisation, injury prevention, career sustainability, and ethical considerations. It advocates for the future integration of comprehensive support programmes, with independent experts and collaborative partnerships, to enhance holistic athlete support and reduce costs. Key strategies for addressing athlete well-being and career transitions, such as education, research, and athlete participation, are evaluated for their potential to promote both short- and long-term athlete health. Finally, the chapter reviews the evolution of elite athlete well-being programmes, illustrating the growing recognition of the need for personalised support and specialised services. Through these programmes, the sports industry is increasingly embracing a model that nurtures athlete well-being, benefiting both individual athletes and the broader sporting community.
Book chapter | Peer reviewed
Managing dual careers in high-performance sport ↗
by Tania Stevenson, David Fleischman, Kate Kirby, Christine Higgisson and Kristy Munroe
2026
Managing High Performance Sport, 2nd Edition
This chapter explores the evolution of dual career management in high-performance sport and discusses challenges and strategies for managing athletes who are balancing their sporting careers with other professional and personal pursuits. It describes key theoretical frameworks underpinning dual career research and practice and summarises international literature, which seeks to improve understanding of the influencers of dual career success. The chapter includes three case studies of the application of dual career management in the Australian context (1) the Australian Institute of Sport Elite Sport Education Network which coordinates a national, integrated approach to elite sport dual career development, (2) dual career support for student-athletes at the University of the Sunshine Coast, and (3) dual career management for professional netballers at the Sunshine Coast Lightning, professional national netball club. The chapter concludes by highlighting evolving challenges and future directions for dual career research and practice.
Journal article | Peer reviewed
Legacy Insights from Media Coverage of Atlanta 1996: Brisbane 2032 and Olympics Outside Mega Cities ↗
by Peter English, David Fleischman and Amy Clarke
2025
Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodistico
The Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Paralympics signal a shift from mega-city hosts to a more regional and sustainable approach to staging the Games. Uniquely in a Summer Olympic bid, Brisbane’s application was based on the hosts being from the broader Australian region of south-east Queensland. In appointing Brisbane, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach outlined the importance of sustainability and economic responsibility, and recognised the long-term regional and national strategies around development in Australia. In this changing global sports ecosystem, this paper examines the legacies of Atlanta 1996, a smaller-scale Olympics through media coverage of this edition of the Games, including general and sports reporting. The findings outline areas for the Brisbane 2032 organisers to consider in delivering an Olympics that is sustainable for the hosts. The Games were most effective for fulfilling elements related to sports legacies and the economic focus on making a profit, or not requiring government funding. There are considerable positives in the Olympic stadium still being in use, along with the aquatic centre, and the continued popularity of the public space and broader developments based around the Centennial Olympic Park.
Journal article | Peer reviewed
Bedside manner or technical quality? Building advocacy for clinical trial participation via rapport ↗
by Sarah Piplica, Rory Mulcahy and David Fleischman
2025
Health Marketing Quarterly
Encouraging clinical trial participation remains a critical endeavour despite sustained efforts. This research aims to introduce a novel approach to promoting clinical trial participation, leveraging existing participants as advocates for others to participate. The study analysed 166 survey responses from Australian clinical trial participants. The results demonstrate that enhanced rapport between clinical trial participants and trial staff and technical quality are significantly associated with increased advocacy among current trial participants. Additionally, potential variations in these relationships concerning trial type, participant age, and sex are explored. This research on health marketing suggests that strategies for recruiting new participants should leverage patient advocacy, which is fostered by strong patient-staff rapport and perceived technical quality. Significant health marketing implications emerge, indicating that campaigns and trial experiences must be tailored to account for variations in how rapport and technical quality influence advocacy, based on factors such as patient sex, age, and trial type.
Journal article | Peer reviewed
Offensive messages and Twitter trolling during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup ↗
by Rory Mulcahy, David Fleischman, Peter English and Asta Zelenkauskaite
2025
Soccer and Society
Female athletes have often been the targets of offensive comments on digital platforms and incivility, trolling and hate speech were again present during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. In this sometimes-toxic environment, it is important to understand what is occurring during such a prestigious global tournament so organizations and platforms recognize the degree of abuse – and consider how to address it. In this study, Twitter posts (n = 294,785) were examined in a quantitative content analysis for swearing, rude and derogatory words, and manually filtered into 700 cases where offensive comments were evident. The findings outline types and topics of trolling and highlight how these elements were expressed during the 2023 World Cup, with females the main targets, often by male perpetrators. Broader implications of this work show the need to find ways to address hostility online towards women in sport.
Explore all David Fleischman's publications in UniSC Research Bank
Grants
1 September 2025
Understanding the online communities of mega-events: sentiment and social listening
University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia, Sunshine Coast) - UniSC
Grant no. 0980031040.
Karen Sutherland, Rory Mulcahy, David Fleischman, Margarietha de Villiers Scheepers, Puneet Vatsa and Peter English
7 May 2025
Organisational perspectives on the performance wellbeing of Australian HP coaches
Australian Institute of Sport
Grant no. 0980030516.
Kathy Fahim, Tania Stevenson, Peter English, Rory Mulcahy and David Fleischman
1 January 2023 - 31 May 2024
Building sustainable night-time economies in regional Australia
University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia, Sunshine Coast) - UniSC
Grant no. 0980027806.
Harry Dugmore, Andy Ward, David Fleischman, Rory Mulcahy and Lenny Vance
13 May 2024
Prioritising performance well-being for coaches in Australian high-performance sport
Australian Institute of Sport
Grant no. 0980029388.
Ann-Marie Gibson, Alyse Wilcox, Justine Stynes, Kathy Fahim, Tania Stevenson, James Clark, Rory Mulcahy and David Fleischman
1 June 2023 - 30 November 2023
Understanding Sunshine Coast sentiment for Brisbane 2032
Sunshine Coast Council (Australia)
Grant no. 0980028378.
David Fleischman, Rory Mulcahy, Lenny Vance, Aaron Tham and Peter English
7 October 2022 - 31 March 2023
Examining the impacts of a world - and para-world -sporting event on consumer perceptions of a regional sports destination and national sporting organisation
Tenpin Bowling Australia Limited
Grant no. 0980027861.
Lenny Vance, Peter English, Rory Mulcahy and David Fleischman
11 June 2019 - 31 December 2022
Para-athlete talent transfers - personal and environmental factors #105Queensland Academy of Sport, Paralympics Australia - Scholarship
Queensland Academy of Sport (Australia, Sunnybank) - QAS
Grant no. 0980026160.
Brendan Burkett, David Fleischman and Bridie Kean
8 August 2022 - 31 December 2022
Getting consumers to say YES! to Sustainability through Message Framing
Queensland Department of Environment and Science (Australia, Brisbane)
Grant no. 0980027761.
Rory Mulcahy, David Fleischman and Margarietha de Villiers Scheepers
31 August 2022 - 1 September 2022
The Regional Competitiveness of a Small and Medium Enterprise Workforce: A Case Study of the Sunshine Coast
Caloundra Chamber of Commerce
Grant no. 0980027583.
David Fleischman, Lenny Vance, Aimee Riedel and Rory Mulcahy
16 June 2021 - 30 August 2022
Mind the Gap: Understanding motivators and inhibitors to elite athletes’ career adaptability
Australian Institute of Sport
Grant no. 0980027020.
Peter English, Lenny Vance, David Fleischman, Tania Stevenson and Rory Mulcahy
Explore all David Fleischman's grants in UniSC Research Bank
Teaching and supervision
Supervision
Thesis Supervision - Completed
Para-athlete Talent Transfer - Personal and Environmental Factors ↗
Students: Adeline Green
Associated Researchers: David Fleischman, Rory Mulcahy and Bridie Kean
1 January 2021 - 20 February 2025
Talent transfer, occurring when an experienced athlete transfers to a new sport with the goal of attaining high-performance levels, has contributed significantly to Australia’s Paralympic success. Despite the prevalence of talent transfer athletes in para-sport, this practice has primarily occurred informally, with knowledge and implementation derived from anecdotal sources rather than empirical evidence. Furthermore, of the available literature regarding talent transfer pathways, the majority is limited to studying non-para-athletes and sports. Due to the unique characteristics associated with para-sport, and the additional challenges para-athletes face when striving for elite sporting success, the generalisability of this prior research to para-sport is limited. Thus, the overarching aim of this thesis was to develop an empirically grounded framework of the factors that influence talent transfer in para-sport, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of para-athlete talent transfer.
Doctoral Thesis Supervision - Current
Key Account Management (KAM) in the digital era: A phygital B2B perspective
Students: Research student (name withheld)
Associated Researchers: David Fleischman, Margarietha J de Villiers Scheepers and Rory Mulcahy
2024
Doctoral Thesis Supervision - Current
Improving high performance pathways in Australian Athletics: A systems thinking approach
Students: Research student (name withheld)
Associated Researchers: Paul Salmon, David Fleischman and Matthew Morrison
2024
Doctoral Thesis Supervision - Completed
Message framing effects on consumer behaviour in disposing of technology products: A cross-cultural analysis
Students: Emma Florence
Associated Researchers: David Fleischman and Rory Mulcahy
2020 - 2023
Professional
Education
Bachelor of Arts
Communication
University of Georgia (United States, Athens) - UGA
Master of Business
International Business/Business Administration
University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia, Sunshine Coast) - USC
Doctor of Philosophy
Marketing
University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia, Sunshine Coast) - USC