Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
PhD student, Department of Sports Management, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.
2
Associate Professor of Sports Management, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran
3
Assistant Professor of Sports Management, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran
10.22034/sms.2024.139707.1250
Abstract
Excellence in the competitive world of the sports industry requires appropriate marketing strategies. Marketing researchers have long identified brand authenticity as one of the axes of marketing and consider it very important for consumers. The purpose of this study was the effect of open innovation and social media marketing on brand authenticity of football clubs with the mediation of value creation and brand image. The type of research is descriptive-correlation in terms of purpose, applied and strategically, and it was carried out by structural equation method. The statistical population consisted of fans of football clubs in the active leagues of the country. 450 questionnaires were distributed and 428 questionnaires were analyzed. In order to collect the necessary information from Peter et al.'s open innovation questionnaires (2016), Kim et al.'s social network marketing questionnaire (2017), Kadiro's brand authenticity questionnaire (2010), Zinodin et al.'s value creation questionnaire (2012). And Brand Ulrich (2009) mental image questionnaire was used. The validity of the questionnaires has been confirmed by 13 sports management professors, and the reliability of the questionnaires using Cronbach's alpha coefficient is 0.88, 0.77, 0.89, 0.89 and 0.70, respectively. In order to analyze the data, SPSS and Smart PLS statistical software were used. The findings showed that open innovation and social media marketing have a positive and significant effect on brand authenticity, value creation, and brand image of football clubs. Also, brand value creation and brand mental image have a positive and significant effect on brand authenticity. Therefore, it can be concluded that paying attention to factors such as innovation and marketing of social networks can strengthen the power of the club's brand from the aspects of value creation, mental image and authenticity.
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