The effectiveness of sponsorship of the F1 Singapore Grand Prix: recall and recognition

The effectiveness of sponsorship of the F1 Singapore Grand Prix: recall and recognitio

When the Beautiful Game Turns Ugly: A Study of Fan Experiences of Perceived Match Fixing in Soccer

Limited academic attention has been given to the nexus between corruption in soccer and its impact on fandom. Consequently, the purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand the lived experiences of highly identified soccer fanatics living through this era of match fixing in the sport. Social networking site Twitter was utilized to recruit participants from three continents – Africa, Europe, and North America – based on submissions to the site in response to a perceived fix from a high-profile March, 2013 match. A total of 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with highly identified soccer fans in accordance with Funk and James’ (2001) Psychological Continuum Model (PCM). Despite the majority of participants feeling skepticism about the purity of soccer today, half of the participants’ fandom remained unchanged in the face of perceived match fixing. Directions for future research and recommendations are considered and discussed

The influence of geographical distance on motivations for social media engagement and its influence on fan loyalty: a comparison of local and international satellite fans

Professional sports teams and leagues that play at a superior level and have sporting success on an international level nowadays have a large number of geographically distant fans. These fans are labelled in the literature as satellite fans (Kerr & Gladden, 2008). The emergence of the internet, especially social media, allows these satellite fans to stay in constant contact with their favourite team (Kerr & Emery, 2011; Li et al., 2019). However, little is known about the use of social media by satellite fans and its consequences for their fandom. Therefore, this study investigates the motivations for social media engagement with team-related content and the impact of this social media engagement on fan loyalty of satellite fans and compares them to local fans. In particular, this research focuses on NHL fans in Germany (satellite fans), USA and Canada (local fans) that use Instagram to follow their team’s official account and/or other related accounts. The local fans reside within 100 miles (160 km) of their NHL team’s home stadium (Collins et al., 2016; Richelieu & Pons, 2009). This comparison reveals how geographical distance from a favourite sports team affects social media use and its offline impact on fan loyalty. Uses and gratifications theory was applied to examine the relationship between motivations for media use (entertainment, integration and social interaction, personal identity, information, remuneration, and empowerment) and consumers’ online brand-related activity levels (consumption, contribution, and creation). In addition, the relationship between these three online engagement levels and attitudinal and behavioural fan loyalty was investigated. An online questionnaire was conducted and disseminated via social media for data collection. A local fan sample (n = 472) and a satellite fan sample (n = 465) were collected. Quantitative methods using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were applied to confirm the conceptual model. The chi-square difference test was used to compare the local and satellite fan samples and identify differences. The analysis revealed seven paths in the conceptual model that showed statistically significant differences between the two fan groups. Further differences were found at a descriptive level. The results showed that local fans have a smaller set of motivations to engage in social media compared to satellite fans. In addition, social media engagement with team-related content has a greater and usually stronger impact on fan loyalty among satellite fans than among local fans. These results underline that satellite fans have a higher dependence on social media than local fans. It also demonstrates that local and satellite fans are two distinct fan groups in terms of their motivations for social media engagement with team-related content and its influence on their fan loyalty. Furthermore, the study shows that social media can be used as a strategic tool to influence the loyalty of both local and satellite fans. Implications are made on how to address these groups collectively and individually via social media

Is there space on the podium for us all?

People with intellectual disabilities (ID) have cognitive deficits which impact on their daily lives, requiring them to receive additional support. Having ID also means that an individual’s ability to compete in sports at an elite level is impaired resulting in potential eligibility to the Paralympics, rather than the Olympics, in a class called “Intellectual Impairment”. First entering into the Paralympic in 1992, athletes with ID competed separately, but by Atlanta, 1996 the events were integrated and 54 ID athletes competed alongside everybody else. This rose to 244 ID athletes in Sydney, 2000. However, in a disastrous episode at this event the ID Spanish basketball team, cheated and fielded athletes who did not have ID. There was an investigation and it was found that there was purposeful misrepresentation, but also that the systems in place to check eligibility were not strong enough to prevent such occurrences. The whole impairment group of ID was then suspended from competing in the Paralympics and for the next twelve years elite athletes with ID lost out on Paralympic opportunities

Tokyo Olympics: when athletes are faced with the impossible

The global pandemic, with the social distancing measures and lockdowns, disrupted many aspects of life, including sport. This chapter demonstrates how the pandemic affected athletes participating in Tokyo Olympics

Do athletes deserve to have consumers advocating for them?: the effect of athlete brand personality, brand image attributes and brand loyalty on athlete brand advocacy: the mediating effect of deservedness

In a context where sports are socially driven by the athletic ideal, athletes' deservedness has proven to encourage advocates to fight for their belonged outcomes and rewards. This research is needed for the specific field of sports because it extends deservedness studies into what creates the consumer support system, which may be essential to, afterward, catch other sports entities to also contribute to the athlete brands’ success. Assuming advocates as the main support system, they are seen as a key element able to effect change to the athlete’s worthy rewards. This thesis targets athletes that want to leverage their brand and their brand managers, who should understand the best way to articulate the athletes’ promoted efforts (for social evaluation of deservedness), then develop the support system and encourage brand advocacy. This mindful investigation cares to address a new perspective of deservedness in the relationship athlete - consumer and conclude on what is the relational level most associated to deservedness and worth of social fair distribution of support - brand advocacy. An online questionnaire was conducted towards individuals who had a favorite athlete (N=300) and PLS-SEM was used to test and validate 6 hypotheses. Findings indicate that "athlete brand personality" does not significantly influence "athlete brand advocacy" and the mediating role of deservedness in this relationship is also non-significant; "athlete brand image attributes" and "brand loyalty" significantly strengthen "athlete brand advocacy" and the mediator role of "athlete deservedness" in these relationships is positively significant.Num contexto em que o desporto é socialmente guiado pelo atleta ideal, o merecimento deste estimula os advogados da marca a lutarem pelos seus resultados e recompensas. Esta pesquisa é necessária para o desporto, visto que expande os estudos de merecimento sobre o sistema de suporte dos consumidores, o que pode ser essencial para, eventualmente, contagiar outras entidades a contribuir para o sucesso da marca do atleta. Tendo os advogados como o principal sistema de suporte, estes são um elemento-chave capazes de efetuar mudança sobre as recompensas que o atleta recebe. Os alvos desta dissertação são os atletas que pretendempotenciar a sua marca e os respetivos gestores, que deverão perceber a melhor maneira de articular a divulgação dos esforços dos atletas (alvo de avaliação social do merecimento), desenvolver o sistema de suporte e estimular a defesa da marca. Esta investigação cuidadosa preocupa-se em tratar de uma nova perspetiva de merecimento na relação atleta-consumidor e concluir sobre o nível de relação mais associado com merecimento e digno da defesa da marca. Um questionário online foi direcionado a indivíduos que tinham um atleta preferido (N=300) e o método PLS-SEM foi usado para testar 6 hipóteses. As conclusões indicam que a "personalidade da marca do atleta" não influencia significativamente a defesa dessa marca e o efeito mediador de "merecimento" nesta relação também é não-significativo; os "atributos da imagem de marca do atleta" e respetiva lealdade significativamente fortalecem a sua defesa e o efeito mediador de merecimento nestas relações é significativamente positivo