Msc. Brand & Communications
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KRISTOFFER BØDKER MASTER’S THESIS (CBCMO1001E) MSC. BRAND & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT JANUARY 15th 2018 BORISLAV UZELAC 181.696 CHARACTERS, 79,8 PAGES Thank you, Sunny. hvj Krbo15ac Borislav Uzelac Abstract Live spectators are an important component of the product that sports clubs around the world are offering. In addition to the economic benefits from having spectators at sports games, such as the sales of tickets, merchandise or food, they create an atmosphere that can enhance value of the product. Attracting and retaining sports spectators are therefore important aspects of the business for any given sports club. Most research into sports consumption and spectatorship has been conducted in intercollegiate athletics or North American sports, and have been quantitative in nature. Little research has been conducted on spectators of the biggest sport in the world, soccer, especially using a qualitative approach. Similarly, few theoretical frameworks have been applied, that seek to explain soccer spectatorship. Through the application of Social Identity Theory, this paper looks at the importance of identity, intergroup comparisons and intragroup relations in relation to spectatorship, which is argued to potentially manifest itself as the phenomena of rituals and rivalry. Asking “how can soccer spectatorship be explained from a social identity perspective focusing on rituals and rivalry?”, this paper applies an interpretive phenomenological approach to the research question. Hence, the experiences of ten respondents from each of the two major rivalling Danish soccer clubs, are analysed hermeneutically. The findings of this study suggest that spectatorship is the hedonic consumption of an emotional experience and that the emotional intensity is reliant on individual identity in relation to the club and to other spectators. Hence, club-related identity is argued primarily relevant for fandom, while self-evaluated spectator-identity is what causes spectators to be more or less involved. Highly involved spectators are primarily concerned with the social experience and they seek to participate in spectator rituals in order to enact that identity, which creates stadium atmosphere. Less involved spectators are primarily concerned with the on-field play. While intergroup comparisons are argued to intensify the emotional response to spectating, intragroup relations may cause self-evaluation to be either enhanced or deterred depending on the perception of other in-groups. Based on the findings, the managerial implications suggest that sports marketers and managers extensively consider the identity of their club’s brand, find a common enemy, and ensure that their identities are contrasting. Furthermore, the importance of stadium facilities, activating the atmosphere, and building a bridge between spectators are amongst possible topics of attention for managers. i Krbo15ac Borislav Uzelac Table of Contents Abstract i 1. Introduction 1 2. Theoretical Framework 3 2.1 Sports Spectator Scales 3 2.2 Motivation and Identity 5 2.3 Social Identity Theory 7 2.3.1 Rituals 8 2.3.2 Rivalry 11 2.3.2.1 Basking in Reflected Glory 13 2.3.2.2 Schadenfreude 14 2.4 Theoretical Application and Research Question 15 3. Methodology 16 3.1 Philosophy of Science 16 3.1.1 Phenomenology 17 3.2 Research Design 17 3.2.1 Sampling Procedure 19 3.2.1.1 Sample Size and Description 20 3.2.1.2 Ethical Considerations 20 3.2.2 Data Collection Procedure 21 3.2.2.1 Phenomenological Interviewing 22 3.2.3 Hermeneutic Data Analysis 25 3.2.3.1 Trustworthiness and Authenticity 28 4. Findings 30 4.1 Socialization 30 4.1.1 To Support or not Support 30 4.1.2 Proximity 31 4.2 A Social Experience 31 4.3 Identity 33 4.3.1 Club-related identity 34 4.3.2 Spectator identity 35 4.4 Rivalry 36 4.4.1 Unprompted Comparison 36 4.4.2 Enjoying to Hate 37 4.4.3 Intensified Emotions 38 4.4.4 BIRG and Schadenfreude 39 4.5 The Collective 40 4.5.1 Atmosphere 41 4.5.2 Code of conduct 42 4.5.3 Intragroup Differences 43 4.5.3.1 Hooligans 45 4.6 Life Cycles 46 4.7 Synopsis of Findings 48 ii Krbo15ac Borislav Uzelac 5. Discussion 50 5.1 An Emotional Experience 50 5.2 Identification 51 5.2.1 Rituals 52 5.3 Social Comparison 54 5.3.1 Rivalry 55 5.4 Psychological Distinctiveness 57 6. Conclusion 58 6.1 Managerial Implications 59 6.1.1 Create an Identity 59 6.1.2 Find an Enemy 60 6.1.3 Activate the Atmosphere 60 6.1.4 Build a Bridge 62 6.2 Limitations and Future Research 63 7. References 65 NB: Appendices in separate booklet iii Krbo15ac Borislav Uzelac 1. Introduction Sports are important to many people. Beyond the obvious health benefits of participation, sports can be aesthetically engaging and entertaining to the point where they could be considered an art form. Also, sports are business. Soccer1 clubs for instance, are structured like most other private organisations, with boards, CEO’s, CFO’s, marketing departments, customer service and so forth, working within the same legal context (Guzmán & Morrow, 2007: 309). According to a 2012 study by the European Commission, Directorate- General Education and Culture: “The share of sport in European value added is comparable to the share of agriculture, forestry, and fishing combined […] Every sixtieth Euro generated and earned in the European Union is sport-related” (SpEA, 2012: 78). In the context of branding, nation branding expert, Simon Anholt, argues that sports events such as the World Cups and Olympics are capable of enhancing a city’s global awareness, reputation and brand (Anholt, 2007: 108). Sports are more than just a game. Soccer is the biggest sport in the world. According to the latest largescale survey by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, approximately 270 million people worldwide are actively engaged in the sport (FIFA, 2007). In Denmark, soccer is likewise the biggest sport, with 10% of the population being a member of an organised soccer club (Danmarks Statistik, 2015). Nonetheless, in 2016, soccer spectatorship2 in the Danish Superliga, the highest soccer league in Denmark, recorded its worst attendance in 15 years, averaging 6000 spectators per game. This is an 18% year-on-year decrease (Haarløv, 2016). One argument for this trend is the impact of live television coverage on attendance (Allan, 2004; Allan & Roy, 2008). Due to the increasing ability of broadcasters to deliver an extraordinary TV-experience and reach a global audience, TV viewers have been prioritized, which has been lucrative for some soccer leagues: For the seasons from 2016 to 2019, TV rights for the English Premier League were sold to Sky Sports for $14 billion. (ESPN, 2016). However, if fewer people attend games and opt for the TV-experience (as documented by Baimbridge, Cameron & Dawson, 1996), the TV-experience will also be deteriorated: “A form of double jeopardy exists – sports that attract small crowds are unlikely to attract large sponsorship deals or negotiate lucrative television rights, further reinforcing the sport’s low profile and its unattractiveness for sponsors” (Samra & Wos, 2014: 267). Furthermore, as Kotler argued, the atmosphere of a place can be more influential than the product itself (1973: 48). Although Kotler was referring to a retailing sphere, sports stadium atmosphere has been identified as an important value-creating element of sports events. Hence, spectators who attend sports events partake in the co-creation of the product of soccer, the match (Byon, Zhang & Baker, 2013: 239), by creating an influential atmosphere capable of either enhancing or reducing the perceived value of the event (Chen, Lin & Chiu, 2013: 200; Horbel, Popp, Woratschek & 1 Using the American name, soccer, for European football, in order to not for readers to confuse it with American football. 2 Spectatorship is in this context covering live attendance and not television viewers. 1 Krbo15ac Borislav Uzelac Wilson, 2016: 516). Thus, active spectators are instrumental in the creation of product value, also for the passive viewers at home (Horbel et al., 2016: 525). Players and referees are also argued to be influenced by the presence of spectators, which is likely to have an impact on the outcome of matches (Greer, 1983: 257). Thus, attracting and retaining active spectators are key components to the success of sports organizations, and understanding what motivates their decision to attend, or not attend, is therefore crucial (Choi, Martin, Park & Yoh, 2009: 266; Samra & Wos, 2014: 267; Santos & Rios, 2016: 58). Considering the decrease in spectators for the Danish Superliga, this paper seeks to have practical relevance for sports marketers of Danish soccer clubs who are seeking a better understanding of spectators. Previous studies on sports spectatorship have been conducted on either intercollegiate athletics or predominantly North American sports (i.e. Choi et al., 2009; Kim & Trail, 2011; Pritchard, Funk & Alexandris, 2009; Trail & James, 2001). Within the context of soccer, Santos and Rios developed the most recent scale of spectators’ motivations to attend games, by surveying active spectators at a third level professional team of a Spanish city (2016: 63), while Rocha and Fleury surveyed soccer interested Brazilians when exploring the structural relationship between constraints and intentions to attend games in Brazil (2017: 498). However, these, as well as the majority of the studies before them, have been using a quantitative approach to understanding consumer behaviour (Funk et al., 2012: 358). Only one academic paper (Master Thesis) was found that investigated the motivational factors for spectators (Olsen, 2010) specifically in the context of the Danish soccer league. However, this was again a quantitative study, and it was not peer reviewed. Using a qualitative approach to gain a more in-depth understanding of Danish soccer spectators, this study seeks to fill a gap in academic literature, while exploring and explaining spectatorship with the application of a theoretical framework.