Mediating effects between World Games identification and licensed merchandise

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore consumer decision-making factors related to purchases of licensed merchandise, while focussing on how consumers’ identification with the 2009 World Games (WG), perceptions of quality and attitudes toward collecting, affect the decision-making model with regards to purchasing intention. Design/methodology/approach – The research model is based on the study of Kwak and Kang (2009), but also includes an assessment of consumers’ collecting attitudes. A purposive sampling method was adopted and data were collected from 1,985 valid samples via questionnaire surveys during the 2009 WG in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Structural equation modeling was used to test the decision-making model presented in this study. Findings – The results reveal that consumers’ intentions with respect to purchasing licensed merchandise are influenced most by their attitudes toward collecting, followed by the perceived quality of the merchandise. The findings also suggest that the greater the perceived quality of licensed merchandise, the more positive the consumer attitude toward collecting. Lastly, the study finds no direct effect between respondent WG identification and intention to purchase licensed merchandise. Research limitations/implications – An exploratory concept proposed in this study, WG identification, is quite different from either event or place identification. In this study, due to its influence on at least two other relationships, the effects of one's attitude toward collecting prove to be much more complicated than the previous literature suggests. Since all data were collected in Taiwan, the research findings may have been influenced by particular local cultural and political factors, and therefore might not be well informed by inferences drawn from western populations. Practical implications – It was found that emphasizing the collectability of licensed merchandise is the most effective strategy for increasing consumer purchasing intention and promoting sales of merchandise at similar international events and competitions. This finding should encourage those interested in increasing consumers’ purchasing intention to pay more attention to the importance of licensed commemorative merchandise. Originality/value – Due to a lack of first-hand data on the consumption of licensed merchandise at major international events and competitions, little direct empirical research has been done in Taiwan. This study is the first attempt to explore this issue.

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