Branding through Athletes: The Role of Athlete-Team Brand Personality Alignment in Team Evaluation and Brand Equity

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Branding, a popular marketing strategy, is becoming highly important in sports contexts. Among various methods undertaken to brand teams, utilization of star athletes has been prevailing (i.e., star athletes have been at the forefront of team branding). However, the effect of star athletes in team branding is derived from star athletes and is seldom team selected or controlled branding. In other words, it is largely unknown how teams (from their perspective) can use athletes (particularly non-superstar athletes) in team branding and what its consequences are. Therefore, the aim of this dissertation was to investigate the role of athlete in team branding. Particularly, this research examined the effect of athlete-team brand personality alignment on overall team evaluation and team brand equity. The current research used two 2 x 2 between-subjects analyses in an experimental setting (Study 1 and 2) and a field study (Study 3) to explore the effect of athlete-team brand personality alignment on fan responses—overall team evaluation and customer-based team brand equity.
Study 1 empirically demonstrated that athlete-team brand personality alignment increases overall team evaluation and customer-based team brand equity, with more pronounced result for unfamiliar teams. Study 2 also showed the effect of brand personality alignment, while hypothesized interaction effect of alignment and athlete familiarity was not supported. Finally, Study 3 revealed that fans' perceived interaction quality positively moderates the effect of athlete-team brand personality alignment. This research is the first to demonstrate how teams can leverage their most influential human brands (i.e., athletes) as a brand-building advantage, particularly for new or unfamiliar teams in their efforts to establish brand positioning in fans' minds. The results of the current research fill gaps in the literature and extend the body of knowledge in branding studies in general and sport team branding studies in particular. Furthermore, this dissertation yielded practical and managerial implications for understanding the role of athletes in team branding appeals.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Ⅰ. Introduction 1
• 1. Problem statement 1
• 2. Purpose of the study 6
• 3. Significance of the study 7
• 4. Definition of terms 9
• Ⅱ. Literature review 11
• 1. Brand personality 11
• 1) Brand personality measurement 15
• 2) Brand personality versus brand image 16
• 2. Team branding 18
• 3. Athlete as a human brand 21
• 4. Team branding through athletes 24
• 1) Athlete brand personality as states 28
• 2) Team and athlete brand personality measures 29
• 5. Alignment 31
• 1) The emergence of service-centricity 31
• 2) Strategic alignment 33
• 6. Moderating variables and control variables 36
• 1) Brand familiarity 36
• 2) Interaction quality 38
• 3) Involvement 40
• 4) Likeability 41
• 5) Perceived quality 43
• 7. Overview of the current research 43
• Ⅲ. Preliminary study 45
• 1. Overview of the study 45
• 2. Method 46
• 3. Findings 51
• 1) Perceptions of utilizing athletes as a tool for team branding 51
• 2) Contextual factors with moderating effect 52
• 4. Discussion 52
• Ⅳ. Conceptual development and hypotheses 55
• 1. The effect of athlete-team brand personality alignment 55
• 2. The moderating role of team and athlete familiarity 59
• 3. The moderating role of interaction quality 61
• Ⅴ. Study 1 66
• 1. Overview of the study 66
• 2. Method 68
• 1) Pretesting and contents of the stimulus material 68
• 2) Procedure 74
• 3) Covariates 75
• 4) Measurement 77
• 5) Data analysis 81
• 3. Results 82
• 1) Internal consistency (scale reliability) 82
• 2) Manipulation check 83
• 3) Preliminary analysis 85
• 4) Effect of athlete-team brand personality alignment on overall team evaluation and customer-based team brand equity 88
• 5) Athlete-team brand personality alignment x team familiarity interaction 88
• 4. Discussion 90
• Ⅵ. Study 2 92
• 1. Overview of the study 92
• 2. Method 94
• 1) Pretesting and contents of the stimulus material 94
• 2) Procedure 98
• 3) Measurement 99
• 4) Data analysis 100
• 3. Results 101
• 1) Internal consistency (scale reliability) 101
• 2) Manipulation check 101
• 3) Preliminary analysis 103
• 4) Effect of athlete-team brand personality alignment on overall team evaluation and customer-based team brand equity 106
• 5) Athlete-team brand personality alignment x athlete familiarity interaction 106
• 4. Discussion 107
• Ⅶ. Study 3 110
• 1. Overview of the study 110
• 2. Method 111
• 1) Sample and data collection 111
• 2) Control variables 114
• 3) Measurement 114
• 4) Data analysis 116
• 3. Results 119
• 1) Internal consistency and CFA 119
• 2) Effect of athlete-team brand personality alignment on overall team evaluation and customer-based team brand equity 121
• 3) Moderating effect of team familiarity on alignment-team evaluation / team brand equity relationship 121
• 4) Moderating effect of athlete familiarity on alignment-team evaluation / team brand equity relationship 123
• 5) Moderating effect of interaction quality on alignment-team evaluation / team brand equity relationship 124
• 4. Discussion 125
• Ⅷ. General discussion 128
• 1. Theoretical implications 130
• 2. Managerial implications 132
• 3. Limitations and future research 135
• Ⅸ. Conclusion 138
• References 139
• Appendix 159
• Appendix A 159
• Appendix B 160
• Appendix C 162
• Appendix D 165
• 국문 초록 168