FiT Publishing

Sports teams have become global brands developing strongly identified ‘satellite’ fans who are distant from the team’s local market. There is a paucity of studies examining how satellite fans preemptively perceive the idea of a franchise being established in their local market. Using quantitative and qualitative survey data, the current study examines 597 UK-based, American National Football League fans’ team identification with current franchises and their attitudes toward a hypothetical new London-based franchise. The results of multiple linear regression, chi-square analysis, and...Read more

The potential link between sport team identity and religious identity has been recognized for decades, but minimal empirical work has examined the phenomenon. Using social identity theory and social identity complexity as a theoretical lens, this study provides both practitioners and academics with insights on the relationship between religious identification and team identification. Using a qualitative methodology, interviews were conducted with 15 individuals who highly identify with both a sport team and their religion. Among all participants, we discovered that religious identification...Read more

With increased exposure on college athletics, coaches are often subject to augmented attention from fans. However, little research has focused on the drawing power that coaches exude as essential components of the sport product. Given the tenets of social identity theory, which focus on the value of group membership and the development of prototype characteristics and associated biases within a group and its leaders, it is reasonable to suggest that coaches induce fan attachment. Multiple regression analyses revealed that perceived congruence between the coach and prototype for the program...Read more

Today, sponsorship is a widely-used marketing communications tool. While consumers’ responses to sponsorship have been extensively studied, little research has been conducted on employees’ responses to a sponsorship. Based in social identity theory, this study addresses this gap by examining sponsorship from the perspective of employees of an organization that sponsors a National Football League (NFL) team. A structural model was developed and tested to examine the relationship between team identification, sponsorship related factors (i.e., perceived fit, sincerity, and benefits to the...Read more

Rivalries in sports give fans a unique connection with their team, school, or favorite athlete. The game or match may also draw more attention because of geographical considerations, cultural aspects, and team disposition. Furthermore, rivalries in single-player sports expose the intimacy and personalities of the opposing competitors. Understanding rivalries, particularly in individual sports, can give marketers an upper hand in identifying areas to promote their brand. This study analyzes 11 elements of team rivalry defined by Tyler and Cobbs (2015) and applies a similar methodology for...Read more