Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Ph.D. of Sport Management, University of Guilan
2 Assistant Professor of Sport Management, University of Guilan
3 Associate Professor of Sport Management, Allame Tabatabai University
Abstract
The significance of fans in the development of professional sports has a special status. This is while brand communities and unique social media features are well placed for brand fans. The present study aimed to develop a comprehensive model of interactive behavior of fans of football clubs, as members of social media-based brand communities. The research was conducted using a correlational-survey method. The samples were selected from fans of professional football clubs active in the social media. To collect the required data, a researcher-made questionnaire containing 45 items was employed. In order to obtain of the questionnaire validity, content and construct validity indicators were used, and to evaluate its reliability, Cronbach's alpha was used. For data analysis, SEM software was put into service. The research findings indicated that a brand community, as an independent variable, has a positive and significant effect on the variables of interactions among the members, communication maturity and value creation strategies. In addition, the factor of value creation strategies has positive and significant effects on loyalty and communication maturity. The results confirmed the social media-based fan behavior model using SEM.
Keywords
Main Subjects
Abosag, I., Roper, S., & Hind, D. (2012). Examining the relationship between brand emotion and brand extension among supporters of professional football clubs. European Journal of Marketing, 46(9), 1233-51.
Adamson, G., Jones, W., & Tapp, A. (2006). From CRM to FRM: Applying CRM in the football industry. Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 13(2), 156-72.
Afrough, A., Barzegarzadeh, A., & Zarei, M. (2014). The effect of virtual media and social networks on social health in Bushehr city. Journal of the Law Enforcement of Bushehr, 18(1), 103-24. (Persian).
Afzal, S. (2013). Factors influencing successful brand extension into related and unrelated product categories. Asian Economic and Financial Review, 3(2), 216-20.
Ahearne, M., Bhattacharya, C. B., & Gruen, T. (2005). Antecedents and consequences of customer-company identification: Expanding the role of relationship marketing. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(3), 574-82.
Alavi, S, M., & Najafi, S, M. (2014). A study of brand loyalty in the relationship between brand loyalty and brand support (Case study: Anzali Sailor sports brand). Journal of Applied Research in Sport Management, 3(9), 23-36. (Persian).
Algesheimer, R., Borle, S., Dholakia, U. M., & Singh, S. S. (2010). The impact of customer community participation on customer behaviors: An empirical investigation. Marketing Science, 29(4), 756-69.
Eghbali, A., Nayebzade, S., Dehghan Dehnavi, H. (2014). The effect of brand community on brand characteristics. Journal of Business Management, 6(4), 709-30.
Esmaeilifar, B., & Rezayi, L. (2015). The impact of the society's brand and community engagement on brand trust in social media. Paper presented at the International Conference on New Orientations in Management, Economics and Accounting, Tabriz. (Persian).
Filo, K., Lock, D., & Karg, A. (2015). Sport and social media research: A review. Sport Management Review, 18(2), 166-81.
Ghasemi, V. (2013). Structural equation modeling in social research using Amos graphics. Tehran: Publisher of Sociologists. (Persian).
Gill, R. (2016). The AFL brand and umpires’ reputation through media commentaries. Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, 17(1), 42-59.
Habibi, M. R., Laroche, M., & Richard, M. O. (2016). Testing an extended model of consumer behavior in the context of social media-based brand communities. Computers in Human Behavior, 62, 292-302.
Heino, R. D., Ellison, N. B., & Gibbs, J. L. (2010). Relationshopping: Investigating the market metaphor in online dating. Journal of Social and Personal relationships, 27(4), 427-47.
Heding, T., Knudtzen, C. F., & Bjerre, M. (2015). Brand management: Research, theory and practice. Abingdon: Routledge.
Islami, P. (2012). Review of social networks and their effects on different dimensions of life. Proceddings of the First National Congress of Cyberspace and New Social Damage (22-9). Tehran: Ministry of Cooperatives. (Persian).
Izadi, B., Ehsani, M., Keshchian, H., & Tarbani, F. (2015). Investigating the impact of communication management dimensions on supporting their lifecycle in the Iranian Football Premier League. Journal of Sport Management Studies, 24, 277-91. (Persian).
Jaberi, A., Sultan Hosseini, M., Naderian Jahromi, M., & Khazai, J. (2014). Presentation of a model for developing loyalty to the brand of football teams in Iran by structural equation modeling. Sports Management Journal, 6 (3), 475-92. (Persian).
Jang, H., Olfman, L., KO, I., Koh, J., & Kim, K. (2008). The influence of on-line brand community characteristics on community commitment and brand loyalty. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 12(3), 57-80.
Khodadad Hoseini, H., & Rezvani, M. (2015). Brand management: Schools, value setting & national brand. Tehran: Culture & Management. (Persian).
Khoshkhoo, M., & Kheiri, B. (2015). Providing a native model to study the impact of social media interaction on brand trust and brand loyalty. Proceddings of the Third International Conference on New Ideas in Management, Economics and Accounting (12-27). International Conference Center: Tehran. (Persian).
Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and psychological measurement, 30(3), 607-610.
Kim, Y. K., & Trail, G. (2010). Constraints and motivators: A new model to explain sport consumer behavior. Journal of Sport Management, 24(2), 190-210.
Ko, E., Kim, E. Y., & Lee, E. K. (2009). Modeling consumer adoption of mobile shopping for fashion products in Korea. Psychology & marketing, 26(7), 669-87.
Laroche, M., Habibi, M. R., Richard, M. O., & Sankaranarayanan, R. (2012). The effects of social media based brand communities on brand community markers, value creation practices, and brand trust and brand loyalty. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(5), 1755-67.
Laroche, M., Habibi, M. R., & Richard, M. O. (2013). To be or not to be in social media: How brand loyalty is affected by social media? International Journal of Information Management, 33(1), 76-82.
Mahan, J. E. (2011). Examining the predictors of consumer response to sport marketing via digital social media. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 9(3-4), 254-67.
Mahony, D. F., Madrigal, R., & Howard, D. A. (2000). Using the psychological commitment to team (PCT) scale to segment sport consumers based on loyalty. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 9(1), 1-15.
McCarthy, J., Rowley, J., Jane Ashworth, C., & Pioch, E. (2014). Managing brand presence through social media: The case of UK football clubs. Internet Research, 24(2), 181-204.
Muniz, A. M., & O'guinn, T. C. (2001). Brand community. Journal of consumer research, 27(4), 412-432.
Peetz, T. B. (2014). Social media in sport marketing, T. Newman, JF Peck, C. Harris, B. Wilhide. Holcomb Hathaway Publishers, Scottsdale, Arizona (2013).
Popp, B., & Woratschek, H. (2016). Introducing branded communities in sport for building strong brand relations in social media. Sport Management Review, 19(2), 183-97.
Saeednia, G., & IranNejad, P. (2016). Impact of social media based society on brand trust and loyalty. Brand Management, 3 (6), 65-88. (Persian).
Schau, H. J., Muñiz Jr, A. M., & Arnould, E. J. (2009). How brand community practices create value. Journal of Marketing, 73(5), 30-51.
ShirKhodai, M., Shahi, M., Nejat, H., & MahmodiNasab, S. (2017). Investigating the impact of social media on brand trust and brand loyalty in a brand society (Case study: Social network of Instagram). New Marketing Reaserch, 26(3), 106-24.
Smith, D. R., Padilla, W. J., Vier, D. C., Nemat-Nasser, S. C., & Schultz, S. (2000). Composite medium with simultaneously negative permeability and permittivity. Physical Review Letters, 84(18), 41-84.
Van Doorn, J., Lemon, K. N., Mittal, V., Nass, S., Pick, D., Pirner, P., & Verhoef, P. C. (2010). Customer engagement behavior: Theoretical foundations and research directions. Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 253-66.
Wallace, E., Buil, I., & De Chernatony, L. (2012). Facebook ‘friendship’and brand advocacy. Journal of Brand Management, 20(2), 128-46.
Yoshida, M., Gordon, B., Nakazawa, M., & Biscaia, R. (2014). Conceptualization and measurement of fan engagement: Empirical evidence from a professional sport context. Journal of Sport Management, 28(4), 399-417.
Zarei, M., Afrogh, A., Akbar Ghasemi, A. (2015). Study the role of media social networks with the approach of political and social participation People in Bushehr. Boushehr Danesh Entezami, 1394(20), 60-75.
1. Abosag, I., Roper, S., & Hind, D. (2012). Examining the relationship between brand emotion and brand extension among supporters of professional football clubs. European Journal of Marketing, 46(9), 1233-51.
Adamson, G., Jones, W., & Tapp, A. (2006). From CRM to FRM: Applying CRM in the football industry. Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 13(2), 156-72.
Afrough, A., Barzegarzadeh, A., & Zarei, M. (2014). The effect of virtual media and social networks on social health in Bushehr city. Journal of the Law Enforcement of Bushehr, 18(1), 103-24. (Persian).
Afzal, S. (2013). Factors influencing successful brand extension into related and unrelated product categories. Asian Economic and Financial Review, 3(2), 216-20.
Ahearne, M., Bhattacharya, C. B., & Gruen, T. (2005). Antecedents and consequences of customer-company identification: Expanding the role of relationship marketing. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(3), 574-82.
Alavi, S, M., & Najafi, S, M. (2014). A study of brand loyalty in the relationship between brand loyalty and brand support (Case study: Anzali Sailor sports brand). Journal of Applied Research in Sport Management, 3(9), 23-36. (Persian).
Algesheimer, R., Borle, S., Dholakia, U. M., & Singh, S. S. (2010). The impact of customer community participation on customer behaviors: An empirical investigation. Marketing Science, 29(4), 756-69.
Eghbali, A., Nayebzade, S., Dehghan Dehnavi, H. (2014). The effect of brand community on brand characteristics. Journal of Business Management, 6(4), 709-30.
Esmaeilifar, B., & Rezayi, L. (2015). The impact of the society's brand and community engagement on brand trust in social media. Paper presented at the International Conference on New Orientations in Management, Economics and Accounting, Tabriz. (Persian).
Filo, K., Lock, D., & Karg, A. (2015). Sport and social media research: A review. Sport Management Review, 18(2), 166-81.
Ghasemi, V. (2013). Structural equation modeling in social research using Amos graphics. Tehran: Publisher of Sociologists. (Persian).
Gill, R. (2016). The AFL brand and umpires’ reputation through media commentaries. Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, 17(1), 42-59.
Habibi, M. R., Laroche, M., & Richard, M. O. (2016). Testing an extended model of consumer behavior in the context of social media-based brand communities. Computers in Human Behavior, 62, 292-302.
Heino, R. D., Ellison, N. B., & Gibbs, J. L. (2010). Relationshopping: Investigating the market metaphor in online dating. Journal of Social and Personal relationships, 27(4), 427-47.
Heding, T., Knudtzen, C. F., & Bjerre, M. (2015). Brand management: Research, theory and practice. Abingdon: Routledge.
Islami, P. (2012). Review of social networks and their effects on different dimensions of life. Proceddings of the First National Congress of Cyberspace and New Social Damage (22-9). Tehran: Ministry of Cooperatives. (Persian).
Izadi, B., Ehsani, M., Keshchian, H., & Tarbani, F. (2015). Investigating the impact of communication management dimensions on supporting their lifecycle in the Iranian Football Premier League. Journal of Sport Management Studies, 24, 277-91. (Persian).
Jaberi, A., Sultan Hosseini, M., Naderian Jahromi, M., & Khazai, J. (2014). Presentation of a model for developing loyalty to the brand of football teams in Iran by structural equation modeling. Sports Management Journal, 6 (3), 475-92. (Persian).
Jang, H., Olfman, L., KO, I., Koh, J., & Kim, K. (2008). The influence of on-line brand community characteristics on community commitment and brand loyalty. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 12(3), 57-80.
Khodadad Hoseini, H., & Rezvani, M. (2015). Brand management: Schools, value setting & national brand. Tehran: Culture & Management. (Persian).
Khoshkhoo, M., & Kheiri, B. (2015). Providing a native model to study the impact of social media interaction on brand trust and brand loyalty. Proceddings of the Third International Conference on New Ideas in Management, Economics and Accounting (12-27). International Conference Center: Tehran. (Persian).
Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and psychological measurement, 30(3), 607-610.
Kim, Y. K., & Trail, G. (2010). Constraints and motivators: A new model to explain sport consumer behavior. Journal of Sport Management, 24(2), 190-210.
Ko, E., Kim, E. Y., & Lee, E. K. (2009). Modeling consumer adoption of mobile shopping for fashion products in Korea. Psychology & marketing, 26(7), 669-87.
Laroche, M., Habibi, M. R., Richard, M. O., & Sankaranarayanan, R. (2012). The effects of social media based brand communities on brand community markers, value creation practices, and brand trust and brand loyalty. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(5), 1755-67.
Laroche, M., Habibi, M. R., & Richard, M. O. (2013). To be or not to be in social media: How brand loyalty is affected by social media? International Journal of Information Management, 33(1), 76-82.
Mahan, J. E. (2011). Examining the predictors of consumer response to sport marketing via digital social media. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 9(3-4), 254-67.
Mahony, D. F., Madrigal, R., & Howard, D. A. (2000). Using the psychological commitment to team (PCT) scale to segment sport consumers based on loyalty. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 9(1), 1-15.
McCarthy, J., Rowley, J., Jane Ashworth, C., & Pioch, E. (2014). Managing brand presence through social media: The case of UK football clubs. Internet Research, 24(2), 181-204.
Muniz, A. M., & O'guinn, T. C. (2001). Brand community. Journal of consumer research, 27(4), 412-432.
Peetz, T. B. (2014). Social media in sport marketing, T. Newman, JF Peck, C. Harris, B. Wilhide. Holcomb Hathaway Publishers, Scottsdale, Arizona (2013).
Popp, B., & Woratschek, H. (2016). Introducing branded communities in sport for building strong brand relations in social media. Sport Management Review, 19(2), 183-97.
Saeednia, G., & IranNejad, P. (2016). Impact of social media based society on brand trust and loyalty. Brand Management, 3 (6), 65-88. (Persian).
Schau, H. J., Muñiz Jr, A. M., & Arnould, E. J. (2009). How brand community practices create value. Journal of Marketing, 73(5), 30-51.
ShirKhodai, M., Shahi, M., Nejat, H., & MahmodiNasab, S. (2017). Investigating the impact of social media on brand trust and brand loyalty in a brand society (Case study: Social network of Instagram). New Marketing Reaserch, 26(3), 106-24.
Smith, D. R., Padilla, W. J., Vier, D. C., Nemat-Nasser, S. C., & Schultz, S. (2000). Composite medium with simultaneously negative permeability and permittivity. Physical Review Letters, 84(18), 41-84.
Van Doorn, J., Lemon, K. N., Mittal, V., Nass, S., Pick, D., Pirner, P., & Verhoef, P. C. (2010). Customer engagement behavior: Theoretical foundations and research directions. Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 253-66.
Wallace, E., Buil, I., & De Chernatony, L. (2012). Facebook ‘friendship’and brand advocacy. Journal of Brand Management, 20(2), 128-46.
Yoshida, M., Gordon, B., Nakazawa, M., & Biscaia, R. (2014). Conceptualization and measurement of fan engagement: Empirical evidence from a professional sport context. Journal of Sport Management, 28(4), 399-417.
Zarei, M., Afrogh, A., Akbar Ghasemi, A. (2015). Study the role of media social networks with the approach of political and social participation People in Bushehr. Boushehr Danesh Entezami, 1394(20), 60-75.
1. Abosag, I., Roper, S., & Hind, D. (2012). Examining the relationship between brand emotion and brand extension among supporters of professional football clubs. European Journal of Marketing, 46(9), 1233-51.
2. Adamson, G., Jones, W., & Tapp, A. (2006). From CRM to FRM: Applying CRM in the football industry. Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 13(2), 156-72.
3. Afrough, A., Barzegarzadeh, A., & Zarei, M. (2014). The effect of virtual media and social networks on social health in Bushehr city. Journal of the Law Enforcement of Bushehr, 18(1), 103-24. (Persian).
4. Afzal, S. (2013). Factors influencing successful brand extension into related and unrelated product categories. Asian Economic and Financial Review, 3(2), 216-20.
5. Ahearne, M., Bhattacharya, C. B., & Gruen, T. (2005). Antecedents and consequences of customer-company identification: Expanding the role of relationship marketing. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(3), 574-82.
6. Alavi, S, M., & Najafi, S, M. (2014). A study of brand loyalty in the relationship between brand loyalty and brand support (Case study: Anzali Sailor sports brand). Journal of Applied Research in Sport Management, 3(9), 23-36. (Persian).
7. Algesheimer, R., Borle, S., Dholakia, U. M., & Singh, S. S. (2010). The impact of customer community participation on customer behaviors: An empirical investigation. Marketing Science, 29(4), 756-69.
8. Eghbali, A., Nayebzade, S., Dehghan Dehnavi, H. (2014). The effect of brand community on brand characteristics. Journal of Business Management, 6(4), 709-30.
9. Esmaeilifar, B., & Rezayi, L. (2015). The impact of the society's brand and community engagement on brand trust in social media. Paper presented at the International Conference on New Orientations in Management, Economics and Accounting, Tabriz. (Persian).
10. Filo, K., Lock, D., & Karg, A. (2015). Sport and social media research: A review. Sport Management Review, 18(2), 166-81.
11. Ghasemi, V. (2013). Structural equation modeling in social research using Amos graphics. Tehran: Publisher of Sociologists. (Persian).
12. Gill, R. (2016). The AFL brand and umpires’ reputation through media commentaries. Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, 17(1), 42-59.
13. Habibi, M. R., Laroche, M., & Richard, M. O. (2016). Testing an extended model of consumer behavior in the context of social media-based brand communities. Computers in Human Behavior, 62, 292-302.
14. Heino, R. D., Ellison, N. B., & Gibbs, J. L. (2010). Relationshopping: Investigating the market metaphor in online dating. Journal of Social and Personal relationships, 27(4), 427-47.
15. Heding, T., Knudtzen, C. F., & Bjerre, M. (2015). Brand management: Research, theory and practice. Abingdon: Routledge.
16. Islami, P. (2012). Review of social networks and their effects on different dimensions of life. Proceddings of the First National Congress of Cyberspace and New Social Damage (22-9). Tehran: Ministry of Cooperatives. (Persian).
17. Izadi, B., Ehsani, M., Keshchian, H., & Tarbani, F. (2015). Investigating the impact of communication management dimensions on supporting their lifecycle in the Iranian Football Premier League. Journal of Sport Management Studies, 24, 277-91. (Persian).
18. Jaberi, A., Sultan Hosseini, M., Naderian Jahromi, M., & Khazai, J. (2014). Presentation of a model for developing loyalty to the brand of football teams in Iran by structural equation modeling. Sports Management Journal, 6 (3), 475-92. (Persian).
19. Jang, H., Olfman, L., KO, I., Koh, J., & Kim, K. (2008). The influence of on-line brand community characteristics on community commitment and brand loyalty. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 12(3), 57-80.
20. Khodadad Hoseini, H., & Rezvani, M. (2015). Brand management: Schools, value setting & national brand. Tehran: Culture & Management. (Persian).
21. Khoshkhoo, M., & Kheiri, B. (2015). Providing a native model to study the impact of social media interaction on brand trust and brand loyalty. Proceddings of the Third International Conference on New Ideas in Management, Economics and Accounting (12-27). International Conference Center: Tehran. (Persian).
22. Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and psychological measurement, 30(3), 607-610.
23. Kim, Y. K., & Trail, G. (2010). Constraints and motivators: A new model to explain sport consumer behavior. Journal of Sport Management, 24(2), 190-210.
24. Ko, E., Kim, E. Y., & Lee, E. K. (2009). Modeling consumer adoption of mobile shopping for fashion products in Korea. Psychology & marketing, 26(7), 669-87.
25. Laroche, M., Habibi, M. R., Richard, M. O., & Sankaranarayanan, R. (2012). The effects of social media based brand communities on brand community markers, value creation practices, and brand trust and brand loyalty. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(5), 1755-67.
26. Laroche, M., Habibi, M. R., & Richard, M. O. (2013). To be or not to be in social media: How brand loyalty is affected by social media? International Journal of Information Management, 33(1), 76-82.
27. Mahan, J. E. (2011). Examining the predictors of consumer response to sport marketing via digital social media. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 9(3-4), 254-67.
28. Mahony, D. F., Madrigal, R., & Howard, D. A. (2000). Using the psychological commitment to team (PCT) scale to segment sport consumers based on loyalty. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 9(1), 1-15.
29. McCarthy, J., Rowley, J., Jane Ashworth, C., & Pioch, E. (2014). Managing brand presence through social media: The case of UK football clubs. Internet Research, 24(2), 181-204.
30. Muniz, A. M., & O'guinn, T. C. (2001). Brand community. Journal of consumer research, 27(4), 412-432.
31. Peetz, T. B. (2014). Social media in sport marketing, T. Newman, JF Peck, C. Harris, B. Wilhide. Holcomb Hathaway Publishers, Scottsdale, Arizona (2013).
32. Popp, B., & Woratschek, H. (2016). Introducing branded communities in sport for building strong brand relations in social media. Sport Management Review, 19(2), 183-97.
33. Saeednia, G., & IranNejad, P. (2016). Impact of social media based society on brand trust and loyalty. Brand Management, 3 (6), 65-88. (Persian).
34. Schau, H. J., Muñiz Jr, A. M., & Arnould, E. J. (2009). How brand community practices create value. Journal of Marketing, 73(5), 30-51.
35. ShirKhodai, M., Shahi, M., Nejat, H., & MahmodiNasab, S. (2017). Investigating the impact of social media on brand trust and brand loyalty in a brand society (Case study: Social network of Instagram). New Marketing Reaserch, 26(3), 106-24.
36. Smith, D. R., Padilla, W. J., Vier, D. C., Nemat-Nasser, S. C., & Schultz, S. (2000). Composite medium with simultaneously negative permeability and permittivity. Physical Review Letters, 84(18), 41-84.
37. Van Doorn, J., Lemon, K. N., Mittal, V., Nass, S., Pick, D., Pirner, P., & Verhoef, P. C. (2010). Customer engagement behavior: Theoretical foundations and research directions. Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 253-66.
38. Wallace, E., Buil, I., & De Chernatony, L. (2012). Facebook ‘friendship’and brand advocacy. Journal of Brand Management, 20(2), 128-46.
39. Yoshida, M., Gordon, B., Nakazawa, M., & Biscaia, R. (2014). Conceptualization and measurement of fan engagement: Empirical evidence from a professional sport context. Journal of Sport Management, 28(4), 399-417.
40. Zarei, M., Afrogh, A., Akbar Ghasemi, A. (2015). Study the role of media social networks with the approach of political and social participation People in Bushehr. Boushehr Danesh Entezami, 1394(20), 60-75.
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