Podium Sport, Leisure and Tourism Review, Dec 1, 2017
Athlete branding is growing topic in academics. This article seeks to investigate athlete brandin... more Athlete branding is growing topic in academics. This article seeks to investigate athlete branding by focusing antecedents, attributes and its implication among developing south Asian country, Pakistani female fans to help the efforts of an athlete to become an international brand. The final data sample is comprised of 15 semi-structured interviews with female fans of certain athletes. Participant's responses indicated that five major antecedent media, oral communication, social agents, team & sports and impression management are basic source of brand awareness among fans. While selecting their favourite athlete two attributes associated to athletes emerged (on field athlete brand attributes and off field athlete brand attributes). Furthermore, Fan's indicated that athlete brand have positive impact on athlete itself, athlete's teams and on athlete's sponsors as well. These implications further discussed in the article. The result of the study can help to establish athlete brand among conservative societies (i.e. south Asian, Muslim) and second stream sports (i.e., Cricket).
Athlete branding is growing topic in academics. This article seeks to investigate athlete brandin... more Athlete branding is growing topic in academics. This article seeks to investigate athlete branding by focusing antecedents, attributes and its implication among developing south Asian country, Pakistani female fans to help the efforts of an athlete to become an international brand. The final data sample is comprised of 15 semi-structured interviews with female fans of certain athletes. Participant's responses indicated that five major antecedent media, oral communication, social agents, team & sports and impression management are basic source of brand awareness among fans. While selecting their favourite athlete two attributes associated to athletes emerged (on field athlete brand attributes and off field athlete brand attributes). Furthermore, Fan's indicated that athlete brand have positive impact on athlete itself, athlete's teams and on athlete's sponsors as well. These implications further discussed in the article. The result of the study can help to establish athlete brand among conservative societies (i.e. south Asian, Muslim) and second stream sports (i.e., Cricket).
The purpose of this study was to investigate Pakistani fans in the context of athlete branding re... more The purpose of this study was to investigate Pakistani fans in the context of athlete branding regarding foreign cricketers in the country’s first ever cricket league. Athlete brand attributes and athlete brand implication discussed with 15 fans of foreign cricketers via semi-structured interview. The components of athlete brand are related with on-field attributes (behavior, team, achievements, style of play and skills) and off-field attributes (physical attraction, lifestyle, personal appeal, ethnicity and entertainment). In turn, implication of athlete branding contributed in the domain of athlete loyalty (media following, creating their own narratives, positive word-of-mouth, resistance to change and commitment), athlete’s team loyalty (team substitution, supporting multiple teams and revenue generation) and athlete’s sponsors loyalty. The implications of these findings for building and managing an athlete’s brand are also discussed.
Cricket has always been known for its international level competitions; however, recently, league... more Cricket has always been known for its international level competitions; however, recently, league-format has been introduced into it. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the motives of fans’ loyalty (and disloyalty) in the context of Pakistan Super League (PSL). For this purpose, a longitudinal qualitative study was established among the PSL fans. The first study was conducted before the beginning of the PSL and the second study was conducted at the end of PSL. The responses of the participants indicated that the PSL fans have short-term and changeable loyalties. The study identified various reasons that motivate fans to detach from one team/athlete and attach to another team/athlete. In the context of teams, four motives emerged: performance, location, the team itself and the athlete; whereas, in the context of athletes, three different motives emerged: performance, off-field attributes and other on-field attributes. The results of the study are also discussed in the...
espanolLos investigadores han estado de acuerdo en la importancia de las redes sociales en la bus... more espanolLos investigadores han estado de acuerdo en la importancia de las redes sociales en la busqueda de establecer marcas de atletas. En este sentido, Twitter es un tipo muy importante de medios de comunicacion social que representa las perspectivas de los aficionados sobre sus atletas favoritos (o no) y proporciona informacion solida de los aficionados, que puede ser util en el contexto de la imagen de marca para un atleta. El presente estudio utiliza un analisis cualitativo del contenido de los usuarios de Twitter durante el PSL. Las colecciones de tweets comenzaron el primer dia del PSL 2017 (9 de febrero de 2017) y concluyeron el ultimo dia del estudio (5 de marzo de 2017). Se recopilaron datos que contenian #HBLPSL y #PSL y se seleccionaron tweets con nombres de atletas extranjeros de entre mas de 38. 000 tweets. Los resultados de este estudio sugirieron que los tweets de los aficionados sobre los atletas, podrian separarse en dos categorias principales: 1) motivos relacionad...
The purpose of this study was to understand the implications of athlete brand among fans. Using a... more The purpose of this study was to understand the implications of athlete brand among fans. Using a conceptual framework derived from a literature review as a starting point, a set of interviews was conducted with fans from three different countries in order to develop a better understanding of the role of athlete brand on fans' responses towards an athlete, and the associated teams and sponsors. The findings indicate that fans' responses towards an athlete include media following, creating their own narratives, positive word-of-mouth, and resistance to changing a favourite athlete. In addition, responses to the athlete's team include potential team substitution when the athlete is transferred, support for multiple teams and increased revenue generation. Finally, the sponsors of the athletes may also have benefits among fans including brand recognition, positive image, purchase intentions and ignoring rival sponsors. The implications of these findings for building and managing an athlete's brand are discussed, and directions for future studies are provided.
2015-246 4:05 PM (Frontenac) Relevance of the Topic to Sport Management The topic of team loyalty... more 2015-246 4:05 PM (Frontenac) Relevance of the Topic to Sport Management The topic of team loyalty has been of major interest for researchers due to its importance on club’s long-term benefits (e.g., Biscaia, Correia, Ross, Rosado, & Marôco, 2013). Consistent with this view, there is a stream of research focusing on the role of celebrity players to understand how to increase team loyalty both among fans within the area where the team is located and foreign fans living abroad (Kerr & Gladden, 2008; Künzler & Poli, 2012). Also, some researchers have highlighted that player interest is an important aspect to understand team loyalty (e.g., Neale & Funk, 2006). Moreover, because media coverage of sport (i.e., TV broadcast), it is possible that a club’s abroad fans will outnumber local fans (Datson, 2004). This situation has caused the emergence of player brand as well. Recent studies have focused on the conceptualization of athlete’s brand and its consequences on fans’ loyalty towards the...
Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research, 2018
Athletes are a new type of celebrity in the world. Following other celebrities, there are several... more Athletes are a new type of celebrity in the world. Following other celebrities, there are several examples of athletes who have used their persona of fame to go a step further with their so-called personal brands and actually launch products carrying their names. As athletes are considered brands in themselves, these sorts of activities (i.e., introducing a product brand) are considered as an extension of the athlete’s brand. Given the nature of the research, this study employed a qualitative design. A purposeful convenience sampling technique was employed to select study participants according to a set of predetermined criteria. The final sample comprised nine fans. The fans identified five major factors that could be important in the context of an athlete’s decision to start his/her own brand. The five identified factors that could decide the fate of an athlete’s brand extensions were the athlete’s origin, extension fit, gender, performance, and impression. According to fans, thes...
International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2018
This document is the author's post-print version, incorporating any revisions agreed during the p... more This document is the author's post-print version, incorporating any revisions agreed during the peer-review process. Some differences between the published version and this version may remain and you are advised to consult the published version if you wish to cite from it.
International Journal of Marketing and Business Communication, 2015
<jats:p>Globalization brought broader opportunities for international brands. Few football ... more <jats:p>Globalization brought broader opportunities for international brands. Few football clubs have already established themselves as brands and others are struggling to gain international fandom. Pakistan is sixth biggest country population wise so there is vast potential fan market waiting to be invaded by foreign clubs. The purpose of this study is to measure motives behind loyalty of Pakistani football fans for their favourite international football teams and favourite football club teams. Four measurement attachments, the Attributes scale (AS), Benefits scale (BS), Behavioral loyalty scale (BLS), and Attitudinal loyalty scale (ALS) were used to determined outcomes. The result revealed that international football tournaments are more popular than domestic football leagues. A comparison between both formats expressed that star players are major motive in both formats. Overall motives behind loyalty are same however their intensity is different in different formats.</jats:p>
The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for understanding the antecedents and compon... more The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for understanding the antecedents and components of athlete brand. Based on a set of 21 interviews conducted in three different countries, a detailed framework is proposed including five antecedents and two components of athlete brand. The antecedents are media (social media, mass media, video games and major sport events), oral communications (word of mouth, and rumors and narratives), impression management, social agents (parents, family members, friends and community), and teams and sport (sport interest, team interest and team geographical location). In turn, the components of athlete brand are related with on-field attributes (behavior, team, achievements, style of play and skills) and off-field attributes (physical attraction, lifestyle, personal appeal, ethnicity and entertainment). Complementarily, these components of athlete brand are proposed to have an impact on fans' loyalty towards the athlete. Implications of these findings for building and managing athlete brand are discussed, and directions for future studies are provided.
Due to technology, countries have been introduced to new sports. With more demand, interest, and ... more Due to technology, countries have been introduced to new sports. With more demand, interest, and coverage, new sports have become so established in a society that it is as if they had always existed. Thus, mainstream and niche sports concepts emerged. Mainstream sports are those that can gather mass media and public coverage, while niche sports are those that are less popular or nonexistent. This study focuses on a niche sport in Turkey, that is, rugby; this is a sport that is not even in the top 15 popular sports in Turkey. As the aim of this study is to explore difficulties faced in the branding and marketing of a niche sport in a new area, this study uses the case study of Sivas Kangals Rugby FC. The current study adopted an inductive qualitative design. The study is based on semi structured interview of four stakeholders: the coach, athletes, sports journalists and fans. The results of the study highlighted the difficulties a niche sport could face, why niche sports faced diffic...
Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research, 2021
Foreign investors have been very active in football clubs in many different countries. These club... more Foreign investors have been very active in football clubs in many different countries. These clubs see significant benefits from foreign investment. However, in Turkey, this practice has not yet been implemented. Furthermore, there has been no general discussion about the applicability of this system in Turkish clubs, despite almost all Turkish football clubs being in a state of financial turmoil. To fill this void, this study aims to research the views of Turkish football fans regarding the possible sale of their club to a foreign investor. A total of 1172 football fans across Turkey completed a questionnaire form for the research. The distributions of fans’ views were analyzed by forming crosstabs and using the chi-square test of independence. A total of 66.8% of Turkish fans who participated in the research are against the possible sale of their club to a foreign investor, while 33.2% of the fans support this situation. Additionally, 55.5% of the fans think they have adequate inf...
Pensar en Movimiento: Revista de Ciencias del Ejercicio y la Salud, 2021
The management of an athlete brand is challenging due to the complex nature of athlete career and... more The management of an athlete brand is challenging due to the complex nature of athlete career and life. Striving to maintain brand authenticity will promote long-term sustainability of the brand. The purpose of the study is to determine possible factors that contribute to athlete brand authenticity and help athletes to develop their brand more authentically. To understand the concept of athlete brand authenticity, a systematic literature review was conducted on various electronic databases. The study opted the five-step stages of the framework for this systematic review. A total of 76 attributes were identified from past studies that analyzed the attributes of brand authenticity for various brands. After merging interrelated attributes, the final number of unique attributes was 23. These attributes were distributed among three major themes: on-field activities, off-field activities and marketing activities of an athlete. The study finds brand authenticity to be a multi-dimensional a...
Podium Sport, Leisure and Tourism Review, Dec 1, 2017
Athlete branding is growing topic in academics. This article seeks to investigate athlete brandin... more Athlete branding is growing topic in academics. This article seeks to investigate athlete branding by focusing antecedents, attributes and its implication among developing south Asian country, Pakistani female fans to help the efforts of an athlete to become an international brand. The final data sample is comprised of 15 semi-structured interviews with female fans of certain athletes. Participant's responses indicated that five major antecedent media, oral communication, social agents, team & sports and impression management are basic source of brand awareness among fans. While selecting their favourite athlete two attributes associated to athletes emerged (on field athlete brand attributes and off field athlete brand attributes). Furthermore, Fan's indicated that athlete brand have positive impact on athlete itself, athlete's teams and on athlete's sponsors as well. These implications further discussed in the article. The result of the study can help to establish athlete brand among conservative societies (i.e. south Asian, Muslim) and second stream sports (i.e., Cricket).
Athlete branding is growing topic in academics. This article seeks to investigate athlete brandin... more Athlete branding is growing topic in academics. This article seeks to investigate athlete branding by focusing antecedents, attributes and its implication among developing south Asian country, Pakistani female fans to help the efforts of an athlete to become an international brand. The final data sample is comprised of 15 semi-structured interviews with female fans of certain athletes. Participant's responses indicated that five major antecedent media, oral communication, social agents, team & sports and impression management are basic source of brand awareness among fans. While selecting their favourite athlete two attributes associated to athletes emerged (on field athlete brand attributes and off field athlete brand attributes). Furthermore, Fan's indicated that athlete brand have positive impact on athlete itself, athlete's teams and on athlete's sponsors as well. These implications further discussed in the article. The result of the study can help to establish athlete brand among conservative societies (i.e. south Asian, Muslim) and second stream sports (i.e., Cricket).
The purpose of this study was to investigate Pakistani fans in the context of athlete branding re... more The purpose of this study was to investigate Pakistani fans in the context of athlete branding regarding foreign cricketers in the country’s first ever cricket league. Athlete brand attributes and athlete brand implication discussed with 15 fans of foreign cricketers via semi-structured interview. The components of athlete brand are related with on-field attributes (behavior, team, achievements, style of play and skills) and off-field attributes (physical attraction, lifestyle, personal appeal, ethnicity and entertainment). In turn, implication of athlete branding contributed in the domain of athlete loyalty (media following, creating their own narratives, positive word-of-mouth, resistance to change and commitment), athlete’s team loyalty (team substitution, supporting multiple teams and revenue generation) and athlete’s sponsors loyalty. The implications of these findings for building and managing an athlete’s brand are also discussed.
Cricket has always been known for its international level competitions; however, recently, league... more Cricket has always been known for its international level competitions; however, recently, league-format has been introduced into it. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the motives of fans’ loyalty (and disloyalty) in the context of Pakistan Super League (PSL). For this purpose, a longitudinal qualitative study was established among the PSL fans. The first study was conducted before the beginning of the PSL and the second study was conducted at the end of PSL. The responses of the participants indicated that the PSL fans have short-term and changeable loyalties. The study identified various reasons that motivate fans to detach from one team/athlete and attach to another team/athlete. In the context of teams, four motives emerged: performance, location, the team itself and the athlete; whereas, in the context of athletes, three different motives emerged: performance, off-field attributes and other on-field attributes. The results of the study are also discussed in the...
espanolLos investigadores han estado de acuerdo en la importancia de las redes sociales en la bus... more espanolLos investigadores han estado de acuerdo en la importancia de las redes sociales en la busqueda de establecer marcas de atletas. En este sentido, Twitter es un tipo muy importante de medios de comunicacion social que representa las perspectivas de los aficionados sobre sus atletas favoritos (o no) y proporciona informacion solida de los aficionados, que puede ser util en el contexto de la imagen de marca para un atleta. El presente estudio utiliza un analisis cualitativo del contenido de los usuarios de Twitter durante el PSL. Las colecciones de tweets comenzaron el primer dia del PSL 2017 (9 de febrero de 2017) y concluyeron el ultimo dia del estudio (5 de marzo de 2017). Se recopilaron datos que contenian #HBLPSL y #PSL y se seleccionaron tweets con nombres de atletas extranjeros de entre mas de 38. 000 tweets. Los resultados de este estudio sugirieron que los tweets de los aficionados sobre los atletas, podrian separarse en dos categorias principales: 1) motivos relacionad...
The purpose of this study was to understand the implications of athlete brand among fans. Using a... more The purpose of this study was to understand the implications of athlete brand among fans. Using a conceptual framework derived from a literature review as a starting point, a set of interviews was conducted with fans from three different countries in order to develop a better understanding of the role of athlete brand on fans' responses towards an athlete, and the associated teams and sponsors. The findings indicate that fans' responses towards an athlete include media following, creating their own narratives, positive word-of-mouth, and resistance to changing a favourite athlete. In addition, responses to the athlete's team include potential team substitution when the athlete is transferred, support for multiple teams and increased revenue generation. Finally, the sponsors of the athletes may also have benefits among fans including brand recognition, positive image, purchase intentions and ignoring rival sponsors. The implications of these findings for building and managing an athlete's brand are discussed, and directions for future studies are provided.
2015-246 4:05 PM (Frontenac) Relevance of the Topic to Sport Management The topic of team loyalty... more 2015-246 4:05 PM (Frontenac) Relevance of the Topic to Sport Management The topic of team loyalty has been of major interest for researchers due to its importance on club’s long-term benefits (e.g., Biscaia, Correia, Ross, Rosado, & Marôco, 2013). Consistent with this view, there is a stream of research focusing on the role of celebrity players to understand how to increase team loyalty both among fans within the area where the team is located and foreign fans living abroad (Kerr & Gladden, 2008; Künzler & Poli, 2012). Also, some researchers have highlighted that player interest is an important aspect to understand team loyalty (e.g., Neale & Funk, 2006). Moreover, because media coverage of sport (i.e., TV broadcast), it is possible that a club’s abroad fans will outnumber local fans (Datson, 2004). This situation has caused the emergence of player brand as well. Recent studies have focused on the conceptualization of athlete’s brand and its consequences on fans’ loyalty towards the...
Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research, 2018
Athletes are a new type of celebrity in the world. Following other celebrities, there are several... more Athletes are a new type of celebrity in the world. Following other celebrities, there are several examples of athletes who have used their persona of fame to go a step further with their so-called personal brands and actually launch products carrying their names. As athletes are considered brands in themselves, these sorts of activities (i.e., introducing a product brand) are considered as an extension of the athlete’s brand. Given the nature of the research, this study employed a qualitative design. A purposeful convenience sampling technique was employed to select study participants according to a set of predetermined criteria. The final sample comprised nine fans. The fans identified five major factors that could be important in the context of an athlete’s decision to start his/her own brand. The five identified factors that could decide the fate of an athlete’s brand extensions were the athlete’s origin, extension fit, gender, performance, and impression. According to fans, thes...
International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2018
This document is the author's post-print version, incorporating any revisions agreed during the p... more This document is the author's post-print version, incorporating any revisions agreed during the peer-review process. Some differences between the published version and this version may remain and you are advised to consult the published version if you wish to cite from it.
International Journal of Marketing and Business Communication, 2015
<jats:p>Globalization brought broader opportunities for international brands. Few football ... more <jats:p>Globalization brought broader opportunities for international brands. Few football clubs have already established themselves as brands and others are struggling to gain international fandom. Pakistan is sixth biggest country population wise so there is vast potential fan market waiting to be invaded by foreign clubs. The purpose of this study is to measure motives behind loyalty of Pakistani football fans for their favourite international football teams and favourite football club teams. Four measurement attachments, the Attributes scale (AS), Benefits scale (BS), Behavioral loyalty scale (BLS), and Attitudinal loyalty scale (ALS) were used to determined outcomes. The result revealed that international football tournaments are more popular than domestic football leagues. A comparison between both formats expressed that star players are major motive in both formats. Overall motives behind loyalty are same however their intensity is different in different formats.</jats:p>
The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for understanding the antecedents and compon... more The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for understanding the antecedents and components of athlete brand. Based on a set of 21 interviews conducted in three different countries, a detailed framework is proposed including five antecedents and two components of athlete brand. The antecedents are media (social media, mass media, video games and major sport events), oral communications (word of mouth, and rumors and narratives), impression management, social agents (parents, family members, friends and community), and teams and sport (sport interest, team interest and team geographical location). In turn, the components of athlete brand are related with on-field attributes (behavior, team, achievements, style of play and skills) and off-field attributes (physical attraction, lifestyle, personal appeal, ethnicity and entertainment). Complementarily, these components of athlete brand are proposed to have an impact on fans' loyalty towards the athlete. Implications of these findings for building and managing athlete brand are discussed, and directions for future studies are provided.
Due to technology, countries have been introduced to new sports. With more demand, interest, and ... more Due to technology, countries have been introduced to new sports. With more demand, interest, and coverage, new sports have become so established in a society that it is as if they had always existed. Thus, mainstream and niche sports concepts emerged. Mainstream sports are those that can gather mass media and public coverage, while niche sports are those that are less popular or nonexistent. This study focuses on a niche sport in Turkey, that is, rugby; this is a sport that is not even in the top 15 popular sports in Turkey. As the aim of this study is to explore difficulties faced in the branding and marketing of a niche sport in a new area, this study uses the case study of Sivas Kangals Rugby FC. The current study adopted an inductive qualitative design. The study is based on semi structured interview of four stakeholders: the coach, athletes, sports journalists and fans. The results of the study highlighted the difficulties a niche sport could face, why niche sports faced diffic...
Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research, 2021
Foreign investors have been very active in football clubs in many different countries. These club... more Foreign investors have been very active in football clubs in many different countries. These clubs see significant benefits from foreign investment. However, in Turkey, this practice has not yet been implemented. Furthermore, there has been no general discussion about the applicability of this system in Turkish clubs, despite almost all Turkish football clubs being in a state of financial turmoil. To fill this void, this study aims to research the views of Turkish football fans regarding the possible sale of their club to a foreign investor. A total of 1172 football fans across Turkey completed a questionnaire form for the research. The distributions of fans’ views were analyzed by forming crosstabs and using the chi-square test of independence. A total of 66.8% of Turkish fans who participated in the research are against the possible sale of their club to a foreign investor, while 33.2% of the fans support this situation. Additionally, 55.5% of the fans think they have adequate inf...
Pensar en Movimiento: Revista de Ciencias del Ejercicio y la Salud, 2021
The management of an athlete brand is challenging due to the complex nature of athlete career and... more The management of an athlete brand is challenging due to the complex nature of athlete career and life. Striving to maintain brand authenticity will promote long-term sustainability of the brand. The purpose of the study is to determine possible factors that contribute to athlete brand authenticity and help athletes to develop their brand more authentically. To understand the concept of athlete brand authenticity, a systematic literature review was conducted on various electronic databases. The study opted the five-step stages of the framework for this systematic review. A total of 76 attributes were identified from past studies that analyzed the attributes of brand authenticity for various brands. After merging interrelated attributes, the final number of unique attributes was 23. These attributes were distributed among three major themes: on-field activities, off-field activities and marketing activities of an athlete. The study finds brand authenticity to be a multi-dimensional a...
Social media has played a significant role in the creation of athlete brands among fans. Research... more Social media has played a significant role in the creation of athlete brands among fans. Researchers have agreed upon the importance of social media in the quest of establishing athlete brands (Arai, Ko, and Kaplanidou 2013; Arai, Ko, and Ross 2014; Hasaan et al. 2016). Twitter is a very important type of social media that represents fans' perspectives about their favorite (or disliked) athletes and provides solid feedback of fans which can be helpful in the context of image branding for an athlete (Parganas, Anagnostopoulos, and Chadwick 2015). Cricketers, and other athletes, are also considered as brands. Cricket since the introduction of T20 (a league-version of Cricket) has changed (Cannonier, Panda, and Sarangi 2015) as Cricket, traditionally, was played between countries (Malcolm 2001), which meant that cricketers couldn't achieve global stardom as fans only supported their own cricket teams/players. (Gupta 2005). But introduction of T20 format has changed this situation and now it is possible for fans to like foreign-league players. In this context, current study employed a qualitative content analysis of Twitter users during PSL. Tweet collections began on the first day of the PSL 2017 (February 9,2017), and concluded on the final day of the competition (March, 5, 2017). Data containing #HBLPSL and #PSL was collected and tweets with names of foreign athletes were selected from more than 38,000 tweets. Findings from this study suggested that fans' tweets about athletes could be separated into two major categories: 1) fans' related motives and 2) athletes' related motives. Fans' related motives were sharing information, visuals, predictions and feedback regarding certain athletes. Athletes' related motives were athletes' performance, athletes' style of celebration and athletes' comments. Results of the current study have highlighted the motives that persuaded fans to tweet about a certain athlete during the PSL, therefore, this study provides a useful insight into twitter users' thinking, which can be useful for both academics and practitioners. Additionally, this study could provide managers of foreigner athletes with guidelines to reach out to the fans and improve their brand range.
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