Relationships as strategic assets: a sport fan equity approach

Abstract

Despite the importance of customer equity (CE) to the financial success of sport organisations, minimal consideration has been given to this concept by sport scholars, particularly as it pertains to the study of sport fan equity (SFE). The true asset value of the present and anticipated future contributions of a sport fan to a sport team/organisation describes SFE. The main objective of this study is to organise, review and synthesise the extant marketing and sport literatures to propose a new conceptualisation of SFE. Specifically, SFE is conceptualised in terms of relationship investment (key predictor), three core components of SFE (i.e., financial value, behavioural value and psychological value) and the outcome of market performance (i.e., media, sponsorship, licensing and public investment). The contribution of this study to the advancement of sport marketing is the presentation of a strong foundation for future CE research that stems from a critical review of the relevant CE literature and the development of an original model of SFE.