Team Identification and Negotiation: A Mediated-Moderation Model of Constraints, Motivation, and Sport Consumption

The purpose of the current study was to examine (a) the mediating effect of negotiation on the relationship between fans’ motivations and constraints to consume sport and to (b) investigate the moderating role of team identification in a sport consumption model of motivation, constraints, and negotiation. Using two datasets from various college athletics stakeholders (i.e., students, alumni, and non-college associated fans) at a large university in the southeastern United States. Our analyses using structural equation modeling show that negotiation mediates the relationship between motivation and sport consumption for both die-hard and fair-weather fans. We also find that negotiation mediates the relationship between constraints and sport consumption with the effect being significant for fair-weather fans only. Our study sheds light on sport consumption as it relates to fans’ motivation to negotiate constraints in order to consume sport. Specifically, we extend current understanding on how different fans negotiate constraints to consume sport. Marketers can use our findings to design campaigns that focus on providing different fans with a variety of incentives to consume sport.