A model of fans’ reaction to resurrected brands of sport organizations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reveal the conditions that facilitate or hinder a favorable reaction of fans to the resurrection of sport club brands. Design/methodology/approach The proposed model was empirically tested by applying partial least squares-SEM to a sample of 462 fans of five Romanian football and handball clubs that were resurrected in the last five years. Findings The study showed that a positive relationship between the new and the old club owners, the keeping of the brand name, and the involvement of the club’s historic figures are favorable conditions for a successful resurrection. The faded brands that enjoy salient heritage and numerous loyal fans are more likely to be successfully resurrected. Moreover, when the resurrection is undertaken immediately after the old club’s bankruptcy, fans tend to alienate from the brand, as they consider the new club to be trying to counterfeit the meaning of the faded brand. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional nature of the study and the narrow scope of the empirical data are the major limitations of the study. Practical implications Based on the empirical findings, the authors made recommendations to sport entrepreneurs who consider reviving faded clubs, and highlighted the difficulties of the resurrection process. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of brand resurrection in the sports industry.