Abstract
Recent studies (Tombs and Mc Coll-Kennedy, 2003; Rosenbaum and Massaiah, 2007; Machleit et al., 2000, Eroglu, Machleit and Barr, 2005) underline the importance of considering different types of crowding (human versus spatial) when interpreting results on a crowd’s impact. They also insist on the potential moderating role of the service encounter and the values at stake (leisure versus utilitarian) (Eroglu, Machleit and Barr, 2005).
One potential variable that has received limited attention from researchers (Tombs and Mc Coll-Kennedy, 2003) is the extent to which the experience represents a scarce event for the consumer (Superbowl, World cup soccer). For example, scarce sporting and cultural events seem to often be of greater value and to trigger more extreme behaviors from consumers (Madrigal, 2000; Holt, 1995).
Using an experimental design, this study demonstrates that scarcity adds value to the sporting event experience (Wann et al, 2004; Cialdini, 1995). Our study also offers potential explanations of the mechanisms behind the scarcity effect. These results suggest the importance of signals sent by the crowd to potential customers, particularly driving their expectations. Scarcity can be considered as one of these cues or signals, and future research along this line is critical in the sporting event business.
Keywords
- Consumer Behavior
- Customer Relationship Management
- Limited Attention
- Customer Relationship
- Potential Customer
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Pons, F., Mourali, M., Maltese, L., Richelieu, A. (2017). Toward a Better Understanding of Crowded and Scarce Sporting Events: Do Fans think as much as they Feel?. In: Campbell, C.L. (eds) The Customer is NOT Always Right? Marketing Orientationsin a Dynamic Business World. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50008-9_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50008-9_11
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-50006-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-50008-9
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