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1 – 10 of 261The history and heritage of some brands is such that an accumulation of brand equity occurs whereby stocks of images, symbols, logos and icons are built up. The role of brand…
Abstract
The history and heritage of some brands is such that an accumulation of brand equity occurs whereby stocks of images, symbols, logos and icons are built up. The role of brand managers in these cases is to release this equity in an attempt to both realise the value of brand equity and provide a foundation for future development of brand equity. Using a case from global sport, this study analyses the branding of a property and how this drew from a number of equity enhancing features, as well as capitalising upon changes in marketing and the marketplace.
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Daniel Plumley and Stuart W. Flint
The purpose of this paper is to examine the competitive balance of the UEFA Champions League group stages. There are numerous financial and commercial benefits to clubs that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the competitive balance of the UEFA Champions League group stages. There are numerous financial and commercial benefits to clubs that participate in this competition. The current paper examines whether the seeding system operated by UEFA is hindering some lower ranked teams from qualification and, thus, the associated benefits.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected for all UEFA Champions League group stages between1999/2000 and 2013/2014. Data analysis techniques included Herfindahl-Hirschman Index to examine competitive balance and one-way ANOVAs to examine the impact of the current seeding system on club performance.
Findings
The findings suggest that there are flaws in the ranking and seeding system used by UEFA, as results show that the competition is competitively imbalanced at the group stage. Additionally, clubs that are continually placed in the highest seeding pot historically tend to accumulate more points and finish in a higher position in the group, thereby giving them a better opportunity to progress further in the competition.
Research limitations/implications
The study has implications for both the clubs competing in the Champions League, who will be affected by the seeding system, and UEFA themselves when considering the sporting integrity of their flagship competition.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper of its kind to examine competitive balance in this competition, and the paper contributes new knowledge that extends the research undertaken in the field previously.
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Tulsi Jayakumar and Lakshay Grover
The purpose of this study is to use design thinking principles to understand the failure of the ‘new’ European Super League, and also understand how it could be redesigned.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to use design thinking principles to understand the failure of the ‘new’ European Super League, and also understand how it could be redesigned.
Research methodology
This case has been developed from secondary sources, including news reports, social media sites, annual reports and websites of the Union of European Football Associations and the European football clubs. This case was classroom-tested with post-graduate management students in a design thinking course in May 2021 at an Indian business school, S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, in Mumbai, India.
Case overview/synopsis
In April 2021, a new football league – the European Super League, is announced as a breakaway rebel league, in direct competition with United European Footballers Association's Champions League. It is backed by the top 12 European clubs and officials in European football, besides the US investment bank, JP Morgan. The new league is touted as one intended to save football. It is, however, denounced by fans and shunned almost universally. The league, which has been planned for the past three and half years, faces collapse. Why did the European Super League fail? How could the founders design a new league?
Complexity academic level
This case could be used in an undergraduate or MBA classroom or an executive education programme in a design thinking course. It can also be used to teach marketing courses such as marketing strategy, new product development and consumer behaviour.
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Dino Ruta, Luca Lorenzon, Nicolò Lolli and Paolo Giuseppe Gorlero
This work aims to analyse money prizes awarded in European football club competitions organised by UEFA and the impact of these prizes on club performance in National Leagues. In…
Abstract
Purpose
This work aims to analyse money prizes awarded in European football club competitions organised by UEFA and the impact of these prizes on club performance in National Leagues. In pursuing this objective, the authors discuss the overall effect on the competitiveness of national leagues. The ultimate goal is to provide valuable insights and useful indications relating to the future of National and European Professional Football Competitions, a topic of increasingly heated debate. The authors specifically address the possible creation of a European Super League.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to test the specific impact of UEFA money prizes on clubs' national performance, the authors applied two multiple regression models, with a sample of clubs participating in four out of the big five National Leagues in European Football over the period 2013–2108. The authors used a series of economic variables as control variables, in keeping with previous studies on similar topics as presented in the literature review.
Findings
The results of the analyses show that money prizes have a significant and specific impact on European club competitions organised by UEFA in terms of improving national sport performances for clubs participating in said competitions. More in detail, the authors found this degree of impact not only in the season when this money was awarded but also in the following season.
Originality/value
The originality of the paper lies in the empirical demonstration of the role of European competitions (via UEFA money prizes impacting clubs' national performances) in consolidating a general downward trend in competitive balance in the most important European Leagues.
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Milica Maricic, Milica Kostic-Stankovic, Milica Bulajic and Veljko Jeremic
The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model for exploring the recall and recognition of embedded advertisements of sponsors.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model for exploring the recall and recognition of embedded advertisements of sponsors.
Design/methodology/approach
To verify the proposed conceptual model on a particular sports competition, a questionnaire related to the UEFA Champions League sponsors in the season 2016/2017 was designed. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling.
Findings
The results provided support to the claim that higher involvement in a sport and higher exposure to a sponsored event lead to higher recall and recognition of embedded advertisements. Conversely, the same two factors alongside sponsor awareness do not affect the attitude towards sponsors. On the other hand, sponsor awareness and attitude towards sponsors have a direct positive role on the future purchase intention of sponsor products/services.
Practical implications
The findings illustrate that to maximise the effectiveness of their embedded advertisements, sponsors should not merely concentrate on brand awareness, but should go beyond and attempt to improve the consumers’ positive perception of their products and services. Moreover, by sponsoring a sport event, the sponsors can be sure that their message will be effectively transmitted to the ones who are fans of the sport and the sponsored competition.
Originality/value
The present study empirically explores the factors which influence the recall and recognition of embedded advertisements and how the achieved level of sponsorship awareness impacts purchase intentions.
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Michael Anagnostou and George Tzetzis
The purpose of this research was to develop a scale to measure the football league brand associations such as the “UEFA Champions League” and to investigate their influence on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research was to develop a scale to measure the football league brand associations such as the “UEFA Champions League” and to investigate their influence on brand loyalty.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was developed and tested through a pilot test (N = 120) and the final questionnaire was administered among Greek sport spectators (N = 460). The factor structure was tested through an exploratory factor analysis and a regression analysis was used to examine the predictability of fans' brand loyalty by the league brand association dimensions.
Findings
Six brand association factors were revealed through the exploratory factor analysis: elite management, entertainment, elite-sportsmanship participants, escape, elite refereeing and corporate identity. In addition, new brand associations and elements were found: elite refereeing which included fast football and the league anthem was found to coexist with logo. Elite management, entertainment, escape and corporate identity were found to influence brand loyalty variables.
Practical implications
The study revealed a useful tool to measure sport leagues' brand associations, to measure their influence on Greek fans' loyalty and build strong, unique and favourable consumer-based brand associations.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the sports brand associations research by examining brand associations in the context of European leagues and elite-level football competitions. It also contributes by identifying and revealing new brand associations and new elements to co-exist with other already known sports brand associations. Finally, it examines the influence of the new brand-specific associations to the brand loyalty of the “UEFA Champions League” competition for Greek sport fans.
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Fabio Wagner, Holger Preuss and Thomas Könecke
For managers of sports leagues, it is crucial to produce an attractive competition. For that to happen, it is vital to consider that leagues frequently have more sub-competitions…
Abstract
Purpose
For managers of sports leagues, it is crucial to produce an attractive competition. For that to happen, it is vital to consider that leagues frequently have more sub-competitions than “just” the championship. In European top football leagues, for instance, four sub-competitions are common (championship, qualification for Champions- or Europa League, avoiding relegation). This paper introduces a new method for measuring competitive intensity (CI) in round-robin sports leagues considering all relevant sub-competitions and applies it to Germany's Bundesliga.
Design/methodology/approach
The newly developed model calculates a CI-Index for each sub-competition and the league as a whole. The application to the Bundesliga analyzes its viability and the development of the league's CI over the past 22 seasons.
Findings
The newly introduced CI-Indices prove to be a viable tool for evaluating a league's competitive intensity. The application to the Bundesliga shows that the seasonal CI dropped after 2009/10, which can mainly be attributed to a decline in the championship's CI.
Practical implications
The results show that it is important to facilitate a high CI in each of Bundesliga's four sub-competitions. Efforts have to be made to ensure that especially the Europa League remains as attractive as possible for the participating teams and their fans because this sub-competition constantly makes the greatest contribution to the seasonal CI.
Originality/value
The new method measures competitive intensity by quantifying the different sub-competitions and their contribution to the seasonal CI. This allows the organizers of sports leagues to assess the intensity of the individual sub-competitions as well as the league as a whole.
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Zsolt Havran, Attila Kajos and Bálint Mazzag
The environmental characteristics of international football can vary significantly from one country to another. As a result, the economic and market possibilities and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The environmental characteristics of international football can vary significantly from one country to another. As a result, the economic and market possibilities and the objectives of each national league are very heterogeneous. This article aims to examine the differences in revenue structures amongst European national football leagues (n = 50) and cluster them based on these structures. It also investigates which revenue structure would be more effective for similar leagues, considering the previously mentioned varying environmental characteristics of international football.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilises a theoretical framework of business modelling, applied in a unique way to league organisers of national championships. Data on sports and business aspects were collected from sources such as the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Financial Benchmarking Reports, transfermarkt.de and related sources for the period 2015 to 2018. K-means cluster analysis, using the Euclidean distance approach, was employed to develop clusters based on revenue sources over a four-year average.
Findings
The paper presents the characteristics and year-to-year changes of nine developed clusters. Throughout the analysis, variables such as average overpayment and inequality between player values amongst leagues were prioritised. The study's practical implications can assist league organisers in enhancing the competitiveness of their leagues, supported by short case studies that provide illustrative examples.
Originality/value
The novelty of the current article lies in introducing innovative variables such as the variance of player value whilst focussing on meso-level analysis, providing a fresh contribution to the existing literature in the field for understanding revenue structures and performance in European national football leagues.
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Ricard W Jensen, Yam B Limbu and Yasha Spong
Until now, little research has been conducted to analyse Twitter conversations about the corporate sponsors of football clubs. The conventional and most widely used method has…
Abstract
Until now, little research has been conducted to analyse Twitter conversations about the corporate sponsors of football clubs. The conventional and most widely used method has been to use content analysis to assess the sentiment of the tweets that were sent. However, this approach may be inadequate because sports fans may be unlikely to mention a corporate sponsor in the text they tweet. This study demonstrates the use of visual analytics to assess conversations about corporate sponsors by examining the images people tweet.
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Christopher John Freestone and Argyro Elisavet Manoli
The introduction of financial fair play (FFP) regulations in 2011 was accompanied by criticism that they would have an adverse effect on competitive balance in European football…
Abstract
Purpose
The introduction of financial fair play (FFP) regulations in 2011 was accompanied by criticism that they would have an adverse effect on competitive balance in European football. Counter-points were also expressed, suggesting that the opposite would occur; that they would actually increase competitive balance through reducing the importance of financial power. The lack of clarity and cohesion on this issue prompted this paper. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect FFP has had on competitive balance in the English Premier League.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis conducted uses the Herfindahl Index of Competitive Balance as the primary method, and is supported by standard deviation of points analysis and a Scully-Noll ratio analysis, which together provide an indication of the level of competitive balance for each of the past 21 seasons, from 1995/1996 to 2015/2016. This examination allows for the trends in competitive balance to be identified, with emphasis drawn on the seasons after the introduction of the regulations.
Findings
The results provide no indication that FFP regulations have resulted in a decline in competitive balance in the EPL, instead hinting that a positive effect may have been caused. This positive effect exceeds the primary aim of the regulations and underlines their importance in the future stability of club football.
Originality/value
While underlining the need for further research on the topic, this study provides the first insights into the effects of FFP regulations on competitive balance in the EPL. These insights would support the view that FFP initiatives have begun to shift the focus of sporting competition away from financial strength towards more natural means of competition such as efficiency, innovation and good management.
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