The impact of special events and fan–player bonding on identified fan consumption – a study of professional soccer in the USA

Abstract

PurposeThe primary purpose of this study is to examine how fan attendance at team special events and player appearances impact fan consumption (as measured by merchandise sales). Insights obtained could shed light on opportunities for professional soccer teams to expand revenues through enhanced fan consumption of goods and services.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 499 season ticket holders were used to assess fan consumption by measuring merchandise sales. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions were run for merchandise sales as the dependent variable of fan consumption. The control variables were age, gender (male = 1, 0 otherwise), and whether an individual has children.FindingsThe key independent variables of attending special events and fan–player bonding were both found to have a statistically significant impact on merchandise sales. Results show that each additional special event attended generates up to $33.71 in merchandise sales for the club. Similarly, each fan–player bonding experience attended also has a direct impact, increasing merchandise consumption by $23.00.Social implicationsThe results of this study provide insights that can help fan consumption grow within the professional United States soccer industry and better allow team managers to make decisions about the possible benefits of holding more special events and fan–player bonding experiences. The findings also confirm the impact personal relationships with fans can have on the bottom line of sport franchises.Originality/valueThough this study adds to the body of literature by expanding previous work on fan consumption, there are limited studies on the social aspects of consumption which are examined and analyzed within this study, particularly of note is the study of merchandise sales as proxy for fan consumption.

Millennial football fan participation: the influence of football video games on play and engagement

“…Fandom is a well-established cultural dimension that has substantial influence over participation and has been the subject of much recent research at the intersection between sports and business (e.g. Moura et al, 2023;Winell et al, 2022;Gutierrez et al, 2023). This research extends analysis of fandom to millennial football fans in Australia, highlighting not only its multi-dimensionality, as done by Dwyer et al (2018) and Thorne and Bruner (2006), but also its diverse and adaptive manifestations.…”

“…The revenue generation of sporting clubs is dependent upon growing relationships with fans and increasing levels of identification with the sporting club (Gutierrez et al. , 2023).…”

“…The revenue generation of sporting clubs is dependent upon growing relationships with fans and increasing levels of identification with the sporting club (Gutierrez et al, 2023). This necessitates a deeper understandings of football fandom, among specific cohorts, with millennial football fandom supported as multi-dimensional in this research.…”

“…For sporting clubs, the constant pressure to be profitable and compete for entertainment dollars mandates the need for a loyal and devoted fan base. Such primary revenue sources include attendance, merchandise and media viewership, and are dependent upon growing relationships with fans (Gutierrez et al, 2023). Fan engagement with sports teams generates constant income from purchases such as attendance and merchandise (Hettermann et al, 2022).…”

“…Recent research into football and sports fandom reveals important insights for those managing the industry. For example, fan consumption is found to be enhanced through community building special events and fan-player bonding held at children-friendly locations (Gutierrez et al, 2023). Online communities are also harnessed to stay connected and share unique experiences with fans' objects of culture Moura et al (2023).…”