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Abstract
Through the somewhat novel use of conjoint analysis, this work gains insight into fans' initial preference formations, the weights given to team attributes, and the complexity of the decision task. Two separate studies investigate various team preference factors, including: winning percentage, presence of high-profile "all-star" players, geographic association, social affiliation, and team history within a league. Sport-category differences, gender differences, and fan identification-level differences are explored. Findings suggest fans, in general, appear to view the big three sports of football, baseball, and basketball very differently. For instance, the social affiliation factor is the most important factor in formulating preferences for baseball teams but is nearly the least important factor when evaluating football teams. Further, our results show that women and men form team preferences based on vastly different combinations of factors. While women focus more on social affiliations, men appear to place much greater emphasis on winning and the presence of high-caliber players. Finally, highly identified fans give greater importance weights to geographic associations, family connections, and a team's sense of tradition.
Introduction
While previous studies have identified a variety of factors influencing team preferences, researchers have yet to examine the complex interplay between factors. The work that follows is an attempt to shed additional light on the key issues that comprise how fans form associations with sport teams. The current research is driven by three fundamental research questions: (1) After reviewing past research, which are the major factors related to team preference formation that can be appropriately utilized, and therefore more critically evaluated, in a conjoint research design? (2) How do the factors interrelate in determining team preferences? And, (3) among the major factors, what are the relative importance weights given to each factor?
Deeper insight into these complicated questions will provide marketers with a better understanding of fans as sport consumers. Additionally, an investigation of these enigmatic issues will assist marketers in developing a more detailed notion of the sport team as a product within an intricate marketing mix. The field of sport research can certainly benefit through the rich exploration of the key concepts involved in fan preference formations. This can be provided utilizing conjoint analysis, a nonparametric multivariate procedure that accurately quantifies the values consumers associate with varied levels...