Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing

 

Special Issue on: "Consumer Behaviour in Sports"

Guest Editor:
Dr. Nicholas D. Theodorakis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Sport has a tremendous social, psychological, cultural, and economic impact on peoples' lives. Statistics for several countries reveal that millions of people are involved in sport as participants, spectators, or both. For example, 75% of adults in England are involved in some form of sport activity, while 72.1% of Americans report recently attending a sporting event (Funk, 2008).

However, the demand for sport can become unstable due to market forces, the unique characteristics of the sport product, and the potential decline of sport participation rates in some countries (Van Sluis, et al., 2005; Andreff & Szymanski, 2006). Consequently, the understanding of the sport consumer behaviour is at the forefront of sport marketing thought and practice. Sport consumer behaviour, a subset of consumer behaviour, is defined as, "the process involved when individuals select, purchase, use and dispose of sport related products and services to satisfy needs and receive benefits" (Funk, 2008, p.6).

This special issue aims to understand and explain the ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ of sport consumer behaviour, as well as to integrate current research to further understanding of the sport consumer behaviour decision-making processes for both spectators and participants.

Sport marketing scholars have employed a variety of methods in their attempts to understand the behaviour of the sport consumer. Thus, to sufficiently capture the full spectrum of the research agenda, both theoretical and empirical studies using either quantitative or qualitative techniques are welcomed.

Subject Coverage
Submissions are welcomed on a broad range of topics related to sport consumer behaviour from both the spectator and participant sport industries. Appropriate perspectives for this special issue may include (but are not limited to):

• What drives the sport consumer decision-making process?
• What motivates the sport consumer?
• What are the constraints for attending/participating in sports?
• How do sport consumers become loyal to sport activities and organizations?
• How do consumers develop allegiance to sports and sport teams?
• What are the determinants of sport consumer satisfaction?
• How does the sport consumer perceive and interact with new media?
• How do sport consumers' evaluate sport services?

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper was not originally copyrighted and if it has been completely re-written).

All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author Guidelines page

Important Dates

Deadline for Submission: 27 October, 2011 (extended)