Investigation of the Relationship Between University Students' Fanaticism Levels and Brand Preferences

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine the relationship between university students' levels of fanaticism and brand preferences. In this direction; 696 students who were randomly selected from Erciyes University and Kayseri University in Kayseri and continuing their education in different departments voluntarily participated in the study group. As a data collection tool in the research; “Football Fans Fanaticism Scale” developed by Taşüstüpligil, Çankaya and Tunç (2014) to obtain data on fanaticism levels, and to obtain data on brand loyalty; The "Brand Loyalty" scale developed by Tekin (2020) was also used, and the "Personal Information Form" created by the researcher. The data obtained from the scales were analyzed with the SPSS package program. The personal information of the participants and the total scores of the inventory and factor scores were given by determining the frequency (f) and percentage (%) values. The normality distributions of the data were tested with the skewness and kurtosis tests and the Kolmogrov Smirnov Test. The t test was used to compare the data between two variables, and the anova test was used to compare three or more variables. Pearson Product Moments Correlation analysis (r) was used to show the relationship between the scores obtained from the scales. When the research findings were examined, a positive and significant relationship was found between students' levels of fanaticism and brand loyalty. It has been observed that students with high institutional belonging, especially in terms of fanaticism, are in positive harmony in identifying with the team. As a result, according to the data obtained as a result of the research, there is a positive relationship between football fan fanaticism and brand loyalty in all sub-dimensions. A highly positive relationship has emerged between the corporate belonging of football fans and their identification with the team. It is thought that the fans, who have a sense of belonging to the team, integrate more with their teams and in parallel with this situation, there is a positive increase in purchasing thoughts in order to contribute to the clubs they support.