Fan Identity and Identification Drivers: Stoking the Flames of the Phoenix

<p>Fans are of highest importance for the financial success of sports clubs (van Leeuwen, Quick, & Daniel, 2002). However, the nature of fandom and the meaning that fans place upon their relationship with a sports club varies and different degrees of fandom exist (Wann & Branscombe, 1990). Whilst much research has been done on the assessment of fan identification, little work has contributed to its practical application. For example, for sport marketers to actively strengthen their fan base, more than a mere assessment of the identification level of their fans is necessary. It is suggested that knowledge about the underlying identification drivers of fans with different identification levels is needed to inform any managerial action. This research aims to enhance understanding about the relationship between the level of fan identification and the drivers of identification, and it does so, via a study of New Zealand's only professional football club Wellington Phoenix FC. A cross-sectional convenience sample of 517 Wellington Phoenix fans was surveyed using both online and researcher administered/respondent completed questionnaires. The Sports Spectator Identification Scale (Wann & Branscombe, 1993) was used to measure fan identification, and participants were categorized into five identification levels. Findings show that ten of 16 identification drivers are correlated with the identification level. Of particular interest are findings that indicate a mediating impact of the identification level on specific relationships. For instance, lowly identified fans place a higher relevance on the success of the team, whilst for highly identified fans, success is of lesser relevance. In contrast to that, the sense of belonging created by fellow fans is more important to those who are highly identified. Other drivers such as the general interest in football possess a nearly constant relevance throughout different identification levels. A multivariate factor analysis revealed patterns among identification drivers that suggest fans can be categorized according functional, symbolic and interpersonal constructs that can be described as a live experience factor, an admiration factor and a social network factor. Based on these results, fan profiling was undertaken and various marketing implications were discussed. The insights attained allow researchers and marketing practitioners to better understand the relevance of different drivers on the development of fan identification, and to better understand how marketing strategies may promote such higher levels of identification.</p>

Fan Identity and Identification Drivers: Stoking the Flames of the Phoenix

<p>Fans are of highest importance for the financial success of sports clubs (van Leeuwen, Quick, & Daniel, 2002). However, the nature of fandom and the meaning that fans place upon their relationship with a sports club varies and different degrees of fandom exist (Wann & Branscombe, 1990). Whilst much research has been done on the assessment of fan identification, little work has contributed to its practical application. For example, for sport marketers to actively strengthen their fan base, more than a mere assessment of the identification level of their fans is necessary. It is suggested that knowledge about the underlying identification drivers of fans with different identification levels is needed to inform any managerial action. This research aims to enhance understanding about the relationship between the level of fan identification and the drivers of identification, and it does so, via a study of New Zealand's only professional football club Wellington Phoenix FC. A cross-sectional convenience sample of 517 Wellington Phoenix fans was surveyed using both online and researcher administered/respondent completed questionnaires. The Sports Spectator Identification Scale (Wann & Branscombe, 1993) was used to measure fan identification, and participants were categorized into five identification levels. Findings show that ten of 16 identification drivers are correlated with the identification level. Of particular interest are findings that indicate a mediating impact of the identification level on specific relationships. For instance, lowly identified fans place a higher relevance on the success of the team, whilst for highly identified fans, success is of lesser relevance. In contrast to that, the sense of belonging created by fellow fans is more important to those who are highly identified. Other drivers such as the general interest in football possess a nearly constant relevance throughout different identification levels. A multivariate factor analysis revealed patterns among identification drivers that suggest fans can be categorized according functional, symbolic and interpersonal constructs that can be described as a live experience factor, an admiration factor and a social network factor. Based on these results, fan profiling was undertaken and various marketing implications were discussed. The insights attained allow researchers and marketing practitioners to better understand the relevance of different drivers on the development of fan identification, and to better understand how marketing strategies may promote such higher levels of identification.</p>

“All in One Rhythm”: Measuring the National Team Identification of Host Residents and Event Sport Tourists at the 2014 FIFA World Cup

The purpose of this study was to investigate the fan identification of host residents and international event sport tourists at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The Sport Spectator Identification Scale (SSIS) is used to measure identification with national football teams through the lens of social identity theory. A case study approach saw survey data (n=706) collected at the official FIFA Fan Fest in Natal, Brazil. Both host residents and event sport tourists reported high levels of identification with the national team they supported. The data was analysed using SPSS 26.0 and the length of time one had been a fan was found to be positively correlated with strength of identification. There was no relationship found between gender nor supporter age and their strength of team identification. This study demonstrates that the SSIS can be used to measure the level of psychological connection supporters have with national football teams. The findings are particularly pertinent for events expanding their servicescape to include fan zones or other activation sites similar to the FIFA Fan Fests.

How useful is each item in the Sport Spectator Identification Scale?: an item response theory analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of each item in the Sport Spectator Identification Scale (SSIS) (Wann and Branscombe, 1993) using the item response theory (IRT) and to provide evidence for modifications in the scale.Design/methodology/approachA total of 635 spectators of US professional sports responded to the seven-item SSIS on an eight-point semantic differential scale. The general partial credit model was fitted to the data.FindingsThe results revealed that four items (Items 1, 2, 3 and 5) provide a relatively high amount of information, whereas three items (Items 4, 6 and 7) provide a low amount of information, indicating different levels of measurement precision among the items. Furthermore, the results showed that some low-level response options were rarely selected by participants, indicating that it may not be necessary to include response options as many as eight within each item.Originality/valueUnlike previous studies examining the psychometric properties of the SSIS as a whole, the present study provides information about the usefulness of each item of the SSIS in measuring individuals' team identification. Based on the findings, the authors identified some issues with the three problematic items, including the wording of the items and the link between the question and the target construct. The authors make several suggestions for researchers and practitioners in improving individual item quality and in making informed decisions when using the SSIS in the future.

Are adolescent sports fans more physically active than the sports indifferent? A self-reported questionnaire study

Aims: Physical inactivity in adolescents is a global health problem. Eighty percent of adolescents worldwide do not meet the minimum recommended physical activity. Although many adolescents define themselves as a ‘sports fan’, the relationships between sports spectatorship and sport participation in adolescents have not yet been investigated. Here, we determine whether there is a relationship between the levels of sports spectatorship and physical activity among adolescents. Methods: The Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A), Sport Spectator Identification Scale (SSIS) and three questions regarding total screen time spent watching a sports game and other sports-related screen time on weekdays and weekends were given to high school students in two cities in Turkey (Konya and Ankara). Results: After excluding 21 invalid questionnaires, a total of 1100 full and valid questionnaires were returned from the participants (578 females, 522 males). Participants were aged between 13 and 19 (median = 15) years. Female students had lower PAQ-A (median = 2.38, interquartile range (IQR) = 0.99) and SSIS scores (median = 19, IQR = 24) and less total screen time on weekends compared to male students (median PAQ-A = 2.64, IQR = 1.05; median SSIS = 29, IQR = 30) ( p < .05). The physical activity level of the students was significantly lower among those at higher grades. A weak positive correlation was found between SSIS scores and PAQ-A scores ( r = .28, p < .01). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that sex, age and SSIS scores were all significant predictors of PAQ-A scores ( p < .001). Conclusions: When comparing female and male adolescents, we found that females scored significantly less in mean physical activity levels, screen time on weekends and sports spectator identification. A positive correlation was observed between sports spectator identification and physical activity levels, both in males and in females. Higher sports spectator identification, being younger and being male were all significant predictors of higher levels of physical activity.

Why Fans Act That Way

The purpose of the study was to examine whether personality traits predict one’s likelihood of basking in reflected glory (BIRGing) and cutting off reflected failure (CORFing) and to what extent team identification would mediate those effects. A path analysis was conducted to empirically test relationships between personality, team identity, and BIRGing/CORFing behaviors using the Honesty-Humility emotionality extraversion agreeableness conscientiousness openness to experience (HEXACO)-Personality Inventory (HEXACO-PI), Sport Spectator Identification Scale, and BIRGing and CORFing scales. The HEXACO-PI provides a theoretical framework to examine the degree to which six broad personality domains and several underlying personality traits influence behavior. A survey utilizing a national sample of 715 participants indicates several narrow underlying personality traits predict BIRGing and CORFing behaviors. Using this personality framework presents a new area of research for sport communication theories. The practical applications and future research examining the role of personality in sport communication and sport marketing is offered in conclusion.

Music, Magic, and the Mythic: The Dynamics of Visual and Aural Discourse in Souleymane Cissé’s Yeelen

The 1980s saw a wave of African films that aimed to represent, on both local and international screens, a sophisticated pre-colonial Africa, representing ancient myths and traditions while simultaneously debunking notions of the continent as primitive. Toward this aim the films inscribed the conventions of oral performance within their visual styles, denying spectator identification with the protagonists and emphasising the presence of the narrator. However, some critics argued that these films exoticised Africa, while their use of oral performance’s distancing effect echoed the ‘scientific’ distance structured by the ethnographic film, in which African societies were represented as ‘the other’. Souleymane Cissé’s Yeelen exemplifies this tension, transposing into cinematic form oral storytelling techniques in the depiction of a power struggle within the covert cult of the komo, a Bambara initiation society unfamiliar to most non-Bambara viewers. This paper demonstrates how the film negotiates this tension via music, which interpellates the international spectator by eliciting a greater identification with the protagonists than that determined at a visual level, while encoding a verisimilitude to rituals that may otherwise be read as the superstitious practices of ‘the other’. In this way, music and image in Yeelen operate as parallel, though often overlapping, discourses, bridging the gap between the film’s culturally specific narrative and formal components, and its international spectators.

An examination of sport fandom in Australia: Socialization, team identification, and fan behavior

To examine sport fandom in Australia, a convenience sample of 163 university students (62% males, 38% females, M = 21.3) attending a large, multi-sector institution located in a western suburb of Melbourne voluntarily completed a 25-item questionnaire survey which included the Sport Fandom Questionnaire ( Wann, 2002 ) and the Sport Spectator Identification Scale ( Wann and Branscombe, 1993 ). Descriptive and inferential statistics revealed that males chose ‘friends’ as their most influential sport fan socialization agent while females ranked friends, parents and school about the same. Male socialization agents were very important for both sexes with ‘father’ chosen most influential. Males scored higher on every measure of sport fandom behavior including attending sports events, watching sports on television, listening to sports on the radio, engaging in a sports conversation with others, and accessing sport information via the Internet. Australian Football League teams were chosen ‘favorite team’ by 81 percent of the total sample; selection was unrelated to the respondent’s sex. Compared with similar data obtained from US, Norwegian and Greek university student samples, these Australian students were judged greater sport consumers and more heavily identified with the sport fan role and a favorite team.