Chapter Sport Consumer Behavior B. Christine Green, University of Texas at Austin Carla A. Costa, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign C H A P T E R

Understanding the Individual as a Sport Consumer Segmentation –Market segments –Target segments –Segmenting sport consumers based on their motives, perceptions, and attitudes

Consumer Needs and Motivation Identify and satisfy customers’ unfulfilled needs Participant motivation Spectator motivation Participant and spectator markets Sidebar: A Swim Club in Crisis

Participant Motivation Over 100 motives for participating in sport Three key motives –Achievement –Social –Mastery Extrinsic and intrinsic rewards

Spectator Motivation Different reasons for watching and participating Spectator motives vary considerably –Diversion –Eustress

Consumer Perceptions Perceiving sport as meeting a particular need or motive People tend to act and react based on perceptions Process by which a person selects, organizes, and interprets stimuli to create a meaningful picture of the world

Consumer Attitudes Marketing efforts –Directed at shaping people’s perceptions –Attempting to form or change customers’ attitudes (continued)

Consumer Attitudes (continued) Attitudes –Expressions of one’s inner feelings that reflect likes and dislikes –Based on three components: a person’s experiences, feelings, and beliefs Consumer –Loyalty –Involvement –Identification

Figure 16.1

Group Influences on the Sport Consumer External factors influencing buying behavior –People closest to us –Groups with whom we choose to associate –Broader society in which we live Direct, indirect, and aspirational reference groups

Consumer Socialization Reference groups –Chosen based on what consumer has learned –Can affect what a consumer learns subsequently Direct and indirect reference groups influence the ways in which we consume sport Socialization processes: modeling, prompting, and reinforcement

Situational Influences on the Sport Consumer Isolating influences of internal or external forces is difficult Different contexts and situations result in different decisions A situation is a set of factors... –Outside the individual consumer –Removed from the product or advertisement (continued)

Situational Influences on the Sport Consumer (continued) Awareness of how purchase situations influence consumers Situational influences –Physical surroundings –Social surroundings –Task requirements –Time pressures –Antecedent states

Consumer Decision Making in Sport Common progression in decision-making process as consumer –Recognizes a need or problem –Seeks information to resolve problem or fulfill need –Determines purchase options –Evaluates alternatives –Makes purchase decision –Engages in postpurchase evaluation

Figure 16.2

Challenges in Sport Consumer Behavior Meaning and emotion of sport consumption Globalization of sport Virtual consumption Compulsive consumption Sidebar: Twitter Stimulates Fan Involvement

Practical Application Critical thinking in sport consumer behavior –Encouraging sport participation Ethics in sport consumer behavior –Seeking innovative and inexpensive ways to market product

Three Review Questions 1.What are the key motives for sport participation and for sport spectation? 2.You and a friend attend a basketball game at your university. Why might the two of you have different perceptions of the game? (continued)

Three Review Questions (continued) 3.What are potential group influences on a person’s decision to attend a sporting event? Give an example of the way that each would influence the decision.