A way of being with repercussions at professional and family levels; it is a unique experience, with rituals, a pride in the club, a lifetime experience, sometimes more important than family and work.
Published in Chapter:
Consumption, Anti-Consumption and Consumption Communities: The Football Clubs and its Fans
Sandra Maria Correia Loureiro (Business Research Unit (BRU-IUL), Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Lisboa, Portugal), Ana Regina Pires (University of Aveiro, Portugal), and Ricardo Cayolla (University of Aveiro, Portugal)
Copyright: © 2014
|Pages: 27
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-5880-6.ch023
Abstract
Broadly, consumerism can be considered as a set of beliefs and values integrated into, but not exclusive to, the global market system, intended to make people believe that happiness is best achieved through possessions. In literature there are several other definitions of consumerism, consumption, anti-consumption and consumption communities. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to (i) present an overview of the research concepts, models and main theories of this topic, based on a systematic literature review and using the following databases to search information: Elsevier, Emerald, Science Direct, EBSCO, Springer, and ISI web knowledge; (ii) formulate a framework of consumption waves and anti-consumption motivations and types (iii) discuss consumption and anti-consumerism in football (soccer) context. The current study also carried out semi-structured interviews with 15 football fans with an average duration of 60 minutes each. Findings revealed four main types of anti-consumption: Global impact consumers or anti-consumption society; Selective consumption or anti-loyalists market activists; Conservative or Simplifiers; and Rejection of brand hegemony. Football fans are avid consumers of many products, such as information, knowledge, travels, tickets to matches, and diverse merchandizing from brands that sponsor the team and the club. Nevertheless, they are also selective consumers, rejecting everything connected to the rival clubs. Finally, the chapter provides insights for further research and managerial implications. In this vein, this chapter contributes to the existing literature giving insights for a better understanding of football clubs and fans as consumers and anti-consumers.