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Alain Ferrand and Monique Pages: Universite Claude Bernard, Lyon, France
1. Introduction
Sports organisations, in their function as social phenomena, project an image to their environment. This image derives from a variety of facets: the connotations of the sport, the personalities of its leading exponents, its system of awards, etc. Sport encompasses a rich range of values and symbols. All these aspects can be expressed in image. The concept of image within the framework of marketing has been ascribed many meanings. It has been defined as:
- (1)general characteristics, feelings or impressions (Jain and Etgar, 1976);
- (2)brand personality (Arons, 1961; Martineau, 1958);
- (3)linkages between characteristics and feelings/emotions (Oxenfeldt, 1974);
- (4)a set of associations generally organised in a significant way (Aaker, 1991); and
- (5)the set of beliefs consumers hold about a particular object (Kolter and Amstrong, 1996).
As Campbell (1963) noted, these varying definitions are simply a reflection of a proliferation of authors and not a case of numerous phenomena. One problem with the above definitions is that they focus on the individual and his/her perceptions. In this paper, we take the view that the image of a sporting object or phenomenon is a social representation which shifts the focus from individuals to collectives.
Moscovici (1961) defined a social representation as an image construct and as a language, because it symbolises behaviour and social situations. Such representations represent a specific type of knowledge. Furthermore, they contribute to elaborate social behaviour and to certain types of communication between people. According to Doise (1985), these psychological constructs can act as the basis for decision-making in connection with specific social positions. They determine the symbolic process intervening in a social relationship. Such social representations are specific to particular groups. They allow each group member to be in touch with the world and other members of this community, to make sense of their experience and their own reality. The categorisation process helps an individual to identify with particular groups on the basis of gender, geographical area, sport preference or event interest. According to Tajfel and Turner (1986), it is essential for an individual to achieve or to maintain a positive social identity as a member of his own group.
Sports organisations are becoming more and more...