What makes consumers see an activity as sporty? Conceptualization, measurement and preliminary effects of perceived sportivity
(A2021-94594)

AUTHORS

Reynald Brion, KEDGE Business School; Renaud Lunardo, Kedge Business School; Jean-François Trinquecoste, Université de Bordeaux

ABSTRACT

People allocate more time and resources to their leisure and hobbies than ever. One of the preferred activities refers to watching sports, as evidenced by the impressive audiences of lived sports worldwide. While the degree of sportivity might explain individual’s engagement in the watching of the activity, extant literature has left unexamined the conceptualization and measurement of the sportivity of an activity, preventing a clear examination of its effects. Therefore, this research aims to define and develop a measure of the concept of “perceived sportivity”. Specifically, after a literature review on the notion of sportivity, we present five different qualitative and quantitative studies that develop an 11-item scale of perceived sportivity. Results show that perceived sportivity is a reflexive second order construct composed of three dimensions – physicality, commerciality, and equipment– that has broad effects on consumer engagement and behaviour.