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This paper analyses the determinants of sports participation and attendance in 40 sports and recreational activities in Spain. Ordered probit models are used to identify determinants in each case and to test for possible relationships. The results show that the two types of involvement, participation and attendance, are very different, the former constrained by economic, sociological and psychological variables such as gender, age, time availability and motivational factors, the latter explained by variables such as age, gender and size of household.

The purpose of this research was to test the influence of consumer knowledge management on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty through service quality and psychological involvement.

The participants (N = 396) were recruited through a convenience sampling technique from non-profit sport clubs in Iran. Data were analyzed with the Structural Equation Modeling using Mplus 7.4.

The results revealed that the effects of service quality on psychological involvement were dependent on consumer knowledge management. Furthermore, there were the mediating effects of service quality and psychological involvement in the relationships between the consumer knowledge management and loyalty.

The research findings provide valuable insights for non-profit sport club managers seeking to better attract and retain their consumers by demonstrating the importance of investing in consumer knowledge management initiatives. Managers should thus integrate knowledge orientation into their marketing and relationship management strategies and apply the strategy into consumer knowledge within club services.

This study empirically highlights the important role of knowledge from, for and about the consumer on perceived service quality and loyalty building among the non-profit consumer base.

The purpose of this study was to compare four different consumer pathway models based on identity theory, attitude/loyalty theory, lifestyle theory and hierarchy of effects theory, each with associated instruments measuring connection to the team.

The authors did a two-study analysis, first collecting data from people aware of an NFL team (N = 218) and then an MLS team (N = 209) to determine which connection item performed better.

The authors found that the Consumer Pathway for Sport Fandom based on the hierarchy of effects theory and its associated interest measurement item performed better than the other three frameworks and items. The Interest item shared the most variance with games attended, games intending to attend, games watched via media and games intending to watch via media.

The Consumer Pathway for Sport Fandom represents the entire consumer spectrum from non-aware consumers all the way up to die-hard sports fans. This pathway will allow sport marketers to track their consumers from initial awareness of the product or service all the way through the brand relationship to ultimate loyalty.

The purpose of this paper is to review the concept of perceived service quality in the fitness industry by considering the service-dominant logic (Vargo and Lusch, 2004) and examining existing service quality models in the context of sport and fitness.

The paper critically reviews generic and industry-specific models of service quality in the fitness industry. The examination of the models is intended to identify the role that the perspective of customers and the dynamics of service co-creation play in these models.

Consideration of the context in a particular industry plays an important role in the development of service quality models. If underestimated, it can result in a model being inadequate or having limited explanatory potential. The review shows that both generic and fitness industry-specific models have methodological and conceptual limitations. This requires researchers to consider developing new contextual models that acknowledge service as co-creation of experience/value between suppliers and customers; and the goal of this co-creation as fulfilment of customers’ aspirations. Such an approach brings a new light to the meaning of “a customer’s perspective” and emphasises the dynamics of service co-creation in the fitness industry.

The study provides an agenda for future research to consider perceived service quality models from the customers’ perspective. It suggests researchers to take into account various factors of consumer behaviour (e.g. motivation) which are unique to sport and fitness services. Also, managers of fitness facilities need to revisit their tools for capturing customers’ perceptions and to update the areas included in customer satisfaction surveys.

The paper provides an insight into the role of co-creation for service quality in fitness services. It contributes towards establishing revised relations between service quality in fitness and contextual industry-specific factors suggested by numerous studies previously.

The scope of this study was to underline the specific aspects of positive consumer attitude and behavior related to sports sponsorship. In more detail, the purpose of this study was to establish a comprehensive sponsorship framework integrating Beliefs about sponsorship, Sponsor's Image, Fans' Attachment with the team, Team's Performance, Fans' Sport Involvement, Sponsors' Sincerity, Awareness of Sponsors, Attitude toward Sponsors, Purchase intentions and Actual Purchases.

Quantitative method was utilized and a sum of 2,752 questionnaires were effectively assembled and analyzed by means of SPSS and AMOS. The results of a structural equation model provide an exceptional conceptual framework that underlines the significance of comprehending the role of important factors in sponsorship efficiency.

This paper provides the context for a discussion. It shows that various antecedents have a significant effect on real – instead of just intentions – purchase behavior regarding sponsors' products and services.

Various implications for future researches as well as strategies to boost the advantages for both sport clubs and sponsoring firms can be drawn from the suggested model.

Up to present, only a handful of empirical studies have looked at the effect of sponsorship on the consumer. The majority of sponsorship studies measure the impact of the sponsorship effort on the recall and recognition of sponsors, with empirical results being inconclusive, with some studies showing high levels of recall and recognition while others show only marginal impact on recall and recognition. The present research provides a comprehensive framework, which can guide future studies by isolating the effect of sponsorship on actual purchase behavior, instead of just estimating individuals' purchase intentions.

This study measures the effect of each of the five senses on arousal, satisfaction and intention to revisit a live racing event. Spectators' arousal was significantly influenced by sights, sounds and smells. Spectators' sense of smell, taste, and touch directly impacted satisfaction. Interestingly, olfactory stimuli had an effect on both arousal and satisfaction. Spectators' arousal had a significant indirect effect on their revisit intention. The study proposes that motorsports marketers make use of olfactory stimuli to provide racing spectators with memorable experiences.

Sport has evolved into one of the largest industries in Australia and there is a corresponding increased interest in the factors influencing fan loyalty. This paper presents a theoretically developed conceptual model which empirically tests the relationships between fan identification, sports involvement, following sport and fan loyalty. Survey results indicate that fan identification, following sport and involvement positively influence fan loyalty, while following sport was found to mediate the involvement-fan identification relationship.

This study is a micro-level perspective of value co-creation in spectator sport. By examining sport through the value co-creation lens, the dual role of the customer as both a contributor to and a beneficiary of value is acknowledged and the importance of stakeholder interactions is emphasized. This study analyzes the extent to which two theoretically and managerially important factors—attendance frequency (i.e. first-time attendee vs repeat attendee) and resident type (i.e. local resident vs domestic traveler)—impact value creation in the recurring live sporting event setting.

Data were collected from spectators who attended a National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) sanctioned racing event. Multigroup structural equation modeling was performed to examine the proposed pathways, and multigroup t-tests were used to compare the model across both groups for each moderating variable. Corresponding path coefficients were then compared using Chin's (2004) recommended equations and procedures.

The study found organization-related value propositions to be the more common antecedents of value, while customer appearance had a strong negative association with hedonic value, and attendance frequency and resident type influenced certain value perceptions. Sport organizations should consider the expectations and motivations of various customer groups and provide offerings designed to meet the specific needs of different fan segments based on the spectator's experience with the sport product and the distance traveled to attend the sport event.

This paper advances the authors’ understanding of value creation in sport by showing how customer perceptions of value associated with the sport organization and other customers can be moderated by certain behavioral and geographic factors.

The purpose of this research is to develop a more precise evaluation of sport sponsorship efficiency in participant-based sport, by investigating the specific aspects of participants' attitude and behavior toward sponsors. In more detail, this research develops a comprehensive sponsorship model in the participant sport context, integrating the following constructs: sport involvement, sincerity, social media use, beliefs about sponsorship, satisfaction with event, sponsor's image, awareness of sponsors, attitude toward sponsors, purchase and word of mouth intentions.

A quantitative method was utilized and 1,056 questionnaires were effectively collected and analyzed via SPSS and AMOS. Using structural equation modeling, this research tested a conceptual framework analyzing the role of different factors for sponsorship efficiency in a participant sport context.

The present research proposes a model of 10 variables which altogether permits a complete comprehension of how to expand the linkages among antecedents and outcomes of sport sponsorship in participant-based sports. The proposed factors assume a critical role in upgrading sponsorship effectiveness, which is reflected through a continuum of responses that regularly begins with sponsorship awareness and, at last, leads to increments in participants' purchase and word of mouth intentions regarding sponsors' products.

Various implications for future studies as well as strategies to boost the advantages for sponsoring firms in participant-based sports, can be drawn from the suggested model.

Up to the present, there is a scarcity of research exploring the effectiveness of sponsorship in participant-based sports. The majority of sponsorship studies measure the impact of sponsorship on spectators, neglecting the role of participants as potential vehicles in the sport sponsorship setting. This study is the first to exploring the role of sport participants in sport sponsorship literature, provides a comprehensive framework, which can guide future studies and enhance sponsorship efficiency in a participant sport context.

Factors that influence the game attendance and attitudinal loyalty of sports fans have been researched quite extensively in Anglo-American countries, but rather less in Germany. Brand image is held to be an important antecedent of fan loyalty. This study therefore investigates the relationship between these constructs, using a sample of 1,300 fans of German Bundesliga soccer teams. In addition to the verification of this link, causal modelling reveals a relationship between the major facets of a club's brand image, namely attributes and benefits. Non-product-related attributes of the brand are more important to the fans' loyalty than product-related attributes.