The Influence of Team Social Responsibility in the Attitudinal Loyalty of Football Fans: The Mediating Role of Team Identity and Team Trust

Abstract

This study examines the mediating role of team trust and identity variables in the relationship between the corporate social responsibility of the team and attitudinal loyalty among Iranian Premier League football fans. The relationships between variables were analyzed using variance-based structural equation modelling on the 357 valid online questionnaires submitted by Iranian football fans. The findings revealed that team social responsibility positively affects team trust, team identity, and fan attitudinal loyalty. The role of team trust and identity mediating variables between team social responsibility and fan attitudinal loyalty was also confirmed. This study empirically demonstrates the important role of CSR to football fans in observing their team. The results of this study provide compelling evidence of the significant contribution that CSR makes to football fans’ perceptions of the images of their teams.

Keywords:

• Team identity
• team social responsibility
• Iranian football
• team trust
• attitudinal loyalty

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

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111 Iglesias et al., ‘Co-creation’; Lacey and Kennett-Hensel, ‘Longitudinal Effects of Corporate’; Martínez and Del Bosque, ‘CSR and Customer Loyalty’.

112 Raza et al., ‘Linking Corporate Social Responsibility’.

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114 Inoue et al., ‘Predicting Behavioral Loyalty’.

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121 Yun et al., ‘Drivers of Soccer Fan Loyalty’.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Saeed Sadeghi Boroujerdi

Saeed SADEGHI BOROUJERDI is a full professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences of the University of Kurdistan. His research interests include organizational behavior and sports marketing in various sports management fields. Currently, his research focuses on topics such as the support and behavior of football fans, media and social networks in sports, economy and corruption in sports, and sports rights.

Hossein Mansouri

Hossein MANSOURI has a PhD in sports management from the University of Kurdistan, Iran. His research interests include, social issues, qualitative research, sports governance, consumer behavior and sports industry policy.

Siti Hasnah Hassan

Siti HASNAH HASSAN is an Associate Professor specializing in marketing at the School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia. A dedicated researcher, she strives to deepen the understanding of the intersection of consumer behavior and marketing. Her research explorations delve into convergence and divergence in consumption patterns, consumer well-being, the digital realm of food culture and lifestyle, Islamic marketing and branding, hijab fashion, halal marketing, religious tourism, and advanced qualitative research techniques, including grounded theory and mixed methods.

Zeinab Nadri

Zeinab NADRI has a Master’s degree in sports management from Kurdistan University, Iran. His research interests include organizational behavior in sports and sports marketing.