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The purpose of this article is to propose an overall framework for brand community formation that separates antecedents that lead to the formation of a brand community from those outcomes that are associated with established communities.

The authors approached this review through an interdisciplinary literature review that delineated psychological, structural and behavioral processes that underline the formation of the brand community, often illustrated by contemporary cases in the sport industry.

The findings outline 18 different constructs, categorized in three overarching dimensions, separating structural, behavioral and psychological constructs. The authors posit these 18 constructs are at the heart of brand community formation. These constructs provide managers with a guide to inform their efforts to form a new brand community.

It is emphasized that brand community formation is a complex process that is paradoxical in nature and requires organizations to balance a non-interventionist approach that would allow for consumer empowerment, with a pro-active approach that creates conditions for a successful brand community formation process.

Despite to useful relevance to better understand how group-level identity develops, few studies have explored the identity theory in the esports field and, in particular, considering the impact of a fan's role identity. The current study aims to explore esports fan role-identity vis-à-vis the relationship with the sponsor and the sponsee so as to understand the effects on their behavioral intentions.

Using a sample of 356 esports fans who attended the 2021 FPF eFootball Open Challenge, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) analyzed the psychometric properties of the constructs and a subsequent Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) examined the effects of fan identity on two types of behavioral intentions and sponsor–sponsee relationship.

Results indicate that fans who highly identify with esports have the highest attachment to the event and tend toward having a positive word-of-mouth intention. Esports fans who have a higher brand identification reported a positive attitude toward the event's sponsor brand and tend to purchase its products. Moreover, the study findings also provide evidence of the bidirectional interaction between the way in which fans attach with the esports event and its sponsor brand, leading to greater reciprocity in their identity formation.

This study helps to understand how the fan identity process can enhance its fate and develop mutually, building role overlapping identity in the esports sponsor–sponsee relationship. Complementarily, it supports of how the marketeers and managers must analyze the importance of being a fan to the individual in order to understand how its self-identity can shape the future behavior.

Insights into how fan experience can be used to cultivate football (soccer) fan loyalty are limited. Based on the stimulus–organism–response (S-O-R) paradigm, this study develops and tests a theoretical model investigating the effects of football-game socialisation, team interest, football interest and transaction satisfaction (stimuli) on fanship and cumulative satisfaction (organism), and subsequently, attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty (response). National culture was a moderator.

A self-administered online survey collected data from a convenience sample of 762 football fans from Brazil, China and Germany.

The PLS-SEM results support the S-O-R based model, indicating that football fan-loyalty behaviours are determined by fanship and cumulative satisfaction with the team. Fan experiences, in turn, are also found to be influenced by fan perceptions relating to socialisation, team interest, football interest and transaction satisfaction—elements over which the football team's management may exert some degree of control. Some national cultural differences were found, with three of the model's 12 structural paths significantly different for Germany vis-à-vis Brazil.

This study advances the authors’ understanding of the significance of socialisation and fan-interest factors for football, providing evidence supporting the role of the fan experience and service-consumption stimuli related to those game experiences as significant drivers (stimuli) of the fan's affective (fanship) and cognitive states (cumulative satisfaction). This study enriches the limited body of evidence on fanship's role as a driver of attitudinal and behavioural loyalty. Finally, the multi-country study partially supports the moderation effect of national culture.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of member identity and its dimensions of power, urgency, external legitimacy, internal legitimacy and interest, on satisfaction and behavioural intentions in fitness centres.

Two studies were designed. In Study 1, data were collected from fitness centre members (n = 225) and structural equation modelling used to examine the dimensions of fitness centre member identity and its subsequent effect on satisfaction and behavioural intentions. In Study 2, interviews exploring member identity were conducted with members (n = 9) and managers (n = 7) and a content analysis contrasted their perceptions of power, urgency, internal legitimacy, external legitimacy and interest.

The results of Study 1 support the multidimensional construct of member identity and its positive influence on both satisfaction and behavioural intentions. Satisfaction mediated the relationship between member identity and behavioural intentions. In Study 2, managers and members expressed similar perceptions of the member identity dimensions: low power; urgency is issue-dependent; external legitimacy is recognized; members are perceived as legitimate; and most members exhibit high interest in their membership.

This study provides a deeper understanding of how member identity contributes to long-term relationships between members and fitness centres. It extends the body of consumer behaviour literature in the context of fitness centres.

This study analyzes the impact of sports social media on a country regarding three international events connected to the brand Spain. It examines (1) the use and importance of various social media platforms in sports events and (2) identifies the countries generating the most social media content.

A total of 1,711,084 posts were collected for analysis, focusing on FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, XLI Marathon Valencia Trinidad Alfonso 2022 and Davis Cup 2022, with a particular emphasis on the Spain brand. Through Atribus, diverse social media data were recovered and analyzed. Later, we recommended employing various metrics and ANOVAs to address the research questions. Additionally, we conducted a sentiment analysis.

The results show differences between (1) the use and relevance of social network platforms and events and (2) the content generated by different countries. The practical implications offer valuable insights for sports event organizers, destination managers and other stakeholders. The research implications suggest potential avenues for future research based on the observed patterns and behaviors in social media posts related to sports events and Brand Spain.

(1) Some papers have studied the role of sports events’ social media, ignoring the comparison among different social media platforms; (2) usually, previous literature has focused on a single event or sport and (3) although there is considerable research related to the strategic and operational Inés Küster Boluda Inés Küster Boluda role of social media, there is less systematic analysis related to the extent sports events use social media in general and in specific social media platforms and virtually nonexistent studies that employ index measurements.

本研究擬分析就三個與西班牙品牌有關的國際體育賽事而言，體育社交媒體對一個國家的影響。俱體而言，本研究擬探討： (一) 、各體育賽事社交媒體平台的使用和其重要性，以及 (二) 、是哪些國家生成最多的社交媒體內容。

研究人員收集共計1,711,084帖子以便進行分析;其焦點放在2022年卡塔爾世界盃 (即2022年國際足聯世界盃) ，2022年特尼利尼達阿方索馬拉松賽－瓦倫西亞 (XLI Marathon Valencia Trinidad Alfonso 2022) 和2022年台維斯盃;研究人員特別把重點放在西班牙品牌上。研究人員透過 Atribus 重新取得多種多樣的社交媒體數據，然後進行分析。之後，研究人員建議使用不同的度量和方差分析去處理各研究問題，以及進行了情感分析。

研究結果顯示了以下兩者之差異：(一) 、社交網絡平台和比賽項目的使用和關聯，以及 (二) 、不同國家生成的內容。從這個研究發現，體育賽事的籌辦者、目的地管理人員和其它利益相關者，均會獲得寶貴的實務啟示;至於就未來學術研究的路向而言，學者和研究人員或許可觀察關於體育賽事和西班牙品牌的社交媒體帖子裡顯示的模式和行為，從而找到合適的研究路徑。

本研究有以下的貢獻：(一) 、從前的研究多只探討關於體育賽事的社交媒體所扮演的角色，而忽略了要比較不同社交媒體平台的需要;(二) 、過去的文獻通常聚焦於單一的賽事或運動上;以及 (三) 、雖然探討關於社交媒體在戰略上和在操作上所扮演的角色的研究為數不少，但甚少研究、就體育賽事大體使用社交媒體的程度，或使用特定的社交媒體平台的程度進行分析和探討。再者，幾乎沒有學者或研究人員在有關的研究上使用指標測量法;就此三點而言，本研究可說填補了有關的研究空白。

There remains a critical issue in sport management scholarship in that the field lacks a well-defined framework for delineating practical implications in research. This research aims to answer the following research questions: (1) What types of practical implications can be identified in sport management research? (2) How can sport management research frame the practical implications of the study in a way that is both theoretically sound and useful for practitioners?

Through a scoping review and within the lens of Jaworski (2011)'s framework for managerial relevance, the study examined 427 articles from European Sport Management Quarterly, Journal of Sport Management and Sport Management Review published between 2000 and 2020.

This study presents a five-pronged framework that identifies target managers, organizational tasks, time horizons, philosophical impact and desired outcomes. Furthermore, the current research offers suggestions for how to present managerial implications in sport management research.

The findings shed light on the managerial relevance of the recent sport management body of work, developing an important framework for practical implications for the field to reflect and incorporate into future studies. With a theoretical understanding of how to frame the practical implications of sport management research, the gap between academia and industry can continue to narrow, and the relevance to the industry may be more pertinent than ever before.

Supporting distant teams is a frequent phenomenon. Through the lens of the social identity theory, this research aims to examine differences between local and distant fans regarding drivers of team identification.

A multigroup structural equation model was employed. The data were collected through an online survey with 1,285 sports fans.

Team distinctiveness constitutes an important aspect fueling identification for all fans, whereas congruence between own and team personality is important for local and displaced fans only. Team prestige does not impact identification for either group.

To build up a base of highly identified supporters, clubs should emphasize those aspects of team brands that fans consider distinctive. When targeting local fans, clubs should also focus on communicating the brand's unique personality aspects.

This is the first study that assesses the potential differences behind fans' social identification with local and distant teams.

Sport organizations’ use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become commonplace. Similarly, academic inquiry into the CSR phenomenon has become almost as ubiquitous. However, this paper argues that a group has been forgotten about in the literature surrounding sport and CSR: the campaign beneficiary, especially in sport-based CSR research. After all, CSR campaigns are intended to support a certain group.

Using a social identity theory and social identity complexity qualitative framework, this paper analyzes the perceptions of the National Football League's (NFL) Salute to Service military campaign among service members, veterans and families.

After collecting data via a series of 16 interviews, while service members stated that the service members appreciated the campaign and appreciated what the NFL seeks to do through the campaign, this specific Salute to Service did not have a significant cognitive and behavioral impact for these military consumers.

This work builds on prior CSR beneficiary literature, providing an opportunity to further expand ways in which sport organizations can make sports organizations' CSR campaigns more impactful.

The social and economic importance esports has gained over the past decades has led to a quickly evolving academic interest in the topic. Yet, current perspectives on esports frequently are not precise enough, too context-specific and/or focus on the question whether esports is sports or not. This means that no precise structural concept has been provided thus far. Such a conceptualization as well as a categorization of esports and related types of video gaming are provided in this paper.

This paper is based on a narrative review considering academic literature from 2000 to 2021 and publications of relevant esports organizations. The review is conceptually extended by structural parallels to traditional sports.

The central outcome of this research is conceptualizing esports as a victory-driven, organized performance comparison of exclusively human players playing video games in a competitive setting. This comparison is based solely on the performance achieved during a defined time frame according to fixed rules with comparably equal team (starting) conditions. This conceptualization is embedded in a general categorization of video gaming based on structural similarities with and differences to esports. Moreover, characteristics that were rejected in regards to the conceptualization and the categorization are discussed.

This paper provides a comprehensive categorization of esports and other types of video gaming based on structural similarities and differences. It is thus of high relevance for academia and sport management practice alike and can further the development in both fields.

Nonprofit organisations (NPOs) are an increasingly fundamental part of our society. Meeting rising demand requires NPOs to attract enough resources, especially volunteers, to enable service delivery. This paper aims to adopt a novel theoretical lens to reframe this marketing challenge to inform practice and extend theory.

Practice-based exploration of a volunteer-enabled NPO, parkrun, through in-depth interviews and secondary source analysis.

The research identified that the brand community connects volunteers through three inter-connected levels. The big idea of parkrun, the focal brand, resonated with people through being “on their wavelength”, something they believed in. The local, physical event meant engagement was “on their patch”, anchored in place. Finally, the brand community enables people to volunteer “on their terms”, with fluid roles and flexible levels of commitment.

Not all NPOs have service beneficiaries who are able to volunteer, services with different volunteering roles, or operate through a local physical presence. However, taking a focal brand approach to consider the brand community through which people volunteer for an NPO, the practices that reinforce that community, and how to offer volunteers significantly greater flexibility in both role and commitment presents an opportunity for NPOs to rethink how volunteering works for them in the future.

Clear recommendations for practice include the opportunity to integrate service beneficiary with service delivery enabler (volunteer) to strengthen the implicit social contract, increasing participation to deepen the social identity felt towards the brand, and key practices that reduce barriers to volunteering.

The paper extends volunteering theory from the traditional individual needs approach to a focal brand community perspective. The marketing challenge of attracting volunteer resources to NPOs is understood through rethinking the boundaries between service beneficiaries and service enablers, anchored in social identity theory. It provides clear recommendations for practice through reframing the recruitment challenge.