Using Experiments in Sport Consumer Behavior Research: A Review and Directions for Future Research

March 28, 2023
by Ye Lei

In the field of sport consumer behavior research, experimental methods have been increasingly utilized since the 2000s. Sport consumer behavior is a broad field that relates to many different disciplines, including psychology, marketing, and so on. Properly applying experimental methods can help researchers better understand complex sport consumer behavior.

In a recent study, Dr. Yong Jae Ko and Dr. Yonghwan Chang collaborated with their colleagues to broaden the understanding of experimental methods. Their research provided a comprehensive review of experimental research methods in sport consumer behavior and offered some suggestions for future research directions.

The research team examined experimental research published in sport management journals through to the end of 2020, which includes more than 3000 articles. As a result, they categorized over 1000 articles as sport consumer behavior research, and 153 articles of those were experimental studies. While the number of publications that used experimental methods is still low, the data showed that the use of experimental methods has increased in recent years. 

The authors first reviewed the topics of experimental research in sport consumer. They found that studies on sponsorship, athlete endorsement, and sports were the three areas where experimental methods were used the most. In addition, they reviewed the designs of experiments, as well as the statistical technique in the experiments.

Next, the researchers discussed when it may be most suitable to use experimental methods to investigate sport consumer behaviors. They explained that experiments are useful when researchers want to test a theory in a specific situation where they need to have control over what is happening, or when researchers want to check if one thing causes another thing to happen.

Furthermore, the research team explained the strengths and weaknesses of various experimental types and designs, and they provided examples of how they have been used in sport consumer behavior research. The authors also discussed some common issues and challenges in conducting experiments, such as ensuring the experiment results are valid and accurate, and making sure the findings can be useful to a larger group of people or situations.

In conclusion, the study highlights the importance and value of experimental research methods in sport consumer behavior. In the future, researchers can use the recommendations and suggestions provided in this study as a guide when they want to conduct experimental studies on related topics.

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Read the full article here:

Ko, Y. J., Kwak, D. H., Jang, E. W., Lee, J. S., Asada, A., Chang, Y., ... & Yilmaz, S. (2023). Using Experiments in Sport Consumer Behavior Research: A Review and Directions for Future Research. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 32(1), 33-46. http://doi.org/10.32731/SMQ.321.032023.03

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