customer-based brand equity

The firms’ use and customers’ perception of Facebook in the context of

customer-based brand equity

A case study of professional team sport organizations

Master’s thesis in Business Administration

Authors: Söndra Brand

Moritz Justus Klein

Tutor: Desalegn Abraha

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our supervisor, Desalegn Abraha, for his support, critical feed- back, and his patience in discussions during the process of writing this thesis. Further- more, we are thankful to the students in our seminar group, who commented on our thesis and gave valuable input.

Söndra Brand Moritz Justus Klein

Jönköping International Business School, May 2012

Master’s Thesis in Business Administration

Title: The firms’ use and customers’ perception of Facebook in the context of customer-based brand equity

Authors: Söndra Brand

Moritz Justus Klein

Tutor: Desalegn Abraha

Date: 2012-05-14

Subject terms: Customer-based brand equity; professional team sport; sports marketing; Facebook

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to provide a holistic understanding of how Facebook is used by professional team sport organizations to strengthen customer based-brand equity and how these attempts are perceived by the customers with a focus on the derived benefits.

Frame of reference: Customer-based brand equity is conceptualized, modified and employed to the realm of Facebook. Moreover, a communication model is modified in order to link marketing communications in a hypermedia environment with customer- based brand equity.

Methodology: An abductive approach is chosen and a collective case study applied as research strategy. The selected cases are Manchester United and Arsenal London. First- ly, quantitative content analysis is used to analyze the Facebook pages of both cases.

Secondly, eleven semi-structured interviews are conducted to understand the customer’s perception of and values associated with the respective club’s Facebook page.

Conclusions: The findings of this thesis show that a firm’s usage of Facebook as a me- dium of communication can strengthen customer-based brand equity. While in both cases most Facebook content evolves around product related posts, it is found that the clubs communicate slightly different. Arsenal posts significantly more non-product re- lated content involving fans than ManU. The communication tool that is most inten- sively used by both organizations is the link, forwarding users to the official website.

The identified benefits on behalf of the interviewees embrace fan identification and peer-group acceptance as well as socializing/companionship, emotions and entertainment. Visuals have been identified as important among the sample. Customers strongly value content that evolves around non-product related posts that focus on fans, while fan integration is generally demanded in a more qualitative manner

Table of Contents

1 Introduction ... 1

1.1 Background ... 1

1.2 Problem discussion ... 2

1.3 Purpose ... 5

1.4 Research questions ... 5

2 Frame of reference ... 6

2.1 Marketing communications ... 6

2.1.1 Marketing communications in a hypermedia environment ... 7

2.2 Brand equity ... 9

2.3 Linking marketing communications and brand equity ... 15

3 Methodology ... 17

3.1 Research stages ... 17

3.2 Research philosophy ... 17

3.3 Approach to theory ... 18

3.4 Research design ... 19

3.5 Research strategy ... 19

3.6 Method choice ... 20

3.7 Time horizon ... 21

3.8 Data collection ... 21

3.8.1 Data collection content analysis... 21

3.8.2 Data collection interviews ... 22

3.9 Data analysis ... 22

3.9.1 Data analysis content analysis... 23

3.9.2 Data analysis interviews ... 24

3.10 Quality assessment ... 25

3.10.1Quality assessment content analysis ... 25

3.10.2Quality assessment interviews... 26

4 Empirical findings ... 28

4.1 Content analysis ... 28

4.1.1 Intra-case results Manchester United ... 28

4.1.2 Intra-case results Arsenal London ... 29

4.1.3 Inter-case results Manchester United and Arsenal London ... 30

4.2 Semi-structured interviews ... 31

4.2.1 Information sources ... 33

4.2.2 Symbolic brand benefits ... 33

4.2.3 Experiential brand benefits ... 35

4.2.4 Measures to increase the value for customers ... 37

5 Analysis... 39

6 Conclusions ... 45

7 Discussion ... 47

7.1 Contributions to research ... 47

7.2 Future research ... 47

7.3 Managerial implications ... 48

7.4 Limitations ... 49

List of references ... 50

Appendices ... 55

Appendix 1: Findings content analysis ... 55

Appendix 2: Interview guide ... 67

Appendix 3: Codebook ... 68

Figures

Figure 1: The communication process... 6

Figure 2: Traditional 'one to many' marketing communications model ... 7

Figure 3: A model of marketing communications in a hypermedia environment .. 8

Figure 4: Brand knowledge ... 11

Figure 5: Linking interactive marketing communications and customer-based brand equity ... 16

Figure 6: The research onion ... 17

Figure 7: Forms of communication ManU ... 28

Figure 8: Forms of communication Arsenal ... 29

Figure 9: Applied customer-based brand equity model ... 42

Figure 10: Facebook as a means to strengthen customer-based brand equity . 43

Tables

Table 2: Coding categories: Attributes and forms of communication ... 23

Table 4: Forms of communication overview ... 30

Table 5: Detailed frequencies of product and non-product related attributes ... 31

Table 6: Overview of interviewee characteristics ... 32

Table 7: Benefits as identified in other studies and in this thesis ... 41

1 Introduction

This section introduces the reader to this thesis by providing background information and a problem discus- sion that sheds light on the topic under study. On the basis of the problem discussion, the purpose of the the- sis and the research questions are derived.

1.1 Background

Within the field of marketing communications there have been tremendous changes in the last ten years. As a result of rapidly increasing progress in information technology, the forms of interaction between customers and organizations changed from a former predom- inantly ‘indirect communication’ via mass media to a more ‘direct communication’ allowing firms to contact the customer directly through the Internet in general, and social media in particular (Van Bruggen et al. 2010). Moreover, customers increasingly communicate with each other through social media sites, which leads to a growing number of companies con- tributing – for example – actively to forums or blogs and participating in Facebook (Van Bruggen et al. 2010). Among the growing number of companies using Facebook are the ten most valuable brands in the world as listed in the Interbrand “Best Global Brands” ranking 2011 (Interbrand, 2012). Facebook seems so promising for companies due to the possibil- ity of positively influencing the brand image and reaching out to a high and rapidly growing number of (potential) customers worldwide relatively easy. As of January 2009, Facebook had 175 million monthly active users worldwide (Kaplan & Haenlein 2010). By the end of March 2012, this number increased to 901 million (Facebook 2012). In comparison, the to- tal population of the EU-27 member states as of January 2011 was estimated to 502,5 mil- lion (Eurostat 2011).

According to the number of users, Facebook is broadly accepted in today’s society. Our era in the northern countries is characterized by individualism, which is the consequence of the modern liberation from social bonds. This era is embodied by the ‘ordinary individual’, which refers to individuals producing and expressing their own existence and differentia- tion from others through personal actions (Cova & Cova 2002). As a consequence of modernism, society nowadays is highly fragmented and became more egocentric. These tendencies were amplified by modern technology as a catalyst for isolation, but at the same time allows communicating with people in the virtual space. In line with this, Cova and Cova (2002 p.4) describe our society as a “period of severe social dissolution and extreme individualism”. While people detached from social restrains, a reverse inclination can be observed with a shift towards a re-composition of social bonds and a return to community, entering a postmodern era (Cova & Cova 2002; Maffesoli 1996).

According to Richelieu and Boulaire (2005), the postmodern product is characterized by four applications: experiential, social, demographic, and an element of organization, net- work or universe. The experiential component of the product focuses on the experience not only during the consumption, but also before and after its consumption. The social el- ement of the postmodern product is concerned with enabling customers to share emotions

in groups, transcend their social status and feel a spirit of community. The democratic no- tion of the product emphasizes the importance of co-creation by consumers with respect to the creation of the product’s meaning. The organization, network or universe represen- tation aims at creating the postmodern product as a network, offering other products or fo- rums to make the consumers live the environment related to the product and expand it. All characteristics of the postmodern product apply well to the professional team sport prod- uct and should be integrated into marketing and branding strategies of sport clubs (Riche- lieu & Boulaire 2005).

Given the characteristics of postmodern societies and products, Cova and Cova (2002) de- veloped the Latin view on marketing – an approach that takes postmodern tendencies into account and focuses on the linking value of products. This means that marketing activities should not focus only on the product itself, but rather on the function of connecting peo- ple through the product, for example by initiating brandfests. One tool simplifying and fa- cilitating the postmodern movement of maintaining and (re)-creating social ties is, as as- sumed by the authors, Facebook. It allows consumers to interact with other consumers.

They can link by gathering in virtual groups, exchange content and share emotions. Espe- cially in the context of sports it seems promising as Wallace et al. (2011 p.423) state: “Sport entities are ideally positioned to use social media given existing fan bases and the ability to encourage consumer interactions with the sport product, with athletes, and with team per- sonnel”.

Considering the potential of social media in general and Facebook in particular, it is im- portant for companies to understand its usage and effects. Especially in the light of brand building and customer-based brand equity it becomes crucial to understand this in order to gain maximum profits. The importance of gaining knowledge of social media is ascribed to the circumstance that communication can highly influence the development and forming of knowledge structures in the current and potential customers’ mind, which ensure a posi- tive response to marketing activities (Keller 2009). The concept of brand equity and the in- tangible value a brand can add to an organization is one of the most popular marketing topics within the last years (Keller 2009). In the literature, brand equity has primarily been regarded from two perspectives: firm-based and customer-based brand equity (Christodou- lides & de Chernatony 2010). The firm-based perspective measures the brand as a financial asset (Chu & Keh 2006), e.g. the Interbrand brand valuation. Customer-based brand equity can be defined in a general sense “in terms of the marketing effects uniquely attributable to the brand” (Keller 1993 p. 1) and is considered as a common construct to asses a compa- ny’s brand value (Keller 2009). The attention devoted to brand equity and brand building can be explained by the contributions a strong brand can have to an organization.

1.2 Problem discussion

All over the world, team sport has become more and more professionalized, commercial- ized (Bauer et al. 2008) and internationalized during the last years. Despite the world eco- nomic crisis, the European soccer market grew in 2009/2010 by 4 per cent to €16.3 billion (Deloitte 2011). In comparison, the average American football team in the American Na-

tional Football League was worth $1.04 billion in 2011, which is an increase of 1,4 per cent compared to the previous year (Forbes 2011a). The most valuable sport team brand is the baseball team New York Yankees with a brand value of $328 million (Forbes 2011b). Ma- son (1999) comes to the conclusion that sport has ‘delocalized’ and that it is less attached to specific places, which is mainly due to television broadcasts to various countries, e.g. the Irish following the English Premiere League, or the expansion of various professional leagues to different countries, e.g. the Major League Baseball Opening Series Japan. The tendency of national leagues expanding into foreign countries is reinforced since 1999 (Guardian 2009), one example is the Premiere League’s expansion to Asia with the Premier League Asia Trophy (BBC 2011).

The recent developments described above, such as the growth of the team sports industry and the expansion of professional sport leagues indicate that professional team sport is a major part of the powerful recreation and entertainment sector, and, a fairly big industry in itself (Mason 1999). Therefore, sport clubs have to be progressive service sellers in compe- tition with other leisure activities (Bauer et al. 2005). Facing such competition, it is im- portant for professional sport teams to establish relationships with their major stakeholder groups (Bauer et al. 2005) such as fans, media, communities, and corporations that interact with teams and leagues (e.g. through sponsorship) in order to succeed and to ensure high economic returns (Mason 1999). A crucial factor of high importance is the brand, which often is considered as the most important asset of a sport club (Bauer et al. 2005).

The benefits of strong brands also apply for team sport brands. However, it is undoubted that athletic success in team sport is positively related with generated income and brand strength. Nevertheless, studies indicate that economic success seems to be existing some- how independently from athletic success (Gladden & Milne 1999 as cited in Wallace et al.

2011); the same accounts for brands and athletic success (Boone et al. 1995 as cited in Bau- er et al. 2005). With their study Bauer et al. (2005 p.509) confirm Gladden and Milne’s re- sults and state that “brand equity rather than athletic success has a high and significant ef- fect on economic success”. They conclude that this result can be generalized to profession- al leagues worldwide. The detachment of brand equity from athletic success legitimates and underlines the importance of strengthening brand equity in the professional team sport in- dustry.

In order to strengthen the brand equity of sport clubs, social media can be used to build and shape knowledge structures in the consumers’ mind, which elicit a positive response to the club’s marketing activities. Professional team sport organizations, which have always been closely connected to the media, already identified the potential of social media and Facebook in particular as a valuable part in their marketing activities as they incorporated it into their marketing and brand management strategy, respectively (Wallace et al. 2011).

Given the high numbers of Facebook users and the increased Facebook activity of compa- nies, the topic of how firms should make use of methods and tools within the interactive market space is highly relevant to researchers. Joachimsthaler and Aaker (1997) claim that traditional approaches that focus on brand building through mass media are not suitable in today’s media environment. This claim was made even before social media existed and em-

phasizes the importance of understanding how such media should be used to build brands.

Today, still little consensus exists of how strong brands should be created in times of inter- active communication (Keller 2009). Nevertheless, an increasing number of scholars rec- ommend companies to follow their customers within the realm of social media. Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) encourage companies to become part of the social media and state: “Busi- nesses, take note - and don’t miss this train! [of joining social media]” (Kaplan and Haenlein 2010 p.68). In respect to the sport industry, Coyle (2010 as cited in Wallace et al.

2011) indicates that sport teams must actively use social media in brand management strategies to build brand equity. Hambrick et al. (2010) point out that more consumer research and training is needed before using social media. Some authors stress the importance of word of mouth (Coyle 2010; Kozinets et al. 2010), whereas others point out the need to build relationships and trust instead of using social media so much for advertisement (Williams & Chinn 2010; Wright et al. 2010). Mickle (2009) claims that social media should be used to raise brand awereness, increase the brand image and form positive brand associations.

However, the academic literature about social media in the context of brand equity in gen- eral (Keller 2009) and professional team sport in particular is relatively limited and evolving as researchers in this field call for more extensive research (Brody et al. 2010). Ioakimidis (2007) and Rappaport (2010) propagate the need of using online media to manage and con- trol public perception. Kim and Ko (2010) found that social media has a strong impact on brand reputation. They also found evidence that social media in general (including web- logs, social blogs, microblogging, wikis, podcasts, pictures, video, rating and social book- marking) can have a positive impact on brand equity in the fashion industry (Kim & Ko 2011). Mickle (2009) suggests that social media can have an influence on brand awareness, image and associations in general. With respect to sports marketing, Puha (2010) and Pegraro (2010) suggest that through identification, social media can increase the fan base.

While the use of social media is recommended by some authors (Kaplan & Haenlein 2010;

Keller 2009), little is known about how companies are using social media in respect to building customer-based brand equity. In regard to the professional team sport industry the situation is similar. While Wallace et al. (2011) examine the use of Facebook among two college team sport leagues and come to the conclusion that both leagues make use of it dif- ferently, little is known about the use of social media in professional team sport. Therefore, this thesis is unique as it provides a holistic understanding as it, on the one hand, studies how firms’ use Facebook and, on the other hand, sheds light on how these efforts are per- ceived by the firms’ customers.

In conclusion, prior studies indicate that social media as a whole may have a positive im- pact on brand equity in general. In respect to professional team sport, researchers recom- mend sport organizations to engage in social media but little is known about the effects and current usage of the relatively new media. While, in the context of social media, mostly so- cial media is addressed as a whole, the effects of Facebook in particular on customer-based brand equity are not studied extensively. Little is known about how Facebook is used by

professional team sport organizations and how it is perceived by customers liking the Fa- cebook page of a team.

1.3 Purpose

The thesis aims at providing a holistic understanding of how Facebook is used by professional team sport organizations to strengthen customer-based brand equity and how these attempts are perceived by the customers with a focus on the derived benefits.

1.4 Research questions

RQ1: How do firms strengthen customer-based brand equity by using Facebook as a channel of communication?

RQ1a: What type of communication tool is used to strengthen customer-based brand equity?

RQ1b: Which product and non-product attributes are used to strengthen customer- based brand equity?

RQ2: How is the Facebook presence perceived by its customers and which benefits are derived from it?

2 Frame of reference

This chapter provides an overview of the background of marketing communications and brand equity. First- ly, it describes the communication process and outlines how social media, and particularly Facebook, has in- fluenced marketing communications. Secondly, customer-based brand equity is discussed and conceptualized by offering a brief discussion of relevant literature, as well as various items constituting brand equity in the context of professional team sport are depicted. Thirdly, a framework of how marketing communications and brand equity are connected is developed to be applied in the thesis.

2.1 Marketing communications

A conceptual model that describes the human communication process relies on infor- mation theory by Shannon and Weaver (1949). However, their model is not suitable in de- scribing interactive communication processes because it implies a passive receiver at the end of the communication process. Shannon and Weaver’s model has been modified and simplified to an interactive communication process that identifies the stages through which the communication processes pass and incorporates the concept of feedback on behalf of the receiver, which is presented in Figure 1. This communication model can be described as a so-called transmitter-receiver process (Jobber 2010). A ‘source of information’ (e.g. an organization) encodes a ‘message’ by translating the information to be communicated, which may consist of pictures, written or spoken characters. Hence, the ‘sender’ (transmit- ter) turns it into a signal that is transmitted over a communication channel to a ‘receiver’.

By sources of interference (noise sources such as information overload or fatigue, compet- ing messages, cultural factors, etc.), the original signals might be distorted and may prevent transmission to some of the target group. The receiver decodes the message by analyzing and interpreting the symbols conveyed by the sender, while the aim is that the receiver’s decoding and the sender’s encoding process should coincide; hence, the receiver interprets the message as aspired by the transmitter (Jobber 2010). Feedback is an important aspect within the communication process as it is the receiver's response made known to the send- er; hence, it is essential for successful communication.

Figure 1: The communication process

Source: Jobber 2010 p.466

2.1.1 Marketing communications in a hypermedia environment

“Perhaps no other area of marketing is changing so profoundly as marketing communica- tions, creating both exciting and scary times for marketing communicators“ (Armstrong &

Kotler 2011 p.405). This can mostly be ascribed to technology and the Internet, which in essence changed the way in which the world interacts and communicates (Keller 2009)^. Particularly social media represents a revolutionary new trend that has changed marketing communications tremendously. The term social media can be defined as ”a group of Inter- net-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content” (Kaplan &

Haenlein 2010 p.61). In essence, social media denotes a platform in which ideas are dis- cussed, experiences communicated, and knowledge exchanged among its users resembling a high degree of interactivity (Wallace et al. 2011). The advantages of social media for or- ganizations can be ascribed to it being a targeted, cost-effective, interactive, and engaging medium; hence, a more timely and direct end-consumer contact, in contrast to traditional media, is likely (Kaplan & Haenlein 2010). This is particularly important due to consumers being selective towards the many advertising stimuli they are exposed to in order to prevent being overwhelmed by the advertising clutter (Solomon et al. 2010). Yet, the effectiveness of social media differs as the various types (e.g., collaborative projects, blogs, content communities, and social networking sites) vary in terms of the degree of media richness they possess, which relate to the quantity of information they are able to convey at specific interims (Kaplan & Haenlein 2010). Further, the social presence plays an important role;

the higher the social nature of a specific media, the greater the social influence that the communicating parties have on each other’s behavior.

Figure 2: Traditional 'one to many' marketing communications model

Source: Hoffman & Novak 1996 as cited in Hoey 2000 p.237

In contrast to the simplified traditional ‘one to many’ communication model as depicted in Figure 2, whereby “a firm reaches many current and potential customers […] through mar- keting efforts that allow only limited forms of feedback from the customer”(Novack 1996) as cited in Hoey 2000 p.237), the Internet – and social media in particular – put marketing communications in a hypermedia environment. This environment incorporates hypertext, a software system that enables users to connect information by means of various links, and

multimedia, which enables users access to interactive static content (e.g., text, images, graphics) and dynamic content (e.g., audio, video, animation). This interactivity “with the medium and through the medium” (Hoffman & Novak 1996 as cited in Hoey 2000 p.238) lead to the emergence of a marketing communications model in a hypermedia environment as illustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 3: A model of marketing communications in a hypermedia environment

Source: Hoffman & Novak 1996 as cited in Hoey 2000 p.239

The model of marketing communications in a hypermedia environment by Hoffman and Novak (1996) provides a perspective in which a more active role is given to a number of actors (e.g., consumers and firms). Hence, communication has an interactive ‘many-to- many’ nature within a given medium (e.g. social networking sites) that makes the user land- scape more complex. It is not merely any particular organization transmitting messages;

consumers – for example – are actively contributing to the development of content and meaning. This also implies that the networking and communicating consumer is now in- creasingly in control within the hypermedia environment.

When considering the various types that embrace the term social media, social networking sites are of high popularity – or, as Armstrong and Kotler (2011 p.408) outline: ”Social networking has proliferated at a pace that is unheard of”. More specifically, social network- ing sites refer to applications that allow its users (e.g. private persons, organizations, etc.) to create a profile and connect to others – such as friends, colleagues or organizations – in or- der to gain access to their profiles, and exchange (instant) messages with each other (Kaplan & Haenlein 2010). Today, the most popular social networking site is Facebook (Kaplan & Haenlein 2010), which is an online community for creating, operating, and maintaining social networks. Some statistics that evidence the boost of this social network- ing site to underpin its popularity seem adequate: Facebook had more than 483 million dai- ly active users on average as of December 2011 and more than 425 million monthly active

users who used Facebook mobile products (Facebook 2012). On average, a Facebook user is connected to 130 people and spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook (Wal- lace et al. 2011). Registered users within this network can create profiles that can embrace – among others – any type of information, photos, videos, audio files, or notes/blogs. Some of the many features offered by Facebook are – for example – the possibility to invite

‘friends’ (meaning two people being connected within the network) to groups and events, or a ‘newsfeed’ that informs users about any updates, such as new posts on the profile pag- es of friends. Facebook is long interesting to professional organizations, for example within the sport industry (Facebook 2012). In fact, this medium goes far beyond a platform aimed at building, operating, and maintaining social networks and can be described as a modern interactive marketplace (Keller 2009). Given these possibilities and the number of active users – a business profile on Facebook is seemingly mandatory for any company. Upon registration, organizations and groups have the possibility to create and customize a Face- book page in order to represent their business and product(s) and communicate and inter- act with users. Users can follow such pages by clicking ‘like’, which enables them to be in- formed about updates on the business profile in the ‘newsfeed’. Administrators of firm pages are informed about user engagement and interaction as well as users demographic characteristics by means of statistics (Wallace et al. 2011).

To sum up, the Internet – and the active and fast-moving domain of social media in partic- ular – has changed the way firms can communicate with their customers in real time, which is now characterized by a hypermedia environment. This “revolutionary new trend […]

should be of interest to companies operating in online space – or any space, for that mat- ter” (Kaplan & Haenlein 2010 p.59).

2.2 Brand equity

The role of branding for an organization is of utmost importance as strong brands can have numerous benefits to an organization. The strength of a brand and the consumer re- sponses that are triggered by different marketing activities reflect brand equity. The con- cept of brand equity has been widely discussed in the literature. Yet, no universal definition of this term exists, which is mainly due to researchers approaching the concept of brand equity differently. Keller (2009) outlines a general concurrence among researchers with re- gard to the definition of brand equity as it is the added value provided by the brand to a product or service. Hence, brand equity are the outcomes and effects of marketing accu- mulated to a product or service for a particular brand in comparison to those outcomes and effects that would accumulate for the identical, yet unbranded, product. More precise- ly, Aaker (1991 as cited Christodoulides & de Chernatony 2010 p.46) defines brand equity as „a set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol, that add to or sub- tract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firm’s custom- ers“. Other authors describe the term brand equity in a similar way; some of the manifold descriptions of brand equity in the literature (as cited in Kaynak et al. 2008 p.339) are:

 the establishment of a long-term relationship with customers (Wood)

 the value added to a product by the virtue of its name (Farquhar)

 the value of a company and brand names (Lamb et al.)

 the totality of the various values different persons ascribe to a brand, hence, the sum embraces feelings or thoughts that consumers, dealers, distributors or compet- ing businesses attach to a brand (Nicolino)

Hence, brand equity is an intangible asset of a corporation that can – for example – posi- tively (or negatively) influence “consumer preference and purchase intention (Cobb- Walgren et al. 1995); market share (Agarwal & Rao 1996); consumer perceptions of prod- uct quality (Dodds et al.); shareholder value (Kerin & Sethuraman 1998); consumer evalua- tions of brand extensions (e.g. Aaker & Keller 1990); consumer price insensitivity (Erdem et al. 2002); and resilience to product-harm crisis (Dawar & Pillutla 2000)” as previously re- vealed in research as cited in Christodoulides and de Chernatony (2010 p.44). However, consumers are also recipients of brand value in terms of the reduced perceived risk of a branded product or service, the reduced information search costs as well as the creation of favorable attribute perceptions (Erdem & Swait 1998 cited in Christodoulides & de Cher- natony 2010). It must therefore be a management priority to build strong brands in order to accrue the benefits of brand equity (Aaker & Joachimsthaler 2000; Kapferer 2005 as cit- ed in Keller 2009).

In the literature, brand equity has primarily been regarded from two perspectives: the firm- based and the customer-based brand equity (Christodoulides & de Chernatony 2010). The former considers the financial value that is obtained on behalf of the corporation (e.g.

when included on a balance sheet), while the latter is derived from the market’s perception, which is impelling any rise in market share and profitability of the brand. In fact, the value of a brand – its equity – is dependent on the decisions of the consumers. More precisely, it is the consumer that decides upon the factors that are considered as important and who judges which brand has more equity, which ultimately drives the consumption choice.

Therefore, Hoeffler and Keller (2003) argue that despite the differing definitions of brand equity, a principal common ground can be depicted among them as they are implicitly or explicitly based on brand knowledge on behalf of the consumers – whether they are indi- viduals or organizations – as the starting point of brand equity.

Aaker (1991 as cited in Bauer et al. 2008) established a conceptual model of brand equity from the consumers’ perspective in which five dimensions are depicted that drive value creation: brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality, brand loyalty, and other proprietary brand assets that embrace patents, trademarks and channel relationships. Aaker (1991 as cited in Bauer et al. 2008) suggests that brand equity is the sum of advantages and disadvantages a consumer ascribes to a branded product or service, which propel equity.

However, in order to understand the role of Facebook in building brand equity, a more comprehensive and cohesive model of customer-based brand equity is required. Keller draws on Aaker’s conceptualization and examined customer-based brand equity from the perspective of consumer psychology (Christodoulides & de Chernatony 2010). According to Keller (1993; 1998 as cited in Hoeffler & Keller 2003 p.421), brand equity denotes “the

differential effect that brand knowledge has on consumer response to marketing activity”.

Keller’s model regarding brand knowledge as the main driver in creating brand equity as shown in Figure 4 is one of the most prevalent conceptual frameworks (Bauer et al. 2008).

His conceptualization provides a number of benefits in comparison to other models: it pre- sents considerably more detail on the various factors to examine; it contributes to a deeper understanding of the various elements of consumers’ knowledge structures that establish brand equity, and some of the main ideas as proposed in the model have been modified to the context of team sport (e.g., Gladden & Funk 2001, 2002 as cited in Bauer et al. 2008).

Figure 4: Brand knowledge

Source: Keller 1993 adapted by Kaynak et al. 2008 p.341

Brand knowledge is composed of two distinct pillars: brand awareness and brand image.

Brand awareness is made up of the components brand recall and brand recognition, which are attained though marketing stimuli. More precisely, it indicates the power of the brand node or trace as expressed by the consumers’ capability to recall or recognize a brand in varying circumstances (Keller 2009). Hence, brand awareness is the antecedent of brand image as brand associations cannot be shaped and a desire for consumption cannot arise unless brand awareness has prevailed (Bauer et al. 2008). The pillar of brand image can be characterized as being of a more complex nature. Brand image is the outcome of the favora- bility, strength, uniqueness and the various types of brand associations in the consumers’

memory. Hence, customer-based brand equity occurs once the consumer is acquainted with a branded product or service and recollects favorable, strong and unique brand associ- ations (Kaynak et al. 2008). In line with Bauer et al. (2008 p.209), the thesis focuses on brand image instead of brand recall and recognition “as brand awareness is usually high for professional clubs in popular sports like soccer”. This holds particularly true for the Premi- ere League clubs that are subject to strong media exposure. Further, Bauer et al. (2008) out- line that the team sport product can be characterized by unpredictability and instability (e.g.

the outcomes of games), and therefore, brand image is likely to epitomize a constant in fans’ perceptions. This, in turn, provides those responsible for marketing a sports club with

the opportunity to focus on a consistent and stable club appearance in order to reap maxi- mum rewards.

In the context of the team sport industry, brand image has been conceptualized and opera- tionalized by Ross et al. (2006 as cited in Bauer et al. 2008), who developed the Team Brand Association Scale (TBAS) and by Gladden and Funk’s (2001, 2002 as cited in Bauer et al. 2008) team association model (TAM). The TBAS embraces eight brand association dimensions that are measured using 41 items. However, the model does not distinguish be- tween product-related and non-product related attributes, brand benefits, and brand atti- tudes; and likewise, the favorability or uniqueness of the components is not measured.

Bauer et al. (2008 p.210) indicate that from the practical and theoretical standpoints this limitation “could be a problem because we do not learn if the association is positive or negative”. In contrast, the TAM is more complex and – according to Bauer et al. (2008 p.210) – “compromises its utility as a research tool”. The TAM builds on Keller’s concep- tualization and identifies 13 dimensions of brand associations that are classified into attrib- utes, benefits and attitudes. Yet, the model does not measure the uniqueness, favorability, or strength of brand associations as demanded in Keller’s model. In the following, the au- thors draw on the research that has been conducted to conceptualize and operationalize brand image in the team sport industry and modify various components, which will be em- ployed in order to fulfill the research purpose.

Brand associations are broken down in attributes, benefits and attitudes. Attributes are the features that characterize a brand; hence, they are the intrinsic properties that symbolize the benefits consumers experience when purchasing or consuming the product or service (Bauer et al. 2008). Attributes are categorized in two groups: product-related attributes and non-product-related attributes. Product-related attributes are associated with the physical com- position of a product or service, which in essence vary depending on the product or service category (Kaynak et al. 2008). In the context of professional team sport, Bauer et al. (2008) draw on the work of Gladden and Funk (2001 & 2002 as cited in Bauer et al. 2008) and suggest five dimensions of product-related attributes: success, star player(s), head coach, team and team performance/team play. Hence, Bauer et al. (2008) view these components as the contributors to the actual performance of the team. As these product-related items embody the core product as they embrace the people and the outcomes that are directly connected to the actual game.

Keller (1993 as cited in Bauer et al. 2008) defines non-product related attributes as the external aspects that are associated with the purchase and consumption of a product or service. In contrast to the aforementioned product related attributes, non-product-related attributes are not directly related to the actual game and therefore do not affect performance when putting them in the context of professional team sport. In essence, these attributes have an effect on the perception of a club’s brand, while Bauer et al. (2005; 2008) include the fol- lowing items: management, logo and club colors, stadium, stadium atmosphere, club histo- ry and tradition, club culture and values, fans, sponsor or owner, and regional provenance.

The inclusion of the latter four items is subject to careful thoughts as outlined by Bauer et al. (2008): (1) there is no physical core product that conveys underlying values, hence, the

organizational culture and the behavior of its members is strongly influencing the percep- tion of service brands (De Chernatony & Segal-Horn 2001 as cited in Bauer et al. 2008); (2) fans play an important role in creating the team sport product as they can undoubtedly have an effect on the club’s brand image; (3) the sponsor or owner of a club, and more specifically their image, can have positive consequences such as spillover effects on the club’s brand image; and (4) the attribute of regional provenance relates to country-of-origin effects on a local, regional, or national level.

Benefits relate to the personal value that an individual ascribes to the product or service at- tributes and the advantages that can be gained from such benefits. Hence, benefits are an indication of the psychological meaning and value that is attached to a brand (Keller as cit- ed in Kaynak et al. 2008). Benefits are categorized into functional, symbolic and experien- tial benefits. Symbolic benefits “fulfill internally generated needs for self-enhancement, role position, group membership or ego-identification” that are linked to non-product-related attributes (Kaynak et al. 2008 p.349). Therefore, these benefits are extrinsic and motivated by a persons need for belongingness and social acceptance as well as self-esteem. In sports, such benefits can be related to fan identification and peer-group acceptance. In essence, positive associations with a professional sports team are dependent on the individuals strive for belongingness and self-esteem. Experiential benefits are associated with brands that pro- vide sensory pleasure, variety and cognitive stimulation and therefore relate to the feelings individuals ascribe by using or consuming a product or service (Kaynak et al. 2008). These benefits are mostly related to product related attributes, while in a sport context they could relate to nostalgia, socializing/companionship, emotions or entertainment. Upon satisfying such needs, consumers develop strong brand associations. Functional benefits relate to the search for products or services that deal with and solve consumption-related problems.

Thus, they are intrinsic advantages that meet the needs for basic motivations such as physi- ological and safety needs as identified in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (e.g. solving or avoid- ing problems) (Kaynak et al. 2008). In sports, fans are mostly motivated to satisfy their ex- periential and symbolic needs instead of functional needs given that professional team sport is not associated with solving consumption-related problems (Bauer et al. 2008). In line with Bauer et al. (2008), functional benefits are not employed as components within this thesis.

Attitudes embody the basis for consumer behavior and therefore relate to an individual’s overall evaluation of a branded product or service. Hence, “brand attitudes can be associat- ed with beliefs about product-related attributes and the functional and experiential bene- fits” (Zeithaml as cited in Kaynak et al. 2008 p.439). Given the abstract nature of attitudes coupled with the difficulty to operationalize them for the purpose of the topic at hand, they are not employed as a component in this study.

This thesis applies a customer-based brand equity model, which is built on Keller’s cus- tomer-based brand equity model, as well as on adaptations of Keller’s model by Bauer et al.

(2008), Kaynak et al. (2008), Ross et al. (2001), and Wallace et al. (2011). Table 1 provides an overview and an explanation of the employed types of brand associations in this thesis.

Moreover, it indicates which authors have previously employed the various items in other

studies within the context of team sports.

Table 1: Overview and explanation of brand image components

Component/item Explanation Applied by

Attributes

Product-related brand attributes

Success Winning and competing (athletic success)

Gladden & Funk (2001)¹, Ross et al.

(2008), Wallace et al.

(2011) Star player(s) Outstanding, likeable and admirable player’s presence

Gladden & Funk (2001)¹, Ross et al.

(2008), Wallace et al.

(2011)

Head coach Successful and/or charismatic head coach’s presence Gladden & Funk (2001)¹, Wallace et al.

(2011)

Team (members) The team itself as an important success factor Bauer et al. (2008), Wal- lace et al. (2011)

Team performance / team play

A team can be unsuccessful despite good performanc- es; any mention of specific characteristics that a team displays upon the field of play such as personality (e.g., dedicated, hard work), distinct qualities (e.g., intensity, commitment) or unique characteristics (e.g., trusted, responsive)

Bauer et al. (2008), Ross et al. (2008), Wallace et al. (2011)

Non-product-related brand attributes

Management Management of the team Bauer et al. (2008), Ross

et al. (2008), Wallace et al. (2011)

Nonplayer personnel Nonplayer personnel associated with a particular pro- fessional team (other than the management and head coach)

Ross et al. (2008)

Logo & club colours The identifying marks, colours and uniforms associat- ed with a specific sport team to convey and strengthen image

Bauer et al. (2008), Ross et al. (2008), Wallace et al. (2011)

Stadium Place, where consumers experience the consumption, to intensify consumption experience (e.g. arena, coli- seum, stadium, field, or any mention of the facility)

Gladden & Funk (2001)¹, Ross et al.

(2008), Wallace et al.

(2011) Stadium atmosphere Any mention of the stadium atmosphere and that the

arena enhances the enjoyment Bauer et al. (2005) Club history & tradition The history and traditions of a particular sport team

(e.g. history of winning, success in the past, rich histo- ry, etc.)

Bauer et al. (2008), Ross et al. (2008), Wallace et al. (2011)

Club culture & values Any mention of clear values that consumers and em- ployees understand and live; distinct club cultures (e.g.

‘celebrity club’ or ‘working class clubs’)

Bauer et al. (2008), Wal- lace et al. (2011) Fans Supporters not just as customers but because they

form part of a unique joint product Bauer et al. (2008), Wal- lace et al. (2011) Sponsor or owner The image of a sponsor or owner can have spillover

effects on the club’s brand image Bauer et al. (2008), Wal- lace et al. (2011) Regional provenance Corresponds to country-of-origin effects on a local,

regional, or national level (e.g. image of club influ- enced by their respective neighborhoods)

Bauer et al. (2008)

Benefits

Symbolic brand benefits

Fan identification Capability to provide a vehicle (often representing

success) with which consumers can affiliate Gladden & Funk (2001)² Peer-group acceptance Ability to provide a vehicle to spawn a broad social

approval when followed Wakefield & Sloan²

Pride in place Capability to provide a uniting point for town pride Gladden & Funk (2001)² Experiential brand benefits

Nostalgia Capability to summon feelings from the past and fond

memories Holbrook (1993)²,

Gladden & Funk (2001)¹ Socializing /

companionship

Associating with others such as friends and other fans of the team; online or face to face, discussion with fans or questions, pictures of fans or group

Bauer et al. (2008), Wal- lace et al. (2011) Emotions Any mention of particular feelings that characterize

such a state of mind (e.g. joy, anger, love, hate, etc.) Bauer et al. (2008) Entertainment Subjective excitement and level of entertainment pro-

vided to spectators Bauer et al. (2008)

¹ As cited in Bauer et al. (2008) ² As cited in Kaynak et al. (2008) Source: Modified by authors from Kaynak et al. 2008

Keller’s customer-based brand equity model has been subject to criticism among research- ers. Low and Lambs (as cited in Kaynak et al. 2008), for example, criticize Keller’s hypoth- esis that the perceptions of brands among consumers are multi-dimensional by arguing that the various dimensions within this conceptualization appear to be almost identical. Howev- er, as the components that are employed in this study have been subject to empirical valida- tion by – for example – Bauer et al. (2005; 2008), Gladden and Funk (2001) and Wallace et al. (2011), the categories are employed as presented above.

2.3 Linking marketing communications and brand equity

The emergence of the Internet – and especially social media – has created new opportuni- ties for targeting consumers as it attempts “to bridge the gap between the organization and audience” (Yan 2011 p.689). In fact, social networking sites have become an essential part of the daily life for many people. Hence, interactive marketing communications such as so- cial media – and Facebook in particular – indicate an increasingly relevant realm for brand building. It is essential for brands to establish a connection with consumers, so that a feel- ing of belonging through engagement is achieved, for which according to Yan (2011 p.690), “Facebook [is] helpful in revealing the thinking of the people behind the brands”.

According to Keller (2009 p.141), marketing communications enable an organization ”to link their brands to other people, places, events, brands, experiences, feelings and things”.

This, is in line with the concept of customer-based brand equity as it relates to the out- comes and effects of marketing accumulated to a product or service for a particular brand.

Hence, marketing communications can help in order to achieve customer-based brand eq- uity. Figure 5 presents a framework that links interactive marketing communications through the medium Facebook and customer-based brand equity, while providing exam- ples from the professional team sport industry. This framework helps to answer the re- search questions of the thesis.

Figure 5: Linking interactive marketing communications and customer-based brand equity

Source: modified by authors as cited in Jobber 2010 p.466

3 Methodology

This chapter introduces the authors’ underlying philosophical worldview and the chosen approach to theory, research design, strategy, the time horizon of the research, and subsequently outlines the methods of data col- lection and analysis.

3.1 Research stages

The goal of the thesis is to answer the research questions of the study. In order to do so, it is important that the choices during the research process are taken in respect to the re- search questions. The research can be classified into six stages, which Saunders et al. (2009) present in the form of a ‘research onion’. The stages are divided into philosophies, ap- proaches, strategies, choices, time horizons, techniques and procedures as depicted in Fig- ure 6.

Figure 6: The research onion

Source: Adapted by authors from Saunders et al. 2008 as cited in Saunders et al. 2009 p.108

3.2 Research philosophy

The thesis is based on a pragmatic philosophy. In a pragmatic approach the most im- portant factor determining which research philosophy is applied depends on the purpose and the research question of the study (Cresswell 2003 as cited in Armitage 2007; Saunders et al. 2009). Research is often multi-purpose and therefore this approach allows mixing dif- ferent philosophical viewpoints within one study and ultimately applying a mixed research approach and mixed methods (Armitage 2007). Thus, a pragmatic approach is not based on

one pre-determined worldview about the relationship between knowledge and the process by which it is developed (Saunders et al. 2009).

The authors do not advocate either a puristic positivistic nor a puristic interpretivistic phil- osophical worldview but hold the belief that was formulated by Tashakkori and Teddlie (2003). They hold the opinion that the philosophical debate should not be understood as a

‘paradigm war’, but that the philosophies applied should be understood as a continuum in- stead. This thesis combines a more positivistic and a more interpretivistic view. RQ1 is based on a more positivistic philosophy, which is rooted in the belief that research is based on an “observable social reality and that the end product of such research can be law like generalizations […]” (Remenyi et al. 1998 as cited in Saunders et al. 2009 p.113). Hence, the study aims at a high objectivity and generalizability and emphasizes very structured methodologies in order to allow replication (Eisenhardt 1989). To answer RQ2, an inter- pretivistic standpoint is taken. From an interpretivistic point of view, human (social) action is inherently meaningful. In order to understand a social action, it is important to identify and understand the meaning that constitutes this action (Schwandt 2003). Meaningful ac- tion has either an intentional component that indicates the action and/or the meaning of the action can be caught only in relation to its context (Fay 1996). The paradigm is built upon a constructivist ontology (the view of the nature of reality). However, due to the scope of RQ2, the focus in the thesis is laid on the interpretivistic paradigm.

3.3 Approach to theory

The thesis is based on an abductive approach to theory. This approach combines both inductive and deductive reasoning, yet the focus is on the inductive approach (Johansson 2003). In the deductive approach, the process of developing the research question is strictly theory guided, the data collected are analyzed in respect to a prior established theoretical framework and it is orientated towards a positivistic research philosophy (Malhotra & Birks 2006). In contrast, the inductive approach to theory does not necessarily rely on a theoretical framework, the theory is infered from the collected data and it is oriented more towards an interpretivistic research philosophy (Malhotra & Birks 2006). It allows accessing the participant’s logic and gaining an understanding of their subjective perception of reality (Shaw 1999). Furthermore, the researcher develops a conceptual understanding from the gathered knowledge (Malhotra & Birks 2006).

Firstly, the theory of customer-based brand equity and the function of Facebook from a communication theory perspective is presented. Then, based on the customer-based brand equity model and categories derived from the literature, a content analysis of the club’s Facebook page was conducted (deductive). With the findings of the content analysis in mind, semi-structured interviews were developed in order to explore the customer’s perception and the derived benefits of the Facebook page (inductive).

3.4 Research design

RQ1 is based on a descriptive design, which aims at describing a phenomenon (Malhotra &

Birks 2006). However, the main focus of the thesis is based on an explorative design, be- cause RQ2 discovers a new, rather unexplored area of research (De Vaus 2001; Zhang 2010). The objective of the explorative design is to provide insights into and understanding of a rather unknown area of research and it is characterized by a flexible, relatively loose structure, and the possibility of using qualitative and quantitative methods (Malhotra &

Birks 2006). The combination of both designs enables to gain a deeper understanding of the research field that is to be explored through the exploratory study.

3.5 Research strategy

The employed research strategy is a case study, which allows analyzing a problem compre- hensively by taking a holistic perspective (Stake 1995). This can be achieved through the strongly rooted use of mixed methods within the research strategy (Baxter & Jack 2008).

The case study strategy was chosen because the goal of the thesis is to gain a deep and ho- listic understanding of the observed phenomena. Due to the circumstance that the focus of the thesis is directed more towards RQ2 and consequently the enquiry leans more towards an interpretivistic philosophy, Stake’s approach to case study research is chosen. Stake (1995 p.7) values the learning experience over the representativeness in some cases and states: “Cases study seems a poor basis for generalization […]. The real business of case study is particularization”. Therefore, the research aims at understanding the chosen cases in detail and the cases are not studied primarily to understand other cases (Stake 1995).

The chosen type of case study is a collective case study (Stake 2005). It allows comparison within one case, as well as between cases and was chosen because it is the appropriate type to study a “phenomenon, population, or general condition” (Stake 2005 p.445). According to Stake (1995), cases have to be chosen carefully to ensure variety or similarities among them instead of being based on representativeness. Stake suggests choosing cases that ena- ble the best learning experiences: “My choice would be to choose that case from which we can learn the most. That may mean taking the one most accessible or the one we can spend the most time with” (Stake 2005 p.451). The selected cases are Manchester United (in the following referred to as ManU) and Arsenal London (in the following referred to as Arse- nal). Both teams are playing in the Premiere League. The Premiere League was chosen first- ly, because it is the financially most successful soccer league in the world (Deloitte 2011) and enjoys extensive global popularity. Secondly, due to the fact that this league is operat- ing worldwide through pre-season games (Premiere League 2012), both chosen clubs are known internationally, which is important because the sample for the qualitative study is expected to be very international. The cases are chosen because of the similarity between them as both teams are the Premiere League teams with the most and second most ‘likes’

on their Facebook pages (ManU: 23,9 mil; Arsenal: 9,7 mil as of April 16^th 2012). When choosing the most successful Facebook pages (measured in ‘likes’), the learning outcome is

expected to be bigger, opposed to analyzing smaller clubs with fewer fans. This is based on the assumption that the chosen clubs seem to be most successful in reaching out to people on Facebook and therefore it is assumed that they can be seen as a benchmark for how to use a Facebook page. In order to prevent the cases from becoming too extensive to man- age, the case is restricted (Stake 1995) by analyzing only the content posted during the 2011/2012 Premier League season.

3.6 Method choice

The thesis is based on a triangulation approach, which is defined as “the combination of methodologies in the study of the same phenomenon” (Denzin 1978 as cited in Jick 1979 p.602). Thus, a qualitative as well as a quantitative approach of data collection and analysis is applied. In this thesis the focus is directed towards RQ2, which is embedded in a con- structivistic ontology. Hence, triangulation is used with a constructivistic background.

“This version of triangulation […] gets away from the idea of convergence on a fixed point [validation] and accepts a view of research as revealing multiple constructed realities, some- thing that triangulation, now conceived as the revelation of difference, is well suited to ex- pose” (Seale 1999 p.474). Consequently, the use of triangulation is adequate because it suits the purpose of the study of gaining a comprehensive understanding of the research prob- lem at hand.

In order to answer RQ1, quantitative data are analyzed through quantitative data analysis methods. Quantitative data are, very simplified, numbers. This type of data is clearly meas- urable and useful for summarizing large samples (Priest 2010). More precisely, an analysis of the posted content of the ManU and Arsenal Facebook page will be conducted. It can be examined most sufficiently through the use of content analysis, which is defined as “the systematic study of what is actually contained in media messages” (Priest 2010 p.84) and is reported to be appropriate to analyze social media content (Zhang 2010). Because the companies under investigation upload numerous posts per day, the amount of content that is be to analyze is huge. Therefore, a quantitative form of content analysis was chosen as it has the advantage that a vast amount of data can be reduced and investigated, which otherwise could not be analyzed in detail qualitatively (Riffe et al. 2005).

RQ2 is most sufficiently answered by collecting and analyzing qualitative data. Qualitative data are data which cannot be easily summarized numerically and the analysis of these data relies heavily on interpretation (Priest 2010). A qualitative approach of data analysis allows analyzing a problem from various perspectives and has the advantage that very complex contexts and correlations can be approached amenable (Flick 2009). It is intended to pro- vide insight and understanding, which suits the research design of the study (Malhotra &

Birks 2006).

The data collection is done through semi-structured interviews, which are characterized by a general open, only partly structured guideline that allows the interviewee to articulate his or her own opinion freely. The structure serves as a guideline to ensure that the main aspects of the research question are covered, whereupon the interviewer has the freedom to choose the wording and sequence of the questions as well as additional questions

(Gläser & Laudel 2010). The interviews are mainly based on open ended questions, which allow the interviewee to answer freely, describe and define certain mechanisms and to un- derstand the underlying effects of the club’s Facebook activities (Malhotra & Birks 2006).

Because semi-structured interviews offer the possibility of analyzing openly situational meanings and investigating complex problems holistically, such as the effects of Facebook acitivites on brand equity, this method is chosen as an appropriate method (Gläser &

Laudel 2010; Malhotra & Birks 2006). It has the strength that the interviewer can situtionally decide when to ask which question, has the opportunity to pose follow up questions (Sekaran 2002), and can ensure that misunderstandings are cleared (Wrenn et al.

2006).

All interviews were conducted on a face-to-face level, which allows the interviewer to no- tice any discomfort, stress or problem that is not directly communicated verbally but that is expressed through body language (Wrenn et al. 2006).

3.7 Time horizon

The research at hand is a representation of a specific period of time, which is the Premiere League season 2011/2012. Hence, the research can be characterized as a cross-sectional study (Saunders et al. 2009). Because the amount of data posted within one Premier League season is tremendous, the data for the quantitative study were only collected within three time periods in order to handle the abundance of information. The chosen time periods ensured that the dates fall in a period during which both clubs had scheduled matches (ManU 5; Arsenal 6 matches throughout all three periods):

 Period 1: 13^th – 23^rd September 2011

 Period 2: 13^th – 23^rd December 2011

 Period 3: 13^th – 23^rd March 2012

3.8 Data collection

Firstly, the data collection procedure for the content analysis is presented, followed by the data collection through semi-structured interviews.

3.8.1 Data collection content analysis

The type of data collected for the content analysis (the posts of the team on its official Facebook page) is secondary data. Secondary data are defined as “data that have already been collected for purposes other than the problem at hand“ (Malhotra & Birks 2006 p.83).

Both ManU’s and Arsenal’s Facebook pages were accessed on April 10^th 2012 and the con- tent produced by the organizations, relating to any technological form including status up- dates, links, pictures, videos, and polls within the defined periods were copied from the Fa- cebook page by taking screenshots. The credibility of the Facebook accounts was verified

as the Facebook pages were accessed via links from each club’s official website. The screenshots were printed and a number was assigned to every post in order to keep track of every item.

3.8.1.1 Sampling content analysis

The sample was generated through systematic sampling. Starting at the first day of the Premiere League season 2011/2012, three periods, each being three months apart and ten days long, were taken during which data were collected. This ensured that posts throughout the whole season are part of the sample.

3.8.2 Data collection interviews

The type of data collected through semi-structured interviews is primary data. Primary data are defined as “data originated by the researcher for the specific purpose of addressing the problem at hand” (Malhotra & Birks 2006 p.83).

During the interview the questions from the guideline were adapted to the statements of the interviewees, whereas in case answers deviated from the posed question, the interview- ers tried to re-focus the conversation through follow-up questions and specifications (Gläser & Laudel 2010). At the end, open questions were discussed. The interviews were individual face-to-face interviews, ranging between 15 and 20 minutes.

3.8.2.1 Sampling interviews

The interviewees were approached based on a mix of the convenience and snowball sam- pling technique. Firstly, the authors searched for interviewees based on convenience. When visiting the official Facebook page of ManU and Arsenal, Facebook enables users to see which acquaintances and friends ‘like’ these pages. Users that were identified and present in Jönköping were approached accordingly. After an interview was conducted, interviewees were asked to refer to further respondents, who also possess the desired target group char- acteristics (Malhotra & Birks 2006). This way, the sample group grows like a ‘rolling snow- ball’. The chosen sampling techniques allowed approaching people of interest for the study within a relatively short time frame and efficient way.

3.9 Data analysis

After the relevant data were collected, they were analyzed. First, the procedure and the ap- plied methods for the content analysis are introduced, followed by the presentation of the analysis of the semi-structured interviews.