Product meanings and consumer behavior in sport entertainment: the case of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research question This research examines consumer perceptions about the official merchandise of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a leader in global sports entertainment. The goals of the study were to extend the Meanings of Sport Licensed Products (MSLP) scale (Papadimitriou & Apostolopoulou, 2018) to the sport entertainment domain and test the reliability and validity of the adapted scale and to propose a segmentation scheme of WWE consumers based on the meanings they attribute to the WWE products they own. Research methods The sample included United States-based shoppers of the online WWE store. A total of 1211 surveys were collected through an online questionnaire that captured information about consumers’ demographic profile and WWE identification levels, the official WWE merchandise they owned and post-purchase satisfaction, product meanings attributed to WWE items, and behavioral intentions. Data analysis included Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis as well as regression analysis. Results and findings The result of this research is the Meanings of Sport Entertainment Licensed Products (MSeLP) scale, a 21-item reliable and valid instrument comprised of four dimensions of product meaning: identification and connectedness, experience, esthetics and personal history. This study further explores relationships between product meanings and four outcome variables (identification with WWE, number of items owned, word-of-mouth and future buying behavior) and proposes three distinct clusters of sport entertainment consumers based on the meanings they attribute to their possessions (‘rationals,’ ‘vested’ and ‘enthusiastic’). Implications Those involved in the development, positioning and sale of licensed products in the sport entertainment domain would benefit from an understanding of the meanings that consumers attach to their possessions, especially meanings related to identity construction.