Examining culture-specific sport consumption in a host country: The roles of ethnic identity and acculturation

Abstract

This study examined the moderating effects of acculturation on the relationships between ethnic identity, fan identification, and culture-specific sport consumption behaviours for ethnic minority individuals living in a host country (i.e., United States in this study). To achieve this purpose, two theoretical models were developed: (a) the Ethnic Player Sport Consumption Model and (b) the Native Sport Consumption Model. A total of 394 participants of Northeast Asian descent were recruited from four large cities in the United States. The empirical results supported two hypotheses out of the four. Specifically, the results indicated that ethnic identity significantly influenced culture-specific sport consumption behaviours through fan identification in both models. However, there were no significant moderating effects of acculturation in the theoretical relationships among ethnic identity, fan identification, or culture-specific sport consumption behaviours. Sport marketers can utilize the findings of this study to design culture-based marketing strategies in order to attract ethnic minority individuals to the sport marketplace. ? JPES.