FiT Publishing

In Germany, membership fees in nonprofit sports clubs are comparatively lower than fees or prices for other leisure time activities, such as sports offers from fitness clubs, music schools, or theatre visits. However, it is unclear on which basis sports clubs set their membership fees for different groups and why fees differ between clubs. Based on panel data of nonprofit sports clubs in Germany (n=1,538), this study investigates which factors influence the setting of membership fee levels using classical pricing-approaches adapted to the nonprofit context. The results show that costs...Read more

Despite the high levels of team identification associated with many sport fans, previous research has established that even these consumers must be enticed with offers that are perceived to be good values before making a purchase. The current study examined three key areas related to perceived value in a spectator sport setting. First, we tested and confirmed the mediating effect of perceived value on the relationship between team identification and purchase intention in the context of sport event tickets. Second, we examined search intention as a behavioral outcome in an environment (i.e...Read more

As financial and sustainability pressures placed upon collegiate athletic programs grow, it is important to understand all revenue generation areas, which include luxury suites. However, while suite finances are readily available on American professional sports, the opposite appears true for collegiate sports. As the first empirical investigation on the pricing of college suites, this study aimed to contribute to the limited literature on luxury suites and help better understand the luxury suite market. Multiple regression analyses were used to develop two significant models that estimated...Read more

Though most academic research on sports pricing finds that sports organizations price their tickets in the inelastic region of consumer demand, most events do not consist of several micro-events contested in different locations where the event participants are not known until days before the event occurs. The Division I Men’s College Basketball tournament offers a contrast to most sporting events because there are several micro-events occurring at different sites, and there is greater uncertainty regarding event quality because participating teams are unknown until just days before each...Read more

Dynamic pricing, well-known in the airline and hotel industries, has now been adopted by a handful of Major League Baseball teams in relation to pricing of tickets for their home games. Using data from four teams for the 2011 season, we examine the role that a variety of factors play in explaining differences in ticket prices across games throughout the season for these teams. Key factors such as the day of the week, opponent promotions, starting pitcher, and weather are investigated to shed light on the determinants of the willingness to pay of baseball fans for these teams under a...Read more

The marketing appeal of sport associations extends to sportswear brands, with the result that they are increasingly allied with fashion designer brands. Effects of such alliances are tested experimentally using price and user image as dependent variables. Among males, co-branding with a fashion designer brand generated a higher expected price for shirts bearing the sportswear logo, but adding a sportswear logo did not affect the expected price of shirts bearing a fashion designer logo. Among females, co-branding with a sportswear brand generated a lower expected price for shirts bearing a...Read more

When purchasing tickets in advance, sports consumers are often faced with uncertainty. Most notably, in today’s real-time environment, it can be challenging for consumers to determine how ticket prices and seat availability will change over time. Guided by the generic advanced-booking decision model, the current study investigated the role of time, ticket source (primary or secondary market), and team identification in advanced ticket purchasing by exploring a consumer’s perceptions of ticket availability and finding a lower price. The results suggest the perceived likelihood of ticket...Read more

The growth of the second-hand ticket market has increased the complexity of ticket pricing for sport franchises. In 2007, Major League Baseball (MLB) signed an agreement with StubHub, an online seller of secondhand tickets. Although pricing in MLB has been investigated previously in the literature, price dispersion (i.e., multiple prices for a similar product) and the effects of the second-hand ticket market have been largely neglected. The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of the StubHub agreement on pricing behavior of MLB teams using data from the seasons 1975 to 2010 (...Read more

Blame it on the weather? Or the economy? Even if these factors play a role in game day attendance, Larry knew there was a much bigger story behind the empty seats at Dodger Stadium. In 2011, the Los Angeles Dodgers averaged 36,236 fans per game, dropping from 43,979 in 2010 and 46,440 in 2009, an overall loss of about 10,000 fans per game in just two years (Baseball-Reference.com, 2012). In 2011, The Dodgers’ attendance ranking fell from first to eleventh in Major League Baseball (MLB), which amounted to a loss of over 800,000 tickets sold per year, as well as the resulting revenue from...Read more

For decades, the airline and hotel industries have regularly changed prices to keep pace with fluctuating levels of consumer demand. This demand-based approach to pricing is referred to as revenue management. Meanwhile, the sport industry has traditionally underpriced tickets using a cost-based approach in order to maximize attendance and promote fan satisfaction. However, as operating costs have grown, sport organizations are now forced to reconsider these conservative pricing practices. Subsequently, in 2009, the San Francisco Giants were the first team to utilize dynamic pricing, which...Read more