Articles in this issue:

  • Damon P. S. Andrew
    John Grady

    The Internet has grown faster than all other forms of electronic technology and all other mediums of communication (Berthon, Pitt, & Watson, 1996). The Harris Poll indicated the number of adult Internet users in the US has steadily risen over the past nine years from 17.5 million in 1995 to 156 million in 2004 (Taylor, 2004). Indeed, while only 9% of U.S. adults were online in 1995, 73% were online in 2004. Studies have shown that some of the most common activities among those who use the Internet “often?or “very often?include getting information about products and services (41%),...Read more

  • D. Todd Donavan
    Brad D. Carlson
    Mickey Zimmerman

    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

  • Artemisia Apostolopoulou

    Vertical extension is a brand management technique that describes a process of introducing a new brand (i.e., product or service) at a higher or lower price and quality level. One such case is the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) that was launched by the National Basketball Association (NBA) in November 2001. Kim and Lavack (1996) studied the use of distancing techniques (i.e., ¡°linguistic¡± and/or ¡°graphical¡± manipulations) for successful introduction of vertical extensions (p. 29). The purpose of the present case study was to examine the use of those techniques with the...Read more

  • Nathan Tomasini

    The purpose of the current paper is to help improve our understanding of why people donate money to athletic support groups, which motivations are most prevalent among donors, and how motivations differ across three schools. Four thousand one hundred and thirty-seven responses (from 1,579 athletic support group donors at three universities) to an open-ended question about donor motivation were content analyzed. Results suggest that primary motives include supporting and improving the athletic program, receiving tickets, helping student-athletes, deriving entertainment and enjoyment,...Read more

  • Matthew J. Robinson
    Galen T. Trail
    Ronald J. Dick
    Andrew J. Gillentine

    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

  • James M. Gladden
    Daniel F. Mahoney
    Artemisia Apostolopoulou

    The purpose of the current paper is to help improve our understanding of why people donate money to athletic support groups, which motivations are most prevalent among donors, and how motivations differ across three schools. Four thousand one hundred and thirty-seven responses (from 1,579 athletic support group donors at three universities) to an open-ended question about donor motivation were content analyzed. Results suggest that primary motives include supporting and improving the athletic program, receiving tickets, helping student-athletes, deriving entertainment and enjoyment,...Read more