Fan Behavior Research Articles

Functional neural substrates of football fanaticism: Different pattern of brain responses and connectivity in fanatics.

Sports activities provide social interaction for humans. Commitment to a given team is a salient feature of being a sports fan and becomes a prominent part of self-identification for fanatics. Emotion, subjective hedonic experience, and non-romantic love are related to fan behaviors. Few studies have evaluated the neural basis of sports fanaticism. Thirty men, including 16 football fanatics and 14 non-fanatics, with a mean age of 27.4 ± 6.4 years (range, 20-48 years) were enrolled. Subjects underwent functional MRI while watching a set of goals scored by favorite, rival, and neutral teams. The analysis of variance in a general linear model revealed a significant Group × Condition interaction effect in the bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) that was more prominent in the left hemisphere. In the post-hoc comparisons, fanatics showed increased activation in bilateral dACC, supplementary motor area, superior frontal cortex, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and right insula for Favorite > Neutral contrast and an increased activation in bilateral dACC and supplementary motor area for Rival > Neutral contrast. Seed-based connectivity analyses using the areas with significant activation differences revealed increased connectivity between dACC and several regions, including the left posterior lateral temporal area, insula, bilateral medial temporal area, and medial superior frontal area as well as the basal ganglia in fanatics compared to non-fanatics. Our results suggest that football fanatics exhibit a different brain activation and connectivity pattern from non-fanatics, both under favorable and unfavorable conditions. This brain activity and connectivity pattern under emotionally laden conditions may represent higher responses to rewards, higher emotional valence attribution, and stronger motivational state of football fanatics, which might underlie their unusual behavioral responses.

WITHDRAWN: Examining the relationship for sport motives, relationship quality, and sport consumption intention

ABSTRACT As the sport industry becomes progressively competitive, most professional teams focus on ways to develop a long-term relationship with fans. One such strategy is sport marketing intended to enhance relationship quality between fans and teams, which may be related to high sport consumption. Accordingly, in this study the authors developed a model that explains the antecedents and outcomes of relationship quality initiatives in the context of professional sport. To this end, a sport fan motivation framework and a relationship quality model were used to explain fan behaviors within a professional volleyball league. Results showed that sport fan motives significantly affect relationship quality and behavioral intention regarding sport consumption, with emotional motivation exerting a considerable association. The study also demonstrated that relationship quality mediates the association between emotional motives and behavior intentions. The current research extends the sport management literature by empirically investigating the effects of emotionally driven sport motive on relationship quality and desired relational outcomes.

Applying Brenda Dervin's sense-making methodology to fan studies

Communication scholar Brenda Dervin created sense-making methodology (SMM), an approach for conducting interviews that draws on metatheoretical concepts such as hermeneutics, phenomenology, and the humanistic approach to psychology. Since its formulation, SMM has been utilized across different disciplines through the development of interview protocols for both one-on-one interviews and focus groups. Among these studies are those that focus on people's engagement with media products or with each other in relation to media products. These SMM audience and reception studies demonstrate that the methodology can be useful for studying fans by bringing a more systematic, and thus quantifiable, approach to a phenomenological, interpretive study of fan behavior, be it mental, emotional, physical, or social. SMM would allow for studies that analyze how fans make sense of a situation involving their fandom and fan identity. After explaining what SMM is and how it has been used to study fans, a case study demonstrates how SMM may suggest a way to define being a fan and applying the concept of fandom beyond the traditional domains of sports, media, and popular culture.

Influence of sports fan ethnocentrism on identification and media consumption intention: a preliminary investigation with Taiwanese baseball fans

Media consumption is one of the essential sport fan behaviours. While the level of sport fans’ ethnocentrism can play a critical role in their attitude and intention towards the globalised sport contents, little is known about the linkage of sports fan ethnocentrism (SFE) to identification and media consumption. Thus, the current study aimed to investigate the relationships between SFE, identification (with the player and the team), and media consumption intention. Data from 447 Taiwanese baseball fans were analysed primarily using structural equation modelling technique. The results showed that SFE had an indirect influence on media consumption through player identification (the fan-player level). Moreover, SFE also had an indirect influence on team identification via player identification. The findings of the current study contribute to the cumulative knowledge of SFE regarding the mechanism of how it influences identification in different levels and sports fans’ media consumption intention.

An Assessment of Fans’ Willingness to Pay for Team’s Environmental Sustainability Initiatives

Abstract: The current study aims to understand if sport organizations can utilize environmental sustainability (ES) efforts to increase revenue in addition to saving money. To do this, fans of the Philadelphia Eagles were surveyed. Findings indicate fans were willing to pay an average of US$6.50 in the form of a sustainability fee to help the organization implement an environmental initiative. Furthermore, this study found that nearly none of the prevailing thoughts on predictors of fan behavior significantly positively predicted fans’ willingness to pay an environmental sustainability fee. The findings of the current study challenge the conventional theoretical thinking with respect to fan behavior. Furthermore, respondents in the current study were equally likely to financially support the sustainability efforts of their favorite team no matter their income, loyalty to the team, personal values, or conative loyalty associated with environmental sustainability. Theoretically, the current study advanced the triple bottom line theory, the Contingent Valuation Model, and the Model of Sport Fan Sustainability Behavior.

Identifying critical factors in sport consumption decision making of millennial sport fans: mixed-methods approach

ABSTRACT Research question: The purpose of the study was to identify consumption traits that might influence millennial sport fan behavior. Research methods: We accomplished this objective by using mixed methods (i.e. review of literature, focus group (N = 18), and survey (N = 300)). We analyzed the millennial sport fan consumption traits by calculating descriptive statistics and conducting ANOVA to compare their traits with Baby Boomers and Generation X. Results and findings: The literature review revealed the five traits of millennial fan consumption: (a) technology-driven, (b) community-driven, (c) peer pressure (FoMO), (d) emotional consumption, and (e) fan engagement. These prominent traits also emerged from focus group interviews and the survey. Generational differences among sport fans were also found. Implications: With regard to theoretical and practical implications we identified traits that influenced millennial consumption behaviors. The results of the current study suggest that segmentation research is an effective and efficient way to reach target consumer groups, an approach that can benefit sport organizations. Differences among the three generations indicate the necessity of developing specific marketing strategies to target millennial fans, for which practitioners should apply five millennial consumption traits when deploying marketing strategies.

Elevating self-esteem through sport team identification: a study about local and distant sport fans

PurposeThe concept of sport team identification has been widely used as a theoretical framework in explaining sport fan behavior. However, limited attention has been devoted to the consequences of distant (i.e., foreign) team identification. The purpose of the current research was to examine the way in which fans (local and distant) can increase their levels of collective and personal self-esteem due to their team identification.Design/methodology/approachData were accumulated from three Greek websites (N = 742). Among them, 623 subjects were grouped as local and 119 as distant football fans. A structural invariance analysis was followed.FindingsThe results revealed how team identification, enduring team-related social connections, and basking in reflected glory are interrelated to affect collective and finally personal self-esteem. Moreover, no differences were found between local and distant fans regarding the paths from eam identification to collective self-esteem and from collective self-esteem to personal self-esteem.Originality/valueThis is one of the first endeavors to examine the psychological consequences of distant team identification and to test the invariance across local and distant fans concerning the mechanisms that their personal self-esteem can be enhanced because their psychological connection to their favorite sport team.

Adding insult to rivalry: Exploring the discord communicated between rivals

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to extend current knowledge regarding rivalry communication among sport consumers to better understand how rivals behave with one another when they communicate.Design/methodology/approachThis national survey of US sport consumers used a novel approach to explore whether and with whom rivals discuss National Football League (NFL) game outcomes. The survey captured both uniplex and multiplex data by asking respondents to name rival discussants with whom they had recently interacted, and the fan behaviors they exchanged with those named rival discussants.FindingsThrough use of this novel data collection approach, new findings were uncovered related to blasting, glory out of reflective failure, schadenfreude and the influence of team identification on the exchange of rivalry fan behaviors. The results of the uniplex and multiplex data analyses uniquely showcase the ways in which social identity theory combines with team identification to enact rivalry behavior.Originality/valueThis research is the first to precisely dichotomize the psychological antecedents from the communicated behavior between rival fans. Results reveal the precise ways in which team identification influences discordant communication between rival fans, which differs from past research in an interesting new way.

Travelling to a Sport Event: Profiling Sport Fans Against the Transtheoretical Model of change

This article profiles the travel behavior of sport fans against the transtheoretical model of change (TTM) and its application to sport events. Using the four constructs of the TTM, we distributed a self-reporting survey to sport fans prior to home fixtures. There is some synergy with the theorized stages of change and processes of change in this context. Notwithstanding, the results showed a high level of commitment to others in the early stages of change—a movement away from the prescribed theory. Results from decisional balance and self-efficacy items reaffirmed the congruence with theory and the application of the TTM to sport fans and their travel behavior. This study assessed the application of a stage-based model of change within a sport event context; it provides an exploration of the antecedents of behavior change indicators relevant to sport fans, thus enabling policy makers to make informed decisions about future travel behavior change.

Self-Branding through NFL Team Fanship: Fans’ Desired Self-Image and Its Implications for Branding Practices

Abstract: Building upon the self-concept research and the model of motivation process, this study was designed to explore the self-images desired by National Football League (NFL) fans and examine the impact of such desires on fan behavior. Through three research phases, this study revealed the factor structure of fans’ desired self-image in NFL team fanship and confirmed its key role in influencing fan identity and team-related consumptions. In particular, athletic image sufficiently provided by NFL team fanship could stimulate positive fan behavior, whereas social attractiveness that was in a shortage would hold back team-related consumptions. Discussion focused on the implications for branding practices of sport teams, corporate sponsors, and professional athletes.

National Dissonance: The Copa del Rey Soccer Final as a Site of Political Performance

Founded in 1903, the Copa del Rey (King’s Cup) is Spain’s oldest national soccer/football competition. Since then, it has been held under a variety of political systems, each of which has altered the cup’s name to match the ruling head of state. These shifts in political regimes have not only affected the cup’s identity but also the competition’s meaning, as it has symbolized centralism in a nation that has historically maintained tensions between center and periphery. Because of this, fans, public figures, and the media in Spain have used the Copa del Rey Final as an opportunity to express both conformity and dissent towards their ruling government. The link between soccer and nationalism as vehicles of fan identity reveal that recent reactions to the national anthem during the Copa final are reflective of these enduring tensions within Spain. The tournament’s structure, history, and singularity in Spanish soccer have made its final an event where teams and their fans can represent their regions as they compete to be crowned ‘Champions of Spain’. This duality as a national tournament with regional symbolism lies throughout the tournament’s history and contributes to the intensity of recent debates about fan behavior at the final match.

Bruce Springsteen fan behavior and identification

This research studied Bruce Springsteen fans and investigated their fanship and fandom, fan-related behavior, worship, and psychological functions for listening to Springsteen’s music. In total, 600 Springsteen fans from the United States, Canada, Europe, the Nordic countries, South Africa, and South America filled an online survey distributed to them via fan forums. The results showed that on average the respondents had been Springsteen’s fans for three decades and had attended 27 shows in total. The primary function of listening to Springsteen’s music was to achieve self-awareness. More than half of the respondents listened to Springsteen’s music daily, and on average, more than half of the fans’ total music consumption was by Springsteen. The fans were also heavily involved in popular forms of fan consumption. Analyses showed some gender and cultural differences, particularly with females scoring higher level of fan identification and consumption, but no age differences. These findings indicate that it was possible to identify quantitative differences between fan behavior and identification, which have implications for the rock music marketing and management industry.

Beyond the “like”: customer engagement of brand fans on Facebook

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore customer engagement (CE) in Facebook brand communities. It clusters Facebook brand fans to establish whether an existing typology holds in a diverse sample, and examines the differences in CE between the clusters. The predictive capabilities of CE on an important brand outcome, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), are determined. Design/methodology/approach In total, 493 respondents participated in an online survey. A two-step cluster analysis was conducted to determine the fan types. ANOVA was used to assess the differences in CE between the clusters. Multiple regression determined the predictive capabilities of CE on eWOM. Findings This research confirms the Facebook fan typology on a more diverse sample. Significant differences exist between the fan types on CE (captivation and gratification) and CE significantly predicts eWOM. Research limitations/implications Future research could include motivations behind brand fan behavior. Using other CE measures may bring a different view. Theoretical perspectives other than social identity theory (SIT) may elicit other insights. Practical implications Insights into brand fan segments’ behavior and engagement allow brand managers to develop targeted marketing interactions. Gratification engagement is a stronger driver of eWOM, suggesting that brands should focus on marketing actions that will encourage gratification. Originality/value This research expands on Facebook brand fan typologies and explores CE as a multi-dimensional construct, rather than as a mere “like” action. Additionally, it determines the predictive capabilities of CE dimensions on eWOM. The findings suggest that SIT could be useful when examining CE in brand communities.

Keefektifan Konseling Rational Emotive Behaviour Teknik Cognitive Disputation untuk Mengurangi Tingkat Fanatisme terhadap Idola pada Siswa Penggemar K-Pop

Behavior of K-Pop fans in grade science 3 of State Boarding Aliyah 2 Gresik, leads to behaviour of fanaical fans. The purpose of this research is to know the effectiveness of rational emotive behavior counseling with a pre-test post- test one group design. The instrument of this research is questionnaire of idol fanatiscm for K-Pop fans. The subject of this research is 3 K-Pop fans students from grade science 3 who have a high level of fanatiscm, based on the pre-test result. Analysis technique that used in this research is paired sample t test. Based on calculation, obtained Asmp. Sig (2 tailed) = 0,015. According to the basic of decision, accepted if Asmp. Sig (2 tailed) < 0,05. Because of Asmp. Sig 0, 015 < 0,05, the accepted, and that means there is a difference between before and after of rational emotive behavior counseling implementation. So, it can be concluded that counseling rational emotive behavior with cognitive disputation technique is effective for reduce idol fanaticism of K-Pop fans students.

To Serve and Protect: Examining the Relationship between Selling Alcohol in College Football Venues and Negative Fan Behaviors

To Serve and Protect: Examining the Relationship between Selling Alcohol in College Football Venues and Negative Fan Behaviors

El desmadre: counter-hegemonic fervour in Carlos Monsiváis’s 1986 World Cup chronicles

ABSTRACTThe 1986 Mexico World Cup is memorialized in terms of two iconic moments produced by Argentine legend Diego Maradona’s on-field magic in the game against England – the controversial ‘Hand-of-God’ goal and the dribbling masterpiece score, unarguably considered to be the ‘Goal of the Century’. However, the World Cup with these dramatic events came in the backdrop of a tragic earthquake that devastated Mexico City taking a heavy toll of lives only a year back. While Mexico’s ruling party was accused of corruption and mismanagement in relief work, the government went ahead with the organization of the tournament. Interestingly, popular protests and movements against the government centred around stadiums such as the Estadio Azteca – the site of Maradona’s famed goals, transforming the same into sites of contestation and solidarity for many Mexicans. Writing at the time, Carlos Monsiváis, Mexico’s most notable chronicler, in his famous ‘¡¡¡Goool!!! Somos el desmadre’ (1986), captured the subversive atmosphere of these sporting venues through fan behaviour amounting to their counter-hegemonic fervour, coined ‘el desmadre’ in the chronicle. This study offers a discursive literary analysis of Monsiváis’s text and argues that both Monsi’s chronicle and his protagonists’ ‘disorderly’ behaviour served as popular discursive forces that challenged the Partido Revolucionario Institucional’s historical dominance in Mexico’s political arena.

Fan empathy as a response to athlete transgressions

Sport has the capacity to intimately engage fans, deliver intensely emotional experiences, and create attachments to athletes and teams. This connection can be threatened by a number of actions or incidents, including scandals, and fans may engage in a range of behaviors to protect their identification. The purpose of this study is to explore and explicate the concept of fan empathy and illuminate the processes that fans engage in that lead to an empathetic response. Using data from online discussion forums and in-depth interviews, the authors examined empathy in the context of athlete misbehavior and indiscretions. Results provide evidence for the concept of fan empathy as both a cognitive and emotionally focused response, extending the current knowledge of fan behavior. Further, the findings reveal five sensemaking processes that facilitate an empathetic response in the context of inappropriate athlete behavior. This research has implications for sport managers seeking to manage and maintain relationships with fans, including in the face of actions or behavior that might threaten fan identification and association with the sport entity.

OUTCOME UNCERTAINTY, FAN TRAVEL, AND AGGREGATE ATTENDANCE

The uncertainty of outcome hypothesis (UOH) informs economists' understanding of consumer decisions to attend sporting events and team revenue generation. We develop a model of fan behavior based on standard expected utility methods which incorporates fan heterogeneity in terms of decisions to travel to away games and strong preferences for wins. The model reflects aggregate attendance outcomes across local and visiting fans, generates predictions consistent with the UOH, and gives rise to concave league‐wide revenue functions. Empirical analysis of game outcomes and attendance at regular season National Basketball association games from 1979 to 2013 supports key predictions of the model. (JEL L83, D12, Z20)

Outcome Uncertainty, Fan Travel, and Aggregate Attendance

The classical Uncertainty of Outcome Hypothesis (UOH) informs economists’ understanding consumer decisions to attend sporting events and models of team revenue generation. Coates, Humphreys and Zhou (2014) developed a reference dependent preference based consumer choice model under uncertainty to motivate the UOH in which loss-averse consumers prefer games with certain outcomes. We develop an alternative model based on a standard expected utility model of fan behavior which incorporates fans’ decisions to travel to away games and aggregates decisions across local and visiting fans. This model generates predictions consistent with the classical UOH and concave team and league-wide total revenue functions.

Experimental investigation of the effect of perimeter windscreens on air-cooled condenser fan performance

Perimeter windscreens are finding application in large air-cooled condensers (ACCs) as a mechanism to mitigate the negative effects of wind on ACC fan performance and dynamic blade loading. The limited literature specific to perimeter windscreens is inconsistent and the mechanisms by which these screens impact fan behaviour are not well understood. This study investigates the influence of perimeter windscreens on ACC fan volumetric effectiveness under windy conditions using a laboratory based experimental apparatus consisting of a scaled fan row consisting of three fans in the wind direction. Three different porous windscreen materials (differing solidity) were investigated along with the effect of varying windscreen height. A controllable cross-flow (wind) was achieved by connecting the apparatus to a low speed wind tunnel. Fan volumetric flow rate and shaft power were measured and flow visualization was achieved by means of particle imagery velocimetry to provide insight into the reasons for the observed fan behaviour. The apparatus corresponds to a full-scale ACC for which data relating to perimeter windscreen effects was available in the literature. A good correlation to these full-scale measurements was achieved giving confidence in the validity of the results of this study.Perimeter windscreens were observed to degrade edge fan volumetric effectiveness under windy conditions relative to the no-screen case in almost all cases considered in this study although evidence of a recovery of volumetric effectiveness was observed at high cross-flow (β = 0.36) for the case where a low solidity screen (α = 0.5) was installed across half or more of the platform inlet (L ≥ 0.5). An improvement in cooling effectiveness of up to 30% was observed relative to the no-screen case for the aforementioned screen configurations indicating that such perimeter windscreens may benefit the effective cost of cooling in ACCs under high wind conditions. The PIV flow visualization identifies deflection of the flow past the edge fan as the reason for the reduction in fan volumetric effectiveness when screens are installed. The negative impact of this deflection is counteracted by permeation of flow through the screen and into the edge fan when a low solidity screen covers a large portion of the platform inlet.It can therefore be concluded that, for the low platform ACC simulated in this study, perimeter windscreens are detrimental to ACC performance except at very high wind speeds. Use of low solidity retractable screens that can be deployed under high wind conditions (taking into account structural limitations) may have merit. This works extends the understanding of perimeter windscreen effects on ACC fans by investigating the effect of screen solidity and height in a controllable and validated experimental facility. It provides insight into the mechanisms through which perimeter screens influence ACC fans that can be used to further develop and improve the potential benefits of these screens.