Consumer in Sports: Fan Typology Analysis: Balwant Samra Anna Wos
Consumer in Sports: Fan Typology Analysis: Balwant Samra Anna Wos
Balwant Samra
Coventry University
Anna Wos*
Coventry University
Abstract: Sport fan loyalty is important to attain within a culturally rich and global
audience as loyal sport fans are unique consumers. The ability to adequately understand
what motivates the sports consumer is an important requirement for sport managers.
This paper proposes that a greater understanding of fandom will contribute to a better
understanding of the concept of loyalty. Although there is research regarding typology
of fans and loyalty, but even within sport advocates group there may be sub-categories
that can explain loyalty behaviour further. This research analyses types of sport fans
in different disciplines in the UK, as an example of diverse society to explore factors
determining category of fans.
Key words: consumer, sport, fan typology
Introduction
Sports consumers display a bewildering array of values, attitudes, and behav-
iours (Mir 2000; Shank 2002; Westerbeek and Smith 2003). Not all sports consum-
ers are equally passionate and fanatical nor use their team to confirm their personal
identity (Redden and Steiner 2000). Neither are they totally loyal, engrossed in club
history, or resistant to change that threaten team values and practices. Some at-
tend games on a regular basis, while others attend only on special occasions. Some
consumers spend most of their time engaging in sport chatter trawling the internet,
while others display their fandom by watching pay television sport channels. They
experience sport in different ways, and use the team affiliation to meet a diverse
range of needs (Wann, Melnick, Russell and Pease 2001).
* [email protected]
264 Balwant Samra, Anna Wos
Fans possess a strong and intense emotional attachment with the con-
sumption objects. Emotional affiliation has been used to distinguish the fan from
general consumers. Jenkins (1992) identifies the differences between watching a TV
drama series and becoming a fan of the drama as lying in the intensity of the fan’s
emotional or intellectual involvement. Grossberg (1995) observed that a fan is more
closely associated with a particular form of intensity or affect compared to general
customers. Following Oliver’s (1980, 1991, 1999) classification of stages of loyalty,
fandom cannot be reached unless the object is part and bundle of the consumer’s
self identity and his or social identity. Abercombie and Longhurst (1998) place the
position of fan on a continuum of audience experience and identities which range
from the consumer at one end, to the producer on the other end of the scale, taking
in the fan, the enthusiast and the cultist along the way. Sports consumers form psy-
chological connections to specific teams that are persistent and resistant to change
(Kolbe and James 2000; Trail and James 2001). Kolbe and James found consumers
themselves as part of the team, demonstrating a strong psychological commitment.
Fans behave as loyal consumers who exhibit several loyalty behaviours,
such as repeating their purchase or patronage, or insisting on staying in the
relationship between brands or products. Regular and repeated consumption is
the clearest indicator of a particular emotional investment of the fan in the litera-
ture. Brooker and Jermyn (2002) and Harrington and Bielby (1995) identify the re-
lationship between repeated consumption and the emotional commitment of these
fans. Sandvoss (2005) observes that most of those who labelled themselves as fans,
pointed to their repeated consumption patterns. He defines fandom on the basis of
repeated consumption and emotional bond with the fanatic objects and his descrip-
tion of the fan equates with consumer loyalty behaviour. Such loyal behaviour is a
composite blend of brand, an attitude and behaviour with indexes that measure the
degree to which the consumer favours and purchases a brand repeatedly (Day 1969,
Pritchard and Howard 1997).
Fans present informal membership behaviours, such as co-production
and investment. The relationship between fans and the object tends to always
be active and proactive. Active participation on production processes distinct fans
from general consumers. Among television fans, (Jenkins 1992) found some me-
dia fans as consumers who also produced, such as readers who also wrote, and
spectators who also participated. In a similar vein, Grossberg (1995) addresses that
fandom creates something more than consumption of cultural objects and actively
produces views on the objects. Cavicchi (1998) notes, that fans are specialist con-
sumers, in one sense, they are consumers whose consumption habits are highly
predictable and are likely to remain stable. Fans want to get involved with produc-
tion of the object rather than simply repurchasing or possessing it. Consequently,
the fan’s intense consumption is valued by uniting consumption with the cultural
values of production.
266 Balwant Samra, Anna Wos
others authors see it in a much more positive light and that being a fan can be thera-
peutic act (Fisk 1992; Wenner 1990). Pooley (1978: 14) suggests that casual sport
spectators are simple observers and soon forget about a sporting event at its conclu-
sion, whilst more committed fan is said to ”continue his interest until the intensity
of feeling toward the team becomes so great that parts of every day are devoted to
either his team or in some instances, to be broad realm of sports in general”. The
distinction is best made by Guttmann (1986) where the term fan refers to the emo-
tionally committed consumer of sports events. The terms overlap but are obviously
not identical. In practice most fans are spectators and most spectators are fans, but
it is logically possible to be one and not the other.
Spectators are a key constituent of a sport organisation’s success – greater fan
numbers attract sponsors. A form of double jeopardy exists – sports that attract
small crowds are unlikely to attract large sponsorship deals or negotiate lucrative
television rights, further reinforcing the sport’s low profile and its unattractive-
ness for sponsors. Fans are the demand nodes; differences in demand according to
spectator characteristics are recognised. A number of sport fan studies, reviewed
by Quick (2000), have suggested that not all fans are motivated by the same factors.
Various typologies of fan attendance abound in the sport fan academic literature
with many relying on product usage rates (levels of spectatorship) for their clas-
sifications. The terms “theatre- goers”, “fair-weather fans” and “hardcore fans”
connote attendance status as well as commitment to the sport/team. Typically,
“theatre-goers” and “fair-weather fans” display temporal and situational involve-
ment with their team/sport whereas “hardcore fans” display enduring involvement
(Madrigal 1995). Implicit in most sport marketing activity is the desire to move
spectators up the attendance/participation escalator (akin to Christopher, Payne
and Ballantyne’s 1991 “ladder of loyalty”) thereby turning light users (“theatre- go-
ers” and “fair-weather fans”) into heavier users.
Quick (2000) summarises the heterogeneity of sport fan spectatorship. “The
tribal, hard-core fan is but a minor figure in the professional sportscape. In recent
decades a number of other fan segments have been identified, each having a differ-
ent expectation of the sport experience. Moreover, each group, whether consuming
the sport product at the event, on the street, or over the Internet, has unique value
to the sport organisation; because of this, if possible, the needs and experiences of
each group must be accommodated” (Quick 2000: 150). From previous research
undertaken three types of fans have identified (refer to Table 1).
268 Balwant Samra, Anna Wos
Fan types
Types of fans
Temporary Fan
The stronger an individual identifies himself or herself as a “fan” the more the
individual uses this specific identification with regard to external others and inter-
nally, to discern himself or herself. However, being a fan is not used by the tempo-
rary fan for self identification (i.e. being a fan is not central to the temporary fan’s
self concept). The temporary fan’s interest in the phenomenon is time constrained.
After the phenomenon of interest is over, the fan is no longer motivated to exhibit
behaviour related to the sports object, but rather return to normal behaviour.
This time boundary is the primary factor that differentiates the temporary fan
from other sports fans. What might explain a temporary fan’s motives and behav-
iour? Cialdini et al (1976) suggested basking in reflected glory theory (BIRG) as a
way to understand fans. It involves the tendency for an individual to attempt to
internalize the success of others.
Devoted fan
The devoted fan remains loyal to their team or player even if either the specific,
short –term event that captivated their temporary attention has ended or if they are
removed from the context of the original geographical location. According to Ball
and Tasaki (1992), a person is attached to a particular object to the degree that the
object is used to maintain his or herself concept. The more an object constitutes
part of a consumer identity, the more the consumer exhibits protective behaviour
toward the object, the greater the effort the consumer spends on maintaining the
object, the greater the consumer’s emotional difficulty in accepting deterioration or
loss of the object. Thus, neither BIRG nor cuttings of reflected failure (CORFing)
explain the motives and behaviours of devoted fan. The devoted fan possesses an
attitude of my “team right or wrong”. The devoted fan uses being a fan as an im-
portant part of self-identification, yet not the most critical or central self-definition
in one’s life.
Fanatical Fan
Early explorations of social psychology theories currently adopted in sport so-
ciology research of fan loyalty provide preliminary insights that help develop our
understanding of the development of fanaticism and this unique form of intense
loyalty. For example, the concept of socialisation provided explanations that can
explain the process by which individuals are introduced to the brand that later be-
comes the object of fanaticism, e.g. socialising agents such as family, peers, school
and community attract or draw individuals to learn to accept the values, goals,
270 Balwant Samra, Anna Wos
beliefs, attitudes, and norms of the fan culture (James 1997; Huffman et al 2000;
Wann et al 2001). Social identity and self-esteem maintenance theories help explain
how an individual may develop an attraction to an object, and, attachment theories
for insights into how a person may become fanatical via the process of attachment.
Consumer fanaticism is a unique form of loyalty characterised by strong and in-
tense levels of commitment, allegiance, devotion, passion, emotional attachment,
enthusiasm and involvement (Bristow and Sebastion 2001; Cova and Cova 2002;
Funk and James 2001 Muniz and O’Guinn 2001; Oliver 1999; Redden and Steiener
2000; McAlexander et al 2002). Fans are unique consumers because their interest
in a brand is self-sustaining (Pimental and Reyonlds 2004). They voluntarily engage
in behaviours beneficial protecting the brand, and ensuring the brand’s continued
existence and legacy (Doss 1999, Fournier 1998, Fournier and Yao 1997; Pimental
and Reynolds 2004; Rozananski et al 1999). Fanatical consumers exhibit a deep love
for the brand and remain loyal despite poor brand performances (Hugenberg 2002;
Hunt, Bristol and Bashaw 1999; Rifkin 1999; Whang et al 2004). They display a true
admiration for the brand, and their devotion, passion, and enthusiasm are often
considered infectious in attracting new customers and fellow followers (Belk 2004;
Pimental and Reyonalds 2004; Rifkin 1999).
Fanatics are valuable customers of a brand and attractive to marketers due to a
variety of reasons. For example, some fanatics have extreme consumption drives,
which imply heavy usage and purchase patterns (Huffman 2000). They act as opin-
ion leaders to bring others’ attention to the brand and attract new customers on be-
half of the company (Rifkin 1999). Fanatics venture to great personal and financial
lengths to support the brand, such as by joining and actively participating in brand
communities (Funk 1998; Muniz and O’Guinn 2001). Their support is consistent,
persistent and resistant to any attempts at reducing this attachment, which includes
the active disregard of marketing messages from competitor brands (James 1997)
Hugenberg (2002: 178) explains that organisations become wealthy as a result of
fan loyalty.
The fanatical fan is similar to the devoted fan in that the fanatical fan is not
bounded by time or distance and defines self through attachment with the sports
consumptive object. The fanatical fan uses being a fan as a very important part of
self identification. The fanatical fan engages in behaviour that is beyond the nor-
mal devoted fan, greater level of knowledge , greater level of anxiety and arousal
watching their team compete (Branscombe and Wann 1992; Wann et al 1998) yet
the behaviour is accepted by significant others (family, friends, other fans) because
it considered supportive of the team, player or sport. Devoted fan may go to games.
Fanatical fan may go to the game and paint their body with colours of the team, or
go in costume, or in some way exhibit behaviour that is different from the devoted
fan. Interaction with the club is highly valued. Supporters engage in web site discus-
Consumer in Sports: Fan typology analysis 271
sions and email commentaries, are keen in joining supporter groups, and actively
seek out and subscribe to newsletters and fanzines.
Involvement
Involvement has been defined as a state of motivation, arousal, or interest to-
ward a recreational activity or associated product (Rothschild 1984). Involvement
represents an internal state variable that reflects the amount of arousal, interest, or
drive evoked by a particular stimuli or situation that mediates consumer behaviour
(Mitchell 1979). Involvement research delineates situational involvement from en-
during involvement (Houston and Rothschild 1978; Richins and Bloch1986; Rich-
ins et al 1999).Enduring involvement is conceptualized as the ongoing baseline
level of concern with an activity or product, i.e. individuals ongoing concern with
the team. Situational involvement is a passing increase in concern for the activity
or product due to temporary circumstances (Richin and Bloch 1991). For example,
a fan that is preparing to attend may have high situational involvement on that
evening. Thus, enduring involvement represents an individual’s ongoing level of
interest in an activity or product class (Houston and Rothschild 1978). Enduring
involvement is independent of situations. High levels of enduring involvement are
likely to occur when the individuals perceive an activity or product offers hedonic
benefits or is closely linked with the self (Laurent and Kapferer 1985).
Loyalty
The concept of loyalty has earned considerable attention in the broad area of
consumer behaviour, and the importance of studying loyalty has been recognised
more than ever (Oliver 1999). The construct of loyalty has evolved within a frame-
work of behavioural, attitudinal and composite concepts. First loyalty was defined
as an overt behaviour or consequence of behaviour (Cunningham 1956). Therefore,
it centred on repeat purchase patterns of the same brand over time. Later, attitu-
dinal component of loyalty earned attention as a better way of understanding the
underlying psychological phenomenon behind the behaviour. Thus, the attitudinal
definition of loyalty focused on the position of the object along a continuum of
customer preference (Day 1969). Then, the composite conceptualization of loyalty
emerged. In this notion, loyalty is viewed as a two dimensional phenomenon that
is a function of favourable attitudes and behavioural repetition over some period
(Jacoby and Kyner 1973). This concept allows researchers to categorise the extent
of loyalty as high, spurious, latent and non-existent (Backman and Cromton 1991a;
Dick and Basu 1994).
In the sports literature, fan loyalty and identification with the team are seen as
the main determinants of fan behaviour. The popularity of fan loyalty is probably
due to the fact that loyalty of sports fans is in some ways dysfunctional. Sometimes,
272 Balwant Samra, Anna Wos
loyalty is increasing the worse the team is performing (Bristow and Sebastion 2001).
Hence, in contrast to the assumptions in sport economic literature, satisfaction with
the outcome of the game appears to have little link to loyalty at least for some of
the sports fans.
Attitudinal dimension of fan loyalty is represented by the psychological com-
mitment of a fan to the team. Commitment is typically defined as the emotional or
psychological attachment to brand (Beatty and Kahle 1988). Previous measures of
fan’s psychological commitment have included three components of commitment:
inner attachment, persistence and resistance (Gladden and Funk 2001; Mahony et
al 2000; Pritchard et al 1999). Fans therefore show a high level of psychological
commitment if they feel a deep inner attachment to their favourite team and if their
commitment is persistence overtime and resistant to criticism. In the organizational
behaviour literature commitment has been examined extensively (Meyer and Allen
1984), suggests that measure of commitment should also include indicators regard-
ing the degree to which individuals care about the long term success of the orga-
nization (O’Reilly and Chatman 1986), in this case favourite football club or team.
Wakefield and Sloan (1995: 159) define team loyalty as an “allegiance or devotion
to a particular team that is based on the spectator’s interest in the team that has
developed overtime”.
Behavioural loyalty represents past behaviour as well as behavioural intentions
(Homburg and Giering 1999). Past behaviour comprises past purchasing behav-
iour and past positive word of mouth. By transferring the loyalty concept to fan
behaviour, the following activities constitute past loyal behaviour in the team sport
context: attending the favourite club’s games live in the stadium, watching the fa-
vourite club’s game on television, consuming other club-related media, purchasing
club merchandise, wearing the colours or logo of their favourite club, and trying to
convince others that the favourite club should be supported (Funk et al 2003; Funk
and Pastore 2000; Gladden and Funk 2001; Mahony, Madrigal and Howard 2000;
Shank and Beasley 1998).The intentional component represents the positive and
persistent future behaviour of the fan. It embraces intended loyal behaviour and
positive word of mouth, as well as cross buying intensions (Homburg and Giering
1999). Positive word of mouth is referred to as all informal communication between
a consumer and others concerning evaluations of goods and services, including
recommendation to others (Anderson 1998). Cross buying refers to a fan’s practice
of buying additional products and services from a favourite club brand in addi-
tion to the ones he or she currently owns (Ngobo 2004), particularly, relevant for
sport marketers today because most professional clubs now have brand extension
strategies whereby they are expanding the range of branded products and services
beyond club merchandise (Apostolopoulou 2002; Chadwick and Clowes 1998).
In addition, loyalty of sports fans is fascinating because loyalty is important to
Consumer in Sports: Fan typology analysis 273
them in a way that is not to consumers in most sectors (how many shoppers will
sing ‘loyal customers’ as they make their weekly trip to Asda?) (Tapp 2004:204).
Therefore, loyalty to a team is a highly meaningful concept for sports fans. While
Parker and Stuart (1997) point out that exclusively loyalty to a team is the norm and
that loyalty is not affected by team success at all, other author’s state that loyalty
of sports fans cannot be taken for granted. They emphasise that different types of
sports fans show different type of loyalty and different behaviour depending on
the team’s success (Tapp 2004). Based on the work of Dick and Basu (1994) Tapp
(2004) found a number of football supporter categories based on their attitudinal
and behavioural loyalty to a team. On the one end of the spectrum is a fanatic and
at the other end a supporter who attended only occasionally. Whereas fanatics will
still be loyal to a team even when success is missing, casual supporters might cease
to watch the games in such a situation. These different reactions are described by
Cialdini et al (1976) as BIRGing (Basking in Reflected Glory) and CORFing (Cut-
ting off Reflected Failure) behaviour. Several researchers have found that BIRGing
and CORFing tendencies vary across different types of sports fans (Madgrial 1995,
Sloan 1989). Wann and Branscombe (1990) found that individuals high in team
identification were more likely to BIRG after a victory and less likely to CORF
after defeat. Those fans are likely to support their team even when they drop down
a league and satisfaction with the outcome of a game is not linked to their loyalty
(Tapp 2004).
Commitment
Commitment, in marketing context, is used as the degree to which an individual
views his/her relationship with consumption objects from a long-term perspective
and is willing to stay with the relationship even when things are difficult. This
concept of commitment has been used to measure marketing effectiveness. Day
(1969) employed commitment to determine a more accurate description of loyalty.
Jacoby and Kyner (1973) emphasise that the notion of commitment provide the
essential basis for distinguishing between brand loyalty and other forms of repeat
purchasing behaviour. Samuleson and Sandvick (1997) state that commitment de-
scribes a bond or attitude strength between a consumer and a particular brand, thus
extending the meaning of loyalty and should go beyond simple repurchasing or
repatronage. Amine (1998) addresses the feature of true brand loyalty, and regards
it as effective buying.
General sport consumer motivations
Motivation has been defined as the driving force within individuals that impels
them to actions McClelland (1951). He observed that a motive became a strong
affective association, characterised by an anticipatory goal reaction and based on
274 Balwant Samra, Anna Wos
past association of certain cues with pleasure or pain. Murray (1964) extends the
above description stating that, “a motive is an internal factor that arouses, directs,
and integrates a person’s behaviour...[a motive] is not observed directly but inferred
from his behaviour or simply assumed to exist in order to explain his behaviour”
(Murray 1964).
Hunt et al (1999) classification schema focuses on the source of motivation and
on the behaviour exhibited by different types of fans. Similar to the concept of in-
volvement, the linkage between motivation and actual behaviour can be temporary
or enduring (Richins and Bloch 1986). For example if social pressures or temporary
circumstances are the source of a consumer’s motivation to engage in sports re-
lated behaviour, then such motivation is termed situational. Situational motivation
is bound by time or space and thus is more temporary in nature. Conversely, if the
source motivation is not context bound, then motivation is identified as enduring.
Enduring motivation is likely, given that the fan perceives the sports object as im-
portant to his or herself-concept. Unlike situational motivation, enduring motiva-
tion has no such time or location constraints. The source of temporary and local
fans motivation is situational, while the source of motivation for devoted, fanatical,
and dysfunctional fans is enduring.
For those fans whose motivation with sports is more enduring, differences oc-
cur because of their level of attachment to the sports object (i.e. the degree of
centrality of sport to self). Ball and Taski (1992) suggest that attachment is concep-
tually distinct because the object of attachment acquires meanings and significance
beyond that of a simple involvement or importance. Fans reveal their level of at-
tachment through their sports related behaviours. Devoted, fanatical fans differ in
terms of their attachment to the sports consumptive objective, as exhibited by their
behaviour towards that object.
Group affiliation
In most instances, sport spectating is a social activity (Danielson 1997). Wheth-
er it occurs at home, a restaurant, a bar, or the arena sport tends to be consumed
in a group environment. For some individuals, it is precisely the social nature of
sport spectating that attracts them to it. They are motivated by the group affiliation
motive, that is, a desire to spend time with others (Gantz and Wenner 1995; Gutt-
man 1986; Melnick 1993; Pan et al 1997; Sloan 1995; Smith et al 1981). Group affili-
ation is motivated by a desire for positive distinctiveness from other social groups
(Madrigal 2002). Sport fandom and sport spectating can help to fulfil the human
need for social interaction by providing a sense of belongingness. The fact that
most spectators consume sport as a member of a social group suggests that fans
do indeed use sport to satisfy social interaction needs (Mann 1969; Aveni 1977).
For some fans, the opportunity to spend some time with friends is a driving mo-
Consumer in Sports: Fan typology analysis 275
tivational force behind their decision to consume sport (Melnick 1993; Pan et al
1997, Melnick and Wann 2011). This motive is particularly common among sports
fans that have children and or are married (Wann et al 1998). In affiliation, one
important part of the identification process with the group is rituals like collecting,
pilgrimages and viewing the club as a part of one’s self identity. Consuming some
brands becomes part of the integration.
Self-identity
Social identity theory, rooted in the symbolic interaction tradition, focuses on
the connection between self, role and society (Stryker 1980). In this conceptualiza-
tion, the self is composed of “multiple selves”, some which are more important than
others. This notion can be traced back to James (1890).This view of the self rec-
ognizes the social units that people live in are relatively small network of relation-
ships that impact individuals identities. Kleine et al (1993) find that social identity
perspective is useful way to study the many different types of consumption people
routinely partake in. The role of identity theory is to understand how and why
individuals select certain identity related activities, given all of the possible alterna-
tives (Serp 1987). Shamir (1992) finds identity salience is related to commitment to
participation in a leisure activity and to the time invested in the activity. Additional
support, in the context of leisure is offered by Laverie (1998) who demonstrates that
identity salience is an effective predictor of motivation for participation in a specific
leisure activity. Social identity theory is applicable because fan behaviour is socially
visible, involves relationships with others, can lead to the formation of a fan role
and one can experience satisfaction associated with that role. Therefore, those with
high level of identity salience for being a fan of a sporting team will attend more
games than those low in identity salience.
Economic
For some individuals, it is the potential economic gain from sport gambling that
attracts them to the role of a fan. These persons are driven by the economic mo-
tive (Chorbajian 1978; Eastman and Land 1997; Frey 1992; Gantz and Wenner1995;
Guttmann 1986).
Emotional Stimulation
As is widely known, sport can provide fans with stress and stimulation. Fun and
enjoyable stress often referred to as “eustress” is a major motivational factor for
fan attraction (Madrigal 1995; Mahony and Moorman 1999). It involves a desire to
gain excitement and stimulation through sport (Gantz 1981; Sloan 1986). Fans with
high level of eustress (i.e. euphoric stress) motivation become involved with the
pastime because they enjoy the excitement and arousal they experience watching
276 Balwant Samra, Anna Wos
sport, whether it’s the drama of close game or escape from their everyday routines.
Information acquisition
Many fans attend sports events to gain knowledge about the particular sport
and improve on their physical fitness by watching these events (Ryckman and
Hamel 1993; Elay and Page 1999; Koivulos 1999).
Group disassociation
Although many supporters of sport belong to a group, previous research (King
1997) has noted that that a minority support their teams in a solitary way.
Table 2: Motivation Table
Motivation Definition Dimension Authors
Group Affili- Developing and - family Branscombe/Wann 1991
ation maintaining - social opportunity Gantz 1981
associations or - community Guttman/Smith 1988
relations with Wenner/Gantz 1986
others. Funk 2001
Jamber 1999
Weiss/Duncan 1992
Emotional Seeking higher - escape Madrigal/Howard 1995
stimulation emotional retreat - drama Sloan et al 1987, Wann
- risk taking 1995, Zuckerman 1984
- aesthetics Duncan 1983, Smith 1988,
- eustress Sloan 1989, Hemphill
- stress/stimulation 1995’ Branscombe/
- salubrious effects Wann 1994, Wann/Gantz
- aggression/catharsis 1989, Gurin/Harris 1985,
- entertainment Haskell 1987, LeUnes na-
tion 1989.
Economic Potential for - economic Gutteman 1986, Chorba-
economic gains jian 1978, Crist 1998
through gambling
Self-identity Create / maintain - achievement McClelland et al 1953,
positive self - self-actualization Murray 1938,Kahle et al
concept - self-esteem 1996, Mahony et al 2002,
Maslow 1970, Gantz 1981,
Csikszentmihayli 1979
Information To improve - knowledge Ryckman/Hamel
acquisition performance - physical fitness 1993,Elay/Page 1999,Koi-
vulos 1999, Brodkin/
Weiss 1990
Group Dis- - competition Roberts 1984,Williams
association 1998
Questions asked:
–– What motivates you to spend time and money to attend this sporting event?
How often do you attend who do you come with?
–– What does supporting your team/club gives you?
–– Are you committed to your club/team? How and why or why not?
–– Are you affected by the performance of the team? How and why?
–– When did you first become a fan? Are your family or friends also fans of the
team?
–– In your opinion are there different types of fans and what type of fan do you
consider yourself to be?
–– How does being a fan affect your daily life in terms of emotionally, socially and
financially?
Findings/discussion
Group affiliation
Fans expressed this motive as one of the main reasons to attend Football, Rugby
and Cricket matches. “I come to the game because my dad, granddad, brother come
to the game”. Many of the younger fans became fans of the team from the age of
five although many had kits of the team bought for the as soon as they could walk
by their parents. “I come to the support the team because my friends came to sport
the team”. Many fans likened their clubs as extended families to whom they owed a
degree of devotion as described in religious terms (Belk et al 1989; Hill 2002). This
was especially true of devoted and fanatical fans. They showed great deal of loyalty
and commitment to the club by buying merchandise, attending home games and
travelling to away games, preseason matches, testimonials, and even training ses-
sions. These groups actively engage in singing and chanting before and during the
match and strongly believe that such activities mark them out to as real fans of the
team and the backbone of supporters.
Fanatics appear to value and promote the creation of feelings of communitas
across likeminded people. Communitas involves feelings of linkage, of belonging,
of group devotion to a transcendent goal. In many regards, the fan driven develop-
ment of communities can be viewed in terms of brand community. Members have
an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of the club and celebrate the
Consumer in Sports: Fan typology analysis 279
history through prematch or halftime discussions, in which prior events are recol-
lected. Interaction with the club is highly valued. These supporters enthusiastically
engage in web site discussions and email commentaries, are keen to in joining sup-
porter groups, and actively seek out and subscribe to newsletter and fanzines. Many
of the fans likened their clubs to their extended families to whom they agreed a
degree of devotion.
Emotional stimulation
The strongest motive for fans to attend matches in the different sports was
examined in this study. “I enjoy the drama of close games/race”, and “I enjoy it
when the game is not decided until the very end”, “it provides me with excitement
stimulation”, “game provides a distraction from everyday activities and diversions
from life’s little problems”, “I come to games because I feel bored, lonely, and
stressful”, were some of the comments made by fans. Majority of the sample se-
lected expressed that attending the sports event is a great opportunity for social
interaction and great experience for them. “I enjoy interacting with other specta-
tors at the game”, “I enjoy talking with others at the game”, “I enjoy going to the
game with my friends to socialise”, “and I enjoy taking my family to the game. It
is a day out for us”, “I enjoy socialising with people sitting near me at the game”
and “I enjoy watching the athletic performance of the players”. I enjoy bringing my
clients to games to enhance working relationships”, “I enjoy talking with other fans
at games”, some comments made by fans. Majority of these fans attended games
regularly and bought game programmes and pies and drinks, there was high level
of brand, personal commitment and high level of loyalty and usage.
Self identity
Laverie (1992) demonstrated that identity salience is an effective predictor of
motivation for participation in a specific leisure activity. This was true in this re-
search as those with high degree of identity with a particular club/venue attended
more games. Sport participation tends to absorb fans emotionally, occasionally to
an excessive level (Grove et al, 2012). ”I go to the game because I am big fan of
the team, individual players and venue”, “I am loyal to the team by wearing team
colours and attend most games”, “being a fan is important to me and would experi-
ence a loss if I had to stop being a fan”, “I identify (Support) the team even when
they lose, and, when someone criticizes my team it feels like a personal insult”,
expressed some of the fans. Fanatical and some of the more devoted fans strongly
identified with sports clubs/venues than temporary fans. Temporary fans lacked
this strong identification with the club and hence had low commitment to the club
and its players. There connection with the club centred on the social event of sup-
porting without any particular emotional attachment to the club or team. Such fans
280 Balwant Samra, Anna Wos
elect not to develop close links with their clubs and clearly view their links as largely
transactional.
An interesting observation that some of the fans were motivated because of an
aggression factor they attended to “come to fight opposing team fans” and “come
to swear at opposing team players and referee to get rid of my frustration and to
help my team to succeed by putting off players”. This type of fans has to be ad-
dressed carefully by their respective clubs in order to change and alter their motive
in attending the sport events.
Information acquisition
This was a motive given by number of fans for attending various sport events
in this study. ”I come to the game because it I increase my understanding of sport
(football, cricket, rugby) strategy by watching the game”, “I increase my knowledge
and technical aspects about football game (same was said in cricket and rugby)”,
was how they expressed themselves. Most of these fans attended the games once a
month and managed non league and junior teams and felt that by watching profes-
sional teams it would help to improve their team performances. The most devoted
and fanatical fans knew team stats and player information of their team players
and information on opposing teams. Community pride played a part in sport fans
psychology, fans, viewed the club as the “as the main source of local expression” of
the community and attended the sport event because “having a team in the higher
league in the city increases community image and represents important symbol for
the community”.
Economic
Many fans with high levels of economic motivation were not socialized into the
values, beliefs, attitudes and norms associated with sport fandom. They did not
perceive themselves as sports fans and did not have particularly high levels of team
identification. This motive was the strongest motive to attend dog races. It is the
potential gain from sport gambling that attracts them to the role of a fan. Fans were
more likely to attend dog racing out of desire to wager on the event. This is reason-
able given the reputation of dog racing as gambling sport. There was no evidence
from fans in other sports in this study as being the main reason to attend for eco-
nomic gains. Therefore, many economically motivated fans are by definition, not
fans at all. Instead, they participate in the pastime simply for the potential monetary
rewards that accrue through sport wagering.
Group dissociation
Very small minority of fans who attended the sporting event came by them-
selves, sat by themselves and did not speak to any other fans. They bought a game
Consumer in Sports: Fan typology analysis 281
programme and sat in the same seats (area) every time but did not buy any other
form of merchandise. In cricket they took packed lunch. This motive was evident
in cricket, dog racing and less in football and rugby.
Overall the three strongest motivations were motivations emotional stimula-
tion, group affiliation and group identity.
Implication for sports marketers
An enhanced understanding of spectator and fan motivation can be of consid-
erable benefit to the sports marketer (James and Ross 2004; Trail et al 2003; Trail
and James 2001). The result gleaned from this study (once empirical work has been
done) could be of benefit to the marketing professional that is attempting to de-
velop new strategies to reach sports consumers. The development of promotional
campaigns and marketing strategies around these sport-specific motives can aid
in the marketing of a particular sport, thus driving attendance and consumption.
These sport specific motives can be employed by the sport marketer as a method
of segmentation and increase additional revenue as consumers are being presented
with an increasing number of entertainment options. In-depth understanding of
various motivations within sport fans group enables marketers to address them in
a way most suitable and meet their needs more fully. Different levels of fanship in-
dicate different needs groups. For practitioners such behaviours give multiple ways
to communicate with fans and fulfil their needs for association.
Limitations
The results of the research are not showcasing any significant culture impact on
fandom in sports. In the diverse British society with constant flow of immigrants
from variety of countries it’s a surprising outcome, indicating that sports unite
variety of cultures (Owen 2013). Further research is suggested to provide in-depth
exploration of differences in fanship among various cultural groups.
Conclusion
Motivating fans of sport is an important element for achieving competitive edge
within the sport industry; however, in order to achieve this uniqueness, fans classi-
fication is crucial for sport organisations. This is because each type of fans requires
special attention and hence special targeting and motivation method, some can be
motivated by their families and their social backgrounds and others by the sport
event itself. Finding the right balance is indeed challenging, nevertheless it is im-
portant to start investigating the extents of these motivations within the different
sport venues, which will be the second stage of this research.
282 Balwant Samra, Anna Wos
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Appendix 3 Sample size breakdown
Venue Sample size
Coventry football club 200
Coventry Rugby club 100
Warwickshire Coventry cricket club 100
Coventry bees 60