Motivational Differences of Attending a Sporting Event: Comparison of Local Residents and Non-Residents

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the motivational diŠerences of attending a sporting event between local residents and non-residents. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted among the spectators of the triathlon events held in Odaiba and Yokohama. Seven factors namely aesthetic, interaction, achievement, skills, knowledge, performance, and drama, were revealed as key motivators for attending the sporting event. The results also revealed several diŠerences in spectators' motivations for attending the event based on spectator types. In addition, the estimated variance was relatively high, suggesting that motivational factors are potentially only one aspect that explains spectators' repeated attendance of a speciˆc sporting event. While several limitations were acknowledged, this research contributed by highlighting the possibility of using geographical residential status to segment spectators for future research.

Relationship between Track and Field Spectators' Motivation and Place Attachment: Cognitive Evaluations of Spectators of the Host Residents

“…Despite its valuable findings, the limitations of this study are as follows: First, it was limited by the selection of variables. In this study, track and field attachment and aesthetics were adopted as spectators' motivations; however, previous research on individual competitions (Yamashita et al, 2018) show other variables of spectators' motivation. There has been no research conducted in Japan regarding the relationship between spectators' motivation and attachment among track and field spectators.…”

“…In studies on spectators' motivation for individual sports (Yamashita et al, 2018), interest in sports, drama, aesthetic, sociability, violence, compensation, achievement, longing, escape, national pride, economic and physical skills, knowledge, performance, eustress, selfesteem, entertainment, group affiliation, and family, are measured by a variety of factors. It has also been noted that sports spectators' motivation is multidimensional and complex (Trail and James, 2001).…”

How does spectator marketing in women's leagues differ from that in men's leagues

“…Based on the reasons for attending a game, Wann (1995) developed the sports fan motivational scale (SFMS) consisting of eight factors with 23 items, the first of its kind. Since then, researchers have cited issues with scales, including content validity, psychometric limitations, and applicability Trail and James, 2001;Yamashita et al, 2018). Funk et al (2002) highlighted that these previous motivational scales were mostly established in men's sport or a context related to sport in general.…”