King James holds court: A qualitative examination of the athlete brand community phenomenon
Issue Date
2019-05-31Author
Taniyev, Olzhas
Publisher
University of Kansas
Format
217 pages
Type
Dissertation
Degree Level
Ph.D.
Discipline
Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences
Rights
Copyright held by the author.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
While superstar athletes’ relatable personalities, on-field achievements, and attractive brand image facilitate a direct connection with the target demographic, little is known about how this indelible bond manifests itself in athlete brand communities. The literature concerning identification among like-minded consumers through systematic functions in athlete brand communities and associated psychological benefits is virtually non-existent. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the practices of consumers within an athlete brand community, relationships with the focal athlete brand, and multifaceted emotional benefits derived from shared community experiences. The author conducted 31 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with purposefully selected members of a LeBron James fan club and analyzed related documents associated with the studied athlete brand community. Four prevalent themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews including athlete brand community adoption, culture, ideological uniformity, and sustainable development. This endeavor represented an initial attempt to explore how brand communities function in the context of athletes as focal brands.
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