A Public Relations Approach to Co-Creational Image Management in Professional Sport Michael Mark Dottori Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the PhD in Human Kinetics (Sport Management) Human Kinetics Faculty of Health Sciences University of Ottawa © Michael Mark Dottori, Ottawa, Canada, 2018 PR APPROACH TO CO-CREATIONAL IM SPORT ii Abstract This dissertation investigated the influence of legitimacy and social media on organizational image management (IM) in North American professional sport. The author used a social theory approach to public relations in which legitimization is a core function, stakeholders influence the organization’s identity, and communicating identity is a legitimacy-seeking action that co-creationally drives organizational IM. This study examined the Ottawa Sport and Entertainment Group (OSEG), a conglomerate sport organization, using a qualitative embedded exploratory case study, which allowed analysis at different organizational levels, online and offline, using thematic and content analysis. The first two research questions explored the relationships between identity, image, and legitimacy in a social media world. The second two explored the explicit effects of social media on identity, legitimacy, image, and how these constructs manifest through social media. The first phase of the study used interview (N-52) and document (N-4) analyses to explore how identity, image, and legitimacy interact. Results showed that organizations’ legitimacy-seeking behaviour drives IM. The impetuous to change image comes from the outward facing legitimacy-seeking negotiation of image with external stakeholders. In phase two, using the legitimacy framework developed by Lock, Filo, Kunkel, and Skinner (2015), 5,668 tweets and retweets were coded, revealing 10 communicated image themes that sought technical, managerial, personal, and linkage legitimacy. These types of legitimacy were present in 99.5% of tweets and retweets. They sought to build trust, reinforce an image and identity of community involvement, and create conformity pressure. Such activities indirectly encouraged or legitimized expressions of fan support while inhibiting dissenting opinions. PR APPROACH TO CO-CREATIONAL IM SPORT iii Previous research noted that identity and its expression through image are no longer defined solely by organizations. This study sought to extend image and identity research by suggesting legitimacy judgments drive co-creational identity and image change. The research extended Gioia, Hamilton, and Patvardhan’s (2014) process model of identity-image interdependence, creating a new framework for Twitter IM. The research explored how social media technology develops organizational identity, image, and legitimacy to provide insights necessary for fostering the effective use of IM and sport PR’s role within it. PR APPROACH TO CO-CREATIONAL IM SPORT iv Acknowledgement First, special thanks to my co-supervisors and mentors, Dr. Norm O’Reilly and Dr. Benoit Seguin. Thank you for your guidance, mentorship, support, and encouragement. Whether it was for a meeting, a phone call, or a manuscript review, you have both been there for me on every step of this PhD journey. Second, I would also like to express my gratitude for my extended supervisory committee, Dr. Milena Parent and Dr. Jenepher Lennox Terrion, who constantly challenged me to make the research better. I also thank my examiners, Dr. John Nadeau and Dr. Josh Greenberg. I would also like to acknowledge Bernie Ash, Chief Executive Officer of the Ottawa Sport and Entertainment Group, without whose support and assistance this dissertation could not have been completed. Also, I want to thank all the professors, administration staff, and my fellow graduate students in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa for their support and encouragement. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their patience and understanding during this path of self-discovery. PR APPROACH TO CO-CREATIONAL IM SPORT v Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgement ......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. v List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix List of Appendices ......................................................................................................................... xi List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 Sport Public Relations and Image Management .......................................................................... 5 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................. 9 Purpose of the Research ............................................................................................................. 11 Research Questions .................................................................................................................... 13 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................................... 14 Research Context ....................................................................................................................... 15 Sport Conglomerates .............................................................................................................. 15 Ottawa Sport and Entertainment Group ................................................................................. 18 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL APPROACH OF THE STUDY AND LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................................................................ 24 Theoretical Framework of the Research .................................................................................... 24 Literature .................................................................................................................................... 27 Public Relations ..................................................................................................................... 27 Sport Public Relations............................................................................................................ 34 Organizational Perception Management ................................................................................ 42 Organizational Identity .......................................................................................................... 46 Organizational Image ............................................................................................................. 50 Co-Creational Image Management: Connecting Image and Identity .................................... 53 Organizational Legitimacy ..................................................................................................... 59 Social Media Engagement and Sport ..................................................................................... 68 Social Media and PR .............................................................................................................. 76 Research Gap ............................................................................................................................. 79 CHAPTER 3: METHOD ............................................................................................................... 84 Positioning the Research ............................................................................................................ 84 PR APPROACH TO CO-CREATIONAL IM SPORT vi Research Design and Rationale ................................................................................................. 91 Data Sources .............................................................................................................................. 95 Semi-Structured Interviews ................................................................................................... 96 Documentation ....................................................................................................................... 97 Twitter .................................................................................................................................... 97 Role of the Researcher ............................................................................................................. 104 Data Collection ........................................................................................................................ 104 Interview Participants .......................................................................................................... 104 Documentation ....................................................................................................................