Relationship marketing in soccer management: identification and comparison of actions in four brazilian clubs

Abstract

Objective: The general objective intended in this study was to identify whether there are use of relationship marketing instruments and strategies in the management of the four largest Brazilian clubs in number of fans and to compare the actions between them.

Method: It is a descriptive qualitative research in which, to achieve the objectives, secondary data such as documents and information available on the official websites of the clubs were used. From that, the data were interpreted trying to identify relationship marketing actions and their classification according to the literature.

Originality/Relevance: The new context of investments in sport requires greater professionalization, transparency and rationalization of the area's management. Thus, studying the functional areas of the administration concatenating with the sporting fact is of paramount importance for more efficient and effective management practices, hence the relevance of this article.

Results: Among the results found, the supporter partner program stands out as a relationship marketing strategy used by the clubs studied. In addition, the contractual relationship model was the most used by clubs.

Theoretical/Methodological Contributions: The content of this paper provides support for scientific understanding of sports consumer behavior and especially about the management process of clubs related to sports and relationship marketing, helping in the development of new works in this area.

Social Contributions: Sport brings with it intangible aspects, that is, the sporting moment is considered unique and difficult to price. In this way, football transforms society in a unique way and this work helps to understand the fans (social sports entity) as the central objective of the clubs' actions.