Towards a Better Understanding of Match-Fixing

This introductory chapter sets the stage for the individual contributions of this edited volume. First, showing that much existing match-fixing research is mainly empirical in nature and indicating that many of the current theoretically informed studies are too heavily relying on rational choice theory only, we outline some of the major limitations of the existing match-fixing literature. Second, we argue that theoretically informed studies on match-fixing are required to not only describe but also better contextualize, understand, and explain match-fixing. Third and finally, we discuss the individual contributions and argue why and how associated insights bear scientific and/or practical utility and can help inform match-fixing research, practice, and education.