GOOOOL: MOTIVATION DRIVERS OF ATTITUDINAL AND BEHAVIORAL FAN LOYALTY IN BRAZIL

Objective:Football is the predominant sport in Brazil, but a better understanding of what motivates non-football and football fans is needed. Method:A conceptual model is empirically tested of the effects of six motivational drivers-Interest in Team, Socialisation, Aesthetics, Sport Knowledge, Interest in Sport, Vicarious Achievement-on both attitudinal and behavioural fan loyalty using survey data from 483 Brazilian sports fans. Originality/Relevance:a theoretical gap exists as to understanding the unique motivations for Brazilian fan loyalty (Wang, Zhang, & Tsuji, 2011) and what drives Brazilian fans to attitudinally commit to a team and exhibit fan-related behaviours, such as attending matches and buying team merchandise. Results:fans of both football and other sports in Brazil share some underlying motivational drivers of attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty. They also indicate that some differences exist across the motivational drivers of attitudinal and behavioural fan loyalty. Theoretical/methodological contributions:Results from this study support previous research into the influence of motivations on attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty and offer insights into the direct influence of different motivations on attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty. Social/management contributions:these findings will assist sports-marketing practitioners of sports competing with football in Brazil to formulate more effective, fan-centric marketing-communication strategies leading to a larger loyal fan base.