Abstract
Brand authenticity is a crucial concept in determining a continuing relationship between a team and its fans. To better understand brand authenticity in the sport industry, this study explored how professional sport teams' brand authenticity can be enhanced by its antecedents and what is the role of brand authenticity on fan loyalty, ultimately enhancing receptivity to environmental sustainability messaging. A total of 349 fans of the National Football League participated in an online survey. This research employed structural equation modeling to examine the relationships among the eight main constructs in the hypothesized research model. The results indicated that the five predictors positively influenced the team's brand authenticity. Furthermore, enhanced brand authenticity impacted fan loyalty, while receptivity to environmental sustainability messaging was affected by fan loyalty and environmental sustainability attitude. The findings demonstrate how sport organizations can increase fans' receptivity to environmental sustainability messaging through fans' perceived brand authenticity and loyalty. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 241-251 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | International Journal of Sport Communication |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1 2024 |
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Business and International Management
- Communication
- Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management
Keywords
- SPORTS spectators
- STRUCTURAL equation modeling
- SUSTAINABILITY
- ATTITUDES toward the environment
- BRAND loyalty
- EMPLOYEE loyalty
- environmental sustainability
- receptivity to messaging
- sport brand
- sport brand authenticity
- sport ecology