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Title : Construction and validation of the Sport Spectacle Experience
Search (SSES) scale
Bouchet P., Bodet G. & Bernache-Assollant I.
Research question
Who are sport spectators and what do they look for in sport spectacle ?
Theoretical background
Sport spectacle can be consumed by different people in different ways
organised around four dimensions which are interactive play, integration,
classification and lived experience according to Holt (1995), .
The characteristics and practices of sport spectacle consumption seem to
show that sport spectators look for individual and/or interpersonal (adjacent or
shared), reactive (spectator) and/or active (fans) experiences, with strong
affective and hedonic dimensions. Therefore, the consumer behaviour in the
sport spectacle field does not only rely on extrinsic motivations based on
utilitarian criteria, this research aims to emphasize the role played by the
experience search aspects and the primary processes of pleasure,
entertainment, imaginary and sensorial stimulation (Holbrook et Hirschman,
1982). This research aims to better understand the consumer decision-
making process in line with sport spectacle and particularly the role played by
emotional and symbolic dimensions. Consumption experience is based on the
encounter between a sport display and the consumption practices in a specific
context (on or out of site), then, there is a stake for managers who want to
create a specific experience to identify and to offer adjusted actions or
services in accordance with the consumption modes of sport spectators.
Methodology
The construction of the Sport Spectacle Experience Search Scale is the last
step of a long research process initiated by several works and authors.
A first qualitative work based on two collective interviews and conducted by
Bouchet and Bourgeon (2001) in 2000 aimed at understanding the reasons
for sport attendance and non attendance. In 2001, Bourgeon, Bouchet and
Pulh (2003) conducted a second work based on the observation of rugby
union spectators (more than 500) in the city of Dijon in order to put in
correspondence the profiles and the characteristics of sport spectators with
the motives of frequentation and the values associated with sport spectacle.
After that, Bouchet and Pulh (2006) observed and interviewed 12 rugby union
spectators classified according to the four different profiles identified by
Bourgeon et al. (2003) during 5 games. Based on these studies, four profiles
of sport spectators corresponding to four experience search patterns were
identified: aesthetic-respectful, supporter, opportunist-interested, and
recreational-interactive.
Based on this previous work and their personal and distinct expertise in
relation to sport spectacle object (i.e., sociology, marketing-management and
social psychology) the authors created a psychometric scale in order to
quantify the degree of each experience search pattern presented by one
individual or a group of spectators. 24 items were generated (6 items per
dimension) and they allowed the measurement of the sport spectacle
experience search in different contexts: within a stadium, within a fan village,
around a giant public screen, within a bar, at home).
Results
The psychometric validation with Exploratory and Confirmatory Factorial
Analysis is planned. The administration and the collection of questionnaires
with the SSES scale have started and the authors will be able to present the
psychometric validation soon.
Conclusion
After its validation, the SSES scale should allow sport managers to identify
and segment sport spectators according to the dominant pattern of
experience search in regards with specific social and physical contexts.
Specifically, thanks to the strong grounded process of construction, the SSES
scale offers an enrichment for the managerial strategies by integrating the
different elements of the offer of sport spectacle. Indeed, this offer has to be
perceived as multidimensional, i.e gathering the core product (which type of
spectacle?), the physical aspect of the consumption (which role for the place
of spectacle or the place of viewing?), the social context (how integrating the
different social logics of the different social actors expressed during a sport
event?), and the temporal context (extending or not the length of the event,
the pre and post-event manifestations).
References
Bouchet P. & Bourgeon D. (2001), La recherche d’expériences dans la
consommation du spectacle sportif, Revue Européenne de Management du
Sport, 6, 1-47.
Bourgeon D., Bouchet P. & Pulh M. (2003), L'analyse de l'expérience de
consommation de spectacles vivants : de nouvelles perspectives
managériales, Proceedings from the XIXe Congrès de l’AFM, Gammarth,
CDRom.
Bouchet P. & Pulh M. (2006), L’expérience vécue : un autre regard sur
l’analyse du comportement du consommateur, Proceedings from the 5èmes
Journées Normandes de Recherche sur la Consommation, Caen, CDRom.
Holbrook M.B. & Hirschman E.C. (1982), Hedonic consumption: emerging
concepts, methods and propositions, Journal of Marketing Research, 46, 92-
101.
Holt D.B. (1995), How consumer consume: a typology of consumption
practices, Journal of Consumer Research, 22, 1-16.
