A Structural Analysis of Loyalty in Professional Baseball:

Abstract

In this study, the causal structure of loyalty formation in sport relationship marketing was analyzed to gain insights into long-term competitive advantage. A Japanese professional baseball team, Hiroshima Toyo Carp, has been successful in establishing strong customer loyalty and profitability for 45 years independently without a parent company. Based on customer satisfaction index and service quality review approaches, a comparative quantitative survey was conducted for Hiroshima Toyo Carp and two other teams. First, a factor analysis indicated a difference in evaluation of service quality at each stadium and the value proposition for each team. Carp fans had an internal connection with other fans and self-actualization through watching a game, enabling strong customer satisfaction regardless of winning or losing. Second, a covariance structure analysis showed that, for all three teams, factors related to the game strongly affected customer satisfaction and loyalty, whereas stadium experience factors that were less related to the game did not necessarily affect these items. Furthermore, in the results for all teams, customer satisfaction and loyalty led to assimilation and cooperative intention. An implication of this study is that it is important to understand the value required by customers and strengthen subjective and objective benefits, which contribute to a deep and lasting relationship between companies and customers. We conclude by identifying future research based on fans of other teams or market segmentations.

Keywords

• customer satisfaction
• factor analysis
• covariance structure analysis
• relationship marketing
• sports marketing