Can a sports team create love for a City? : a case study of place attachment from a resident perspective

Abstract:

Purpose

The study theoretically examine if satisfaction of a sports team can create place attachment to a city from a residents’ perspective. It empirically tests if this theory can be applied in reality through a case study of a handball team IFK Kristianstad, and Kristianstad city.

Design/methodology/approach

A deductive approach that was based on theoretical insights from place attachment, satisfaction and service quality. A quantitative study was conducted on spectators in Kristianstad Arena.

Findings

The paper reveals that high service quality leads to high satisfaction among spectators, which creates place attachment to Kristianstad. The results proved that residents of Kristianstad are more place attached to the city than people living elsewhere.

Originality/value

The value of our paper is a new insight of place attachment from a resident’s perspective. The paper highlights that satisfaction of a sports team actually can create place attachment to a city.

Research implications

There are many variables that are important when exploring residents’ satisfaction and place attachment, several of them may be education, healthcare, entertainment and variety in a city. By studying the different variables it is possible to receive a larger perspective from residents’ point of views. Additionally, the study could be applied in a larger context where the target group is the whole population of a city.

Practical implications

The practical contribution might be valuable information for IFK Kristianstad about the spectators of the team; among other, the information demonstrates that the team is valuable for the city. Since the handball team is of importance for both the city and its residents, this information might be useful when marketing Kristianstad city in the future.