Association Between Team Identification and Sport Consumption Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The relationship between team identification and sport consumption behaviors is crucial for sports management researchers and practitioners. Given that collective information about the relationship is still inconclusive, this study conducted a comprehensive review of team identification and sport consumption behaviors and explored the relationships and the impact of sport setting, culture, and sample type as moderators. The meta-analysis analyzed data from 75 effect sizes based on 43,608 participants from 52 studies. The results showed that team identification was significantly correlated with sport attendance (r = .47), media consumption (r = .46), sport merchandise consumption (r = .49), and word-of-mouth (r = .60). Sport setting and culture were found to affect the relationship significantly. The current study presents a comprehensive model that synthesizes a broad spectrum of previous studies and offers important implications for investigating sport consumption behaviors and planning sport organizations’ strategies.