The role of social identity in creating brand value: A comparison of Fenerbahçe and Panathinaikos fan groups

The point where sports have become so important for individuals, they have started to become extremely important for teams as well. One of the most important elements of the brand value that the clubs try to create is the fans. Fans have become indispensable, especially in team sports. At this point, the added value created by the fan groups for their teams is not limited to the support they give and the atmosphere they create. The team culture that the fans create when they come together is a reflection of their social identity. Social identity is when individuals identify themselves with the characteristics of the community they belong to. Individuals use the positive characteristics of their supporter groups to express themselves in society. Today, many fan groups have gained as much recognition as their teams with their performances. In fact, these supporter groups expect team athletes and managers to adopt their dominant characteristics and show them everywhere, on and off the field, through their social identities. It has been seen how important the fans are not only for the teams, but also for the audience, in the matches played without fans during the Covid19 process. In this process, the efforts of the clubs to bring the matches together with their fans on TV or on the internet did not yield the expected results. The brand values created by the clubs can rise with the fan groups that represent and support their brands in the best way. In this study, it was aimed to measure the effect of the social identities of Fenerbahçe and Panathinaikos basketball fan groups on the brand values of their teams. For this reason, a questionnaire study was applied to a total of 500 fans, 250 from both clubs. In the questionnaire, the scale created by Watkins (2014) by blending the scales used in previous studies. The scale was basically created based on the SIBE model. The data obtained as a result of the survey were transferred to the IBM SPPS 25.0 package program, classified and analyzed. Regression analysis was used in the hypotheses of the research. As a result of the analysis, it has been revealed that the social identities of the fans have an important role in creating brand value. The fact that the fans take their place in the stands or in front of the TV and support their teams positively affects the visibility and awareness of the clubs. The Covid19 epidemic period is one of the most important examples to explain this situation. During this period, sports clubs experienced huge decreases in their incomes and the competitions played without supporters could not be successful even though it was tried to be the center of attention with additional studies. Fans are the most important and integral part of sports competitions.