Netnography on football : fans online attitudes towards football

• Autor(a) principal: Xavier, Bernardo Maria Torgal da Gama Lobo
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/29023
• topic: Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Economia e Gestão

This study aims to understand the behavior of football fans within online communities. What is intended is to understand how people live the daily life of clubs, what influence sports have in their well-being and how they interact with each other using online platforms. The approach used to conduct the study was Netnography. A qualitative tool of marketing studies conducted through the analysis of high volumes of data collected online. The data collected during the study were treated using a thematic approach in which it was possible to disclose the main themes of the research based on the collected volumes of information. The results suggest that there is a quasi-religious nature in football. Clubs appear to be as cults followed by legions of loyal fans. It was possible to discern a recurrence of verbal violence and that this appears through people subject to doses of frustration. This disillusionment may have internal or external sources. That is, it may stem from unpleasant news related to the club object of support or from the success of the rival club. After presenting several conclusions, the report highlights some implications of this behavior. At the end of the dissertation some improvement opportunities for clubs are disclosed based on the supporters' complaints and some suggestions are provided for the moderation of the conflict and hostility.