Consumer in Sports: Fan typology analysis

Abstract

Sport fan loyalty is important to attain within a culturally rich and global audience as loyal sport fans are unique consumers. The ability to adequately understand what motivates the sports consumer is an important requirement for sport managers. This paper proposes that a greater understanding of fandom will contribute to a better understanding of the concept of loyalty. Although there is research regarding typology of fans and loyalty, but even within sport advocates group there may be sub-categories that can explain loyalty behaviour further. This research analyses types of sport fans in different disciplines in the UK, as an example of diverse society to explore factors determining category of fans.

Buying in: Analyzing the first fan adopters of a new National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Program

“…They cannot be waivered by positive or negative situations they are not impacted by BIRGING or CORFing behaviors, which will be described later in the literature (Samra and Wos, 2014). This fan level has also been described as a loyal fan.…”

“…Before an athletic program critically examines consumer behaviors on first adopters of a new football program, it is important to first understand the sport consumer, their levels of loyalty, and how they function in conjunction with a new football program (Samra and Wos, 2014). Demographic, psychographic, and geographic information are often collected by the sport organization to be used by marketers to more specifically target their consumers and seek to increase their loyalty and engagement with the organization (Mullin et al, 2014).…”

“…While the discrepancy between behavioral and attitudinal components is important in evaluating fans, it is even more important to understand their level of fandom in accordance with their consumption practices. Samra and Wos (2014) state that fans as consumers possess emotional attachment with the consumption of objects; they behave as loyal consumers who repeat purchases or insist on staying in the relationship between brands and products, and they establish membership behaviors: co-production and investment. Based on these principles and supporting fan literature, it was established that fans are categorized into three different levels:…”

“…A devoted fan was a term settled on after reviewing articles on committed casual fans, focused fans and traditional fans (Hunt et al, 1999;Sutton, 1997). Lastly, Samra and Wos (2014) coined the term fanatical fan based on literature labeling fans as die-hard fans, fanatical fans, vested fans, passionate fans (Hunt et al, 1999;Sutton et al, 1997). Detailed descriptions of temporary fans, devoted fans, and fanatical fans are next explained.…”

“…A temporary fan is someone whose fandom does not impact their self-concept, their fandom is constrained by time, and once the game, event, or "phenomenon" is over they are no longer motivated to be involved in behavior related to the sport (Samra and Wos, 2014). The casual consumer will only continue attending sporting events if the benefits outweigh the costs of attending the event (Pimentel et al, 2004;Stewart et al, 2003).…”