Marketing sustainability through sport: testing the sport sustainability campaign evaluation model

Abstract

Research question: The sport industry has deepened its commitment to implementing and deploying environmental sustainability initiatives. However, until this study there were no uniform ways to evaluate these efforts. To this end, the purpose of this study is to create and test the sport sustainability campaign evaluation model among sport participants of a 10-mile run event.Research methods: We tested the fit of the sport sustainability campaign evaluation model using 531 participants of a community run.Results and Findings: Needs, values, internal constraints, and points of attachment explained 52.1% of the variance in attitudes toward the campaign. Attitudes, external constraints, past behavior and all of the indirect effects of the other variables combined, explained 74.2% of the variance in participating in sustainability initiatives. Sport professionals can use this model to assess environmental sustainability campaigns and promote attitudinal and sustainable behaviors.Implications: The findings of this study have important implications for sport managers and marketers as they create and further advance their organization’s sustainability campaigns. Understanding the needs and values of sport participants can help marketers and managers determine how those needs and values affect positive attitudes towards the campaign. Increasing the positive attitudes towards the campaign, while minimizing the negative influence of external constraints to act sustainably, can increase sustainable behavioral intentions and thus increase the success of the sport organization’s sustainability campaign. This model can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of sustainability campaigns to influence attitudes and behaviors of sport participants.