FiT Publishing

Sport participants have an economic value up to four times higher than that of sport spectators in the United States according to Kim, Smith, and James (2010). One participatory sport that has experienced tremendous growth in participation numbers worldwide since the mid-1990s is road racing. Road race event organizers currently face increased competition with each other to attract participants. Therefore the purpose of the study was to better understand the core determinants (or factors) believed to influence the behavior of road race participation. Advancing our understanding will assist...Read more

Previous research has revealed a motivational effect of professional sports on amateur sport participation. However, research that attempted to analyze whether this motivational effect indeed transfers into observable behavior is scarce and inconsistent. Therefore, this paper intends to analyze whether the individually perceived relevance of professional sports causally increases the frequency of amateur sport participation. To test this hypothesis, an instrumental variable approach is employed using primary data of N=863 German amateur triathletes. The estimated models provide evidence...Read more

We examine the dimensions of the sports market in the United States.We investigate sports participation, sports viewing, and the supply and demand sides of the sports market. Our estimates of the value of economic activity in the sports market rang from $44 to $60 billion in 2005. The 49,169 firms in the industry employed just over one million workers. About 118 million people participated regularly in sports in 2005, and more than 277 million individuals attended spectator sporting events.Read more

In the crowded sport event market, differentiation strategy is key to the survival of event organizers. One way to differentiate an event is by adding a charity component. To understand how events attract athletes, this study compared the motives of athletes to participate in cause-related or non-cause-related sport events. Using the Motivations of Marathoners Scales (MOMS), participants rated motivations to attend either cause-related sport events or non-cause-related sport events. The five motivations important for all participants were General Health Orientation, Personal Goal...Read more