Marathons for the Masses: Exploring the Role of Negotiation-Efficacy and Involvement on Running Commitment

The role of congruecy within the participant sport involvement and loyalty process.

“…It could have been that after participating with the club, they determined the club, and thus running the marathon, did not meet their expectations or they could acquire their needs with the club without actually completing the marathon. This contrasts with other research where participation led to the increased likelihood of positive attitudes toward physical activity and increased commitment (Rohm et al, 2006;Ridinger, Funk, Jordan, & Kaplanidou, 2012).…”

“…Functional congruity is the "assessment of the brand by focusing on the extent to which functional attributes of the brand matches the consumer's ideal or desired performance specifications" (Kressmann et al, 2006, p. 957). Based on sport participation motivation scales, some functional expectations from event participation may be a level of fun or enjoyment, the ability to compete, socialization opportunities, health outcomes, and achievement to name a few Masters et al, 1993;McDonald et al, 2002;Ogles & Masters, 2000;Rice, in press;Ridinger et al, 2012;Scanlan et al, 2003;Summers et al, 1982;. In their study on automobile consumer brand loyalty, Kressmann et al (2006) found the direct effect from self-congruency to be equal to the predictive power of functional congruity.…”

“…In particular, the PCM has demonstrated it can create involvement segments based along four levels of sport involvement . While recent studies continue to explore the relationships between involvement components , and the effects of including an additional component such as negotiation-efficacy within the involvement process (Ridinger et al, 2012) or to measure loyalty outcomes (Filo et al, 2013), these studies comparing the individuals occupying the different segments are still limited. To date, no study has empirically examined relationships between the proposed moderators, often characterized as outcomes and inputs, which generate movement between the levels.…”

“…For example, in their study of half-marathon and marathon runners, Funk, Jordan, et al (2011) found 95 percent of the sample credited the four motives of challenge, enjoyment, strength and endurance, and positive health as reasons for participating. In a separate study, Ridinger et al (2012) evaluated marathon participants and found that a combination of the pleasure and centrality dimension of involvement explained the majority of variance in commitment to running, suggesting that this group of endurance participants is drawn to the sport for hedonistic reasons and because it is an important part of their lifestyle.…”

Tournament Satisfaction Scale (TOSS)

“…Many athletes between ages from 5 to 25 have various social, sportive and tourism experiences which provide important contributions to their lives. Participating in these organizations strongly related to personal pleasure and it provides persistent impressions in the lives of participants (Ridinger, Funk, Jordan & Kaplanidou, 2012). According to Sato, Jordan, and Funk (2014); event participation is an active leisure that increases the quality of life.…”