Tales from Cinderella Castle: Examining fandom and rivalry within Disney

The current study investigated fandom and rivalry towards Disney’s and Universal’s theme parks. In particular, fans of Disney’s theme parks were asked to report their attitudes towards each brand, along with their perceptions and behaviours towards Universal’s theme parks. Results showed that partic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of brand strategy 2021-01, Vol.10 (2), p.178-195
Main Authors: Havard, Cody T., Grieve, Frederick G., Collins, Brian, Wann, Daniel L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brand Communities
Brand Rivalry
Consumer Rivalry
In-Group Bias
Intergroup Relations
Rivalry
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The current study investigated fandom and rivalry towards Disney’s and Universal’s theme parks. In particular, fans of Disney’s theme parks were asked to report their attitudes towards each brand, along with their perceptions and behaviours towards Universal’s theme parks. Results showed that participants reported higher attitudes towards Disney’s theme parks than towards Universal’s theme parks. Further, identification with Disney positively influenced attitudes towards Disney’s theme parks and more support for and likelihood of attending Universal’s theme parks. Identification with Disney, however, also led to more negative impressions of Universal’s fan behaviour and prestige, greater excitement when Disney compares favourably with Universal and a higher likelihood of celebrating a perceived failure by Universal. Finally, participants that reported being fans of both Disney and Universal were more positive with regard to rival perceptions and behaviours. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed, along with areas for future study.
ISSN:2045-855X
2045-8568
2045-8568
DOI:10.69554/VRAN4016