자연주의적 탐구조사(Naturalistic Inquiry)

Services Marketing: People, Technology, Strategy

The importance of team brand associations in sport management research is well documented but the formation and stability of these associations has not been investigated. The current research tested the development, change, and predictive ability of brand associations over time. Longitudinal quantitative data were collected from consumers of a new Australian Football League (AFL) team (N = 169) at three points in time. One-sample t-tests revealed that brand associations had developed through marketing communications and the launch of the team, before the team had played its first AFL game. Repeated Measures MANOVA and Latent Growth Modelling showed brand associations changed over time, reflecting consumers’ experiences with the team. A Cross-Lagged Panel Model highlighted that brand associations influenced consumer loyalty in the future. Consequently, sport managers are provided with insights on the development and change of brand associations new consumers link with sport teams.

The Development and Change of Brand Associations and Their Influence on Team Loyalty Over Time

One of the most valuable assets a sport entity possesses is its brand. However, existing sport branding research has largely examined brands at an individual level and not taken into account the relationships between connected brands or the actual behavioral outcomes of branding. Tis article provides an overview of the current state of sport branding research; proposes an extended conceptualization of sport brand architecture within a sport brand ecosystem framework to guide future examination of sport branding research; introduces the four articles published in this special issue; and presents insights from industry experts from diferent brand entities within the sport brand ecosystem. Tus, this article provides a foundation to further examine brand relationships and actual behavioral outcomes of sport branding to contribute to our theoretical and managerial knowledge on sport brand architecture within the sport brand ecosystem.

Sport Brands: Brand Relationships and Consumer Behavior

Introduction Stage This stage involves introducing a new and previously unknown product to buyers. Sales are small, the production process is new, and cost reductions through economies of size or the experience curve have not been realized. The promotion plan is geared to acquainting buyers with the product. The pricing plan is focused on first-time buyers and enticing them to try the product. Growth Stage In this stage, sales grow rapidly. Buyers have become acquainted with the product and are willing to buy it. New buyers enter the market and previous buyers come back as repeat buyers. Production may need to be ramped up quickly and may require a large infusion of capital and expertise into the business. Cost reductions occur as the business moves down the experience curve and economies of size are realized. Profit margins are often large. Competitors may enter the market but little rivalry exists because the market is growing rapidly. Promotion and pricing strategies are revised to take advantage of the growing industry.

The Product Life Cycle

The purpose of this study was to present a framework to aid understanding athlete brand life cycle and how to extend it. A thorough review of the literature was conducted to create the proposed fra...

Understanding athlete brand life cycle

The purpose of this study was to propose a conceptual framework for understanding how to establish athletes as brands. Based on an extensive literature review, the proposed model includes the antecedents of athlete brand, its measurement dimensions and implications. Five antecedents are included in the model: media, oral communications, impression management, social agents, and teams and sport. The components of athlete brand consist of on-field attributes and off-field attributes. In turn, the combined results of these two components are suggested to have three implications: athlete loyalty, team loyalty and sponsor's purchase intentions. A set of propositions is presented to link the three parts of the model. Implications for building and managing athlete brand and research directions for future studies are discussed.

A conceptual framework to understand the creation of athlete brand and its implications

The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for understanding the antecedents and components of athlete brand. Based on a set of 21 interviews conducted in three different countries, a detailed framework is proposed including five antecedents and two components of athlete brand. The antecedents are media (social media, mass media, video games and major sport events), oral communications (word of mouth, and rumors and narratives), impression management, social agents (parents, family members, friends and community), and teams and sport (sport interest, team interest and team geographical location). In turn, the components of athlete brand are related with on-field attributes (behavior, team, achievements, style of play and skills) and off-field attributes (physical attraction, lifestyle, personal appeal, ethnicity and entertainment). Complementarily, these components of athlete brand are proposed to have an impact on fans' loyalty towards the athlete. Implications of these findings for building and managing athlete brand are discussed, and directions for future studies are provided.

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Athlete brand construction: A perspective based on fans' perceptions

Understanding the implications of athlete brand among fans

The purpose of this study was to investigate Pakistani fans in the context of athlete branding regarding foreign cricketers in the country’s first ever cricket league. Athlete brand attributes and athlete brand implication discussed with 15 fans of foreign cricketers via semi-structured interview. The components of athlete brand are related with on-field attributes (behavior, team, achievements, style of play and skills) and off-field attributes (physical attraction, lifestyle, personal appeal, ethnicity and entertainment). In turn, implication of athlete branding contributed in the domain of athlete loyalty (media following, creating their own narratives, positive word-of-mouth, resistance to change and commitment), athlete’s team loyalty (team substitution, supporting multiple teams and revenue generation) and athlete’s sponsors loyalty. The implications of these findings for building and managing an athlete’s brand are also discussed.

Ali Hasaan

Papers

Understanding athlete brand life cycle

A conceptual framework to understand the creation of athlete brand and its implications

Athlete brand construction: A perspective based on fans' perceptions

Understanding the implications of athlete brand among fans

ESTABLISHING ATHLETE BRAND in CRIKET: FAN’S PERCEPTION ABOUT FOREIGN CRICKETERS in PAKISTAN SUPER LEAGUE (PSL)