SEDAT BALCI BUSINESS-RELATED CONTENT PLANNING OF SPORTS CLUBS' OFFICIAL WEBSITES Final Master Thesis Study programme: Sport Business Management State code 6211LX001 Supervisor: dr. Justinas Kisieliauskas Vice Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management Defended: Assoc. prof., dr. Rita Bendaravičienė Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management Kaunas, 2021 TABLE OF CONTENT SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................ 2 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 3 I. CONTENT, DESIGN AND INTERACTIVE FEATURES ON WEBSITES ........................... 6 1.1 Business- Related Content Features on Websites .................................................................... 6 1.2 Design Features of Websites ................................................................................................. 11 1.2.1 General principles ........................................................................................................... 11 1.2.2 Basic Principles in Web Design ..................................................................................... 12 1.3 Interaction Features of Websites ........................................................................................... 18 II. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................. 21 2.1 Study Area ............................................................................................................................. 21 2.2 Research Methods .................................................................................................................. 22 2.3 Research Instrument .............................................................................................................. 24 2.4 Research Execution ............................................................................................................... 25 2.5 Research Limitations ............................................................................................................. 26 III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .............................................................................................. 27 3.1 Research Findings .................................................................................................................. 27 3.1.1 Content Sufficiency Features .......................................................................................... 27 3.1.2 Ease of Access and Use Features.................................................................................... 32 3.1.3 Interaction Features ........................................................................................................ 39 3.2 Discussions ............................................................................................................................ 42 3.2.1 Content Sufficiency Features .......................................................................................... 42 3.2.2 Ease of Access and Usability Features ........................................................................... 44 3.2.3 Interaction Features ........................................................................................................ 48 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................. 50 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................. 55 ANNEXES ........................................................................................................................................ 61 Sedat BALCI. BUSINESS-RELATED CONTENT PLANNING OF SPORTS CLUBS’ OFFICIAL WEBSITES: Final Master Thesis in Sport Business Management/ dr. Justinas Kisieliauskas / Vytautas Magnus University, Faculty of Economics and Management, Graduate studies. – Kaunas, 2021. – 61 p. SUMMARY Research Problem: The best content marketing channel for the activities of basketball clubs in the Euroleague is their own websites. In this context, the official website of the clubs is a very important platform where club products are marketed, communication is established with the fans, the sponsor companies meet the consumers, in short, the clubs open to the world in many ways. Consequently, particular emphasis should be placed on how effectively this platform can be used. Research Question: “How should the official websites of Euroleague clubs make business-related content planning?” Research Object: The object of the paper is to suggest the best practices for business-related content of Euroleague clubs’ official websites. Research Aim: The aim of the paper is to establish criteria for the business-related content evaluation of Euroleague club websites, and to examine whether the Euroleague club websites comply with these criteria. Methodology: In this study, document analysis, one of the qualitative data collection methods, was performed. The websites of basketball clubs playing in the Euroleague in the 2019-2020 season were analysed. Content analysis was used to provide evaluation on websites. In this study, a dimension was determined in order to evaluate the business-related content of the websites of basketball clubs playing in the Euroleague during the 2019-2020 season, and then the categories and codes that make up this dimension were created. The websites considered were evaluated in terms of their content features that make the content easier to understand. Results: Considering the whole study, it was determined that the best website belonged to Barcelona and the weakest websites belonged to Bayern Munich, Asvel and Zenit in the context of business- related content planning. Conclusions: Barcelona and Zalgiris Kaunas official websites were considered to be the best practice in terms of business-related content, information about "mission and vision of the club, social content and features that can be sponsored, and information about the sponsors" were included on its website. Keywords: Sponsor, Business, Content Planning, Euroleague, Basketball 2 INTRODUCTION Relevance and topicality: According to Yeygel (2006), businesses that conduct commercial activities online on the internet perform their transactions through websites hosted on a web server. Websites are virtual environments where it exhibits its services and products, promoting and marketing it, and allowing the company to transmit information to its stakeholders. Websites are considered to be one of the most effective applications for establishing a communication network with the target audience of businesses, conveying the image of the enterprises, and maintaining the existence of the institution, with its interactive feature. According to Poddar (2009), there are many similarities between the website of an online business and the physical store, as both facilitate interaction with customers, offer suggestions, assistance by sales representatives, etc. is offered. The continuous increase in the number of websites due to the continuous emergence of new software in website design and the fact that businesses carry their business to the internet due to the convenience they provide, also intensifies the competition. In order to gain competitive advantage, websites should have a "user-friendly" interface in terms of technique, constantly innovate, price advantage, rich content, and should take into account factors such as offering products and services suitable for consumer demand. Corporate websites have become an increasingly important communication tool to fulfill important tasks such as controlling information flow, disseminating information and reducing costs to communicate with the public (Maynard, 2004). The basic point in websites is to determine the needs and expectations of users or visitors. It is not possible for a site that cannot meet the expectations of the users to meet the business objectives. While the website responds to the needs of the users, it should also respond to the operational objectives of the organization that prepared the website. All businesses operating on the internet need a website to promote their products or services, and the main way to attract consumers is websites (Turban, 2002). According to Akhter (2008), the main purpose of creating a website on the internet should not only be to be on the internet, but also to increase the value of the company's products and services by effectively taking place on the internet. The best content marketing channel for the activities of basketball clubs in the Euroleague is their own websites. In this context, the official website of the clubs is a very important platform where club products are marketed, communication is established with the fans, the sponsor companies meet the consumers, in short, the clubs open to the world in many ways. Consequently, particular emphasis should be placed on how effectively this platform can be used. Research problem addressed in this paper is “How should the official websites of Euroleague clubs make business-related content planning?” 3 The object of the paper is to suggest the best practices for business-related content of Euroleague club websites. The aim of the paper is to establish criteria for the business-related content evaluation of Euroleague club websites, and to examine whether the