Exploring expatriate fan identification in international football supporters

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-96
Author(s):  
Nicholas Burton ◽  
Cheri Bradish ◽  
Melanie Dempsey

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine international football supporter behaviours within the context of national and socio-cultural identification, in an effort to better understand what role national identity plays in fan motivation and consumer behaviour for expatriate and non-domestic fans. Design/methodology/approach International football supporters across ten cultural and ethnic communities were surveyed throughout the 2014 Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup Finals, exploring the identification and new media socialisation behaviours of national team supporters in non-domestic markets. Findings The study’s findings provide evidence of the role identification plays in informing national and ethnic identities. Supporting one’s home or ancestral national team reflects an important element of national identification and socio-cultural place for expatriate or non-domestic supporters of international football. Importantly, new media behaviours provide supporters with a formative and productive source of national team fan engagement and ethnocultural community creation, particularly for younger target audiences. Practical implications These results bear particular significance for theory and practice: the digital socialisation behaviours supporters engage in are integral components of identity building and communication. In better understanding the awareness and interest of geographically detached sport consumers, this study offers new perspective into the opportunities present for sport organisations and marketers in reaching non-domestic fan nations. Originality/value The findings offer new perspective into the role national identification plays in fan involvement and motivation, and importantly how new media has emerged as a key platform for expatriate and non-domestic supporter socialisation amongst international football supporters.

Kybernetes ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (06) ◽  
pp. 1000-1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soe-Tsyr Daphne Yuan ◽  
Szu-Yu Chou ◽  
Wei-Cheng Yang ◽  
Cheng-An Wu ◽  
Chih-Teng Huang

Purpose Customer engagement (customers’ behavioral manifestations going beyond customer-firm purchase transactions) has been regarded as strategic imperatives for generating enhanced corporate performance. The plethora of new media has provided customers with different options to interact with firms and other customers. However, the primacy of value-laden interactive customer relationships and value co-creation raises challenges for firms and customers, especially in the context of broader business ecosystems such as brand partnership for extending value co-creation. This study aims to explore how customer engagement with well-designed choreograph of various new media’s channels can increase the value co-creation extent in the context of broader business ecosystems, resulting in higher levels service offerings, experiences and innovation. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory study presents a new framework of customer engagement that holistically integrates the elements of multiple new media and broader business ecosystem, stimulating a virtuous circle of realizing customer engagement toward superior results or innovations. The framework considers new media’s different information service and technologies (e.g. search engine, social recommender, social media) that can be properly choreographed to achieve a virtuous customer engagement circle. Findings This paper uses an exemplar framework's instantiation – an information technology enabled engagement platform (called iEngagement) – that can demonstrate how to empower the central companies together with their eco-stakeholders to holistically perform customer engagement utilizing new media toward fruitful customer engagement. Originality/value This exploratory study is among the first that addresses the theory and practice of customer engagement within multiple new media and broader business ecosystem. This paper presents a customer engagement framework and an exemplified engagement platform that holistically integrate the elements of multiple new media and broader business ecosystem, for stimulating a virtuous circle of realizing customer engagement toward superior results or innovations.


Author(s):  
Annamaria Silvana de Rosa ◽  
Laura Dryjanska

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on social representations of Warsaw (Poland) as a tourist destination of 210 first visitors from seven EU and extra-EU countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, United Kingdom and United States of America) interviewed before and after their visit. In the framework of the social representations theory, the “cultural baggage”, rooted in the collective and social memory, forms anticipatory representations of the imagined places that may undergo transformations after the visit. How does this transformation occur? Design/methodology/approach The authors consider the transformation of social representations as detected by means of a self-administered questionnaire that comprised the following tools: scales to measure the strength of various information sources about Warsaw (school, literature, movies, songs, internet, press, tourist guides, documentaries, interpersonal communication and other); associative networks (de Rosa, 2002) with the stimulus word “Warsaw”; a list of adjectives describing the city and its centre, as well as a list of the most important places in Warsaw. The questionnaires were coded to ensure anonymity of participants while enabling the researcher to administer them for the second time (after the visit). According to the modelling approach to social representations (de Rosa, 2013a), the research was guided by three related hypotheses concerning transformation of social representations of Warsaw. Findings The results confirmed the hypotheses of potential changes in the representations that shift the focus from Warsaw as “communist” to “green” capital city, and of the role of the Polish language as a “communicative barrier” for recalling specific names of city-places after their visit. Research limitations/implications Social representations exist in people’s minds, and they include images that are further interpreted (Howarth, 2011). Especially when visitors are asked about places, it is likely that they recall specific images, but not their names. Since the questionnaires required them to write down the answers, words often did not correspond to the volatile and dynamic images that the human mind creates. In spite of recalling a specific park or fountain, participants resorted to general categories and simply wrote “park” or “fountain”. However, this limitation is familiar to the majority of social psychological researchers and very difficult, if not impossible, to overcome. The new research directions launched to integrate the research line of field studies with investigations based on new media offer complementary insights and opportunities (de Rosa and Bocci, 2014). Practical implications Destination branding has numerous practical implications. According to Ekinci and Hosany (2006), developing efficient communication methods is crucial to launching a distinctive and attractive destination personality. Hosany et al. (2006) have demonstrated that personality traits are ubiquitous in consumers’ evaluations of tourism destinations and therefore promotional campaigns should emphasize the distinctive personality of tourism destinations, based on the emotional components of destination image. European capital cities compete for visitors in the mature and saturated market, where brand strength is positively related to tourism intensity (Mikulić et al., 2016). Originality/value Examining how social representations of a city are transformed by the visit from the perspective of the supra-disciplinary theory of Moscovici constitutes an original way to link imagery and tourist practices. The major cultural issues, such as history, language, art and traditions affect the theory and practice of urban tourism. For the first time, this theoretical framework is being used in case of a post-communist European destination such as Warsaw.


2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 870-894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zi-qian Bai ◽  
Jeanne Tan ◽  
Clare Frances Johnston ◽  
Xiao-Ming Tao

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how electronic components can be utilized and integrated into polymeric optical fibre (POF) textiles to refine the design aesthetic, tactile quality and initiate the interaction of textiles with the users; and to study the design process of interactive products by using a novel design process model. Design/methodology/approach – Fashion and textile design methods, textile technology are used in combination with modern technologies such as laser engraving, sensing, short-distance communication technology, throughout the entire process of development of interactive photonics creations. Findings – The results of evaluation indicate that the engineered prototypes can enhance the interactive function of interior furnishing. The usability of interactive POF cushions is optimized by innovative design methods considering both design and technology. Originality/value – This research explores to combine knowledge from different disciplines, including textile, electronics, sensor and laser to create interactive soft furnishings. The inter-disciplinary research provides a new perspective on how POF fabric can be utilized as a new media to change the way people interact with their living surroundings. The interior soft furnishings are no longer unresponsive to people, but can react to them, adapt to their behaviors, change color according to their preferences and therefore merge into our daily life. The developed prototypes reshape interior soft furnishing, and therefore have both theoretical and practical significance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 382-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Timothy Coombs ◽  
Sherry J. Holladay

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to craft a new perspective on how we can view public relations that reflects important trends emerging in the field including digital media, storytelling, engagement and co-creation of meaning. Transmedia storytelling (an idea with some ties to public relations) and narrative transportation theory are synthesized to form the transmedia narrative transportation (TNT) approach to public relations. The paper details the development of the TNT approach and how it can be applied to public relations initiatives. Design/methodology/approach The approach is a literature review to inform the creation of the TNT approach. A case study is used to illustrate the TNT approach. Findings An innovative approach to conceptualizing and creating public relations initiatives is developed, explained and illustrated. Research limitations/implications The paper examines only one case to illustrate the TNT approach. Practical implications The TNT approach develops a new perspective for public relations for developing and executing public relations initiatives. Transmedia storytelling has already been connected to the practice and TNT builds a more comprehensive approach for understanding its value to public relations. Originality/value There has been a limited application of transmedia storytelling to public relations. This paper synthesizes transmedia storytelling with narrative transportation theory to develop a theory-driven, new approach for public relations thinking. The TNT approach is a unique fusion of ideas that can bring an innovative approach to the practice of public relations that captures four emerging trends that are shaping the practice.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 346-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Evans ◽  
Basil Phillip Tucker

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which both formal and informal control, operating as a package, are implicated in responding to organisational change arising from the introduction of the Australian Federal Government’s Clean Energy Act (2011). Design/methodology/approach – This investigation is based on a review of archival data, and semi-structured interviews conducted with 15 staff at different hierarchical levels within an Australian renewable energy company. Findings – Although formal management control systems and informal control both played important roles in the organisation’s reorientation to organisational change, it was the latter form of control that predominated over the former. The influence of the prevailing organisational culture, however, was pivotal in orchestrating both formal and informal control efforts within this organisation. Originality/value – This study contributes to management control theory and practice in two ways: first, it provides much needed empirical evidence about the ways in which management controls act as a package; second, it offers insights into the relative importance of the components of a management control package in the context of a particular organisational change. In addition, it responds to Laughlin’s (1991) call for empirical “flesh” to be added to the skeletal framework he advocates to make this conceptualisation of organisational change, “more meaningful”.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Pauleen

Purpose Dave Snowden has been an important voice in knowledge management over the years. As the founder and chief scientific officer of Cognitive Edge, a company focused on the development of the theory and practice of social complexity, he offers informative views on the relationship between big data/analytics and KM. Design/methodology/approach A face-to-face interview was held with Dave Snowden in May 2015 in Auckland, New Zealand. Findings According to Snowden, analytics in the form of algorithms are imperfect and can only to a small extent capture the reasoning and analytical capabilities of people. For this reason, while big data/analytics can be useful, they are limited and must be used in conjunction with human knowledge and reasoning. Practical implications Snowden offers his views on big data/analytics and how they can be used effectively in real world situations in combination with human reasoning and input, for example in fields from resource management to individual health care. Originality/value Snowden is an innovative thinker. He combines knowledge and experience from many fields and offers original views and understanding of big data/analytics, knowledge and management.


Author(s):  
Ahmad Farhan Alshira'h ◽  
Hijattulah Abdul-Jabbar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of tax audit, tax rate and tax penalty on sales tax compliance and examine the moderating effect of patriotism on the associations between tax audit, tax rate and tax penalty with sales tax compliance among Jordanian manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach In this study, 660 questionnaires were distributed by using systematic random sampling to manufacturing SMEs in Jordan, after which a total of 385 useable questionnaires were deemed suitable for analysis. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to validate the measurement model and structural model and the predictive relevance of the study’s model. Findings The findings showed that tax audit and tax penalty were positively associated with the level of sales tax compliance, whereas tax rate was insignificantly associated with sales tax compliance. They also demonstrated the moderating significant effect of patriotism on the relationship between tax penalty, tax audit and tax rate with sales tax compliance. Research limitations/implications Tax authorities and policymakers in developing majority societies in developing countries and in other Arab countries, especially in Jordan may use the results to focus their interest on the formulation of policies founded on the outcomes of the study to strengthen eligible SMEs to comply to further boost their sales collections. Originality/value This study extends the deterrence theory in the context of sales tax compliance by proposing the moderating effect of patriotism in the deterrence theory on sales tax compliance among SMEs. Moreover, the suitability for the use of PLS-SEM as a statistical tool in investigating the extended deterrence theory with patriotism as a moderating variable as well as its implications for theory and practice was also discussed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 828-843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gulnara Sharaborova ◽  
Derek H.T. Walker ◽  
Guinevere Gilbert

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary report and reflect on a recently passed PhD thesis (Sharaborova, 2014b) related to project management topics. Design/methodology/approach – This paper focussed on narrative reflection upon the completed doctoral journey. Findings – This paper presents the thesis findings, the research models, the guide in dealing with the early warning signs that developed as a result of this research and the contribution made to theory and practice. Research limitations/implications – Limitations of the research and the perspectives of the further diffusion of the research findings are considered. Originality/value – This TRN is a PhD candidate’s point of view as well as the opinions of the scientific research supervisors about the doctoral study and its outcome. The paper could be useful for novice researchers who wish to conduct their research and did not yet make a decision.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Uren ◽  
Daniel Wright ◽  
James Scott ◽  
Yulan He ◽  
Hassan Saif

Purpose – This paper aims to address the following challenge: the push to widen participation in public consultation suggests social media as an additional mechanism through which to engage the public. Bioenergy companies need to build their capacity to communicate in these new media and to monitor the attitudes of the public and opposition organizations towards energy development projects. Design/methodology/approach – This short paper outlines the planning issues bioenergy developments face and the main methods of communication used in the public consultation process in the UK. The potential role of social media in communication with stakeholders is identified. The capacity of sentiment analysis to mine opinions from social media is summarised and illustrated using a sample of tweets containing the term “bioenergy”. Findings – Social media have the potential to improve information flows between stakeholders and developers. Sentiment analysis is a viable methodology, which bioenergy companies should be using to measure public opinion in the consultation process. Preliminary analysis shows promising results. Research limitations/implications – Analysis is preliminary and based on a small dataset. It is intended only to illustrate the potential of sentiment analysis and not to draw general conclusions about the bioenergy sector. Social implications – Social media have the potential to open access to the consultation process and help bioenergy companies to make use of waste for energy developments. Originality/value – Opinion mining, though established in marketing and political analysis, is not yet systematically applied as a planning consultation tool. This is a missed opportunity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Caiazza ◽  
David Audretsch ◽  
Tiziana Volpe ◽  
Julie Debra Singer

Purpose – Existing work documents the role that institutional setting plays in the process of spin-off creation. However, despite decades of studies, scholars have not clearly explained why some regions are more involved in spin-off activity than others. Drawing from institutional theory, the purpose of this paper is to compare different institutional settings identifying factors affecting the general environment capability to support spin-off activity of a specific region. Design/methodology/approach – The authors utilize a cross-national analysis of American, Asian, and European areas identifying factors affecting their different rate of spin-off activity. This study contributes to the policy debate concerning entrepreneurship and how best to spur spin-off activities. Findings – In this paper, the authors identify the general and specific factors that explain the cross-national diversity in spin-off creation. The authors then perform an analysis of the impact of these factors in various regions of the USA, Asia, and Europe, providing evidence for the necessity of specific combinations of these factors. Originality/value – The paper offers a new perspective on the causes of spin-offs through a cross-national analysis of many areas around the world.


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