Values and attributes of volleyball by the fans in the FIVB Men's World Championships 2014

Abstract

As the world of sport is encountering challenges, such as intensified competition, fragmented markets and loss of commitment, there is a need to discover new insights of the global sport consumers to gain more understanding of their behavior. Volleyball world is not an exception as regards the challenges. Despite its popularity, however, volleyball has not been researched as widely as for example football.

The purpose of this master’s thesis was to investigate the image of volleyball through the perceived attributes the spectating fans link to this discipline in the context of an international tournament. Namely fans are the consumers in sport world and work as co-creators of sport events. The attributes of volleyball were linked with certain values which made it possible to explore the values and attributes of volleyball. Additionally, the fans’ personal value patterns were investigated. The theories utilized in the research were human value theory by Schwartz (2012), consumer behavior theory by Kotler (2009) and brand image theory by Keller (1993).

The study was conducted as a quantitative research during the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Championships 2014 in Poland and 276 questionnaires were collected. The results indicate that volleyball is perceived as international, fun, exciting, ambitious, and pleasant sport by the fans and the values of volleyball are universalism, stimulation, and achievement. Fans expect therefore i.e. escape from daily life, excitement, enjoyment, and togetherness when they attend a volleyball event. The most common personal values of the fans are benevolence, safety and hedonism.

As a conclusion, the findings indicate that there were no significant differences between nationalities or genders but the fans of volleyball are rather homogeneous group of people. The discovered unique attributes and values can be used to develop the image of volleyball, to foster the growth of the sport and unity among volleyball fans. Moreover, the results provide valuable content for marketing, promotion and advertising.