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Publication
Investigating the role of fan club membership on perceptions of team brand equity in football
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Researchers have suggested that brand equity is vital for professional sport teams by
focusing on the examination of sport fans in general. The current study aims to examine
the differences in team brand equity perceptions between fan club members and nonmembers,
and the predictive role of brand equity dimensions on behavioral intentions.
Data were collected from fans of a professional football league (n = 2287) with an adapted
version of the spectator-based brand equity scale. The results gathered through a
confirmatory factor analysis provide evidence of fair psychometric properties of the
measurement scale. A multi-group CFA analysis showed factorial stability of the model in
both groups, while the latent mean comparisons revealed significant differences in the
dimensions of brand mark, social interaction, commitment, team history, organizational
attributes, team success, head coach, management, stadium, and internalization. In
addition, a multi-group SEM analysis revealed that the relationships between brand equity
dimensions and behavioral intentions are not significantly different among the groups.
Social interaction, team success and internalization were the significant positive
predictors of behavioral intentions among the overall sample. These findings highlight
the importance of studying different types of consumers and suggest managerial
implications, such as the need for clubs to establish reciprocal relationships with fans in
order to increase their levels of internalization and contribute to increased behavioral
intentions.
Description
Keywords
Football Professional sport teams Fan club membership Brand equity
Citation
Sport Management Review, 19, 157–170. doi:10.1016/j.smr.2015.02.001
Publisher
Elsevier