FiT Publishing

During the 2001 college football season more than 40 million individuals attended intercollegiate football games across the four divisions sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Although it would be easy to classify all of these individuals as either being spectators or fans, that would be inaccurate. Trail, Robinson, Gillentine, and Dick (2003) developed a model based on the relationship between motives and points of attachment that classified attendees as either spectators or fans. The purpose of this study was to use the model to determine how individuals who...Read more

Past research demonstrates the positive effect of identification on sports fans. In this study, the researchers investigate some dispositional antecedents of identification. Using a sports context, the authors test the influence of basic personality traits on the mediating variable of need for affiliation and the outcome variable identification. The findings show that the basic personality traits of extraversion, agreeability, need for arousal and materialism positively affect the need for affiliation. Thereafter, the need for affiliation positively influences the level of identification...Read more

Although sport scientists have examined a number of factors that increase attendance at sporting events (e.g., promotions, ticket cost), the impact of scarcity has remained uninvestigated. Based on past research in consumer psychology, it was hypothesized that individuals would report a greater interest in attending a sporting event in which few tickets remained (i.e., the scarce condition) than when tickets remained abundant (the not scarce condition). Additionally, previous studies have predicted that persons with a high level of identification with a target team would be more interested...Read more

While much previous research has been conducted related to the tendencies for sports fans to bask in reflected glory (BIRG) and cut off reflected failure (CORF), the present work derives a model of fan behavior inclusive of two new concepts that extend existing theory: basking in spite of reflected failure (BIRF) and cutting off reflected success (CORS). The authors provide examples of image-management behaviors associated with BIRF and CORS and suggest multiple explanations for these relatively unusual consumer actions. Further, the authors develop formal propositions to guide future...Read more

Although sport scientists have examined a number of factors that increase attendance at sporting events (e.g., promotions, ticket cost), the impact of scarcity has remained uninvestigated. Based on past research in consumer psychology, it was hypothesized that individuals would report a greater interest in attending a sporting event in which few tickets remained (i.e., the scarce condition) than when tickets remained abundant (the not scarce condition). Additionally, previous studies have predicted that persons with a high level of identification with a target team would be more interested...Read more

Marketing communications utilizing a non-profit cause (i.e., the sponsorship of a non-profit cause) have emerged as a mainstream practice as practitioners respond to rising consumer expectations of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The increasing popularity of cause-related marketing programs (CRMPs) can be attributed to the integration of sponsorship in many organizations' sport marketing strategy. The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes, beliefs, and purchase intentions of consumers exposed to a firm's sponsorship of a sporting event associated with a non-profit...Read more

Impulse buying broadly refers to the immediate urge to engage in unplanned purchases. Sport consumers may exhibit many of the characteristics that foster a tendency to engage in impulse buying. Further, due to the increased channels of the distribution of sport, sport team licensed merchandise is prominently displayed and distributed in a manner that encourages impulse buying. To examine the impulsive tendencies to purchase sport team licensed merchandise, an exploratory investigation involving a sample of college students (n=145: 48 males and 97 females) was conducted. Multiple regression...Read more