Marie-Françoise Lacassagne

International place branding through sporting events: a British perspective of the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Abstract The goal of this study is to examine if hosting major sporting events represents a relevant strategy to brand a place ‘internationally’ through brand association transfer and to identify whether or not it should be seen as co-branding process. Based on social representation theory and an abductive research strategy, a survey was carried out among British citizens to identify their opinions about the Olympic Games and the city of Beijing following the organisation of the Games in August 2008. The content and the structure of the social representations were analysed and then compared to determine whether or not a double transfer of associations occurred between the place and the sporting event. The analysis concludes that although there was a transfer of elements from the sporting event to the place, few clearly positive elements were transferred and several negative associations remain. The results do not explicitly corroborate the transfer of associations from the place to the sporting event. The paper confirms the value of sporting events in place branding strategies but highlights some limitations such as the transfer of negative elements and the lack of media control. It also highlights the importance of the place selection process to protect the sporting brand.

Basking in Reflected Glory and Blasting Differences in Identity-Management Strategies Between Two Groups of Highly Identified Soccer Fans

This study examines, in soccer fanzines, two identity-management strategies—basking in reflected glory (BIRGing) and blasting—of two groups of highly identified soccer fans with allegiance to the same team. Results show strong support for the BIRG phenomenon among both ultra fan groups but little evidence of the blasting phenomenon among either group. The implications of these findings are discussed in regard to social identity management among sports fans.

Brand social representations: strategic perspectives for a fitness club

The aim of this study was to identify an accurate tool to enable fitness club managers to discover those opinions or stereotypes which represent obstacles to joining their organisations. Starting with brand image, the analysis then considered social representations as relevant constructs for apprehending these opinions or prejudices. The use of a word association task and the model of basic cognitive schemes (Rouquette, 1990; 1994) provided access to the salient elements of the social representations of a particular sport brand and the way they are structured. The procedure combining these two stages represented a diagnostic tool for identifying the attractive and unattractive aspects of a French fitness club brand, which enabled the proposal of advice to the manager in terms of strategic and operational marketing orientations for recruiting new members.

Identity Crossbreeding in Soccer Fan Groups: A Social Approach. The Case of Marseille (France)

The object of this investigation was to clarify certain mechanisms of identity categorization by studying, from a sociohistorical and psychological perspective, two groups of soccer fans from the city of Marseille. Through this pluralistic social approach, a more precise differentiation of the types of identity construction for both groups was able to be determined. Each type is the product of identity crossbreeding, dependant on specific social, historical and psychological factors. The “Commando Ultra” (“CU”) group develops a conservative attitude in that its national culture becomes a reference criterion for ethnocentric fans. The fan group, “South Winners” (“SW”) develops a syncretistic attitude for regional fans who defend the multicultural identity of Marseille.

Refining the relationship between ingroup identification and identity management strategies in the sport context: The moderating role of gender and the mediating role of negative mood

The aim of this exploratory research was to refine the relationship between ingroup identification and three classical identity-management strategies: individual mobility, social competition and social creativity. More specifically, in the particular context of sport spectators’ reactions to their team loss, we tested the moderating role of gender in differentiating the use of CORFing (distancing) strategy and the mediating role of negative mood in differentiating the use of social competition and social creativity strategies. To this end, 173 French physical education students were asked to watch an edited video clip about a defeat of the French national rugby union team. As expected, and consistent with past research, results first showed that the amount of team identification is a reliable determinant of the participants’ choice of an identity management strategy. Highly identified spectators were more associated with engaging themselves in ingroup-protective behaviors (i.e., blasting and boosting) than spectators low in team identification who, in contrast, privileged distancing strategies (i.e., CORFing). Moreover, results revealed that participant’s gender moderates the link between ingroup identification and CORFing strategy, and that negative mood mediates the ingroup identification—blasting strategy relationship. Theoretical implications of these moderating and mediating effects are then discussed.

Parents’ Perceptions of Their Involvement in Their Child’s Sport Activity A Propositional Analysis of Discourse

The aim of this study was twofold: (a) to examine how parents perceive their involvement in their child’s sport activity and (b) to compare these perceptions according to the stage of the child’s sport participation. Using a qualitative design, 36 French parents of young tennis players were interviewed with a semistructured format. Transcriptions were analyzed by means of the propositional analysis of discourse, which permits, through the use of linguistic indicators, taking into account semantic and syntactic features. Results indicated that parents of noncompetitive tennis players talked negatively about their own (tangible) involvement and perceived tennis as a leisure-time activity, whereas parents of competitive players considered that both mother and father supported their child (through use of “we” pronouns used in discourses) in this activity.

Black German Identities: Validating the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity

This study examines the reliability and validity of a German version of the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI) in a sample of 170 Black Germans. The internal consistencies of all subscales are at least moderate. The factorial structure of the MIBI, as assessed by principal component analysis, corresponds to a high degree to the supposed underlying dimensional structure. Construct validity was examined by analyzing (a) the intercorrelations of the MIBI subscales and (b) the correlations of the subscales with external variables. Predictive validity was assessed by analyzing the correlations of three MIBI subscales with the level of intra-racial contact. All but one prediction concerning the correlations of the subscales could be confirmed, suggesting high validity. No statistically significant negative association was observed between the Black nationalist and assimilationist ideology subscales. This result is discussed as a consequence of the specific social context Black Germans live in and is not considered to lower the MIBI’s validity. Observed differences in mean scores to earlier studies of African American racial identity are also discussed.

Effects of personal goal management program on school and football self- determination motivation and satisfaction of newcomers within a football training centre.

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a personal goal-based intervention on school and football self-determination motivation and satisfaction of newcomers within football training centres. Twenty-three trainees were divided randomly into two groups, either a treatment group or a control group. The treatment proposed to the participants was the Personal Goal Management Program. Trainees’ school and football motivation and satisfaction were measured before, during and after the intervention. Results indicated a beneficial influence on football motivation and satisfaction, and overall trainee satisfaction. Methodological and applied suggestions are made to favour adjustment of newcomers within football training centre.

Understanding the consequences of victory amongst sport spectators: The mediating role of BIRGing

Abstract Prior work on the relationships between team identification and spectators’ reactions to ones team victory has largely neglected the potential effects of mediating variables. In this research, we proposed that the process of Basking in Reflected Glory [BIRGing – the tendency to reduce the distance between oneself and ones team; Cialdini, R. B., Bordon, R. J., Thorne, A., Walker, M. R., Freeman, S., & Sloan, L. R. (1976). Basking in reflected glory: Three (football) field studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 366–375] would lead spectators to almost take ownership of victories and share its benefits, thereby impacting their sense of national belonging in a positive manner. To this end, participants (N = 73) were asked to watch an edited video clip showing a victory of the French national rugby team playing against South Africa. As expected, results revealed that BIRGing mediated the relationship between team identification and ones sense of national belonging. In closing, a number of implications are discussed along with future research avenues pertaining to the sport spectatorship literature.

Importance des parents dans l'environnement social de jeunes joueurs de tennis : comparaison entre les années d'échantillonnage et les années de spécialisation

La presente etude compare la perception de l’environnement social de jeunes joueurs de tennis, dans leur activite sportive, selon leur niveau de pratique (annees d’echantillonnage et annees de specialisation) et, plus precisement, la place des parents, dans ce paysage social. Les travaux anterieurs sur la famille ayant montre, d’une part, le role non negligeable des parents, au cours de chacune des etapes de la longue periode de formation de l’athlete, vers le haut niveau (regle des 10 ans de pratique deliberee) (Bloom, 1985 ; Cote, 1999 ; Ericsson, Krampe et Tesch-Romer, 1993) et, d’autre part, l’influence des comportements parentaux sur certaines variables psychologiques (stress, plaisir, motivation, anxiete) et comportementales de l’enfant (persistance/abandon, performance), il etait suppose que les parents occuperaient une place importante dans l’environnement social du joueur et, d’autant plus, si ce dernier evolue en annees de specialisation. Les donnees ont ete recueillies aupres de 102 jeunes joueurs de tennis, a l’aide d’une methode d’association verbale libre permettant une spontaneite des reponses. Les resultats ne semblent pas corroborer les etudes anterieures mettant en evidence une place reculee des parents, par rapport a d’autres membres tels que les champions, les entraineurs et les partenaires de jeu.