Articles in this issue:

  • Gi-Yong Koo
    Robin Hardin

    The purpose of this study was to segment spectators based on emotional attachment toward team, university, coach, and player, and to examine whether different groups of people classified by emotional attachment demonstrate different interrelationships between motives and behavioral intentions in attending sporting events. The results revealed that the feasibility of two clusters is derived from emotional attachments and those two groups demonstrate different interrelationships between spectators’ motives and behavioral intentions, respectively. In conclusion, this study can provide a...Read more

  • Yongjae Kim
    Patrick Walsh
    Stephen D. Ross

    Despite the growing popularity of sport video games (SVGs), particularly as it relates to their growth as a marketing tool, there has been relatively little research on the psychology and behavior of the sport video gamer. The current study examined the psychological and consumptive behavior of sport video gamers across different levels of game play. Data from 239 gamers was collected from four popular online video game sites. This study provides evidence that sport video gamers are sport fans that engage in a variety of sport consumptive behaviors. The findings also suggest that sport...Read more

  • Daniel L. Wann
    Frederick G. Grieve
    Ryan K. Zapalac
    Dale G. Pease

    The current investigation examined sport type differences in eight fan motives: escape, economic (i.e., gambling), eustress (i.e., positive arousal), self-esteem, group affiliation, entertainment, family, and aesthetics. Participants (final sample N = 886) completed a questionnaire packet assessing their level of fandom and motivation for consuming one of 13 target sports: professional baseball, college football, professional football, figure skating, gymnastics, professional hockey, boxing, auto racing, tennis, professional basketball, college basketball, professional wrestling, and golf...Read more

  • Marion E. Hambrick
    Anita M. Moorman

    In 2007 AT&T Mobility sought an injunction against the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), enjoining the racing organization from preventing the display of its logo on the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) #31 racecar (AT&T v. NASCAR, 2007). Although the parties settled out of court, this case is indicative of an increasing number of sponsorship disputes arising in the sport industry. This dispute reflects the growing conflicts between competing sponsors, and it further emphasizes the challenges faced by sport properties, event promoters, participants, and...Read more

  • P. Raj Devasagayam
    Cheryl L. Buff

    This research extends the study of brand community by conceptualizing and empirically investigating membership and integration in a brand community. A convenience- based random sample responded to surveys pertaining to brand community built around a basketball program on a small college campus in the Northeast. Empirical results provide valid and useful scales to measure brand community as a multidimensional construct based on spatial, temporal, and exchange characteristics. Characteristics of the focal product and brand community are discussed relative to the typology of membership...Read more

  • Dallass Branch

    In 2002, the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets exited the Queen City for greener pastures in New Orleans, thus closing the book on a tumultuous 14-year relationship with their host city and fans. Their tenure in Charlotte was characterized by an NBA record for sold-out attendance from 1988-1996, a lengthy and nasty “divorce” with ownership starting in 1996, and a near complete falling-out with fans from 1997-2002 (“Losing the buzz,” 2002). In that span, average game attendance dropped from 23,000 in 1996 to 11,000 in 2002, even though the franchise made the NBA playoffs for the second straight year...Read more