Christian Durchholz

Innovations in Sport Management: The Role of Motivations and Value Cocreation at Public Viewing Events

During mega-sport events, such as FIFA World Cup or Olympic Games, Fan Fests and other public viewing events have been developed as an innovative value proposition for watching sports. Those events attract millions of sport spectators worldwide. Event organizers have already realized the tremendous economic potential, yet sport management literature provides little empirical evidence on this innovation in sport management. Therefore, this study investigates motivational drivers for sport consumption of public viewing events and provides a better understanding of innovation-induced value cocreation at sport events. As public viewing represents an innovative mixture of stadium and television, we conduct a literature review of sport spectator motivations and study empirical findings in the stadium, television, and public viewing context. Based on this theoretical background we conduct a quantitative analysis. During the UEFA EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, 498 spectators were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire at official public viewing events. The findings of this analysis reveal two new motivational dimensions for passive sport consumption. Spectators of public viewing events enjoy the freedom to move around and the intercultural contact and therefore the chance to socialize with fan groups from different countries and cultures. Those new motivational dimensions represent key drivers of sport consumption behavior in the context of public viewing events. In addition to those empirical findings, we derive practical implications in order to understand how innovations in sport management such as public viewing events open new ways to create value at sport events.

How well do you know your spectators? A study on spectator segmentation based on preference analysis and willingness to pay for tickets

ABSTRACT Research question: Do club managers know enough about their spectators? Fan protests against increasing ticket prices in European sports show the ongoing disconnect between fans and clubs. The purpose of this article is to examine sport event spectators’ preferences for tickets and their willingness to pay (WTP) considering innovative ticket features. This research contributes to existing research on spectator segmentation and ticket pricing. Research methods: This study is the first in sport management literature to apply choice-based conjoint analysis in combination with latent classes. We conduct online surveys of two German basketball clubs and collect data on more than 750 spectators. Results and findings: Benefit segmentation analyses of both spectator groups lead to four spectator segments each, which differ depending on preferences for opposing teams, seat categories, and WTP. The results show that the prevailing assumption of homogeneous spectator preferences in sport management research leads to estimation bias. Implications: Spectator preferences are heterogeneous. Therefore, club managers need to know and understand their spectators to better adjust ticket options. Furthermore, the results provide theoretical contributions for spectator segmentation and ticket pricing literature.

Sportsponsoring und Co-Branding – innovative Markenstrategien zur Bildung von Allianzen

Das Sponsoring von Sportorganisationen oder Sportveranstaltungen kann auf eine noch relativ junge Geschichte zuruckblicken. Im Rahmen der Olympischen Spiele wurde z. B. erst 1984 in Los Angeles die Vermarktung derart geoffnet, dass durch Sponsoring ein finanzieller Uberschuss erzielt werden konnte. In Deutschland finden sich zum Thema Sportsponsoring auch bereits in den 1970er Jahren erste Ansatze, z. B. fur Trikotsponsoring in der Fusball Bundesliga. Aufgrund der zu dieser Zeit bereits zunehmenden Informationsuberflutung der Konsumenten und der voranschreitenden Anonymisierung der Markte mussten sich werbetreibende Unternehmen stets neue und innovative Strategien im Rahmen ihrer Kommunikation einfallen lassen. Aufgrund der Bedeutung des Sportsponsorings und seiner weit verbreiteten Anwendung in den verschiedensten Bereichen des Sports gilt es auch in Zukunft immer wieder neue und innovative Ansatze zu entwickeln, um Konsumenten gezielt anzusprechen. Daher wird in diesem Beitrag der Einsatz innovativer Co-Branding-Strategien im Rahmen von Sponsoringengagements im Sport anhand von zwei Fallstudien diskutiert.