The Interpretive-Structural Model of Fans’ Stimulant to Involvement in the Virtual Pages of Football Clubs

Zamanian Yazdi, Samira; Bagheri, Hadi; Andam, Reza

doi:10.22124/jsmd.2021.16373.2309

Number of Journals	32
Number of Issues	814
Number of Articles	7,880
Article View	36,687,473
PDF Download	8,306,075

	The Interpretive-Structural Model of Fans’ Stimulant to Involvement in the Virtual Pages of Football Clubs
مدیریت و توسعه ورزش
Article 1, Volume 13, Issue 4 - Serial Number 40, February 2025, Pages 1-23 PDF (1.37 M)
Document Type: Research Paper I Open Access I Released under (CC BY-NC 4.0) license
DOI: 10.22124/jsmd.2021.16373.2309
Authors
Samira Zamanian Yazdi¹; Hadi Bagheri^* ²; Reza Andam³
¹.A in Sport Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Shahroud University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran
²Assistant Professor in Sport Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Shahroud University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran
³Associate Professor in Sport Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Shahroud University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran
Abstract
Objective: The present study investigated the motivational factors of sports fans for participation in the virtual pages of football clubs. Methodology: This research is an exploratory kind of mixed method that was performed in two qualitative and quantitative parts. In the qualitative part, along with the analysis of the existing literature, 20 interviews were conducted with social media experts, sports marketers, and active sports fans on the clubs' websites, Instagram pages, and the Telegram channel, which resulted in the extraction of nine factors motivating virtual participation. In the quantitative part, using interpretive-structural modeling, the levels and relationships between the factors were determined and analyzed in an integrated manner. In this part, using the pairwise comparison questionnaire, the opinions of 14 active fans on the mentioned virtual pages were collected. These fans were selected by purposive sampling. Results: By analyzing the questionnaires, motives for fans’ participation in the clubs’ virtual pages were categorized into six levels: 1) entertainment; 2) income and reward; 3) empowerment; 4) identification, solidarity and social interaction, and supporting the club; 5) brand interest and demanding; 6) gaining information. Conclusion: Focusing on the virtual behavior of the fans, the present study shows another way to develop the clubs' relationship with their fans and expand their fan base, which is based on the importance and position of the fans' motivations for participating in the virtual pages.
Keywords
Motivation; Social network; Follower; Sports Fans

References
Achen, R. M., Kaczorowski, J., Horsmann, T., & Ketzler, A. (2020). Comparing organizational content and fan interaction on Twitter and Facebook in United States professional sport. Managing Sport and Leisure, 1-18.‏ DOI: 10.1080/23750472.2020.172343 Aghaei, R., Sadeghi Boroujerdi, S., and Malek Mohammadi, A. (2025). Identification of the opportunities and challenges of social media marketing of Premier League Football Clubs. Journal of Sport Management and Development, In Press doi: 10.22124/jsmd.2023.22869.2720 [In Persian] Ahn, T. (2010). Effect of User Motives and Interactivity on Attitude Toward a Sport Website.‏ Doctorial Dissertation, Department of Sport and Recreation Management, Florida state university. Argan, M., Argan, M. T., Köse, H., & Gökalp, B. (2013). Using Facebook as a sport marketing tool: A content analysis on Turkish soccer clubs. Internet Uygulamaları ve Yönetimi Dergisi, 4(1), 25-35.‏ Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210-230. Baroncelli, A., & Lago, U. (2006). Italian football. Journal of Sports Economics, 7(1), 13-28. Boyle, K., Mower, G,. Robinson, T,. & Callahan, C,. (2019). Virtual Tailgating: A Q-Methodology Analysis of Why Sports Fans Visit Online Sports Forums. Journal of Sports Media, 14 (2), 137-154. Budac, & Baltador, L. (2014). Brand Communication Challenges in Getting Young Customer Engagement. Procedia Economics and Finance, 16, 521 – 525. Chadwick, S., & Hamil, S. (Eds.). (2009). Managing football: An international perspective. Routledge. Desbordes, M., & Richelieu, A. (Eds.). (2019). International Sport Marketing: Issues and Practice. Routledge. Filo, K., Lock, D., & Karg, A. (2015). Sport and social media research: A review. Sport Management Review,18, 166–181. Gamboa, A. M., & Gonçalves, H. M. (2014). Customer loyalty through social networks: Lessons from Zara on Facebook. Business Horizons, 57(6), 709-717.‏ Heidari, L., & Sharifan, E. (2015). prioriziting interactive components influencing fans' revisiting websites of iran selected football premier league clubs. Sport managment (harakat), 7(3), 71-88. [In Persian] https://fararu.com/fa/news/433010. [In Persian] https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2016/07/26/fc-barcelona-posts-record-revenue-of-750-million/. https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/1393431. [In Persian] https://www.mashreghnews.ir/news/1054068. [In Persian] Ioakimidis, M. (2010). Online marketing of professional sport clubs: Engaging fans on a new playing field. International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, 12, 271–282. Izadi, B., and Badzohre, H. (2018). Design a model for determining Relationship between Football fan identification and collective self-esteem based on social media. Journal of Sport Management and Development, 6(3), 180-199. doi: 10.22124/jsmd.2018.2850. [In Persian] Kotsovos, A., Kriemadis, T., & Kartakoullis, N. (2009). A strategy for managing customer relations on the internet: evidence from the football sector. Direct Marketing, 3(4): 229 -243. Kriemadis, T., Terzoudis, C., & Kartakoullis, N. (2010). Internet marketing in football clubs: a comparison between English and Greek websites. Soccer & Society, 11(3): 291-307. Mazyari, M., Hamidi, M., Khabiri, M., & Alidoust Ghahfarokhi, E. (2020). The Effect of Sense of Brand Community on Attendance in Stadium and Media Consumption in IRAN Football Pro-League Spectators: The Mediating Role of Perceived Risk. Journal of Sport Management and Development, 9(2), 2-15. doi: 10.22124/jsmd.2020.4368. [In Persian] McCarthy, J., Rowley, J., Ashworth, C., & Pioch, E. (2014). Managing brand presence through social media: The case of UK football clubs. Internet Research, 24, 181–204. Moreno, B. J. (2006). Effects of Warning and Information Labels on Attraction to Television Violence in Viewers of Different Ages. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36(9) 2073–2078. Oliveira, M. J., Huertas, M. K. Z., & Lin, Z. (2016). Factors driving young users' engagement with Facebook: Evidence from Brazil. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 54-61.‏ Osokin, N,. (2018). User engagement and gratifications of NSO supporters on Facebook: Evidence from European football. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 20 (1), 61-80. Razavi, S. , Majedi, N. and Mohamadian, F. (2024). The effect of the roles of social media on sport participation by mediating of participatory capabilities. Journal of Sport Management and Development, 13(2), 27-43. doi: 10.22124/jsmd.2020.14329.2135 [In Persian] Richelieu, A., & Boulaire, C. (2005). A postmodern conception of the product and its applications to professional sports. International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, 7(1)., 23-34. Rodriguez-Pomeda, J., Casani, F., & Alonso-Almeida, M. D. M. (2017). Emotions’ management within the Real Madrid football club business model. Soccer & Society, 18(4), 431-444.‏ Stavros, C., Meng, M., Westberg, K., & Farrelly, F. (2014). Understanding fan motivation for interacting on social media. Sport Management Review, 17, 455–469. Tassawa, C. (2019). Factors Influencing Facebook Page Posts’ Liks, Shares, And Comments In Sport Marketing. ABAC Journal, 39 (3), 56-69. Uzma, A. (2019). Developing Effective Social Media Strategies for Fan & Sponsor Engagement in the Sports Organization of Pakistan. Doctorial Dissertation, Department of Physical Education, Seoul National University. Vale, & Fernandes, T. (2018). Social media and sports: driving fan engagement with football clubs on Facebook. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 26 (1), 37-55. Wagner, U., Storm, R. K., & Nielsen, K. (Eds.). (2016). When sport meets business: Capabilities, challenges, critiques. Sage.‏ Wallace, L., Wilson, J., & Miloch, K. (2011). Sporting Facebook: A content analysis of NCAA organizational sport pages and Big 12 conference athletic department pages. International Journal of Sport Communication, 4, 422-444. Won, J. U., & Kitamura, K. (2006). Motivational factors affecting sports consumption behavior of K-league and J-league spectators. International Journal of sport and health Science, 4, 233-251. Woo, C. W., An, S. K., & Cho, S. H. (2008). Sports PR in message boards on Major League Baseball websites. Public relations review, 34(2), 169-175.‏ Yu, K., Galen, T. (2010). Constraints and Motivators: A New Model to Explain Sport Consumer Behavior. Sport Management, 24 (2), 190-210.
Statistics Article View: 378 PDF Download: 424

Related Links

Related Links

Statistics

The Interpretive-Structural Model of Fans’ Stimulant to Involvement in the Virtual Pages of Football Clubs