Perceived risk-based sport spectator segmentation during the pandemic situation
Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics
ISSN: 1355-5855
Article publication date: 10 January 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Although many attempts to discover key segments of sport spectators have been extant, little segmentation effort has been made to reflect pandemic situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this research is twofold: (1) to classify sport spectators into key segments based on perceived risks associated with a mass-gathered sporting event during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) to identify each segment’s profiles.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaire surveys of spectators attending a Japanese rugby game during the COVID-19 pandemic (January–June 2021) were conducted (n = 1,410). A combination of hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering methods was executed.
Findings
The results revealed the five-cluster solution as the optimal number of clusters representing the samples (i.e. spectators with extremely low-risk perception, those with low-risk perception, those with moderate-risk perception, those with high-risk perception and those with higher social risk perception). This five-cluster solution showed sufficient stability and validity. Moreover, each segment had different profiles regarding three background aspects – demographics, psychographics and behavioral variables.
Originality/value
This study is the first effort to segment sport spectators based on perceived risks associated with a mass-gathered sporting event in the pandemic situation. Despite extensive segmentation studies to explore sport fans, contribution reflecting the post-crisis situations is scant. Therefore, the findings provide insight into this realm by providing a new viewpoint for understanding sport spectators during a possible future pandemic era.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research was conducted using a part of surveys commissioned by the Japan Rugby Football Union to the Waseda Institute for Sport Sciences at Waseda University.
Declaration of interest: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Citation
Kang, T., Yamashita, R. and Matsuoka, H. (2024), "Perceived risk-based sport spectator segmentation during the pandemic situation", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-08-2023-0801
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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