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Hayton, JW, Millward, P and Petersen-Wagner, R (2015) Chasing a Tiger in a network society? Hull City’s proposed name change in the pursuit of China and East Asia’s new middle class consumers. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 52 (3). pp. 279-298. ISSN 1461-7218
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Chasing a Tiger in a Network Society Hull City's Proposed Name Change in the Pursuit of China and East Asia's New Middle Class Consumers.pdf - Accepted Version Download (606kB) | Preview |
Abstract
The English Premier League possesses multiple global dimensions, including its clubs’ economic ownership, player recruitment patterns and television broadcasts of its matches. The owner of Hull City Association Football Club’s economic rights, Dr Assam Allam, announced plans to re-name the club ‘Hull City Tigers’ in an attempt to re-orientate the club towards seemingly lucrative East Asian, and specifically Chinese, markets in 2013. This article, first, draws upon Manuel Castells’ work in The Rise of the Network Society to critically discuss the logic of Hull City’s proposed reorientation to suit ‘new middle class’ consumers in China and the East Asian global region and second, uses the example to theoretically engage with Castells’ idea that ‘networks’ replace ‘hierarchies’ as social structures. This leads to the argument that while these plans might intend to strengthen the club’s financial position, they overlook a concern with local environments that Castells guides us toward. By looking toward the local consumer practices in China and the East Asian global region, Allam would find: (a) the normalisation in production and consumption of counterfeit club-branded sportswear and television broadcasts which makes increasing the club’s revenues difficult; and (b) that the region’s ‘new middle classes’ (marked by disposable income) are unlikely to foster support for Hull City, even if ‘Tigers’ is added to its name.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | 1608 Sociology, 1504 Commercial Services, 2002 Cultural Studies |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5001 Business > HF5410 Marketing. Distribution of Products G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV561 Sports |
| Divisions: | Humanities & Social Science Sport Studies, Leisure & Nutrition (closed 31 Aug 19) |
| Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
| Date Deposited: | 21 Oct 2016 09:06 |
| Last Modified: | 04 Sep 2021 12:22 |
| DOI or ID number: | 10.1177/1012690215588526 |
| URI: | https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/4667 |
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