Investigating the moderating effects of social wellbeing on the relationship between brand identity and fan loyalty amongst soccer fans in America

This study builds on Funk and James (2001) and Bauer et al.'s (2008) attempts at modeling the relationship between brand identity and fan loyalty by examining the relationship in the context of fans of professional soccer in the United States. Social wellbeing is introduced into the model, answering the question "What are the moderating effects of social wellbeing on the relationship between brand identity and fan loyalty amongst fans of MLS?". A multiple regression analysis was done to verify the conceptual pathway delineated by Bauer et al. The results showed that the model accounted for 40.6% of the variance (R2 = .406) and the model encompassing both non-product and product related attributes did significantly predict fan loyalty, F (2,26) = 9.341, p = .000. Additionally, non-product related attributes contributed significantly to the modelB (B = .034, p = .475) while product attributes did not. Implications of the results are discussed.