Spectator satisfaction model for mass participant sport events: antecedents and consequences

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose and examine an integrated model of spectator satisfaction in mass participant sport events.Design/methodology/approachThe Wuhan marathon, held in the middle of China, was selected serve for the study to examine the antecedents and consequences of spectator satisfaction at mass participant sport events. Data were collected from 956 spectators of the event on the day of the race. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the research model proposed by this study.FindingsStructural equation modeling results indicate the following. First, the event image and perceived social impact of the event are important predictive factors of spectator satisfaction. Second, spectator satisfaction is positively associated with behavioral intentions toward the event and the sponsors' product. Third, spectator satisfaction plays a significant mediating role between the antecedents and consequences; specifically, compared to perceived social impacts of the event, event image has greater indirect effects on both event-related behavioral intentions and event sponsors' products.Originality/valueUntil now, there has not been an integrated research study on the sport spectator satisfaction model in the context of mass participant sport events. This paper thus extends the understanding of the spectator satisfaction in the context of mass participant sport events, and the findings provide valuable implications for holding cities and event organizers of mass participant sport events in emerging countries.

Growing Cities and Mass Participant Sport Events: Traveling Behaviors and Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Fast-growing cities are expected to become a key contributor to the global climate crisis. A key characteristic of those urban districts is the accommodation of mass participant sport events. Sport entities, in collaboration with city governments, plan annually active participation sport events to promote their cities as tourism destinations. Mass participant sport events aim to attract more visitors to the cities and to establish a successful social and economically sustainable future to those places. Given the fact that transportation is a critical factor of the residents and the visitors’ behavior, it is crucial to research the quantity of CO2 emissions generated to those places in association with the travel behaviors of the active sport event participants. Data collected from an annual mass participant running event in a highly ranked growing city in the United States. Findings showed that most of the active sport event participants traveled more than 150 miles to participate in the race and they used their vehicles. The largest quantity of CO2 emissions derived from those participants who traveled a round trip of, on average, 500 miles. The long-distance travelers alone generated 338 million kg of CO2 emissions. The conclusions recommend that growing cities and sport events should target long-distance travelers for promotions concerning sustainable transportation. Consequently, mass participant sport events could play a crucial role in the development of growing cities, and, in turn, growing cities that control long-distance traveling behaviors can reduce the global amount of greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on the global environmental destruction.

Sponsorship antecedents and outcomes in participant sport settings

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to measure participants’ sponsorship awareness, and assess a model designed to predict participants’ behavioral intentions toward the sponsors of the Fayetteville Race Series. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on non-experimental survey research design using path analysis. Findings Perceived sponsor goodwill had a positive direct effect on participants’ sponsor behavioral intentions, as well as a positive indirect effect partially mediated by sponsor image. Sponsor image and future event participation also had positive direct effects on behavioral intentions. Overall, participants had very positive perceptions of the sponsors’ goodwill and image, and indicated positive future intentions. Participants’ ability to identify event sponsors through aided recall was inconsistent between the two events studied. Practical implications The positive outcomes for sponsors observed in this study should make small, regional, participant-based sport events appealing marketing channels, especially for generating goodwill in the community. Further, even small sponsorship spends can have a significant impact on these smaller events, since traditional funding sources continue to be cut. Originality/value Existing literature on sponsorship of participant sport-based events has generally focused on large events (i.e. marathons that draw participants nationally), despite the prevalence of smaller scale, regional events around the world.