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The purpose of this study was to propose and test a conceptual model of online sport consumption motivation and concerns when using the Internet for sport information and shopping. The proposed model is based on current conceptualization of motivation and concerns when using the Internet. The proposed model consists of five types of motivation (i.e., convenience, information, diversion, socialization, and economic) and four types of concern (i.e., security and privacy, delivery, product quality, and customer service). To test this model, the scale of motivation for online sport consumption was developed. A structural equation model test with a convenience sample of 222 sports participants supported the conceptualization of motivation and concerns. Motivation positively influenced sport fans’ actual usage of sport-related Web sites, but no significant path coefficient was found from concerns to motivation and actual usage. Given these results, implications for future research and practice are discussed.

This paper describes the development of a survey instrument to assess athletics donor motivation. An extensive literature review, followed by interviews with athletics donors, identified 14 dimensions of donor motivation. Expert review and field testing of potential survey items reduced the number of dimensions of athletics donor motivation to 12. The final instrument, Motivation of Athletics Donors (MAD-1), was pilot tested with a sample of donors from 10 NCAA Division I athletics programs. Eleven scales were validated using confirmatory factor analysis, scale reliabilities (Cronbach's alpha), and item-to-total correlations. These results (a) provide the foundation necessary for systematic study of athletics donor behavior utilizing social cognitive theory as the theoretical framework, and (b) support the use of the MAD-1 as a practical instrument for assessing the specific motivations of any particular donor group.

This paper emanates from a larger project consisting of three phases related to the examination of athletic donor behavior and motivation. This paper focuses specifically on the first phase of that study, which dealt with the development of an instrument to measure athletic donor behavior and motivation using a theoretical model. The Birch and Veroff (1966) paradigm of human motivation was incorporated into a research design that sought to identify the multidimensional aspects of athletic donor behavior and motivation. The Athletic Contributions Questionnaire originally developed by Billing, Holt, and Smith (1985) was revised to reflect incentive motivation factors found in the Birch and Veroff model. The revised instrument was called the ACQUIRE-II.¹ One hundred randomly selected participants from each of 2 donor groups from a Division I institution and each of 2 donor groups from a Division III institution (total N=400) completed the ACQUIRE-II with a 50.5% rate of response. An exploratory principal components analysis showed that over 70% of donor motivations for giving could be explained by 6 factors: Benefits, Philanthropic, Power, Social, Success 1, and Success2.

Volunteers provide an essential human resource to sport organizations. Yet measures of motivation and satisfaction have had limited impact on an organization’s ability to improve their volunteer systems. This study applied the Kano Method to categorize volunteers’ perceptions of their experience into four dimensions of satisfaction: Attractive (or Satisfiers), Must-Be’s (or Dissatisfiers), One-Dimensional, and Indifferent. Four types of volunteers (44 sport continuous, 47 sport episodic, 49 nonsport continuous, 176 nonsport episodic) completed a web questionnaire including 26-paired features of their experience, 26 motives, and five key outcome measures. Although motives were deemed important, alone they were poor predictors of key outcomes and were unrelated to satisfaction. Volunteers in the four contexts classified the 26 features in different ways. No Must-Be’s (dissatisfiers) were identified by any group. Although most features were identified as Attractive, the distribution of One-Dimensional and Indifferent features varied by context. One-dimensional items were only identified among features categorized as Supportive Culture, Clear Direction, and Contribution. These features should be prioritized as managers improve volunteer management systems. The Kano Method extends our understanding of the volunteer experience by providing researchers with a tool to distinguish the way volunteers conceptualize their experience. From a practical standpoint, it provides volunteer managers with an additional tool in their efforts to recruit and retain volunteers by prioritizing features that will most immediately impact volunteers.

The purpose of this study was to investigate attributes of satisfaction and motivation for volunteers at an elite sporting competition and the implications of this for effective event management, A survey of 300 volunteers was undertaken immediately following the Scott Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian Women's Curling Championship, held in Thunder Bay in March 1996, The 28- item Special Event Volunteer Motivation Scale was tested in this study, resulting in four empirically supported factors termed purposive, solidary, external traditions, and commitments. The study measured the level of satisfaction with the general volunteer experience and with specific aspects of the administrative and managerial conditions. This study found that particular attributes of the event organization and competition facility played a role in volunteer satisfaction.

The Internet has become a significant tool for sport marketing. Professional sport teams’ Web sites are now an important component of their marketing mix; yet, little is know about users’ consumption motives for Web sites, particularly sport teams’ Web sites. The purpose of this study was to develop a valid, reliable instrument to measure motivation for sport online consumption. The Motivation Scale for Sport Online Consumption (MSSOC) was developed in three phases. A literature review identified 102 potential motives in Phase 1. A second, qualitative phase refined and classified the potential item pool, resulting in 67 items. Exploratory factor analysis (N = 175) was used to generate a 10-factor, 40-item scale. The revised instrument was used in a second study (N = 371). Structural equation modeling was used to confirm the factor structure of the instrument and to reduce each subscale to 3 items. The final scale consisted of 10 dimensions of motivation: fanship, interpersonal communication, technical knowledge, fan expression, entertainment, economic, pass time, information, escape, and support. Subscale internal consistency ranged from .77 to .90. All 10 dimensions were positively correlated with Web commitment (.20 < r ₂ < .63), providing evidence of convergent validity. Potential uses of the scale are discussed.

This study examined the impact of organizational commitment and valence on training motivation and, in turn, the impact of training motivation on posttraining self-efficacy. Data were collected from 264 part-time university athletic department employees both prior to and following a mandatory training session. Structural equation modeling indicated that organizational commitment (b = .53, p < .001) and valence (b = .26, p < .001) held positive associations with training motivation, accounting for 45% of the variance. Additionally, training motivation held a significant association with posttraining self-efficacy (b = .37, p < .001), accounting for 13% of the variance. The results demonstrate (a) salient antecedents of training motivation, and (b) the importance of training motivation in realizing training outcomes within the context of university athletic departments.

The contemporary sport fan has the ability to consume spectator sport through several means including event attendance, television and radio broadcasts, print publications, and Internet applications. Recently, an ancillary sport service, termed fantasy sports, has become one of the most popular activities among sport fans. As a result, the business of fantasy sports is booming. This study examined motivational dimensions underlying fantasy football participation from a Uses and Gratifications perspective. Utilizing Churchill’s (1979) five-step method for developing quality marketing measures, this study identified and validated three motivational dimensions: entertainment/escape, competition, and social interaction. The results suggest a pattern of fantasy football participation that is more purposeful and active than traditional media use. Discussed are the gambling associations, future research opportunities, and suggestions for developing fantasy football participation into a more creative and interactive marketing communication tool.