An exploratory study of out-of-market loyalty to professional sports teams.

摘要

Sports organizations throughout the world always strive to develop loyalty in fans and spectators in order to maintain a fan base that will last through the good times and the bad. Loyalty is not always the easiest thing for teams to achieve but is one of their highest priorities. In this day and age, where fans and spectators are faced with so many different options, organizations need to develop loyal fans in all parts of the world. This study explored what elements out-of-market fans identified with as well as how they express their behavioural loyalty to their favourite team.;Research was conducted through the use of focus groups and by the distribution of questionnaires. The questionnaire used in this study was an adapted form of the Points of Attachment Index (PAI) which was developed by Trail, Robinson, Dick and Gillentine (2003). The two focus groups featured eight participants in total. Ninety-seven questionnaires were returned back to the researcher and deemed useable. The information from the focus groups was used to ensure that the questionnaire had accurate questions and to complement the information gained from the questionnaire.;Males represented a substantial portion (77%) of the population and there was a wide range of ages, from eighteen to sixty-nine, in the study. The data was analyzed first for everyone followed by solely analyzing the males and finished with the females. A regression analysis was used to analyze the data and found that identification with the team was the most important predictor of overall loyalty. When analyzing solely the data from the males, the number one predictor was identification with the team and the second main predictor was identification with the level of sport. On the other hand, the two main predictors for females were identification with the team and identification with the level of sport. The number one predictor of overall loyalty for expressing behavioural loyalty was spreading positive word-of-mouth about your favourite team, followed by watching your favourite team on TV, buying licensed merchandise and disposable income. When separating males and females, males number one predictor was spreading positive word-of-mouth and the number two predictor was disposable income. When analyzing the females, the number one predictor was watching their favourite team on TV. A factor analysis was also conducted and found that each section of the PAI was in fact a significant factor. Management implications and possibilities for future research are also included in the study.