Sports management, marketing
Akbar Jaberi; Asma Fekrat
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of brand association on the brand positioning of football clubs in the Iranian premier league with the mediating role of fan-team identification. The present study is a descriptive and correlational study that has been conducted in the field. The research ...
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The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of brand association on the brand positioning of football clubs in the Iranian premier league with the mediating role of fan-team identification. The present study is a descriptive and correlational study that has been conducted in the field. The research population of the study included football fans of popular football clubs in the Iranian premier league. Based on the formula for the SEM approach, 208 fans were selected through purposive sampling. Brand association, brand positioning, as well as fan-team identification Questionnaire, were used to collect data. The validity of the tool was calculated and confirmed based on content and structural validity, and the reliability was assessed according to Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability. Structural equation modeling via PLS was used to test the research hypotheses. The results showed that brand association had a significant effect on both brand positioning (β= 0.23) and fan-team identification (β= 0.31). The results also confirmed the positive and significant effect of fan-team identification on the brand positioning of football clubs in the Iranian premier league (β= 0.29). Moreover, based on the Sobel test, brand association through fan-team identification was effective on the brand positioning. The value of the GOF also indicated the proper fitness of the research model. This study is one of the few types of research that combines and examines brand associations, fan-team identification, and brand positioning through a comprehensive model in the field of Iranian sports.
sardar mohamadi; Khaled Solaimany; Jeronimo Garsia Fernandez
Abstract
Abstract
One of the most important components that make the sports industry appear important and valuable is sports fans because they play an important role in this industry. Sports fans are defined as people who have special attention and interest in sports, broadcasting it or following their favorite ...
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Abstract
One of the most important components that make the sports industry appear important and valuable is sports fans because they play an important role in this industry. Sports fans are defined as people who have special attention and interest in sports, broadcasting it or following their favorite team (Wann, 2002). In recent years, sports fans have had an increasing influence on the sports industry, because they are no longer passive consumers, but are becoming forward-looking consumers. Despite this fact, there are a significant number of researches on the social, personal, and psychological factors affecting the types of fan behavior related to sports, sports teams, and players, and most of the existing literature emphasizes the loyal and well-known fan. Since the current sports market has become highly competitive (Mahony &. Howard, 2001), sports marketers need loyal sports fans and a fan base to generate new fans. Therefore, both researchers and marketers working in this profession need to understand why consumers are attracted to sports in the first place. One of the factors that have a high potential to explain the cognitive, sensory, psychological, and situational effects on the behaviors of sports fans is curiosity (Mahony et al., 2001). Curiosity is defined as "the desire to acquire new knowledge and new sensory experience that stimulates exploratory behavior". One of the most important early researches in the field of curiosity was done by Berlyne. He believes that curiosity is a strong motivation that leads people to behave and discover different environments. In their research, Park et al (2015) found that increasing understanding of the impact of curiosity and knowledge gaps in sports consumers may be beneficial. Mehmet & Oktay (2019) pointed out in their research that statistically significant differences were found between the specific curiosity levels of students in sports in terms of gender, department, family participation in sports, and monthly expenses in the university. The purpose of this research is to create a valid and reliable measurement scale for the specific curiosities of sports fans. This research has developed the special curiosity scale of sports fans in two studies. Study 1 included four steps for scale development. In particular, the structural dimension of specific curiosity was used for the use of research literature at this stage. In the second stage, sample questions that reflected the structure were developed. In the third step, the data (sample one) was collected through an online questionnaire and among sports enthusiasts (303 people), which included physical education students of different educational levels, sports teachers, and physical education graduates. In the fourth step, the validity and reliability of the questions were tested using exploratory factor analysis. Study two included two stages (stages five and six). In stage five, the second set of data (sample two) was collected from 250 physical education experts. Since the authors carefully measured the curiosity of sports fans in this study, they tried to check the questionnaire of people who are currently sports fans. The sports fan questionnaire, which is a valid and reliable scale, includes five questions (for example, being a sports fan is very important to me) and was used based on a seven-point Likert scale to evaluate the level of fandom of the participants. In the sixth step, various statistical analyzes were performed to check the reliability and validity of the SFSCS questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to analyze the data using Amos software. Finally, three factors; Specific information (9 questions), general information (3 questions), and information on sports facilities and facilities (3 questions) were obtained for the final scale. There are several implications based on recent research findings. First, developing the level of curiosity of sports fans is an important step in this research and can be used in various sports topics. According to the findings of Churchill (1979) and Netemeyer et al (2003), to have a theoretical background and generate new knowledge, the existence of a valid and reliable measurement scale is necessary. However, the work of Park et al (2010) has provided insights into understanding fan exploratory curiosity behavior, a measure previously lacking in sports fan-specific curiosity. The SFSCS scale provides sport management researchers with a summary and fluid measure to explore this concept in the future. Due to the unique nature of sports, using the SFSCS scale is a much more effective tool than other specific curiosity scales. Additionally, since previous research on curiosity in sports has focused on new sport-based behaviors, it has broader applications. The special curiosity of sports fans has the potential to understand why and how fans become loyal sports fans. Specific curiosity can affect different fans and non-fans and can be combined with previous research and help us to better understand the behavior of sports fans. The existing study is an important step to better understanding fan-specific curiosity and its impact, but more work is still needed to achieve a full understanding.
Reza Heydari; kianoosh shajiee; seyed mosatfa moaven afshari; mahnaz gol goli
Abstract
AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate the identity situation of Iranian Premier League clubs, which was a case study on Esteghlal Cultural and Sports Club of Tehran. The present study is a descriptive-survey research and in terms of purpose is an applied one. by following case studies ...
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AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate the identity situation of Iranian Premier League clubs, which was a case study on Esteghlal Cultural and Sports Club of Tehran. The present study is a descriptive-survey research and in terms of purpose is an applied one. by following case studies that were conducted in the field form from the perspective of data collection. The research population consisted of all fans of Esteghlal Club of Tehran which 346 persons were selected as the final sample of the research according to the spatial and temporal domain. In order to measure the identity of the fans, the Sports Fans Identity Scale that was created by Shajieh, Sohrabi and Fouladian (2009), was used. The results of one-way analysis of variance test show that there is a significant difference between self-identity and social identity subscales based on the segregation of sports fans’ education. Also, the results of Friedman ranking test showed that among the factors that construct the fans' identity, their identity was ranked first and their influence and social identity were ranked second and third. According to the results of the research, recognizing the components of fan identity, forming a fan management system, paying attention to the needs of fans, and paying basic attention to fan centers are among the operational measures that are becoming more and more necessary.
alireza elahi; Erfan Moradi
Abstract
Every research requires a valid tool. In the field of spectators and sports fans, one of the most widely used tools is a questionnaire. These questionnaires must have the necessary validity and reliability in order to be able to trust the results obtained from them.The purpose of this study was to determine ...
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Every research requires a valid tool. In the field of spectators and sports fans, one of the most widely used tools is a questionnaire. These questionnaires must have the necessary validity and reliability in order to be able to trust the results obtained from them.The purpose of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the emotional experiences of sports fans questionnaire. The methodology of this study is descriptive-survey, and by purpose, it is a type of applied research. Sample size estimation based on power performed using SPSS Sample power software. Indices such as first and second-order confirmatory factor analysis used to evaluate the validity and reliability of the tool. Also, maximum shared variance (for discriminant validity), average variance extracted (for convergent validity), Cronbach's alpha, and combined reliability (for estimating internal consistency and component reliability) used; that the results of all indices showed the desired evaluation of the instrument in the sport context. In other words, empirical data supported the theoretical model of research. In this research, the structural model test derived from the mentioned validated tools tested, and the results of this test were goodness of fit. Therefore, it suggested that researchers active in sports science use the Persian version of the questionnaire as a suitable tool to study and evaluate the emotional experiences of sports fans.
