Difference in Interrelationship between Spectators’ Motives and Behavioral Intentions Based on Emotional Attachment, pp. 30-43

Gi-Yong Koo
Robin Hardin

The purpose of this study was to segment spectators based on emotional attachment toward team, university, coach, and player, and to examine whether different groups of people classified by emotional attachment demonstrate different interrelationships between motives and behavioral intentions in attending sporting events. The results revealed that the feasibility of two clusters is derived from emotional attachments and those two groups demonstrate different interrelationships between spectators’ motives and behavioral intentions, respectively. In conclusion, this study can provide a baseline for sport marketers (1) to develop a usable segmentation structure based on emotional attachment that delivers the intended message to the targeted sport consumers, and (2) to determine what strategies they need to adopt in order to retain their customers once motives for each segment have been uncovered.