"Winning isn't everything": A quantitative study on the effect of a football team's performance on attendance intentions in Allsvenskan
(2025) BUSN39 20251Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine consumer-brand relationships in the context of football, focusing on how team performance influences fans’ behavioral intentions in Allsvenskan. It further explored how this relationship is shaped by team identification and fans own perceptions about themselves and their teams.
Research Question: What is the impact of a football team’s poor performance on fan’s
intentions on attending the upcoming home game? How is the relationship between team performance and behavioral intentions moderated by team identification, external disadvantage of self, passion and determination of self, external disadvantage of team and passion and determination of team?
Methodology: The study employed a... (More) - Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine consumer-brand relationships in the context of football, focusing on how team performance influences fans’ behavioral intentions in Allsvenskan. It further explored how this relationship is shaped by team identification and fans own perceptions about themselves and their teams.
Research Question: What is the impact of a football team’s poor performance on fan’s
intentions on attending the upcoming home game? How is the relationship between team performance and behavioral intentions moderated by team identification, external disadvantage of self, passion and determination of self, external disadvantage of team and passion and determination of team?
Methodology: The study employed a quantitative approach. Data was collected via an online questionnaire targeted towards Allsvenskan fans. In total, a sample size of N=165 was acquired. Relationships including moderations were tested by exerting structural equation modeling in SmartPLS.
Findings/ Conclusion: Findings showed that team performance did not significantly impact behavioral intentions hence, indicating that higher team performance not necessarily yields behavioral attendance intentions, thereby highlighting a more complex consumer-brand relationship. All tested moderations except external disadvantage of self did not prove significant either. Results of the moderation of external disadvantage of self showed that people with high external disadvantage appear to have higher behavioral intentions to attend the upcoming game if their team has won before, indicating that winning could be a source of inspiration for individuals who possess at least partially underdog characteristics. Furthermore, direct effects of the moderators, which were tested in SmartPLS as well, exhibited a significant effect of team identification on behavioral intentions.
Theoretical Contributions and Managerial Implications: This study extends existing
theories and literature on consumer-brand relationships by challenging previous assumptions. Further, it provides new insights about underdog narratives and Self-Congruity Theory. Besides that, the findings suggest practical guidance on how managers can tailor their communication by focusing on identity-based communication and building underdog hero narratives. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9205854
- author
- Kristensen, Sanne LU and Marten, Cora LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BUSN39 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Consumer-brand relationship, narrative, underdog, identification, football, team performance, behavioral intentions
- language
- English
- id
- 9205854
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-30 12:12:42
- date last changed
- 2025-06-30 12:12:42
@misc{9205854,
abstract = {{Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine consumer-brand relationships in the context of football, focusing on how team performance influences fans’ behavioral intentions in Allsvenskan. It further explored how this relationship is shaped by team identification and fans own perceptions about themselves and their teams.
Research Question: What is the impact of a football team’s poor performance on fan’s
intentions on attending the upcoming home game? How is the relationship between team performance and behavioral intentions moderated by team identification, external disadvantage of self, passion and determination of self, external disadvantage of team and passion and determination of team?
Methodology: The study employed a quantitative approach. Data was collected via an online questionnaire targeted towards Allsvenskan fans. In total, a sample size of N=165 was acquired. Relationships including moderations were tested by exerting structural equation modeling in SmartPLS.
Findings/ Conclusion: Findings showed that team performance did not significantly impact behavioral intentions hence, indicating that higher team performance not necessarily yields behavioral attendance intentions, thereby highlighting a more complex consumer-brand relationship. All tested moderations except external disadvantage of self did not prove significant either. Results of the moderation of external disadvantage of self showed that people with high external disadvantage appear to have higher behavioral intentions to attend the upcoming game if their team has won before, indicating that winning could be a source of inspiration for individuals who possess at least partially underdog characteristics. Furthermore, direct effects of the moderators, which were tested in SmartPLS as well, exhibited a significant effect of team identification on behavioral intentions.
Theoretical Contributions and Managerial Implications: This study extends existing
theories and literature on consumer-brand relationships by challenging previous assumptions. Further, it provides new insights about underdog narratives and Self-Congruity Theory. Besides that, the findings suggest practical guidance on how managers can tailor their communication by focusing on identity-based communication and building underdog hero narratives.}},
author = {{Kristensen, Sanne and Marten, Cora}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{"Winning isn't everything": A quantitative study on the effect of a football team's performance on attendance intentions in Allsvenskan}},
year = {{2025}},
}