Fan response to the identity threat of potential team relocation |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Tourism, Recreation, and Sport Management, University of Florida, Florida Gym 304, P.O. Box 118208, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA;2. University of Massachusetts Amherst, Isenberg School of Management, 121 Presidents Drive, Isenberg 255D, Amherst, MA 01003, USA;1. Department of Economics and Statistics, University of Udine, Via Tomadini, 30/A 33100 Udine, Italy;2. Department of Management, University of Bologna, Via Capo di Lucca, 34 40126 Bologna, Italy;1. Audencia Business School, Department of Management, 95, Rue Falguière, 75015, Paris, France;2. University of Bayreuth, Faculty of Law, Business and Economics, Department of Service Management, Universitaetsstrasse 30, D-95447, Bayreuth, Germany;3. La Trobe University, La Trobe Business School, Department of Management Sport and Tourism, Melbourne, Victoria, 3550, Australia;1. North Carolina State University, Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management, Box 8004, Biltmore Hall, Raleigh, NC 27606, United States;3. Bangkok University International, Bangkok University, Rama IV Road, Kluay Nam Thai, Bangkok 10110, Thailand;1. Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 4QP, United Kingdom;2. The University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, Australia;1. University of Stirling, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, Pathfoot Building, FK9 4LA, Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom;2. Manchester Metropolitan University, Department of Economics, Policy and International Business, All Saints Building, All Saints, M15 6BH, Manchester, England, United Kingdom |
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| Abstract: | Group identities do not remain stable over time and team identity is no exception. As researchers have acknowledged team identity formation and maintenance as ongoing processes, it is equally important to explore how fans navigate threats to team identity. The purpose of this study is to understand how fans’ team identity was impacted by identity threat. The authors used digital ethnography to investigate how fans of the National Football League (NFL) Rams processed the identity threat presented by the team’s potential cross-country relocation from St. Louis, Missouri to Los Angeles, California. Based on analysis of fans’ real-time responses (via online discussion board), the authors found that fans’ team identity changed in meaning and importance as a result of the threat. The findings have theoretical implications for the study of team identification, particularly concerning the evaluative nature of identity, the relationship between team and place identity, and the inclusiveness of the group in team identity. |
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| Keywords: | Consumer behaviour Identity threat Team identification Digital ethnography |
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