The Unbreakable Bond: A Qualitative Study on the Relationship between Football Fans and Their Clubs
(2024) BUSN39 20241Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- Thesis Purpose: The purpose of this study is to outline the relationship between football fans and their respective clubs. The seemingly unbreakable consumer loyalty a football team enjoys is arguably unique in the corporate world, and we aim to examine this loyalty and its influence on the brand-consumer relationship.
Theory: The theory used in this thesis is centred around brand loyalty and consumer-brand relationships. The seminal work of Fournier (1998) is used as a foundation for studying the relationship between fans and their respective clubs and the aspect of loyalty hones in on identity, community, and brand attributes.
Methodology: This study takes a qualitative approach where eight semi-structured interviews were... (More) - Thesis Purpose: The purpose of this study is to outline the relationship between football fans and their respective clubs. The seemingly unbreakable consumer loyalty a football team enjoys is arguably unique in the corporate world, and we aim to examine this loyalty and its influence on the brand-consumer relationship.
Theory: The theory used in this thesis is centred around brand loyalty and consumer-brand relationships. The seminal work of Fournier (1998) is used as a foundation for studying the relationship between fans and their respective clubs and the aspect of loyalty hones in on identity, community, and brand attributes.
Methodology: This study takes a qualitative approach where eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with football fans in order to collect the empirical data.
Findings: The conclusions from this thesis is that Fournier’s model on consumer-brand relationship is insufficient in describing the connection between a fan and their football club. This is a unique consumer-brand relationship, divergent from existing models, that deserves its own classification. Therefore, this thesis has extended Fournier’s (1998) typology to include an additional relationship form called “Fandom”, which relates to connections that are intense, enduring, public, asymmetric, personal, both positive and negative, and voluntary at the start but as time passes it grows into an imposed relationship. Finally, another finding is the need for an additional dimension to explain the consumer-brand relationship. To solely view it as a dyadic connection is not justifiable, and instead third parties must be accounted for which means that the relationship can be triadic in nature as well.
Practical Implications: The findings showed the importance of a strong brand loyalty in connection to creating a lasting, unbreakable relationship. By developing a clear brand identity that consumers can identify with as well as to provide platforms and contexts where brand communities can develop, managers can create a greater brand loyalty and potentially cultivate a fandom relationship. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9164119
- author
- Kämpe, Tim LU and Paulsson, Axel LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BUSN39 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Consumer-brand relationship, Football fans, Brand loyalty, Identity, Community
- language
- English
- id
- 9164119
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-25 13:22:21
- date last changed
- 2024-06-25 13:22:21
@misc{9164119,
abstract = {{Thesis Purpose: The purpose of this study is to outline the relationship between football fans and their respective clubs. The seemingly unbreakable consumer loyalty a football team enjoys is arguably unique in the corporate world, and we aim to examine this loyalty and its influence on the brand-consumer relationship.
Theory: The theory used in this thesis is centred around brand loyalty and consumer-brand relationships. The seminal work of Fournier (1998) is used as a foundation for studying the relationship between fans and their respective clubs and the aspect of loyalty hones in on identity, community, and brand attributes.
Methodology: This study takes a qualitative approach where eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with football fans in order to collect the empirical data.
Findings: The conclusions from this thesis is that Fournier’s model on consumer-brand relationship is insufficient in describing the connection between a fan and their football club. This is a unique consumer-brand relationship, divergent from existing models, that deserves its own classification. Therefore, this thesis has extended Fournier’s (1998) typology to include an additional relationship form called “Fandom”, which relates to connections that are intense, enduring, public, asymmetric, personal, both positive and negative, and voluntary at the start but as time passes it grows into an imposed relationship. Finally, another finding is the need for an additional dimension to explain the consumer-brand relationship. To solely view it as a dyadic connection is not justifiable, and instead third parties must be accounted for which means that the relationship can be triadic in nature as well.
Practical Implications: The findings showed the importance of a strong brand loyalty in connection to creating a lasting, unbreakable relationship. By developing a clear brand identity that consumers can identify with as well as to provide platforms and contexts where brand communities can develop, managers can create a greater brand loyalty and potentially cultivate a fandom relationship.}},
author = {{Kämpe, Tim and Paulsson, Axel}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The Unbreakable Bond: A Qualitative Study on the Relationship between Football Fans and Their Clubs}},
year = {{2024}},
}