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Analysis of emotional implications in case of sports competitions

consumer behavior and their importance for the sports tourism
development
Daniel Adrian Gârdan Lecturer PhD
Iuliana Petronela Geangu Lecturer PhD

Abstract
The consumer behavior in case of sport events is characterized through a series of
features that makes it unique in comparison with other services or products consumption.
One of the most important elements is related with the emotional involvement of the
consumers and the consumption motives regarding the sport event. The sports tourism
also is close related with the consumption of sports events, thus the factors that are
affecting the consumer behavior will need a specific marketing strategy for the touristic
services providers.
The article will analyze the scientific literature regarding the importance of
attitudes, emotional involvement in consumption of sports events and draw conclusions
about the implications for the sports tourism. Some basic action lines will be provided
and further research directions for a deeper investigation.

Introduction

In a more globalized world than before, modern consumers transcend national

boundaries, cultural differences and economic backgrounds in their quest for products
and services that are capable to fulfill their needs. The sport related domain represents a
very specific and particular example of nowadays consumer implication. Emotions
become a kind of universal language capable to transcend particular cultures and other
type of social, economic differences.
From the perspective of marketing, emotions can be conceptualized as being true
triggers, determinants for the manifestation of a certain buying or consumption behavior,
they will make the bound between motives, motivations and a certain effective behavior.
Decisions that are influenced by emotions are more profound and last more in time in
comparison with the ones based only on rational thinking. (Robinette, Brand, Lenz,
2001).
 Consumer behavior will imply a diversified number of processes regarding
elements referring to personality, attitudes, perceptions, motivations, learning process,
needs, throughout the individuals are consuming products and services. In the same time,
consumer behavior implies the effect of external environment of the individuals,
consisting of the influence exerted by culture, subculture, social class, reference and
belonging groups etc.
Consumer will assign both emotional and rational values to products and services,
and the study of these values is of the biggest importance in understanding the effective
behavior. In the process of interacting with the object of consumption, the brain of
individuals will develop two types of knowing. It is about knowledge obtain through
acquaintance or the expression of emotions, that can be holistic and will imply integration
of the information obtained through sensors both from inside and outside of the
individual. This type of knowledge is immediate and its expressing itself through feelings
and impressions. Also it will be the knowledge obtain through description, meaning the
process of reasoning that is sequential and analytical, and its processing of the
information resulting from the evaluation of the environment (Chaudhuri, 2006).

Fig no1. Consumer behavior model – the role of emotional and rational response
Source: Chaudhuri Arjun, Emotion and reason in consumer behavior, Elsevier - Butterworh-Heinemann,
Oxford, 2006, p. 2

As it can be seen, the consumer behavior will be correlated with both levels of
reaction – emotional and rational, so the level of implication from apart the consumer
will be also correlated with these levels.
Evolving as consumers, individuals will build a relationship between personality
traits, self-conceptualization, cognition and emotional processes. The stimuli from
external environment will determine a particular emotion that will be expressed
spontaneously and will build subjective experience. Emotions are filtered through
cognition processes in which there is an evaluation process and building of the meanings
for the person. Self-concept with both its levels – private and social will be influenced by
cognition processed and emotional interactions, being determinant for the history of the
individual – the accumulation of the learning outcomes and the personality traits. These
elements also have their own effects on the cognition process and finally this will lead to
a particular behavior.
So it seems very clear the fact that emotional involvement is of a very big
importance in terms of consumer behavior, the degree of involvement being different
taking account the specific needs and buying motives, the utility of the products or
services involved and their type – consumer or industrial goods, goods designed for a
prolonged use or for immediate consumption.

2. Sports competitions consumer behavior – specific traits

Sport organizations are developing a relational approach that suits better the goals
and its particular situation. This is happening also because any sport organization is
operating within a system composed by numerous stake-holders, having so, many types
of objectives like – economic ones (generate incomes), - social ones ( generate and
maintain positive interactions between groups of individuals), - environmental ones
(minimize the effect of sport activities and events upon the environment).
The system in which sports organizations will be operating will consist in a
multiple layers of networks and entities bound by specific interactions. Sport related
activities can be divided into two main areas concerning sporting practice itself (training
and competition into a particular type of sport) and sporting events (events that will imply
fans and volunteers besides sport organizations themselves). The system of relations that
is developing within the sports market it has multiple layers and the relationships
established that are different and multi-dimensional, constantly evolving. The process
that is referring to the sports events organized by different sports entities implies that all
these stakeholders are having specific and individual sets of objectives that can be
achieved.
Fig no2. Sports activities system – sports market and external environment of sports organizations
Source: Ferrand Alain, Mc Carthy Scott, Marketing the Sports Organization – building networks and
relationships, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2009, p. 14

Holbrook (1999) considers that value is representing from the point of view of the
consumer an interactive realistic preference experience. Sports events consumer will have
a complex mixture of emotional, symbolic and socio-cultural elements that will construct
their value based experience, apart from the functional benefits of the consumption. The
experience of consuming the sport event will provide a full immersion of the consumer if
all the above mentioned levels are reached.
So this is why consumer behavior related to sport events will imply a huge
amount of implication from consumers, a major cause of this involvement is represented
by the fact that the consumption of sports events has a hedonic value for most of the
consumers. The hedonic value is given by the motivations and needs that are relying
behind these services – fulfillment of the consumer’s personality; need to accomplish a
particular lifestyle, etc.
A possible definition of sports events consumer behavior must entail the process
in which individuals are selecting, purchasing, using and disposing different sport
activities along with related products and services in order to satisfy their needs and
receive benefits (Funk, 2008). The consumption of sport events is characterized by a
number of specific traits like: the need for cooperation between sports organizations
along with the competition between them, the sport consumers are like experts in the
field, the supply and demand is fluctuating, sport is an intangible product for consumers
due to the services involved organizing events, there is a strong social facilitation through
sport events participation, the lack of constant performance of athletes, the lack of control
over the core product, the importance of product extensions (half-time and pre-game
promotions, music etc.).
The process that lies behind sports events consumer behavior motivation process
are defined by five stages comprising: need recognition, tension reduction, the drive state,
the want pathway and the behavior directed toward consumers goals. At the level of the
first three stages it is created a push force that drives the consumers in their effort to find
sport or event related experiences and benefits. In this process the consumers
‘motivations are very important and they can build the necessary base for the later
involvement of individuals.

2. Dimensions of sports events customer behavior referring to the emotional

implication of the customers

In the process of sports events consumption, individuals will pass through

different stages along their attitudes and involvement can be highlighted. Thus the first
stage can be assumed to be the one corresponding to the awareness stage, in which the
individual will process the information from stimuli and different sources of knowledge
(internal and external). In this stage the consumer becomes aware about his needs and
desires and the object of consumption that can satisfy these needs. He realize how much
important is a particular sport for him and in the context how important are any events
related to this sport (sport organization, team, etc.).
In the second stage, the one referring to the attraction processing, the consumer
will seek different experiences related to the sport and the event itself, and he will express
his emotional state and involvement in consumption. The third stage comprises the
processing of attachment and it can be highlighted by the self-conceptualization of the
individual as being a sports consumer or a sports events consumer, loyal to a particular
event brand, team, organization etc.
The engagement of the consumer in the process is also framed by a stage type
process, taking account of the stages described above.
Engagement will have both a psychological dimension and a behavioral one.
Corresponding to the stages of awareness, attraction and attachment, engagement will
have a development from the minimal level to the enhanced one in the case of
psychological engagement and from the simple engagement to the complex one in the
case of behavioral engagement.
 Fig no 3. Correlation between psychological engagement and behavioral engagement
Source: Funk C. Daniel, Consumer behavior in Sport and Events: Marketing action, Elsevier -
Butterworh-Heinemann, Oxford, 2008, pg 49

Beside the psychological engagement, emotion in case of sports events

consumption can be conceptualized as being the type of affective reaction or potency of
feeling that an individual has toward a particular sport object.
As the perceived value and benefits derived from the sport identity become
salient, accessible and desirable, the individual’s attitude crystallizes and subsequently
increases in importance. The perceived emotional, functional and symbolic meaning of
the sport event can fluctuate given the situation or remain constant across situations based
upon activity type and time of consumption.

3. Relationship between sport tourism development and the emotional

dimension concerning the sports events customer behavior

Sport related activities can be divided into two main areas concerning sporting
practice itself (training and competition into a particular type of sport) and sporting
events (events that will imply fans and volunteers besides sport organizations
themselves). The process that is referring to the sports events organized by different
sports entities implies that all these stakeholders are having specific and individual sets of
objectives that can be achieved.
Sports events consumer will have a complex mixture of emotional, symbolic and
socio-cultural elements that will construct their value based experience, apart from the
functional benefits of the consumption. The experience of consuming the sport event will
provide a full immersion of the consumer if all the above mentioned levels are reached.
Sport tourism represents a concept that defines all the touristic activities build on
the touristic services consumers motivations related with sport – practicing sports,
participating into an sport event, travelling to and visiting different sports organizations
layers etc. Another synthetic definition highlight that sport tourism implies all forms of
active and passive involvement in sporting activity that requires the departure of the
individual in order to take part to that activities.
The range of activities that is implied by sport tourism in general comprises sport
tourism attractions, resorts, cruises, tours, sport events tourism, sport adventure tourism.
Consumers will have two different types of self-involvement in sport tourism
services consumption: sports participation travel (travel for the purpose of participating in
a sports, recreation, leisure or fitness activity); and sports spectatorial travel (travel for
the purpose of watching sports, recreation, leisure or fitness activities and events).
Also, a further deeper analysis may highlight different sub-segments of sport
tourism consumers like in the typology proposed by Reeves: incidental, sporadic,
occasional, regular, dedicated and driven. The incidental consumers has a decision
making process based by unimportant motives, the involvement is minimal, sport may be
significant from the point of view of lifestyle and the spending is also minimal. The
sporadic type has a decision making characterized by the relative importance of decision,
participation moderate, with a minimal spending and occasionally higher driven by a
special conjuncture. The last type of sport tourism is defined by the professional
sportsman that has a complex decisional process, still being limited from the point of
view of autonomy, the highest degree of involvement and participation in activities and
extremely high amount of money spent even is about sponsorships.
The levels of emotional involvement of the consumers is related also with the
status of the sport activity in the motivational profile of the tourist that can be primary,
secondary or incidental, the level of involvement in the sport activity itself (the tourist
can be as we stated above active or passive person) and the type of sport activity referring
to the degree of competitiveness.
Also, specialists are agreed upon the idea that the today sport tourism consumer as
a part of the general trends of the postmodern consumer behavior, has evolving in terms
of needs, motivations and attitudes about sport. Thereby, it is manifesting the desire for
autonomy and liberty, instant and optimal level pleasure, preference for informal and
simple structured activities, new and exotic activities. Among consumption motives are a
complete list of “hedonic” ones like: charm, comfort, security, tranquility, escape,
adventure, integral health and wellbeing etc. Modern sport tourist wants to be different, to
escape the daily routine, to search and experience unusual places and activities. These
emotions appealing motives can be more specific oriented toward an sport event. From
this point of view the sport touristic services offered as a part of the sport event will
represent an element of completion for the event itself. The emotional involvement
oriented towards the sport event can be built around factors like: social groups
influence(family and friends), sport interest, team identification and attachment, fan
loyalty, eustress (seen as the excitement or anxiety driven by the participation of athletic
events), the type and level of the sport competition, the level of competitiveness of the
game within the future event (Taute, Sierra, Heiser, 2010).

4. Conclusions and future research

The sports events consumption represents one of the most clear and powerful
example of complex mixture of emotional, rational, situational elements related to
consumer behavior. Analyzed from different angles, this process shows us that consumer
behavior can be conceptualized on different layers, both emotional and rational. The
particular situation of sports events, the framework in which the motivations, needs,
attitudes are emerging impose that affective involvement with the event being defined by
the relevance of the event at the emotional level. For different individuals the self-
actualization of the meaning of sport in general or the relationship with parties involved
in the sport event (sport teams, players, sportsmen etc.) will stand at the basis of their
emotional involvement during the event.
Different types of consumers will have different levels of involvement. Future
research can be done to measure the influence that the group of variables defining the
profile of the consumer (motives, attitudes, beliefs, personality traits, lifestyle, sports
practicing level, loyalty to the team etc.) can influence the degree of emotional
involvement. The above variables can work together also with variables referring to the
type of sport, type of event, location and other elements characterizing the event itself.
Also, a great amount of research should be done to test the influence exerted by specific
environmental conditions, the brand and the image of the sport event, the frequency etc.
The results can be used by the sports events organizers in order to maximize the
efficiency of the resources allocation process having as a final goal the maximization of
customer satisfaction.

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