The Analysis of Causal Relationship between Brand Equity and Loyalty of the Fans of Iran Football Premier League Clubs

The aim of this study was to analyze the causal relationship between brand equity and loyalty in fans of Iran football premier League clubs (2013-2014). This study was a practical one in terms of aim and a causal one in terms of nature and it was conducted as a survey. The statistical population consisted of the fans of Iran football premier league clubs. The sample size was estimated by statistical formula (n=1058). A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect the data and its reliability and validity were tested for this study (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient 0.90). SPSS version 20 and AMOS Graphics version 21 were used for data analysis. The results showed that both factorial and structured models benefited from good fit. All fitting indices were in an acceptable range for both models indicating their acceptability in terms of quantity and statistics. According to these results, brand equity had a very strong, significant, positive causal effect on fans' loyalty. In addition, according to the standard path coefficient, it is inferred that brand equity accounted for 96% of changes related to fans' loyalty.