A Football Romanticism: The Çarşı Group Through The Lenses of Institutional Entrepreneurship and Fan Identity Roles

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to examine the role of the presence of highly influential actors in terms of symbolic interaction in the process of constructing the mental structure of the crowd.
Design/methodology/approach – In this study, the case of Çarşı fan group was chosen as an actor with a high power to influence the masses both because of the high symbolic capacity of social culture in the information sharing processes in Turkiye and because of the importance of the mediating role of fan groups in the construction process of institutional logic due to the lack of direct interaction between sports clubs and the masses consisting of the club's fans in the context of football. The study employs the semiotic analysis method to evaulate the symbols that Çarşı carries to the masses through its banners. It was qualitatively evaluated whether it contributes to the dissemination of the dominant logic of the sports club it represents to the masses and the construction of the mental unity of the crowd, or whether it acts as an institutional entrepreneur to realize a mission related to social life.
Findings – Although Çarşı adopts the logics of ‘Beşiktaş’ identity in the context of both the sports club and the neighborhood, it is an actor that uses symbols to legitimize itself through these logics in information sharing processes. Therefore, it has not been effective in either of its roles when trying to create a convenient atmosphere for change.
Discussion – Based on this qualitative analysis, the theoretical conclusion was drawn that ‘the effort to be linked to the more powerful actor to gain legitimacy within the crowds, where indirect and distant relations dominate, will weaken the capacity of institutional entrepreneurs to create change".