The Impact of Brand Equity on Consumer Willingness to a Pay Price Premium: a Study of Football Clube Brands

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that influence the brand equity of football clubs and how brand equity affect the willingness of customers to pay a price premium. Thus examines the potential relationship between the influence of brand equity on fans' willingness to pay a premium for their club and the brand value of Portuguese football clubs Sporting Clube de Portugal, Sport Lisboa e Benfica e Futebol Clube do Porto. The initial phase of this study employs a quantitative methodology, utilizing a questionnaire (carried out by Qualtrics Platform) distributed across various social media platforms. A total of 252 replies were acquired by a non-probabilistic convenience and snowball sampling method. Out of these, 141 responses were deemed legitimate. The second phase of this study also involved a supplementary quantitative analysis of the brand value of Portuguese football clubs and financial indicators. By using SmartPLS, the results of the partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) indicate that all the variables included in the study have a positive influence on each other, especially the relationship between brand equity and willingness to pay a premium. In addition, the financial results obtained with the STATA software, using OLS linear regression, indicate that has a positive relation between the independent variables Net Assets Turnover, Liquidity Ratio, Merchandise Share, and League Classification, and the dependent variable. To bridge the gap between the two perspectives, the Merchandise Share ratio played a crucial role. This ratio highlighted the propensity of football fans to allocate their resources to the purchase of services and products associated with their beloved football teams, which in turn would have a significant impact on sales and, additionally, a positive impact on brand value via the merchandise share ratio. From an academic perspective, this method allows us to go more into an area of football that has not received much attention. It involves examining both previously documented linkages and uncovering new ones. From an economic perspective, it serves to comprehend the financial factors that are essential for assessing the brand value of football teams and how they are impacted by the decisions made by supporters.