Möhlmann, Lynn (2021) Exploring the impact of the local professional football club on the residents' place image of a post-industrial municipality in the Netherlands: A case study research of the municipality of Emmen. Master thesis.
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Abstract
A large share of the post-industrial areas in Europe is facing demographical decline. Residents that have a positive image of their own living environment are prouder of their city and are therefore more willing to stay in that region. Thus, it is interesting to study the place image of the residents of post-industrial areas in Europe to gain insight into the willingness of them to stay. This resident’s place image will be central in the study. According to literature place image exist out of the associations residents have with a place and the appreciation of the physical appearance, social environment, community services and entertainment opportunities. A municipality that is facing population decline is the municipality of Emmen in the Netherlands. The municipality of Emmen has, according to literature, an asset that can be used to create pride and enthusiasm among local inhabitants: the local professional football club, FC Emmen. Therefore, this study hypothesized that the local professional football club positively impacts the residents’ place image. A questionnaire was distributed online among residents of Emmen to get a better insight into the residents’ place image of Emmen and the impact of the local professional football club on this image. Results indicated that residents associated the municipality mainly with the Zoo. However, the local professional football club also plays a role within the associations made and therefore in their place image. Furthermore, supporters of the football club are more positive on all the aspects of their municipality; the physical appearance, social environment, entertainment opportunities and community services, than non-supporters. Zooming in, it becomes clear that the differences between supporters and non-supporters is significant for the social environment and the physical appearance. The differences for community service and entertainment opportunities are not significant. Overall, the results have indicated that the supporters have a more positive place image of the municipality than non-supporters. Therefore, it can be concluded that the local professional football club in Emmen impacts the place image of Emmen. This can be used by local government officials as a way to retain residents to the area.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
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| Degree programme: | Cultural Geography |
| Supervisor: | Weitkamp, S.G. |
| Date Deposited: | 26 Aug 2021 11:43 |
| Last Modified: | 26 Aug 2021 11:43 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3670 |
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