Community-based Management: Developing the Fan Base of Professional Baseball Teams

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the concept of community-based management (CBM) and to elucidate the in‰uential factors formulating the strategies for developing the fan base of professional baseball teams. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among staŠ members of four Paciˆc League teams on having regional team names and adopting ``community-based management'' or ``regional outreach activities'' in their team philosophy. In‰uenced by the reorganization of the Nippon Professional Baseball organization, the Paciˆc League teams have focused on a speciˆc community or region, rather than the entire nation, for better management. Teams are concentrating on garnering customer loyalty from avid fan club members and repeat customers, and then trying to retain and attract customers while expanding the customer target area in their community. The community-based approach implies developing a bond between local residents and teams. Through this study, CBM is deˆned as ``developing consumers' attachment to and building their bond with a team through various local promotional or outreach activities within their speciˆc area.'' There are two signiˆcant factors emerged that in‰uence formulating the strategies for developing the fan base: (1) agreements between teams and stadium proprietors, and (2) relationships with local promotional vehicles such as local media companies and a railway company.