A longitudinal study of team-fan role identity on self-reported attendance behavior and future intentions

Abstract

Attendance at college sporting events generates billions of dollars annually for athletics departments at the college level in the United States. Based on Identity Theory and prior research, we developed and tested two models that were successful in predicting actual attendance, attendance intentions (conative loyalty), and support for the team across time. Respondents (N = 165; 60% female, 95% Caucasian) filled out three surveys across the year. In Model A (RMSEA = .066, x 2 /df = 50.02/29 = 1.73), prior season attendance, number of games intending to attend, and preseason team-fan role identity (Time 1) explained 63% of self-reported attendance behavior (Time 2). Those variables and postseason role identity (Time 2) explained 48.5% of attendance intentions (Time 3; Model A) and 43% of supporting the team in the future (Time 3; Model B, RMSEA = .060, x 2 /df = 46.16/29 = 1.59). Sports marketers need to take into account both the impact of role identity as a fan of the team and attendance intentions, not just prior attendance behavior, when predicting future attendance behavior and support for the team. n the United States, attendance for the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) football teams is fairly high across the Big 5 conferences, but not impressive in other divisions. Across all NCAA divisions, it seems to have plateaued at around 50 million fans per year (Trail & James, 2015). In the 2015 season, The Ohio State University averaged over 107,000 attendees per game (NCAA, 2016) and generated over $30 million (U.S.) from ticket sales for the season, showing how I

The Dark Side of Spectator Behavior: Effects of Spectator Dysfunctional Behavior on Anger, Rumination, and Revisit Intention

“…Three items from Trail and James's (2001) team identification index (TII) were used with a seven-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree). The scale of TII is appropriate in the present study as it captures the extent to which one's role of being a fan is important (Trail et al, 2017). Revisit intention was assessed with four items adapted from Song et al (2014) with a seven-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree) (see Appendix B for all items).…”

“…Identity theory has its basis in role-identity theory, which indicates that individuals' actions are formed by how they want to perceive themselves and to be perceived by others (Jacobson, 2003). People have role identities that represent their social roles (e.g., being a fan), which are directed by past behaviors and direct future behaviors (Trail, Anderson, & Lee, 2017). Social identity theory, on the other hand, refers to "part of an individual's self-concept which derives from his/her knowledge of his/her membership of a social group (or groups) together with the value and emotional significance attached to that member" (Tajfel, 1981, p. 255).…”

“…Unlike identity theory, which emphasizes role behaviors, social identity theory is focused on group membership based on individuals' self-perception and self-categorization (Jacobson, 2003;Lock & Heere, 2017). In the context of the current study, our focus is on individuals' beliefs regarding the important role of being a sport fan of a certain team (Trail et al, 2017) rather than establishing and maintaining their ties to a social group. Therefore, by following Trail et al 2017, we use identity theory to understand team identification and measure it accordingly.…”

Connecting sponsor brands through sports competitions: an identity approach to brand trust and brand loyalty

“…When several studies examined the strength or importance of identification (e.g. Dwyer et al , 2013; Shapiro et al , 2013; Trail et al , 2017), Laverie and Arnett (2000) examined several factors influencing sports fans' identity salience, including situation involvement, enduring involvement and attachment, and found that identity salience eventually yielded a positive impact on sports fans' attendance of sporting events. Furthermore, Arnett et al (2003) investigated relationship marketing efforts to engage with university alumni.…”

Perceived Value in Sporting Events (PVSP): A Further Step for the Strategic Management

“…Concerning the variables used as outcomes of the management success of the sports services, satisfaction and future intentions are the most commonly used [16][17][18][19][20]. Among the variables studied to provide these outcomes, we can find service quality [21][22][23][24] and perceived value [25][26][27], together with others, such as emotions [16,28], identity with teams [29,30], or attendance reasons [31,32]. The quality of service is, by far, the most studied and discussed in the literature [33].…”