Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Fan Principle: Fans and Fan Customers

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
FANOMICS®

Part of the book series: Future of Business and Finance ((FBF))

  • 207 Accesses

Abstract

In this chapter we explain, based on the relevant social science literature, who or what a fan is in the first place and which characteristics and behaviors are typical of fans. We determine why every fan relationship is based on identification and is experienced as unique by the fan. We show that every company can have fans and develop a lean measurement tool that identifies such Fan Customers. Fan Customers, we prove, are highly satisfied and emotionally loyal customers, and we show that our Fan Portfolio makes it possible to segment the universe of customers into five groups ranging from Fans to Opponents. We prove that the Fan Rate, i.e., the percentage of fans among all customers of a company, is the much more valid metric for managing a company than customer satisfaction. At the end, we look at the Fan Rates of different industries in different countries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Cf. Göttlich and Krischke-Ramaswamy (2003) and Roose et al. (2017b). Even before the emergence of modern consumer societies and the coining of the term “fan,” “fans” probably existed - back to antiquity - albeit not in the mass-like movements of today. The “fan” is therefore not a purely modern phenomenon. Cf. the historical outlines by Schmidt-Lux (2017) and Schlicht et al. (2003, p. 236 ff.).

  2. 2.

    In some Romance languages, too, the loanword “fan” was adopted into everyday language only through the U.S. model, although the word root “fanaticus” existed there before (e.g., “fanatico” in Spanish).

  3. 3.

    In the social sciences, “cultural property” is also understood to mean any man-made product, artifact, or social phenomenon.

  4. 4.

    This also makes it intuitively plausible why young people, of all people, often exhibit particularly pronounced fan behavior: they are in the life phase of the search for identity.

  5. 5.

    Schlicht et al. (2003, p. 140) even speak of the fan building “part of his self-concept from his connection to the star.”

  6. 6.

    Cf. Greenberg et al. (2021).

  7. 7.

    On the motives of sports fans, see Gabler (2002).

  8. 8.

    In this context, the choice of the star in a globalized and mediatized world is becoming more and more culture-unspecific, cf. Roose (2017) as well as Ohr (2017).

  9. 9.

    This also explains why there are supposedly so few fans, even though anyone can become a fan: Because biographical coincidence is required to come across the corresponding offer.

  10. 10.

    “Only on father’s shoulders, I could see something, and immediately it was done around me ... My new heroes, the eleven in red and white ... Mainz 05, love of my life ... ” Piranhas R. (2004)

  11. 11.

    As Melnick and Wann (2011) show, male socialization agents are frequently the trigger for a fan relationship in sports.

  12. 12.

    In an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung, singer Roger Daltrey explains how it came about in the first place that the destruction of instruments became a trademark of The Who: “The people in the club where we were performing suddenly began to stomp as if hypnotized. It made Pete Townshend a little nervous. He was banging the neck of his guitar against the amplifier. Our manager Kit Lambert was pleased. From then on, Pete had to do it all the time for now.” (Winkler 2010, p. 2).

  13. 13.

    Initially, this approach was anything but profitable: the cost of smashed instruments and amplifiers far exceeded the band’s fees, cf. Winkler (2010, p. 2).

  14. 14.

    From the Süddeutsche Zeitung interview: “But you were a mod!” Daltrey: “No, I played the mod”. (Quoted from Winkler 2010, p. 3).

  15. 15.

    For a detailed discussion of fandom over lifetime see Lee Harrington and Bielby (2010), Tamir (2022).

  16. 16.

    The fact that Ronaldo moved on from Turin to Manchester after a few years, on the other hand, did not smell of betrayal to Turin fans: Ronaldo had come as a Mercenary, and that’s how he left the club.

  17. 17.

    Roger Daltrey: “They did not come for the music then, but because they wanted to watch Pete sacrifice the guitar,” quoted from Winkler (2010, p 2).

  18. 18.

    Roger Daltrey: “At some point, however, it became not merely expensive but also troublesome,” quoted from Winkler (2010, p. 2).

  19. 19.

    This willingness to suffer even includes health risks, cf. Kohlmann and Eschenbeck (2009, pp. 635–680).

  20. 20.

    On fear of failure due to spectator influence, see Alfermann (2000, pp. 65–109) and Alfermann and Würth (2008, pp. 719–778); on athlete motivation due to fans, see Daschmann (2014, pp. 46–62).

  21. 21.

    Bernhard Gneithing, former Marketing Director of Harley-Davidson Germany (quoted from Ilg 2009).

  22. 22.

    B2B (“business-to-business”) refers to a business relationship between companies. Both the supplier and the customer are companies. B2C (“business-to-consumer”), on the other hand, refers to the classic customer relationship between a provider company and a private consumer.

  23. 23.

    The fact that increased satisfaction generates loyalty in the long term is an untested assumption even in the relevant management science literature (cf. e.g., Homburg 2016).

  24. 24.

    For details of the methodological approach, the companies studied, and the complete findings of Fanfocus Germany, see also the German edition of this book (Becker and Daschmann 2022, p. 55ff).

  25. 25.

    In the social sciences, this subjective absoluteness of judgment is called the Thomas theorem: “If men define situations as real, they’re real in their consequences” (Thomas and Thomas 1928).

  26. 26.

    Due to this fuzziness, research approaches which identify fans by self-assessment always have a limited construct validity (e.g. Wann and Branscombe 1993; Wann 2002).

References

  • 20min.ch (2018) Millionen verdient: Juve hat schon 520.000 Ronaldo-Trikots verkauft [Millions earned: Juve has already sold 520,000 Ronaldo jerseys]. https://www.20min.ch/story/juve-hat-schon-520-000-ronaldo-trikots-verkauft-808069671351. Accessed 24 June 2021

  • 2HMforum (2021) Fanfocus Germany. https://2hmforum.de/leistungen/branchenfokus/fanfocus-deutschland/. Accessed 24 June 2021

  • Akremi L, Hellmann K-U (2017) Fans and consumption. In: Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 273–292

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Alfermann D (2000) Social processes in sport. In: Gabler H, Nitsch JR, Singer R (eds) Einführung in die Sportpsychologie [Introduction to sport psychology]. Teil 2: Anwendungsfelder [Part 2: Fields of application]. Karl Hofmann, Schondorf, pp 65–109

    Google Scholar 

  • Alfermann D, Würth S (2008) Group processes and intergroup relations. In: Schlicht W, Strauß B (eds) Grundlagen der Sportpsychologie [Foundations of sports psychology]. Encyclopedia of psychology, area D, series V, vol 1. Hogrefe, Göttingen, pp 719–778

    Google Scholar 

  • Allison R, Knoester C (2021) Gender, sexual, and sports fan identities. Sociol Sport J 38(3):310–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amiot CE, Sansfacon S, Louis WR (2014) How normative and social identification processes predict self-determination to engage in derogatory behaviours against outgroup hockey fans. Eur J Soc Psychol 44(3):216–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey S (2005) Media audiences and identity: self-construction in the fan experience. Palgrave Macmillan, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Becker R, Daschmann G (2022) Das Fan-Prinzip. 3rd edn, Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett L (2012) Music fandom online: R.E.M. fans in pursuit of the ultimate first listen. New Media Soc 14(5):748–763

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benzecry CE (2011) The opera fanatic. Ethnography of an obsession. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bild newspaper (2021) 220 Millionen Euro. Ronaldo-Trikot bricht alle Verkaufs-Rekorde [220 million euros. Ronaldo jersey breaks all sales records]. https://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/fussball-international/cristiano-ronaldo-cr7-trikot-bricht-alle-verkaufs-rekorde-77644220.bild.html. Accessed 20 September 2021

  • Billings AC, Ruihley BJ (2013) Why we watch, why we play: the relationship between fantasy sport and fanship motivations. Mass Commun Soc 16(1):5–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cottingham MD (2012) Interaction ritual theory and sports fans: emotion, symbols, and solidarity. Sociol Sport J 29(2):168–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daschmann G (2007) Der Preis der Prominenz. Medienpsychologische Überlegungen zu den Wirkungen von Medienberichterstattung auf die dargestellten Akteure. [The price of celebrity. Mediapsychological considerations about the effects of media coverage on the actors portrayed]. In: Schierl T (ed) Prominenz in den Medien. Zur Genese und Verwertung von Prominenten in Sport, Wirtschaft und Kultur [Prominence in the media. On the genesis and exploitation of celebrities in sports, economic success and culture]. Von Halem, Cologne, pp 184–201

    Google Scholar 

  • Daschmann G (2014) Schneller, Höher, Weiter, Twitter? [Faster, Higher, Further - Twitter?] Der Einfluss des Social-Media-Kontakts zu Fans auf die Motivation von Spitzenportlern [The influence of social media contact with fans on the motivation of top athletes]. In: Schmidt H, Schmidt J (eds) Kommunikationsmanagement und Markenstrategien im social web [Communication management and Brand strategies in the social web]. Eimo, Berlin, pp 46–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Devlin MB, Brown KA, Brown-Devlin N, Billings AC (2020) “My country is better than yours”: delineating differences between six countries’ National Identity, fan identity, and media consumption during the 2018 Olympic games. Sociol Sport J 37(3):254–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dixon K (2013) Learning the game: football fandom culture and the origins of practice. Int Rev Soc Sport 48(3):334–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Driessen S (2022) Campaign problems: how fans react to Taylor Swift’s controversial political awakening. Am Behav Sci 66(8):1060–1074

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duffett M (2013) Introduction. In: Understanding fandom: an introduction to the study of media fan culture. Bloomsbury Academic, New York, pp 1–34

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dwyer B, Larkin B, Goebert C (2022) Fantasy sports participation and the (de)humanization of professional athletes. Sport Soc 25(10):1968–1986

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzpatrick D, Paddy H (2022) From fanzines to foodbanks: football fan activism in the age of anti-politics. Int Rev Soc Sport 57(8):1234–1252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frenzel AC, Götz T, Pekrun R (2009) Emotions. In: Wild E, Möller J (eds) Pädagogische Psychologie [Educational psychology]. Springer, Berlin, pp 205–234

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fritzsche B (2011) Pop fans. Study of a girl culture, 2nd edn. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden

    Google Scholar 

  • Fritzsche B (2017) Fans and gender. In: Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 201–218

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gabler H (2002) Motive im Sport. In: Motives in sport. Motivational psychological analyses and empirical studies. Karl Hofmann, Schondorf

    Google Scholar 

  • Gebhardt W (2017) Fans and distinction. In: Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 161–180

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Geisselhart C (2008) The Who - Maximum Rock: Die Geschichte der verrücktesten Rockband der Welt [The story of the craziest rock band in the world]. Hannibal Publishing House, Innsbruck

    Google Scholar 

  • Gemar A, Vanzella-Yang A (2022) The measure of a fan: social patterns of voracious sports following in Canada. Can Rev Sociol 59(1):76–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gillooly L, Medway D, Warnaby G, Roper S (2022) ‘To us it’s still Boundary Park’: fan discourses on the corporate (re)naming of football stadia. Soc Cult Geogr 23(9):1275–1293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Göttlich U, Krischke-Ramaswamy M (2003) Event/experience culture, leisure culture/fan. In: Hill HO (ed) Handbuch populäre Kultur [Handbook of popular culture]. J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart, pp 167–172

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gray J, Harrington CL, Sandvoss C (2007a) Fandom. Identities and communities in a mediated world. University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray J, Sandvoss C, Harrington CL (2007b) Introduction: why study fans? In: Gray J, Harrington CL, Sandvoss C (eds) Fandom. Identities and communities in a mediated world. University Press, New York, pp 1–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg DM, Matz SC, Schwartz HA, Fricke KR (2021) The self-congruity effect of music. J Pers Soc Psychol 121(6):137–151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrington CL, Bielby DD (1995) Soap fans: exploring pleasure and making meaning in everyday life. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, PA

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrington CL, Bielby DD (2010) A life course perspective on fandom. Int J Cult Stud 13(5):429–450

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Havard CT, Grieve FG, Lomenick ME (2020) Marvel, DC, and sport: investigating rivalry in the sport and comic settings. Soc Sci Q 101(3):1075–1089

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hills M (2002) Fan cultures. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Homburg C (ed) (2016) Kundenzufriedenheit [Customer satisfaction]. Concepts – methods – experiences, 9th edn. Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden

    Google Scholar 

  • Homburg C, Bucerius M (2016) Customer satisfaction as a management challenge. In: Kundenzufriedenheit [Customer satisfaction]. Concepts - methods - experiences, 9th edn. Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden, pp 53–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Homburg C, Stock-Homburg R (2016) Theoretical perspectives on customer satisfaction. In: Homburg C (ed) Kundenzufriedenheit [Customer satisfaction]. Concepts – methods – experiences, 9th edn. Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden, pp 17–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Hornby N (1992) Fever pitch. Ball fever - the story of a fan. Kiepenheuer and Witsch, Cologne

    Google Scholar 

  • Ilg P (2009) Goldene Geschäfte mit dem wilden Leben [Golden deals with wild life]. http://www.stern.de/auto/service/harley-davidson-goldene-geschaefte-mit-dem-wilden-leben-652234.html. Accessed 25 June 2021

  • Intezar H, Sullivan P (2022) Metamorphosis from exalted person to cultural symbol: a case study of the GOAT in tennis. Cult Psychol 28(3):395–412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jasny M, Lenartowicz M (2022) A war between football fans and the government from the perspective of Herbert Blumer’s collective behaviour theory. Sport Soc 25(10):1805–1830

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins H (1992) Textual poachers: television fans and participatory culture. Routledge, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins H (2007) The future of fandom. In: Gray J, Cornell S, Lee HC (eds) Fandom: identities and communities in a mediated world. University Press, New York, pp 357–364

    Google Scholar 

  • Jörissen B, Zirfas J (eds) (2010) Schlüsselwerke der Identitätsforschung [Key works in identity research]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalman-Lamb N (2021) Imagined communities of fandom: sport, spectatorship, meaning and alienation in late capitalism. Sport Soc 24(6):922–936

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kang J, Kim J, Migyeong Y, Eunil P, Minsam K, Lee M, Han J (2022) Behind the scenes of K-pop fandom: unveiling K-pop fandom collaboration network. Qual Quant 56(3):1481–1502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenny DA, Gomes SB, Kowal C (2015) The intergroup social relations model: ISRM. Group Dyn Theory Res Pract 19(3):152–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohlmann KW, Eschenbeck H (2009) Stress and stress management. In: Schlicht W, Strauß B (eds) Grundlagen der Sportpsychologie [Fundamentals of sport psychology]. Encyclopedia of psychology. Area D, Series V, vol 1. Hogrefe, Göttingen, pp 635–680

    Google Scholar 

  • König T (2002) Fankultur: Eine soziologische Studie am Beispiel des Fussballfans [Fan culture: a sociological study using the example of the soccer fan]. LIT, Münster

    Google Scholar 

  • Leistner A (2017) Fans and violence. In: Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 219–246

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Liutikas D (2011) Manifestation of identity in sport fans’ journeys. Filosofija Sociologija 22(2):214–225

    Google Scholar 

  • Maar S (2018) Fan segmentation and fan psychology. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Baden-Baden

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslow AH (1981) Motivation and personality, 12th edn. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Melnick MJ, Wann DL (2011) An examination of sport fandom in Australia: socialization, team identification, and fan behavior. Int Rev Sociol Sport 46(4):456–470

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer D (2014) Social identity complexity and sports fans. Dissertation: University of Pretoria, South Africa

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikos L (2010) The fan. In: Moebius S, Schroer S (eds) Divas, hackers, speculators: social figures of the present. Suhrkamp, Berlin, pp 108–118

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller CJ, Kuchinke L (2019) Can emotions be measured? Emotion concepts in physiology. In: Kappelhoff H, Bakels JH, Lehmann H, Schmitt C (eds) Emotionen [Emotions]. An interdisciplinary handbook. J.B. Metzler, Wiesbaden, pp 65–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers DG (2014) Psychology, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Navarro-Picado JF, Torres-Moraga EI, González-Serrano MH (2022) How are fans teams’ consumption behaviors impacted by their federations’ innovativeness perceived organizational legitimacy. Sport Soc 25(8):1545–1564

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newson M, Buhrmester M, Whitehouse H (2016) Explaining lifelong loyalty: the role of identity fusion and self-shaping group events. PLoS One 11(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0160427

  • Nimoy L (1977) I am not spock. Celestial Arts Publishing, Milbrae

    Google Scholar 

  • Nimoy L (1995) I Am Spock. Hyperion, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Noelle-Neumann E (1980) Die Schweigespirale [The spiral of silence]. Public opinion - our social skin. Piper, Munich

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohr D (2017) Fans and the media. In: Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 293–318

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver RL, Rust RT, Sajeev V (1997) Customer delight: foundations, findings, and managerial insight. J Retail 73(3):311–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osborne AC, Coombs DS (2013) Performative sport fandom: an approach to retheorizing sport fans. Sport Soc 16(5):672–681

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Otte G (2017) Fans and social structure. In: Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 57–82

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Panksepp J (1998) Affective neuroscience: the foundations of human and animal emotions. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Patera CM (2013) The hyperactive fan: characteristics of online fantasy football players. Dissertation: Minnesota State University, Mankato

    Google Scholar 

  • Piranhas R (2004) Mainz 05 – Liebe meines Lebens [Mainz 05 - Love of my life]. Label: Suppenkazper Noise Imperium, Mainz

    Google Scholar 

  • Ploeg AJ (2017) Going global: fantasy sports gameplay paradigms, fan identities and cultural implications in an international context. Eur J Cult Stud 20(6):724–743

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richards J, Parry KD, Gill F (2022) “The guys love it when chicks ask for help”: an exploration of female rugby league fans. Sport Soc 25(5):927–944

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roose J (2017) Fans and globalization. In: Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 367–388

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Roose J, Schäfer MS (2017) Fans and participation. In: Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 319–342

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) (2017a) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden

    Google Scholar 

  • Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (2017b) Introduction. Fans as an object of sociological research. In: Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives], 2nd edn. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 1–18

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (2017c) Fans in theoretical perspective. In: Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 19–38

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rullo M, Presaghi F, Livi S, Mazzuca S, Dessi R (2017) Time heals all (shallow) wounds: a lesson on forgiveness of ingroup transgressors learned by the Feyenoord vandal fans. Soc Sci 6(3):83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schäfer MS (2017) Fans and emotions. In: Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 93–114

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Scherer KR (2005) What are emotions? And how can they be measured? Soc Sci Inf 44(4):695–729

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlicht W, Strauß B et al (2003) Social psychology of sport. An introduction. In: Strauß B (ed) Sportpsychologie [Psychology of sport]. Hogrefe, Göttingen

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt-Joos S, Kampmann W (2008) Rock-Lexikon 1 and 2. Rowohlt Verlag, Hamburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt-Lux T (2017) The history of fans. In: Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 37–56

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider UF (2004) Der Januskopf der Prominenz. Zum ambivalenten Verhältnis von Privatheit und Öffentlichkeit [The Janus face of celebrity. On the ambivalent relationship between privacy and publicity]. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden

    Google Scholar 

  • Seaton W, Cranmer GA, White C, Bober J, Humphrey K, Obeng A (2022) “That’s it. I’m done with this team!”: public reactions to NFL teams’ racial activism as a function of social identity management. Commun Q 70(5):585–607

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shadmanfaat SMS, Kabiri S, Solensten B, Willits DW, Cochran J (2022) A longitudinal study of fan aggression: a test of general strain theory. Deviant Behav 43(5):543–555

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skrobanek J, Jobst S (2017) Fans and socialization. In: Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 181–200

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sorek T (2022) Sports and boycott: attitudes among Jewish Israelis. Int Rev Sociol Sport 57(8):1197–1213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Springsteen B (1980) Everybody’s got a hungry heart. The River. Columbia Records, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein J (1979) The kids are alright. Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Stever GS (2011) Fan behavior and lifespan development theory: explaining Para-social and social attachment to celebrities. J Adult Dev 18(1):1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutton FS, Knoester C (2022) U.S. women’s sport consumption and self-identified fandom: an exploration of social structural and sociocultural antecedents. Int Rev Sociol Sport 57(8):1321–1349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tague AM, Reysen S, Plante C (2020) Belongingness as a mediator of the relationship between felt stigma and identification in fans. J Soc Psychol 160(3):324–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel H, Turner JC (1986) The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In: Worchel S, Austin WG (eds) Psychology of intergroup relations. Nelson-Hall, Chicago, IL, pp 7–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Tamir I (2014) The decline of nationalism among football fans. Television New Media 15(8):741–745

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tamir I (2022) The natural life cycle of sports fans. Sport Soc 25(2):338–352

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tamir I, Galily Y, Yarchi M (2016) “Here’s hoping we get Pummeled”: anti-nationalist trends among Israeli sports fans. J Sport Soc Issues 40(1):3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tarver EC (2017) The I in team: sports fandom and the reproduction of identity. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Theodorakis ND, Wann DL, Nassis P, Luellen TB (2012) The relationship between sport team identification and the need to belong. Int J Sport Manag Mark 12(1-2):25–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas WI, Thomas DS (1928) The child in America. Behavior problems and programs. Knopf, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Tonetti LJ (2012) The experience of being a sports fan: a qualitative, phenomenological analysis of the causes and impact of sports team identification. Dissertation: Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, PA

    Google Scholar 

  • Vlada B (2022) Periphery fandom: contrasting fans’ productive experiences across the globe. J Consum Cult 22(4):889–907

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wann DL (2002) Preliminary validation of a measure for assessing identification as a sport fan: the sport fandom questionnaire. Int J Sport Manag 3:103–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Wann DL, Branscombe NR (1993) Sports fans: measuring degree of identification with the team. Int J Sport Psychol 24:1–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Wann DL, Hackathorn J, Sherman MR (2017) Testing the team identification-social psychological health model: mediational relationships among team identification, sport fandom, sense of belonging, and meaning in life. Group Dyn Theory Res Pract 21(2):94–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber R, Brand A, Koch F, Niemann A (2022) Cosmopolitans and communitarians: a typology of football fans between national and European influences. Int Rev Sociol Sport 57(4):532–551

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White FA, Newson M, Verrelli S, Whitehouse H (2021) Pathways to prejudice and outgroup hostility: group alignment and intergroup conflict among football fans. J Appl Soc Psychol 51(7):660–666

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winkler W (2010) Roger Daltrey “we probably prevented a world war,” p 2. Sueddeutsche.de, May 17, 2010. https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/roger-daltrey-wir-haben-vermutlich-einen-weltkrieg-verhindert-1.429001. Accessed 24 June 2021

  • Winter R (2017) Fans and cultural practice. In: Roose J, Schäfer MS, Schmidt-Lux T (eds) Fans. Soziologische Perspektiven [Fans. Sociological perspectives]. VS Verlag fuer Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 141–160

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Woods J, Lee Ludvigsen JA (2022) The changing faces of fandom? Exploring emerging ‘online’ and ‘offline’ fandom spaces in the English premier league. Sport Soc 25(11):2234–2249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X (2022) Why most Chinese fans of American superhero movies are girls: a gendered local fandom of a global Hollywood icon. J Int Intercult Commun 15(2):148–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 2HMforum. GmbH, Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

    Roman Becker

  2. Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

    Gregor Daschmann

Authors
  1. Roman Becker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gregor Daschmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Becker, R., Daschmann, G. (2023). The Fan Principle: Fans and Fan Customers. In: FANOMICS®. Future of Business and Finance. Springer, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-41239-5_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation