Sports Consumption Behavior: Discovering Typologies of Amateur Cyclists

Introduction. Cycling is one of the most popular and practiced sports both in Europe and globally. However, management studies aimed at defining cyclists’ consumption behavior are still limited. The most recent contributions describe cycling consumption as an activity heavily influenced by the intensity and sociality of its practice but do not highlight the importance of expenditures related to participation in amateur cycling events and cycle tourism experiences. Starting from these behavioral dimensions, the article proposes an original segmentation of the sport and leisure market, leading to the identification of different profiles of amateur cyclists. Material and methods. The research was conducted on a sample of 182 cyclists located in one single Italian region to ensure a high level of social, economic and cultural uniformity. The data was collected by conducting a questionnaire, and its resulting information relating to sport and consumer behavior was processed through a cluster analysis procedure. Results. The results reveal the existence of five different amateur cyclists’ profiles (the parsimonious, the competitive, the ostentatious, the sociable and the experiential), each distinguished by specific behavior in terms of the intensity and way of conducting the sports activity and the propensity to incur different types of expenditure. Conclusions. From a theoretical point of view, the results confirm the effectiveness of behavioral segmentation in the market of sports consumption. From an operational point of view, they provide useful marketing indications for businesses operating in the sport-system chain and destination management operators.

Sport as Culture: Social class, styles of cultural consumption, and sports engagement in Canada

The consumption of culture has often been ascribed the power to reflect and reproduce social inequalities. However, most work in this area has focused upon music and the arts. Sport is an important element of culture that can and should be studied in a similar fashion as others (Bourdieu, 1978). This thesis thus seeks to bring the theoretical frameworks and analytical tools of sociologies of culture further into the realm of sport. Substantively, this thesis provides an updated and comprehensive re-examining of the relationship between direct sports participation and social stratification in the relatively unexplored national context of Canada. I also innovatively provide an examination of the relationship between social stratification and professional sports consumption. Finally, this thesis fills a gap in the literature by analysing where the consumption of sport fits within broader cultural lifestyles. For these investigations, I use large-scale survey data and various statistical methods to test the foundational theories of Pierre Bourdieu, the ‘omnivore’ thesis, and individualisation arguments of social action to explain these patterns. The findings show direct sports participation relying primarily on dispositions towards the body which are stratified by education and income, especially for the most elite sports. They also show the two most selective omnivorous profiles for professional sport, rather than the most omnivorous, with the highest levels of education and income. This thesis thus sheds doubt on the omnivore thesis within sport, while also showing elements of individualisation regarding age and sex differentiation in consumption. Sports consumption in Canada thus cuts across all three theories of the relation between socio-economic position and sport. These more delimitated consumption profiles contrast with the general adherence to the omnivore thesis within broader cultural lifestyles. This therefore suggests that sport may be a cultural domain where general omnivores practise more distinctive consumption.

Comparative analysis of sports consumption habits in Hungary, Poland and Germany

Background The so-called sports consumption models are looking for the factors that influence the sports spending of households. This paper aims to examine the Hungarian, Polish and German households’ sports expenditures which can be an important indicator of physical activity and sporty lifestyle. Methods Surveying of households in three countries (Hungary, Poland and Germany) has been conducted with a self-designed questionnaire. We have used descriptive and bivariate non-parametric and parametric statistical methods: (1) χ2 test, Mann-Whitney test and Kruskal-Wallis test for checking the relationship between sociodemographic and physical activity variables and (2) independent sample t-test and ANOVA for checking the differences in sports expenditures. Results Our research concluded that men, especially previous athletes, exercise more than women and those who have no history as registered athletes. The choice of sports venues is obviously different between the countries in the sample. Members of the study population spend the most on sports services while they spend the least on sports equipment. German households have the highest spending rates compared to the other two countries. Conclusions Results are in line with our previous research findings and with other literatures. The difference in preferences of sports venues could have the reason of different supply of sports clubs or the different living standards too. It needs further researches to clear it. Material wealth, income level and sport socialisation can be a determining factor regarding the level of sports spending.