Factors Affecting Fan Attendance: The Influence of Identity Salience and Satisfaction

TLDR

The study builds on social identity theory, involvement, attachment, and satisfaction literature to examine factors influencing fan identity salience and sporting event attendance. The study aims to develop and test a model of factors that influence fan identity salience and sporting event attendance. The authors develop an integrated model, test it with a college student sample, and discuss its implications. The results show that identity salience is a key factor explaining fan‑related behavior.

Abstract

The study combines disparate streams of research in order to develop a model of devoted fan behavior. The theoretical foundations for this study are based on literature examining social identity theory, involvement, attachment and satisfaction. A model of the factors that influence fan identity salience and attendance is developed and tested. First, the factors that influence fan identity salience and sporting event attendance are discussed and an integrated model is developed. Second, the proposed model is tested using a sample of college students. Third, the implications of the findings are discussed. The findings suggest that identity salience is an important factor in explaining fan-related behavior.