Attendance of Brazilian soccer games: the role of constraints and team identification

Abstract

Research question  The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the structural relationships between constraints and intentions to attend soccer games in Brazil. Considering the well-established importance of team identification for sport consumer behaviors, we tested the role of this construct on those structural relationships. This investigation started with the following research question: Can constraints explain some variance in attendance intentions above and beyond that explained by team identification?  Research methods  To answer this question, we proposed a model with team identification as the exogenous construct, constraints as the mediator, and attendance intentions as the endogenous construct. We first conducted a pilot test (n = 675) via confirmatory factor analysis to investigate the psychometric properties of the constraint scale. Then, we applied structural equation modeling to test the measurement model and the proposed structural model using a second sample of fans (n = 583).  Results and findings  Results showed that the indirect effect of team identification on attendance through perceptions of barriers was small, mainly because of the small relationship between team identification and constraints. A direct effects model was deemed to be a better structural representation of the relationships between constraints and intentions to attend, controlling for team identification.  Implications  Managing and removing barriers might increase attendance intentions above and beyond the parcel associated with team identification. Not highly identified fans can be attracted to stadiums not only by becoming more identified (the traditional view), but also by perceiving less barriers (the alternative view).