Consumption of the National Basketball Association in Brazil: the motives of distant fans

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze, through games, the motives for the consumption of the National Basketball Association (NBA) by Brazilian fans and the influence on the consumption intentions of these fans. Methods:The study has a quantitative approach and used an online questionnaire consisting of nine motives for sports consumption and a dimension to analyze behavioral intentions. The sample consisted of 336 individuals over 18 years of age who declared that they support a team in the competition. Data were analyzed using a two-step Structural Equation Modeling in Amos 26.0. Results: The average age of respondents was 24.20 years (±6.70), mostly men (91.7%), with complete high school (45.8%), single (83.6%), who watch 3 to 5 NBA games per week (53.6 %), mostly through the internet (56.8%), and who do not usually buy NBA-licensed products (58.0%). Analysis of the causal model indicated that both vicarious achievement (β = 0.55; p < 0.01) and social interaction (β = 0.28; p < 0.01) are motives that positively influenced behavioral intentions related to NBA. Conclusion: Motives such as the acquisition of knowledge, drama, interest in basketball, and knowledge of the game are highly valued by Brazilian fans who consume the NBA. In addition, the fans' sense of accomplishment with their team's victory and the social interaction offered by the games, even if distant, are important factors that influence the behavioral intentions of these fans.

Sport team identification: a social identity perspective comparing local and distant fans

“…The strong connection between regional identity and local TI raises the question why fans identify with distant teams. Extant research has focused on product attributes, such as style of play or player skills, product benefits such as escape from daily routines and feelings of achievement and brand attributes such as appearance and history (Kerr and Emery, 2011;Pu and James, 2017;Bodet et al, 2020;Miranda et al, 2022). To explore fans' reasons to adopt the club as a part of their self-concept, we investigate possible differences in local and distant fans' underlying social identity based needs for self-enhancement through prestige and distinctiveness and for reduction of subjective uncertainty through personality congruence.…”

“…The strong connection between regional identity and local TI raises the question why fans identify with distant teams. Extant research has focused on product attributes, such as style of play or player skills, product benefits such as escape from daily routines and feelings of achievement and brand attributes such as appearance and history (Kerr and Emery, 2011; Pu and James, 2017; Bodet et al ., 2020; Miranda et al. , 2022).…”