FiT Publishing

Considering the academic literature regarding athlete brands as role models is largely fragmented, the present study contributed significantly to this evolving construct and our understanding of the impact superstar athletes have on their consumers. Specifically, the central aim of this exploratory study was to uncover the traits of the athlete brand as a role model from the perspective of the sport consumer. Thirty-one consumers of the athlete brand were purposefully selected to participate in semi-structured interviews. The interview data revealed four prevalent themes including personal...Read more

Sport organizers may employ one of two common pricing strategies—partitioned pricing (PP) and all-inclusive pricing (AIP)—to present the price of the ticket and associated fees to potential consumers. The study examines differences in spectators’ price recall, perceived value, and search intentions when purchasing tickets to attend a regular-season Major League Baseball game based on the pricing format experienced (PP v. AIP), as well as the moderating effect of price tier selected, and participants’ level of team identification on the impact of the pricing format. Findings point to both...Read more

For decades, scholars have sought to understand individuals’ identification with sport teams. As a result, we have great knowledge of how team identification influences a variety of attitudinal and behavioral out-comes as well as the impact of identifying with a team on an individual’s sense of self. However, nearly all studies of team identification have dealt with men’s sport rather than women’s sport. The authors addressed this issue in the current study by using the Delphi technique to solicit expert opinion on the lack of team identification research in women’s sport, including...Read more

While the running community has experienced tremendous growth over the past several decades, increased competition and plateauing participation rates have made effective race marketing an imperative. This study examined the repeat registration behavior of running event participants through the lens of Ehrenberg’s (1988) repeat-buying theory. We used Customer-Base Analysis on combinations of observed frequency and recency patterns in runner registrations over a seven-year period. Based upon registration data (N = 26,625), we found that runners with the highest probability of registering for...Read more

One of the most valuable assets a sport entity possesses is its brand. However, existing sport branding research has largely examined brands at an individual level and not taken into account the relationships be-tween connected brands or the actual behavioral outcomes of branding. Th is article provides an overview of the current state of sport branding research; proposes an extended conceptualization of sport brand archi-tecture within a sport brand ecosystem framework to guide future examination of sport branding research; introduces the four articles published in this special issue; and...Read more

Most papers analyze the broadcast demand for a single league. However, professional football clubs participate in two or more tournaments simultaneously every season. Hence, the perception of fans may differ. This is a relevant topic, since television rights constitute the main source of revenue for professional football. The Brazilian football market is an appropriate laboratory to test it: The first division teams play two national-level tournaments, including a state-lev-el championship, and the top clubs also compete in an international championship. The dataset comprises 458 broadcast...Read more

In the years since basking in spite of reflected failure (BIRFing) was hypothesized, no empirical evidence has confirmed its existence, nor have the various hypothesized antecedents been investigated. This multiphase study makes a much-needed contribution to the sport consumer behavior literature in its investigation of BIRFing behaviors, utilizing a sample of long-suffering fans of the Chicago Cubs. Results confirmed that diehard fans do BIRF, the behavior is predicted by team identification, and that loyalty and camaraderie are antecedents. Data collection for the study’s second phase...Read more

Scholars have studied sport team identification for decades, advancing our understanding of the influence of a psychological connection to a sport team on attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. Despite the contribution of the study of team identification to the sport fan psychology and sport consumer behavior literatures, a critical issue is apparent. A review of the methods used by scholars to assess and study team identification uncovered a misinterpretation of participant responses to team identification scale items. In previous re-search, not-identified individuals have been examined as...Read more

In the years since basking in spite of reflected failure (BIRFing) was hypothesized, no empirical evidence has confirmed its existence, nor have the various hypothesized antecedents been investigated. This multiphase study makes a much-needed contribution to the sport consumer behavior literature in its investigation of BIRFing behaviors, utilizing a sample of long-suffering fans of the Chicago Cubs. Results confirmed that diehard fans do BIRF, the behavior is predicted by team identification, and that loyalty and camaraderie are antecedents. Data collection for the study’s second phase...Read more

eSports–organized video game competitions–are growing in popularity, with top tournaments drawing crowds of spectators rivaling traditional sporting events. Understanding the extent to which eSport operates similarly to traditional sport is vital to developing marketing strategies for the eSport industry and informing academic research on eSport. Prior research has examined eSports in isolation from traditional sports, overlooking direct comparisons to understand the degree to which eSport spectators are motivated similarly to traditional sport spectators. The current study measures widely...Read more