Title: Who are Minor League Baseball spectators? Developing a motivation-based segmentation typology of MiLB game attendees

Authors: Ari Kim; Jessica R. Braunstein-Minkove; Moonhoon Choi

Addresses: Department of Kinesiology, Towson University, 8000 York Rd., Towson, MD 21252, USA ' Department of Kinesiology, Towson University, 8000 York Rd., Towson, MD 21252, USA ' School of Civic Leadership, Business and Social Change, Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002, USA

Abstract: Understanding consumers' underlying motivation(s) for attending sporting events is vital in developing strategic marketing plans. A complete understanding of individuals' motivations to attend can be essential for sport organisations with lower budgets, limited staffing, and/or saturated markets. With this in mind, this study aimed to investigate Minor League Baseball (MiLB) spectator motivations, identifying spectator typologies using motivation-based segmentation. Data were obtained from 587 MiLB spectators using a modified version of Trail and James' (2001) motivation scale for sport consumption. Confirmatory factor analysis, two-step cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis were employed for classification purposes, resulting in four segments - family focused, baseball lovers, escapers, and general entertainment seekers. This study augments and extends the existing sport marketing literature, particularly with the use of motivation-based segmentation for sport spectator typology. Both theoretical and practical implications are addressed.

Keywords: sport consumer behaviour; Minor League Baseball; MiLB; market segmentation; spectator typology; spectator motivation; cluster analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2023.131953

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2023 Vol.23 No.4, pp.290 - 309

Received: 20 Nov 2021
Received in revised form: 06 May 2022
Accepted: 27 Jul 2022
Published online: 05 Jul 2023 *

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