Galen T. Trail

Athlete endorser effectiveness: model development and analysis.

Purpose – As a fixture in the mainstream media landscape, athletes, coaches, and sport celebrities are regularly used to promote products from sports equipment to high‐end watches. With an intrinsic connection between athlete endorsers and sport‐related products, it is the use of these endorsers to promote non‐sport products that raises questions about their appropriateness as a marketing tool. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop an explanatory model that analyzes athlete endorser effectiveness in promoting non‐sport products.Design/methodology/approach – An holistic approach was taken, examining the structural relationships of identification with an athlete and his/her sport to product‐endorser congruency, perceived value, and purchase intentions, providing a preliminary overview of key socio‐psychological factors that may influence the purchase intentions of endorsed products.Findings – This paper provides empirical insights about the effectiveness of athlete endorsers for non‐sport produ...

Ethnic identification, acculturation and sports identification of Latinos in the United States

Sports management and marketing research has failed to study the dimensions of Latino sports consumption behaviour and fan identification. This research examined the relationships among ethnic identity, acculturation, identification with sport in general, and identification with specific sports for Latinos living in the United States. Even though the four models used fit the data well, in general, ethnic identity and acculturation had little or no influence on sports identification. Hence sports marketers should not create marketing campaigns solely based on the assumption that Latinos or any ethnic group are necessarily fans of any particular sport (e.g. soccer).

Transition from Motivation to Behaviour: Examining the Moderating Role of Identification (ID) on the Relationship between Motives and Attendance

In sports consumer behaviour literature only a small amount of variance in attendance is explained by motives. One possible explanation for this is the existence of a third factor which moderates this relationship between the motives and attendance. Individuals who strongly identify with a sports team demonstrate distinctly different behavioural patterns from weakly identified individuals. Identification may, therefore, serve as a moderator. Accordingly, two hypotheses are generated: (a) the relationship between motives and attendance intention ranges from weak to moderate; and (b) the overarching construct of Identification (Team Identification) moderates the influence of motives on attendance intention. Participants were 207 United States of America National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division IA student-subjects. Instrumentation includes measures of motivation, points of attachment and attendance intention. Through hierarchical Confirmatory Factor Analysis, regression analyses and latent va...

Sports Consumer-Team Relationship Quality: Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Scale

The purpose of this research was to develop the Sports Consumer-Team Relationship Quality Scale (SCTRQS). In Study I, content validity was established through a comprehensive review of literature and tests of content validity, including expert review. Based on the assessment of psychometric properties, theoretical relevance of the items and parsimoniousness of the scale, items were refined for two following studies. Results indicated that the SCTRQS would be a valid tool for marketers and managers to assess relationship quality with their consumers for marketing strategies, effectiveness of advertising campaigns, sponsorship value and value for stakeholders.

Confirmatory Analysis of the Athletic Team Merchandise Model

Although sales of athletic team merchandise (ATM) contribute to the overall consumption of sport, a research effort that comprehensively measures aspects that trigger the consumption of ATM is lacking. In light of the gap, utilizing multiple theories and other concepts that describe product consumption, the authors of this article empirically examined a theoretical model to explain ATM purchasing intention. Seven hundred thirty-six individuals who had previously purchased ATM participated in the surveys. The confirmatory factor analyses suggests that the ATM model, consisting of personal values, team identification, brand attitude, past expenditure, perceived product attributes, expectancy disconfirmation, satisfaction, and purchase intention, has good psychometric properties, and is a good measurement for the purchase intention of ATM. Comprehensiveness of the model suggests researchers should measure factors explaining various commonly occurring consumption activities at a domain level.

Differences in motives and points of attachment by season ticket status: a case study of ACHA.

We investigated differences in motives (vicarious achievement, aesthetics, drama, escape, social interaction, aggression, knowledge, appreciation of physical skill, interest in hockey and interest in college sport) between Season Ticket Holders (STH) and Single Game Ticket Purchasers (SGP) attending a national tournament for intercollegiate club hockey teams. STH and SGP differed on the number of games attended and the number of games intending to attend, giving support for our hypothesis that STH were fans and SGP were spectators. Because we found no significant group differences on team identification (cognitive loyalty), we controlled for it to determine if the two groups differed on motives. We found significant group differences on five motives: escape, knowledge, drama, aggression and interest in hockey. In contrast, the two groups did not differ on vicarious achievement, aesthetics, appreciation of physical skills, social interaction and interest in collegiate sport. All respondents rated these motives relatively highly in general.

Factors influencing spectator sports consumption: NCAA women's college basketball

Although the understanding of both positive and negative factors influencing sports consumption is essential, previous research has mainly focused on motivators. The purpose of this study was to examine three different models of constraints and motivators that influence attendance: a correlated model, a hierarchical model and a moderated model. Twenty factors were identified and classified into four main categories. The results indicated that 16 out of 20 motivators and constraints had a significant relationship with attendance in the theoretically expected direction.

Seven Deadly Sins of Manuscript Writing: Reflections of Two Experienced Reviewers

ABSTRACT Acceptance rates of quality journals in the sport management field are typically below 20%. We have identified seven problems that often prevent submitted manuscripts from being accepted: (1) Failure to derive research from theory and/or a failure to consider more than one potential theory to support the research. (2) No synthesis of existing, similar information already published within the sport field. (3) A lack of assessment of the validity of prior research. (4) Creation of new scales when existing scales work sufficiently well. (5) Limiting potential explanatory variance. (6) Not reporting the variance explained and/or a failure to discuss the meaningfulness of the results. (7) A lack of reporting viable alternative explanations when the data do not support the hypotheses or focal model. We discuss each of these issues and provide examples, both good and bad.

An examination of Oliver’s product loyalty framework

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test Oliver’s two-dimension (fortitude and community/social support) product loyalty framework. Design/methodology/approach – Oliver categorized each of the two dimensions into high and low, creating a two-by-two framework: low fortitude and low-community/social support (Product Superiority group); low fortitude and high-community/social support (Village Envelopment group); high fortitude and low-community/social support (Determined Self-isolation group); high fortitude and high-community/social support (Immersed Self-identity group). The paper uses two samples. The sample from Study 1 was season ticket holders (n=199) of a West Coast (USA) Major League Baseball team. Results indicated preliminary support for Oliver’s four groups and good psychometric properties of the fan community scale and the individual fortitude scale (IFS). Study 2 focussed on attendees (n=458) at two East Coast (USA) Major League Baseball venues. Findings – The multivariate GLM indicated si...

A model bridging team brand experience and sponsorship brand experience

Purpose Previous research has focused on the antecedents of fan loyalty or the link between fans and the team on sponsorship reactions, but no comprehensive framework has been developed to combine these perspectives. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated framework of how team brand experience during the season impacts sponsorship brand experience. Design/methodology/approach To create the conceptual model, a comprehensive search of peer-reviewed articles was conducted in electronic databases and journal reference lists. The authors identified constructs from prior research aimed at understanding sponsorship effectiveness. These constructs not only included aspects of the sponsorship brand experience, but also aspects within the team brand experience that form the link between consumers’ responses derived from team-related stimuli and the responses evoked by sponsor-related stimuli. Findings This conceptual framework yields a set of 11 propositions regarding fans’ interactions with both team and sponsorship brands highlighting how to strengthen the bond between fans, teams, and sponsors. It provides a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon and identifies opportunities to increase fan support and the appeal of professional teams to potential sponsors. Originality/value This study extends previous research by providing a unique conceptual framework that highlights the importance of understanding how fans view both the team brand and the sponsor brand. Several suggestions for future studies and strategies to increase the benefits for both teams and sponsors can be drawn from this framework.