FiT Publishing

In contrast to research examining the social-psychological aspects of how sport fans perceive rivalry games in team sports, far less is known regarding the impact rivalries have on mediated consumer demand, a marketing outcome of interest to sport researchers and practitioners. Guided by economic demand theory, the current study developed a model to empirically examine the impact of Tyler and Cobbs’ (2015) rivalry antecedents (conflict, peer, bias) on fan interest for an individual sport. The three-dimensional framework provided the foundation for the selection of thirteen rivalry-related...Read more

Previous research on sports rivalry has emphasized fans’ social identity and the threat posed by rivals. Much of this scholarship is based on intercollegiate sports, where many fans, such as students and alumni, have a formally defined identity with the university. In this study, fans (N = 4,828) across five major professional leagues—Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), and National Hockey League (NHL)—are surveyed to compare their animosity toward rivals based on four variables: schadenfreude,...Read more

Rivalries in sports give fans a unique connection with their team, school, or favorite athlete. The game or match may also draw more attention because of geographical considerations, cultural aspects, and team disposition. Furthermore, rivalries in single-player sports expose the intimacy and personalities of the opposing competitors. Understanding rivalries, particularly in individual sports, can give marketers an upper hand in identifying areas to promote their brand. This study analyzes 11 elements of team rivalry defined by Tyler and Cobbs (2015) and applies a similar methodology for...Read more

Although the concept of rivalry is widely recognized as a contributing factor to consumer demand for sporting events, who constitutes a rival and to what degree rivalry influences attendance remains vague. Previous demand models consistently included rivalry as an explanatory variable but represented rivalry in inconsistent ways that often violated rivalry’s core properties (i.e., non-exclusive, continuous in scale, and bidirectional). This study reviews past specifications for rivalry and tests multiple rivalry variables, including a 100-point allocation measure that conforms to rivalry’s...Read more

The current study quantitatively investigated how fan perceptions and willingness to consider committing anonymous acts of aggression toward participants of the rival teams differed between a rival in a current conference and an anticipated one in a new conference. A sample of 168 online fans of teams affected by conference realignment were administered a survey containing the Sport Rivalry Fan Perception Scale (SRFPS: Havard, Gray, Gould, Sharp, & Schaffer, 2013) and questions regarding willingness to consider committing anonymous acts of aggression (Wann, Haynes, McLean, & Pullen...Read more