Dimensions of Spectator Identification Associated with Women's Professional Basketball Game Attendance
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CONTRIBUTORS:
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CONFERENCE NAME:
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CONF. LOCATION:
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None
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CONFERENCE YEAR:
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2001
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PUB TYPE:
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Conference Presentation
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SUBJECT(S):
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Spectator Identification, WNBA, Professional Basketball
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DISCIPLINE:
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No discipline assigned
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HTTP:
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LANGUAGE:
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English
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PUB ID:
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103-368-185
(Last edited on
2003/02/11 09:39:06 US/Mountain)
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SPONSOR(S):
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ABSTRACT:
Despite the growth in popularity and attendance at professional women’s basketball games, arenas are not filled to capacity forcing the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) to continue to rely on the financial support of the National Basketball Association. To enhance financial stability, it is critical for sport marketers to identify factors affecting attendance at professional women’s basketball games. Numerous researchers have indicated that spectators who are highly identified with a team are likely to attend more games of the team. However, previous studies have primarily focused on men’s sporting events. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to develop the Spectator Identification Scale (SIS) through examining the dimensions of spectator identification and (b) to examine the predictability of the SIS factors to game attendance levels of WNBA games. A random sample of spectators (N=2048) from five 1998 season home games of a major WNBA team responded to a questionnaire, which was developed through a comprehensive review of literature and test of content validity. The questionnaire included three sections: the preliminary SIS with 23 items in Likert 5-scale, game attendance frequency with four variables (number of games attended in the previous season, number of game attended so far this season, total number of games intended to attend this season, and number of games intended to attend next season), and ticket type with two variables). The questionnaire was distributed to spectators in randomly selected seat sections 15 to 30 minutes prior to the start of a game and was collected at the half time intermission. A factor analysis with principal component extraction and varimax rotation was conducted to examine the construct validity of the SIS. Based on a eigenvalue equal to and greater than 1.0 and a factor loading equal to and greater than .50 without double loading, three factors were determined with 22 items retained: ‘Pride’ (9 items), ‘Reflection’ (8 items), and ‘Followship’ (5 items). Alpha reliability coefficients for the factors were .94, .92, and .86, respectively. Utilizing the factor scores, intercorrelations and multiple regression analyses revealed that all three SIS factors were significantly (p < .05) predictive of the game attendance variables, with up to 21% variance explanation in the regression models. ANOVA revealed that the ‘Pride’ factor was also positively related to ticket type level. Discussions are focused on the importance of spectator identification, application of the SIS, and marketing procedures potentially useful to enhance spectator identification.
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