The Impact of Social Media Capabilities on Attracting Customers to Sports Clubs Considering the Mediating Role of User Trust

Subject Areas :

Hamid Reza Moein ¹ , Ali Zakerian ²

1 - Master's student in sports management, Tolouemehr Qom University, Qom, Iran
2 - Assistant Professor of Physical Education Department, Tolouemehr Qom University, Qom, Iran

Received: 2024-09-09 Accepted : 2024-12-01 Published : 2025-03-10

Keywords: Social Media Capabilities, Customer Attraction, Sports Clubs, User Trust,

Abstract :

The aim of this study is to determine the impact of social media capabilities on attracting customers to sports clubs, considering the mediating role of user trust. The statistical population of this study includes all active men and women in bodybuilding and martial arts sports clubs in Kashan city. The exact number of the statistical population was not determined. Due to the researcher's lack of access to the complete population, 384 individuals were randomly selected as a sample according to Morgan's table. The research instruments included the Customer Trust Questionnaire by Alsad et al. (2017), the Customer Attraction to Sports Clubs Questionnaire by Fallah et al. (2019), and the Social Media Capabilities Questionnaire by Dastgheib et al. (2019). Data analysis from this research was conducted using SPSS software version 24 and PLS software version 4, at both descriptive and inferential statistical levels. In the descriptive statistics section, characteristics such as frequency and percentage were used, while structural equation modeling was used in the inferential statistics section. The results of the study showed that the coefficient of the relationship between social media capabilities and customer attraction is 0.439, with a t-value of 9.172, which is greater than 1.96. Therefore, social media capabilities have an impact on attracting customers to sports clubs. The results also showed that the coefficient of the relationship between social media capabilities and customer trust is 0.255, with a t-value of 4.465, which is greater than 1.96. Therefore, social media capabilities have an impact on customer trust in sports clubs. Furthermore, customer trust acts as a mediating variable between social media capabilities and customer attraction to sports clubs.

References:

آقایی فر، آرش. (1390). بررسی اثر بازاریابی خیرخواهانه کالاهای مصرفی بر نگرش نسبت به برند و قصد خرید برند، پایان‌نامه کارشناسی ارشد، دانشگاه تهران
باکری، مجتبی. (1399). بررسی تأثیر بازاریابی رسانه‌های اجتماعی بر وفاداری برند با توجه به نقش میانجی اعتماد مشتری (مطالعه موردی: مشتریان شعب بیمه آسیا در شهر ساری)، اولین کنفرانس بین‌المللی چالش‌ها و راهکارهای نوین در مهندسی صنایع و مدیریت و حسابداری، ساری
تازیکه، مهیا و زینعلی تاجانی، فاطمه. (1399). تأثیر بازاریابی رسانه‌های اجتماعی بر اعتماد به برند و وفاداری مشتریان (موردمطالعه: بانک پارسیان)، چهارمین کنفرانس ملی پژوهش در حسابداری و مدیریت، تهران
دهدشتی شاهرخ، زهره و ناصحی فر، وحید و خاشعی، وحید و دانش پرور، میترا. (1398). نقش عوامل اجتماعی و فرهنگی در رفتار خرید مصرف‌کنندگان در شبکه‌های اجتماعی. فصلنامه مطالعات مدیریت کسب‌وکار هوشمند، دوره: 7، شماره: 28
غفوریان شاگردی، امیر، دانشمند، بهناز، بهبودی، امید. (1396). تأثیر بازاریابی شبکه‌های اجتماعی بر وفاداری برند و قصد خرید مصرف‌کنندگان. تحقیقات بازاریابی نوین، 7(3): 175-190.
قهرمان، راشین و یزدی، هانیه و جبلی نایینی، زهرا. (1396). بخش‌بندی مشتریان بر اساس واکنش آن‌ها به بازاریابی شبکه‌های اجتماعی (مطالعه موردی: اینستاگرام)، کنگره بین‌المللی علوم و مهندسی.




Achen,R.M. (2017).Measuring Social Media Marketing: Moving Towards Relationship Marketing Methods. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 40. 58-66.
Adams and Wiswell . (2008). Further? Of Organizational trust factors, Virginia, polytechnic? Institute and state University.
Almeida, M. I. S. D., Coelho, R. L. F., Oliveira, D. S. D., Camargo, A., & Savioli, P. Sales-based Brand Equity as a Performance Driver in ‘The Country of Soccer’. Revista de Administração Contemporânea,2020, 24(2), 134-150.
Al-Nsour, I. A. Effect Of Brand Enhancement On Buying Behavior Towards The Sport Sponsorship Companies In Riyadh, Ksa. International Journal of Business, 2020, 7(2), 110-119.
Behnam, M., Anagnostopoulos, C., Byers, T., & Papadimitriou, D. A. (2023). The impact of perceived corporate social responsibility on value-in-use through customer engagement in non-profit sports clubs: The moderating role of co-production. European Sport Management Quarterly, 23(3), 789-810.‏
Bulovic, N., & Seric, N. (2021). Creating a brand on the identity of a sports club: Preliminary report creating a brand on the identity of a sports club. Sport Mont, 19(2), 65-68.‏
Chu, S. C., Lien, C. H., & Cao, Y. (2019). Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on WeChat: Examining the influence of sense of belonging, need for self-enhancement, and consumer engagement on Chinese travellers’ eWOM. International Journal of Advertising, 38(1), 26-49.
Chu, S.-C., and J. Kim. (2018). the current state of knowledge on electronic word-of-mouth in advertising research. International Journal of Advertising, 37(1), 1–13.
Dan J. Kima, Yong I. Songb, S.B. Braynovc, H.R. Raod, “ A multidimensional trust formation model in B-to-C e-commerce: a conceptual framework and content analyses of academia/practitioner perspectives” Decision support systems, (Article in press), 2004.
Darvishi, December, The Impact of Brand Awareness, Brand Mental Image and Perceived Brand Service Quality on Brand Equity in Iranian Banking Industry, Monetary & Banking Development,2014. 2 (2), 1-22.
Durkin, M., McGowan, P., & McKeown, N. (2013). Exploring social media adoption in small to medium-sized enterprises in Ireland. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 20(4), 716-734.
Eagleman, A.N., (2013) Acceptance, motivations, and usage of social media as a marketing communications tool amongst employees of sport national governing bodies. Sport Management Review, 16(4): p. 488-497.
Eijlers, E. (2020). Emotional Experience and Advertising Effectiveness: on the use of EEG in marketing (No. EPS-2020-487-MKT).
Farache, F., Perks, K. J., Wanderley, L. S. O., & Sousa Filho, J. M. D. (2008)." Cause related marketing: consumers' perceptions and benefits for profit and non-profits organisations ". BAR-Brazilian Administration Review, 5(3), 210-224.
G.L. Urban, F. Sultan, W.J. Qualls, “ Placing trust at the center of your Internet strategy” Sloan Management Review, Vol 42, No 1, pp 39– 48, 2000.
Gambetta, Diego (1988). Trust: Marking and Breaking Cooperative Relations.
Geffen, D. “ Reflections on the Dimensions of Trust and Trustworthiness among Online Consumers” ACM Special Interest Group on Management Information Systems,Vol 33, No 3, PPS 38-53, 2002.
German, Ana-Mria& Moldovan, Elena; Decision-Making Process and Brands in Sport Environments, The International Journal Of Business & Management 2016, (ISSN 2321–8916)
Jung, H., S., Jin, B. E. How far can brands go to defend themselves? The extent of negative publicity impact on proactive consumer behaviors and brand equity. Business Ethics: A European Review, 2020.29(1), 193-211.
Kang, J. (2020). The Effect of Ad Skepticism and Celebrity Preference on Brand Attitude Change in Celebrity‐Endorsed Advertising. Japanese Psychological Research, 62(1), 26-38
Kocoglu, B., Sertbas, K., Gonener, U., Uzuner, M. E., & Gonener, A. Investigation of social media usage and sports brand preferences of Kocaeli university students. Journal of Physical Education and Sport,2020, 20(2), 839-847.
Kumar, P., & Singh, G. Using Social Media and Digital Marketing Tools and Techniques for Developing Brand Equity with Connected Consumers. In Handbook of Research on Innovations in Technology and Marketing for the Connected Consumer (pp. 336-355). 2020. IGI Global.
Li, T., Hao, L., Kubiczek, J., & Pietrzyk, A. (2022). Corporate social responsibility of sports club in the era of coronavirus pandemic. ZagłeRbie Sosnowiec case study. Economic research-Ekonomska istraživanja, 35(1), 2073-2092.‏
Na, S., Kunkel, T., & Doyle, J. Exploring athlete brand image development on social media: the role of signalling through source credibility. European Sport Management Quarterly,2020, 20(1), 88-108.
Nuseir, M. T. (2019). The impact of electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) on the online purchase intention of consumers in the Islamic countries–a case of (UAE). Journal of Islamic Marketing. 10(3), 759-767.
Olsen, G. D., Pracejus, J. W., & Brown, N. R. (2013). " When profit equals price: consumer confusion about donation amounts in cause-related marketing ". Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 22(2), 170-180.
Pereira da Mota, C., & Botella-Carrubi, D. (2018). Digital Marketing: The Relationship Between Real Madrid Actions and Brand Promotion and Customer Loyalty b Digital Marketing: . Journal of Business Research, 109, 76-87.
Popovic, S. Beliefs about the influence on attitudes of turkish university students toward advertising through sport. Sport Mont, 2019,17(2), 9-15.
Reed, D. W., Booth, B., Russell, D., & Laughlin, P. R. (1997). Personality, social networks, and perceived social support among alcoholics: A structural equation analysis. Journal of personality, 65 (3), 649-692.
Sallinen, J. (2020). Brand Extension Impact on Parent Brand Equity: A European Perspective: Cross-cultural Analysis of Extending a Football League Brand to eSports. osuva.uwasa.fi. 2020.
Samur, S. (2021). The Effects of Web-Based Technologies on Marketing Activities of Professional Sports Clubs. Journal of Educational Issues, 7(1), 546-564.‏
Sánchez, Á. J., Ruiz, E. C. V., Villalba, V. H. G., & Sánchez, M. R. F. Analysis of the Approach to Online Advertising of Leading Sportswear Brands. In Management and Inter/Intra Organizational Relationships in the Textile and Apparel Industry.2020. (pp. 241-262). IGI Global.
Shabbir, S., Kaufmann, H. R., Ahmad, I., & Qureshi, I. M. (2012)." Cause related marketing campaigns and consumer purchase intentions: The mediating role of brand awareness and corporate image ". African Journal of Business Management, 4(6), 1229-123
Shockley- Zalabak, P., Ellis, K., & Cesarria, R. (1999). Measuring Organizational Trust the international Association of business comunicatiors research foundation.
Widawska-Stanisz, A. (2021). Internal customer in the management of sports and recreation company. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 21, 1943-1949.‏
Wiese, M., Martínez-Climent, C., & Botella-Carrubi, D. (2020). A framework for Facebook advertising effectiveness: A behavioral perspective. Journal of Business Research, 109, 76-87.
Yang, S., Carlson, J. R., & Chen, S. (2020). How augmented reality affects advertising effectiveness: The mediating effects of curiosity and attention toward the ad. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 54, 102020.
Yuliyzar, I. The Increasing Consumer Interest in Buying Through Electronic and Endorsement Advertising Media in Tangerang City Sport Mall Shop. osf.io.2020, 11(6).154-168
Zhao, W. E. I., & Ji, C. H. E. N. (2019). The Application of Emotion Creative Strategy in Advertising Design. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, 9(10), 1088-1092.
Zhou, F., Mou, J., Su, Q., & Wu, Y. C. J. (2020). How does consumers' Perception of Sports Stars' Personal Brand Promote Consumers’ brand love? A mediation model of global brand equity. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 54, 102-120.