Values and goals of Chinese sport consumers contrary to American counterparts
International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship
ISSN: 1464-6668
Article publication date: 6 February 2017
Abstract
Purpose
Existing studies suggest the importance of research related to values and goals and their impacts on consumer involvement. However, cross-cultural examination of values and goals in the context of sport is scarce. To broaden our understanding of the cultural impact of values and goals on sport involvement, the purpose of this paper is to compare perspectives between Easterners (Chinese) and Westerners (Americans).
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory research utilized both online and written surveys to collect two convenience samples from 281 American and 636 Chinese participants. Analysis included descriptive statistics, correlations, and regression analyses.
Findings
Results indicated both populations perceived values and goals differently; Chinese responded less favorably to values and goals than American counterparts. Values and goals predicted cognitive and behavioral sport involvement with variance in each population. Results generally supported a large cultural variation between the cultures. Lastly, similarities and differences in the perceived importance of values and goals and their subsequent impacts on cognitive and behavioral sport involvement suggest a need for a unique managerial approach when American businesses enter new cultural boundaries like China.
Originality/value
This research is significant because studies exploring values and goals and their influences on sport consumption at the cross-cultural level are still limited in sport literature. Furthermore, an empirical examination of the impact of values and goals on sport consumers across cultures will help increase generalizability of the findings to sport literature.
Keywords
Citation
Lee, D., Zhang, Y., Cottingham, M., Park, J. and Yu, H.Y. (2017), "Values and goals of Chinese sport consumers contrary to American counterparts", International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 11-28. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-05-2016-0027
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited