Psychic Income and Intention to Attend Games, Intention to Purchase Licensed Merchandise, and Life Satisfaction: 2017 Taipei Universiade

Hosting international sporting events brings various benefits to the host city, including direct and indirect economic benefits. However, few studies have explored the association between psychic income and marketing variables and life satisfaction. This study examined whether the perceived psychic income of the 2017 Taipei Universiade predicted intention to attend games, intention to purchase licensed merchandise, and life satisfaction. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 1,102 Taipei residents aged above 20 years in the city. The research sample was randomly split into an analysis sample and a validation sample to test the research hypotheses and ensure generalizability. Confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical linear regression were performed for data analysis. The research findings indicated that perceived psychic income positively predicted intention to purchase licensed products, intention to attend the sport events, and life satisfaction. The results of this study have both academic and practical implications.

Social Entrepreneurship in Professional Sports: Antecedents and Outcomes from the Consumer Perspective

This study empirically explored antecedents and outcomes related to social entrepreneurship in the context of professional sports from the customer’s perspective. Two parent companies—FuBon and ChinaTrust, both financial holding firms—and two franchises—FuBon Guardians and ChinaTrust Elephants—in the Chinese Professional Baseball League were the research elements in this study to ensure generalizability of the findings of this study. The participants of this study were 268 spectators of a FuBon Guardians game and 201 spectators of a ChinaTrust Elephants game. Structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. Results indicated that innovation and corporate social responsibility positively correlated with social entrepreneurship. Moreover, social entrepreneurship was positively associated with affective commitment to the parent company and sports franchise. Finally, affective commitment to the parent company not only exerted a positive effect on the intention to purchase the products of the parent company but also promoted the intention to purchase licensed merchandise and attend games. Similarly, affective commitment to the sports franchise not only exerted a positive effect on the intention to purchase licensed merchandise and attend games but also promoted the intention to purchase the products of the parent company. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed in this study.

Sustainability Challenges in Professional Football: The Destructive Effects of the Society of the Spectacle

For a long time considered as a simple means of entertainment, football (soccer) has now become a main element of the society of the spectacle, with huge economic and financial stakes. A series of competitions are managed to generate significant revenues shared by international institutions (including FIFA), private companies and star players. This paper points out that professional football is engaged in a headlong rush, including the irrational use of non-renewable resources and frantic consumption among fans, especially of licensed merchandise. Dialogue between football stakeholders and the advocates of sustainability has become difficult, as evidenced by the conditions under which the 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place in Qatar, with three major controversies: initial controversies in the choice of host country; environmental controversies about stadium air conditioning; and future controversies regarding the importance of sustainability in the allocation of the next FIFA World Cups.

The Demand for Licensed Merchandise in Sports—On the Purchase Channel Choice

Clubs and third-party operators offer licensed sports products via offline and online stores. Although a few papers have previously focused on sports merchandise, no study has ever analyzed the factors associated with the purchase channel (PC) choice. Based on representative survey data of sports club members, we empirically test the statistical association between consumers’ characteristics and their PC choice. Econometric results suggest that the PC choice is affected by membership characteristics and sociodemographic attributes such as gender, education, income, and place of residence. Comparisons with results from studies conducted in more general settings suggest that the transferability of findings from general to sports-specific settings (and vice versa) is limited. Moreover, the finding, that the impact of these characteristics depends on the type of operator (club vs. retailer) rather than the type of product, highlights the relevance to distinguish between vertically integrated and third-party-operated PCs in both managerial decisions and future research.

The theory of planned behaviour and intention of purchase sport team licensed merchandise

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to predict intentions to purchase sport team licensed merchandise (STLM) using the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Design/methodology/approach – Three constructs of the TPB such as attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) were used to predict purchase intention of STLM. In an effort to increase the level of prediction, additional elements – past behavior and role identity – were included. A total of 384 university students participated in the survey. Findings – The results indicated that attitude, subjective norms, and PBC accounted for 64 percent of the variance in purchase intention of STLM. Past behavior and role identity explained an additional 9.3 percent of the variance in purchase intentions. Past behavior was the strongest predictor of purchase intention. Originality/value – The results showed the efficacy of the TPB in predicting purchase intentions of STLM.