Sports Marketing & Sponsorship - FIFA/CIES International University ...

Team attributes, identification and sponsor imageGladden & Funk (2002) suggested that teamattributes are the criteria for judging a sports team’svalue, which affects team identification. From pastempirical organisational studies, two of these attributeswere shown to be organisation attractiveness (Fisher,1998; Kelman, 1961) and organisation similarity(Ashforth & Mael, 1989; Dutton et al, 1994; Fisher,1998; Kelman, 1961). While no empirical evidencewas provided for the effect of organisation familiarity,Trail et al (2000) and Heere (2005) respectivelyidentified acquisition of knowledge and awareness andknowledge as factors possibly leading to teamidentification.Purpose of study and hypothesesBy recognising the presence of a highly identified teamor the level of team identification, respectively, as apossible event characteristic or individual factor inGwinner’s (1997) AMICIT model, this studyconceptualised a structural model in which teamattributes affect team identification, which in turnplays a mediating role in sponsor identification and theimage transfer from an event to its sponsor. Unlikeprevious studies, which analysed only parts of therelationship, this study aimed to analyse therelationships of all the constructs as a whole.Specifically, the following hypotheses were establishedand simultaneously tested: (H1) team attractivenesspositively affects team identification; (H2) teamsimilarity positively affects team identification; (H3)team awareness (i.e. familiarity) positively affects teamidentification; (H4) team identification positively affectssponsor identification (i.e. awareness); (H5) sponsoridentification positively affects sponsor image.Theoretical backgroundTeam identificationTeam identification has been defined as the level ofpsychological attachment felt by a sports fan towardshis or her favourite team (Branscombe & Wann,1992). Fundamental to this concept of teamidentification is the concept of social identity, becauseteam identification is a manifestation of social identity(Underwood et al, 2001), which is “that part of anindividual’s self-concept which derives from his or herknowledge of their membership in a social group orgroups together with the value and emotionalsignificance attached to that membership” (Tajfel,1981, p.255). This means that as sports spectatorsbecome affiliated with a team, they derive a sense ofidentity from the affiliation (Hirt et al, 1992; Wann &Branscombe, 1993). In turn, they perceive other fansof the same team as in-group members and fans ofother teams as out-group members (Melnick, 1993).This perception enhances their sense of belonging to ateam, which results in higher team identification(Underwood et al, 2001).This relationship between social identity and teamidentification is supported by earlier organisationalidentification studies. Katz & Kahn (1966) assertedthat the perception of belonging to an organisationinfluences an individual’s organisational identification,which Bhattacharya et al (1995) defined as “theperceived oneness with or belongingness to anorganisation of which the person is a member” (p.46).Thus, recognising that a professional sports team is aform of organisation and that fans are its membersenables team identification to be recognised as a formof organisational identification. With regard tomembership, Chen (2007) argued that fans aremembers of a team because they believe a team’ssuccess or failure to be their own personal success orfailure. Heere (2005), however, gave three differentreasons. First, fans can affect the quality of a product,as in the case of local fans’ support affecting theRESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ●International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship217