Identifying and evaluating factors that influence South British Asian’s attitudinal loyalty towards professional football in Britain. Andrew Lewis A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Manchester Metropolitan University for the degree of Master of Science (by Research). Faculty of Business & Law Department of Marketing, Operations & Digital Business November 2015 Page 1 of 131 Statement of Originality This Master by Research dissertation is an original and authentic piece of work. All primary and secondary sources have been acknowledged in accordance to the Manchester Metropolitan referencing guidelines. The assessment regulations defined in the course handbook have been adhered to in full and the author is fully aware of the potential consequences of any breach of these regulations. Signed __________________ Date___________________ Page 2 of 131 Acknowledgements I would like to sincerely thank my research supervisors, Dr Amna Khan and Dr Peter Betts, who have supported and coached me throughout the dissertation. Their guidance has improved not only my ability to write academically but given me the confidence to supervise undergraduate students with their dissertations. I would like to express gratitude to all of the people who participated in the interviews and focus groups. I would like to thank in particular Irfan Kawri, Riz Rehman and Paul Fletcher, who provided me with an industry perspective to support the research. Finally, I would like to show my appreciation to my family who have been very patient, supportive and at times gave me the encouragement to complete the dissertation. Page 3 of 131 Contents Page Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ 3 Contents Page ..................................................................................................................................... 4 List of Tables ....................................................................................................................................... 8 Abstract .............................................................................................................................................. 9 1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 10 2.0 Background. ......................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Context and nature of football in England .............................................................................. 12 3.0 AIM ...................................................................................................................................... 14 3.01 OBJECTIVES .......................................................................................................................... 14 4.0 LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................................ 15 4.01 Context and nature of the sports consumer. .......................................................................... 15 4.02 The importance of fan loyalty in sport .................................................................................... 17 4.03 The building blocks of Fan loyalty. .......................................................................................... 18 4.04 How do sports consumers develop attitudinal loyalty towards a sport? ............................... 19 4.05 What is Awareness? ................................................................................................................ 20 Table 1. Socialising Factors that influence awareness of a sport or team. ............................. 21 4.06 South British Asian’s and awareness. ...................................................................................... 21 4.07 Awareness through friends and Family ................................................................................... 22 4.08 Awareness through schools and community groups. ............................................................. 22 4.09 Awareness through media, (Local and Mainstream) .............................................................. 23 4.10 Awareness through Sponsorship, endorsements and promotions ......................................... 24 4.11 Awareness through Social Media ............................................................................................ 24 4.12 Summary of Awareness ........................................................................................................... 25 4.13 What is Attraction?.................................................................................................................. 26 Table 2 – Academic studies that influence attraction to a sport or team ............................... 27 4. 14 Hedonistic factors which influence attraction to sport ........................................................... 28 4.15 Psychological factors influence attraction to sport ................................................................. 29 Page 4 of 131 4.16 Physical Factors that influence attraction to sport ................................................................. 30 4.17 Situational factors influencing attraction to sport .................................................................. 32 4.18 Barriers preventing marketing to ethnic consumers. ............................................................. 34 4.19 Football and the barriers to sports consumption. .................................................................. 35 4.20 Power culture. ......................................................................................................................... 35 4.21 Social Class and football. ......................................................................................................... 36 4.22 Racism in football .................................................................................................................... 37 4.23 Lack of parental support. ......................................................................................................... 38 4.24 Religious factors. ..................................................................................................................... 38 4,25 What is positive attitude formation? ...................................................................................... 39 4.26 A critical review of the literature............................................................................................. 41 5.0 Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 42 5.01 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 42 Table 4 – Adaptation of the research Onion pertinent to methodology ................................ 43 5.02 Research Style ......................................................................................................................... 44 5.03 Positivism. ................................................................................................................................ 44 5.04 Interpretivism .......................................................................................................................... 45 5.05 Qualitative/Quantitative Debate ............................................................................................. 45 5.06 Qualitative Research ............................................................................................................... 46 5.07 Research strategies ................................................................................................................. 46 5.08 Approaches .............................................................................................................................. 48 5.09 Primary data collection............................................................................................................ 48 5.10 Data Instrument Design ........................................................................................................... 49 Interviews ................................................................................................................................ 49 Focus Groups ........................................................................................................................... 50 5.11 Data collection ......................................................................................................................... 50 511.2 Problems faced. .......................................................................................................................... 51 511.3 Selection Criteria .................................................................................................................. 51 5.11.1 Participants ........................................................................................................................... 52 Table 14 – Participant list Interviews & Focus Groups. ........................................................................ 52 5.12 Analysis of the data. ................................................................................................................ 53 5.13 Coding. ....................................................................................................................................