Title: How value congruence affects fan consumption behaviour

Authors: Curtis E. Ziniel; Clay A. Gransden

Addresses: Liverpool Hope Business School, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, L16 9JD, UK ' Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, L3 5UX, UK

Abstract: This paper examines whether consumers holding certain ethical values demonstrate paralleled consumption behaviour when they perceive those same values in the businesses they patronise. Our study investigates whether this value congruence leads to greater levels of consumption in both number of items purchased and the amount spent. To explore this connection, we integrate a large customer survey (n = 1,925) with the sales records of a Premier League football club in the UK. We find that value congruence has a substantive impact upon consumption behaviour. This is a helpful finding for the role of values and ethical behaviour in business because it identifies a monetary incentive for businesses to reflect the moral values found in their customers.

Keywords: values; ethics; football; fandom; value congruence.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2023.130429

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2023 Vol.23 No.1/2, pp.21 - 43

Received: 22 Jul 2021
Accepted: 24 Feb 2022
Published online: 20 Apr 2023 *