This paper adopts a methodology of asymmetrical analyses to investigate the relevant importance of spectator sport attributes in terms of their non-linear associations with the benefits that fans experience while watching sports. Questionnaires tapping 16 attributes (e.g., teamwork, sportsmanship, level of competition) and 16 benefits (e.g., good mood, exciting experience, support for my favorite team) were distributed to a sample of fans at the outdoor broadcast of the 2010 World Cup final game at the National Stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. 427 participants rated the importance and benefit of each attribute experienced from watching the game. Attributes were categorized as core, exciting, or hybrid attributes. The star player was the core attribute; rivalry, popularity, and coach were the exciting attributes; and the other 12 attributes were hybrid. Two-dimensional space analyses showed that attributes “sportsmanship, teamwork, and supporting a team” were both explicitly and implicitly important attributes. The methodology of asymmetrical analyses can help managers prioritize the focus of attributes and allocate resources effectively.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AakerD. A. (1991) Managing brand equity: capitalizing on the value of a brand name. New York: Free Press.
2.
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. (4th ed.) (2000) Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
3.
AndersonD. F.StoneG. P. (1981) Sport: a search for community. In GreendorferS. L.YiannakisA. (Eds.), Sociology of sport: diverse perspectives. West Point, NY: Leisure Press. Pp. 164–172.
4.
CialdiniR. B.BordenR. J.ThorneA.WalkerM. R.FreemanS.SloanL. R. (1976) Basking in reflected glory: three (football) field studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34(3), 366–375.
5.
EitzenD. S.SageG. H. (2009) Sociology of North American sport. (8th ed.) Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publ.
6.
FunkD. C.MahonyD. F.RidingerL. L. (2002) Characterizing consumer motivation as individual difference factors: augmenting the Sport Interest Inventory (SII) to explain level of spectator support. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 11(1), 33–43.
7.
FunkD. C.RidingerL. L.MoormanA. M. (2003) Understanding consumer support: extending the Sport Interest Inventory (SII) to examine individual differences among women's professional sport consumers. Sport Management Review, 6, 1–32.
8.
GauL. S. (2007) Examining the values associated with spectator sports and the relationships between the values and sport spectator behavior. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Florida State Univer., Tallahassee, FL.
9.
GauL. S. (2011) A study of investigating attributes attracting the audience in the activity of watching sports. Leisure Industry Research, 9(2), 39–56.
10.
GauL. S. (2012) The benefits of watching experiences in spectator sports. Leisure Industry Research, 10(4), 64–73.
11.
GauL. S.GailliotM. T.BradyM. (2007) A model examining relationships among team identification, sport spectators' motives, perceived service quality, and satisfaction. In JamesJ. D. (Ed.), Sport marketing across the spectrum: research from emerging, developing, and established scholars. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology, Inc. Pp. 81–97.
12.
GauL. S.JamesJ. D. (2013) A ten-value-type framework associated with spectator sports—a qualitative inquiry. Sage Open (April-June), 1–13. DOI: 10.1177/2158244013485580.
13.
GauL. S.JamesJ. D.KimJ. C. (2009) Effects of team identification on motives, behavior outcomes, and perceived service quality. Asian Journal of Management and Humanity Sciences, 4(2–3), 76–90.
14.
GauL. S.WannD. L.JamesJ. D. (2010) Examining relations of entertainment with social interaction motives and team identification. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 111(2), 576–588.
15.
GladdenJ.FunkD. (2002) Developing an understanding of brand associations in team sport: empirical evidence from consumers of professional sport. Journal of Sport Management, 16(1), 54–81.
16.
GladdenJ.MilneG. (1999) Examining the importance of brand equity in professional sports. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 8(1), 21–29.
17.
GladdenJ.MilneG.SuttonW. (1998) A conceptual framework for evaluating brand equity in Division I college athletics. Journal of Sport Management, 12(1), 1–19.
18.
GutmanJ. (1982) A means-end chain model based on consumer categorization processes. Journal of Marketing, 46(2), 60–72.
19.
GutmanJ. (1997) Means-end chains as goal hierarchies. Psychology and Marketing, 14(6), 545–560.
20.
HerzbergF.MausnerB.SnydermanB. (1959) The motivation to work. New York: Wiley.
21.
HirschmanE. C.HolbrookM. B. (1982) Hedonic consumption: emerging concepts, methods and propositions. Journal of Marketing, 46(3), 92–101.
22.
HolbrookM. B.HirschmanE. C. (1982) The experiential aspects of consumption: consumer fantasies, feelings, and fun. Journal of Consumer Research, 9(2), 132–140.
23.
JamesJ. D.RossS. D. (2004) Comparing sport consumer motivations across multiple sports. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 13(1), 17–25.
24.
KahleL. R.DuncanM.DalakasV.AikenD. (2001) The social values of fans for men's vs women's university basketball. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 10, 156–162.
25.
KanoN.SerakuN.TakahashiF.TsujiS. (1984) Attractive quality and must-be quality. The Journal of the Japanese Society for Quality Control, 14(2), 39–48.
26.
KaynakE.SalmanG. G.TatogluE. (2008) An integrative framework linking brand associations and brand loyalty in professional sports. Journal of Brand Management, 15, 336–357.
27.
KellerK. L. (1993) Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 1–22.
28.
LeeD.TrailG. (2011) The influence of personal values and goals on cognitive and behavioral involvement in sport. Journal of Sport Management, 25, 593–605.
29.
MahonyD. F.MakotoN.FunkD. C.JamesJ. D.GladdenJ. M. (2002) Motivational factors influencing the behavior of J. League spectators. Sport Management Review, 5(1), 1–24.
30.
MatzlerK.SauerweinE.HeischmidtK. (2003) Importance-performance analysis revisited: the role of the factor structure of customer satisfaction. The Service Industries Journal, 23(2), 112–129.
31.
MelnickM. J. (1993) Searching for sociability in the stands: a theory of sports spectating. Journal of Sport Management, 7, 44–60.
32.
MikulićJ.PrebežacD. (2008) Prioritizing improvement of service attributes using impact range-performance analysis and impact-asymmetry analysis. Managing Service Quality, 18(6), 559–576.
33.
MikulićJ.PrebežacD. (2011) Evaluating hotel animation programs at Mediterranean sun-and-sea resorts: an impact-asymmetry analysis. Tourism Management, 32(3), 688–696.
34.
MilneG. R.McDonaldM. A. (1999) Sport marketing: managing the exchange process. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publ.
35.
NunnallyJ.BernsteinI. (1994) Psychometric theory. (3rd ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.
RaginC. (2008) Redesigning social inquiry: fuzzy sets and beyond. Chicago, IL: Chicago Univer. Press.
38.
SchmittB. H. (1999) Experiential marketing. New York: The Free Press.
39.
TrailG. T.AndersonD. F.FinkJ. (2000) A theoretical model of sport spectator consumption behavior. International Journal of Sport Management, 3, 154–180.
40.
TrailG. T.JamesJ. D. (2001) The Motivation Scale for Sport Consumption: assessment of the scale's psychometric properties. Journal of Sport Behavior, 24(1), 108–127.
41.
WannD. L. (1995) Preliminary validation of the Sport Fan Motivation Scale. The Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 20(4), 377–396.
42.
WillisJ. D.CampbellL. F. (1992) Exercise psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publ.
43.
WoodsideA. (2013) Moving beyond multiple regression analysis to algorithms: calling for adoption of a paradigm shift from symmetric to asymmetric thinking in data analysis and crafting theory. Journal of Business Research, 66(4), 463–472.
44.
ZillmannD.BryantJ.SapolskyB. S. (1989) Enjoyment from sports spectatorship. In GoldsteinJ. G. (Ed.), Sports, games, and play: social and psychological viewpoints. (2nd ed.) Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Pp. 241–278.
