THE ROLE OF FAN IDENTIFICATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPORTS LEAGUE BRAND ASSOCIATIONS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COMMITMENT

Kadir Yağız

Abstract


The purpose of this study is to test multi-items sports league brand associations in the leagues that are structured as open competition format and to investigate the mediating role of league fan identification on the relationship between league brand associations and psychological commitment. Proposed relationships were measured by structural equation modelling. Six brand association dimensions were identified. It was also found that league fan identification is a critical psychological connection in the development of psychological commitment of league consumers to a sports league, and a mediator between the brand association of nostalgia, escape, and peer group acceptance and psychological commitment.

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


brand association, fan identification, brand management, sports league management, sports league consumers

Full Text:

PDF

References


Aaker DA, 1991. Managing Brand Equity: Capitalizing on the value of a brand name, Free Press, New York, NY.

Ashforth BE, Mael F, 1989. Social identity theory and the organization, Academy of Management Review, 14 (1): 20-39.

Bauer HH, Sauer NE, Exler S, 2005. The loyalty of German soccer fans: does a team's brand image matter? International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, 7 (1): 8-16.

Bauer HH, Stokburger-Sauer NE, Exler S, 2008. Brand image and fan loyalty in professional team sport: A refined model and empirical assessment. Journal of sport Management, 22 (2): 205-226.

Becerra EP, Badrinarayanan V, 2013. The influence of brand trust and brand identification on brand evangelism. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 22 (5-6): 371-383.

Bergkvist L, Rossiter JR, 2007. The predictive validity of multiple-item versus single item measures of the same constructs. JMR, Journal of Marketing Research, 44 (2): 175–184.

Bhattacharya CB, Rao H, Glynn MA, 1995. Understanding the bond of identification: An investigation of its correlates among art museum members. Journal of Marketing, 59 (4): 46-57.

Bhattacharya CB, Sen S, 2003. Consumer–company identification: A framework for understanding consumers’ relationships with companies. Journal of Marketing, 67 (2): 76-88.

Biscaia R, Correia A, Ross S, Rosado AF, Maroco J, 2013. Spectator-based brand equity in professional soccer. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 22 (1): 20-32.

Biscaia R, Ross S, Yoshida M, Correia A, Rosado A, Marôco J, 2016. Investigating the role of fan club membership on perceptions of team brand equity in football. Sport Management Review, 19 (2): 157-170.

Boyle BA, Magnusson P, 2007. Social identity and brand equity formation: A comparative study of collegiate sports fans. Journal of Sport Management, 21 (4): 497-520.

Brown TJ, Barry TE, Dacin PA, Gunst RF, 2005. Spreading the word: Investigating antecedents of consumers’ positive word-of-mouth intentions and behaviours in a retailing context. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 33 (2): 123-138.

Byrne BM, 2001. Structural Equation Modelling with Amos: Basic Concepts, Applications, and Programming, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahvah, NJ.

Carlson BD, Donavan DT, Cumiskey KJ, 2009. Consumer‐brand relationships in sport: brand personality and identification. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management. 37 (4): 370-384.

Cheung MW, 2007. Comparison of approaches to constructing confidence intervals for mediating effects using structural equation models. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 14 (2): 227-246.

Daniels J, Kunkel T, Karg A, 2019. New brands: contextual differences and development of brand associations over time. Journal of Sport Management, 33 (2): 133-147.

Darmawan IGN, Keeves JP, 2006. Suppressor variables and multilevel mixture Modelling, International Education Journal, 7 (2): 160-173.

Deloitte. 2018. Annual review of football finance 2018, Sport Business Group. http://www.deloitte-uk-sbg-annual-review-of-football-finance-2018.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2020.

Doyle JP, Filo K, McDonald H, Funk DC, 2013. Exploring sport brand double jeopardy: The link between team market share and attitudinal loyalty, Sport Management Review, 16 (3): 285-297.

Eryılmaz H, Er F, 2016. A Comparison of Germany, Holland and Turkey Football Leagues with Cramér–Von Mises Test. Anadolu Üniversitesi Bilim Ve Teknoloji Dergisi A-Uygulamalı Bilimler ve Mühendislik, 17 (5): 786-794.

Filo K, Funk DC, Alexandris K, 2008. Exploring the role of brand trust in the relationship between brand associations and brand loyalty in sport and fitness, International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 3 (1-2): 39-57.

Fink JS, Trail GT, Anderson DF, 2002. An examination of team identification: which motives are most salient to its existence? International Sports Journal, 6 (2): 195-207.

Fisher RJ, Wakefield K, 1998. Factors leading to group identification: A field study of winners and losers. Psychology & Marketing, 15 (1): 23-40.

Fornell C, Larcker DF, 1981. Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18 (1): 39-50.

Fournier S, 1998. Consumers and their brands: Developing relationship theory in consumer research. Journal of consumer research, 24 (4): 343-373.

Funk DC, James JD, 2001. The Psychological Continuum model: A conceptual framework for understanding an individual’s psychological connection to sport. Sport Management Review, 4 (2): 119–150.

Funk DC, James JD, 2006. Consumer loyalty: The meaning of attachment in the development of sport team allegiance. Journal of Sport Management, 20 (2): 189-217.

Gladden JM, Funk DC, 2001. Understanding brand loyalty in professional sport: Examining the link between brand associations and brand loyalty. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 3 (1): 54-81.

Gladden JM, Funk DC, 2002. Developing an understanding of brand associations in team sport: Empirical evidence from consumers of professional sport. Journal of Sport Management, 16 (1): 54–81.

Gladden JM, Milne GR, Sutton WA, 1998. A conceptual framework for assessing brand equity in Division I college athletics. Journal of sport management, 12 (1): 1-19.

Gordon BS, James JD, (2017). The impact of brand equity drivers on consumer-based brand equity in the sport service setting, International Journal of Business Administration, 8 (3): 55-68.

Hair JF, Black WC, Babin BJ, Anderson RE, Tatham RL, 2006. Multivariate data analysis (6thed.), Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Havitz ME, Howard, DR, 1995. How enduring is enduring involvement? A seasonal examination of three recreational activities. Journal of consumer Psychology, 4 (3): 255-276.

Hayes AF, Rockwood NJ, 2016. Regression-based statistical mediation and moderation analysis in clinical research: Observations, recommendations, and implementation, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 30, 1e19.

Hyundai A-League: Home. 2020a. History. https://www.a-league.com.au/history. Accessed 15 May 2020.

Hyundai A-League: Home. 2020b. Hyundai A-League Competition Rules Summary. https://www.a-league.com.au/competition-rules. Accessed 15 May 2020.

Hyundai A-League: Home. 2020c. Salary Cap System. https://www.a-league.com.au/salary-cap-system. Accessed 15 May 2020.

Keller KL, 1993. Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. The Journal of Marketing, 57 (1): 1-22.

Kim YM, Kim S, 2009. The relationships between team attributes, team identification and sponsor image. International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, 10 (3): 215-229.

Kline RB, 2005. Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nded.), Guilford, New York, NY.

Ko YJ, Zhang J, Cattani K, Pastore D, 2011. Assessment of event quality in major spectator sports, Managing Service Quality, 21 (3): 304-322.

Kolbe RH, James JD, 2000. An identification and examination of influences that shape the creation of a professional team fan, International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, 2 (1): 23-38.

Kunkel T, Doyle JP, Funk DC, 2014a. Exploring sport brand development strategies to strengthen consumer involvement with the product-The case of the Australian A-League, Sport Management Review, 17 (4): 470-483.

Kunkel T, Funk D, Hill B, 2013. Brand architecture, drivers of consumer involvement, and brand loyalty with professional sport leagues and teams, Journal of Sport Management, 27(3): 177-192.

Kunkel T, Funk D, King C, 2014b. Developing a conceptual understanding of consumer-based league brand associations, Journal of Sport Management, 28 (1): 49-67.

Kunkel T, Doyle JP, Funk DC, Du J, McDonald H, 2016. The development and change of brand associations and their influence on team loyalty over time, Journal of Sport Management, 30 (2): 117-134.

Kunkel T, Funk DC, Lock D, 2017. The effect of league brand on the relationship between the team brand and behavioural intentions: A formative approach examining brand associations and brand relationships, Journal of Sport Management, 31 (4): 317-332.

Kwon HH, Trail GT, 2003. A Re-examination of the Construct and Concurrent Validity of the Psychological Commitment to Team Scale. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 12 (2): 88-93.

Kwon H, Trail G, 2005. The feasibility of single-item measures in sport loyalty research. Sport Management Review, 8 (1): 69–88.

Lock D, Taylor T, Funk DC, Darcy S, 2012. Exploring the development of team identification, Journal of Sport Management, 26 (4): 283-294.

Magnusen M, Kim JW, Kim YK, 2012. A relationship marketing catalyst: The salience of reciprocity to sport organization–sport consumer relationships, European Sport Management Quarterly, 12 (5): 501-524.

Mahony DF, Madrigal R, Howard DA, 2000. Using the psychological commitment to team (PCT) scale to segment sport consumers based on loyalty, Sport Marketing Quarterly, 9 (1):15-25.

Nunnally JC, 1978. Psychometric Theory (2nd ed.), McGraw Hill, New York.

Preacher KJ, Hayes AF, 2008. Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models, Behavior research methods, 40 (3): 879-891.

Pritchard MP, Funk DC, 2006. Symbiosis and substitution in spectator sport, Journal of Sport Management, 20 (3): 299-321.

Ridinger L, Funk DC, 2006. Looking at gender differences through the lens of sport spectators, Sports Marketing Quarterly, 15 (3): 155-166.

Ross SD, Russell KC, Bang H, 2008. An empirical assessment of spectator-based brand equity, Journal of Sport Management, 22 (3): 322-337.

Rucker DD, Preacher KJ, Tormala ZL, Petty RE, 2011. Mediation analysis in social psychology: Current practices and new recommendations, Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 5 (6): 359-371.

Scanlan TK, Carpenter PJ, Simons JP, Schmidth GW, Keeler B, 1993. The sport commitment model: Measurement development for the youth-sport domain, Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 15 (1): 16-38.

Sirgy MJ, Grewal D, Mangleburg TF, Park JO, Chon KS, Claiborne CB, Berkman H, 1997. Assessing the predictive validity of two methods of measuring self-image congruence, Journal of the academy of marketing science, 25 (3): 229-241.

Smith GJ, Patterson B, Williams T, Hogg J, 1981. A profile of the deeply committed male sports fan, Arena Review, 5 (2): 26-44.

Sutton WA, McDonald MA, Milne GR, Cimperman J, 1997. Creating and fostering fan identification in professional sports, Sport marketing quarterly, 6, pp.15-22.

Tff.org, (2020). 2019-2020 Süper Lig Cemil Usta Sezonu Müsabakaları Statüsü. https://www.tff.org/Resources/TFF/Documents/STATULER/2019-2020/2019-2020-SL-STATU.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2020

Tuškej U, Golob U, Podnar K, 2013. The role of consumer–brand identification in building brand relationships, Journal of business research, 66 (1): 53-59.

Wakefield KL, 1995. The pervasive effects of social influence on sporting event attendance, Journal of sport and social issues, 19 (4): 335-351.

Wann DL, Branscombe NR, 1993. Sports fans: Measuring degree of identification with their team, International Journal of Sport Psychology. 24 (1): 1-17.

Wann DL, Tucker KB, Schrader MP, 1996. An exploratory examination of the factors influencing the origination, continuation, and cessation of identification with sports teams, Perceptual and motor skills, 82 (3): 995-1001.

Zhao X, Lynch Jr JG, Chen Q, 2010. Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and truths about mediation analysis, Journal of consumer research, 37 (2):197-206.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejpe.v6i9.3456

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2020 Kadir Yağız

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright © 2015 - 2023. European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science (ISSN 2501 - 1235) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All authors who send their manuscripts to this journal and whose articles are published on this journal retain full copyright of their articles. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).