FAN VALUES AND PERCEIVED IMAGE PROFILE OF ICE HOCKEY : Case: IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships 2012 & 2013

The purpose of the research conducted at the World Championships in Helsinki 2012 and in Stock-holm 2013 was to explore the values of ice hockey fans and their image of ice hockey. This thesis was assigned by the Sport Business School Finland. Another purpose was to find out if there are dif-ferences or similarities between the values and ice hockey image of the Finnish and foreign re-spondents, and between the Finnish and Swedish respondents. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used in the survey whereas the thesis made use of a quantitative method. The questionnaire was based on the theory of human values developed by Shalom Schwartz. The ice hockey fans were interviewed in the fan zones next to the Hartwall Arena and Globe Arena. The number of responses received was 762. The results show that exciting, international, ambitious, strong, and fun are the most important at-tributes fans relate to ice hockey. The most important values of fans are benevolence, hedonism, and security. The values and the image of ice hockey of the Finnish and Swedish respondents are very similar. The biggest difference between the Finnish and other respondents is in their image of ice hockey as a serious, emphatic, and fun sport. In the future, the research can be exploited, for example, in planning sport and event marketing, in researches, in planning marketing cooperation, and in developing the brand image of ice hockey. The research offers new information about ice hockey fans and the images that are connected to the ice hockey brand. ; Jääkiekon MM-kisoissa Helsingissä vuonna 2012 ja Tukholmassa vuonna 2013 tehdyssä tutkimuksissa oli tarkoituksena selvittää jääkiekkofanien arvoja ja heidän mielikuvaansa jääkiekosta. Tutkimus tehtiin Sport Business School Finlandin toimeksiantona. Opinnäytetyössä tutkittiin myös, onko suomalaisten ja ulkomaalaisten, sekä suomalaisten ja ruotsalaisten arvoissa ja jääkiekkoon liitettävissä ominaisuuk-sissa eroja tai samankaltaisuuksia. Tutkimusmenetelmänä käytettiin kvantitatiivista ...