The relationship between sport involvement, perceived event prestige, and the intention to attend annual spectator events

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between sport involvement, perceived event prestige and attendance intention of annual sporting events. In addition, it examines the moderating effects of gender and past experience on the proposed model. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected, using an on-site survey, from spectators (n=349) who attended the men’s or women’s basketball tournaments of the 2016 William Jones Cup held in Taiwan. Findings: The results showed that perceived event prestige partially mediated the relationship between sport involvement and attendance intention of sporting events. Moreover, the moderating effects of gender and experience were found in the proposed model. Specifically, male spectators’ involvement had a significantly stronger influence on perceived event prestige, and, in turn, their perception of event prestige played a more significant role in influencing attendance intention. Also, sport involvement was more important in predicting attendance intention for experienced spectators whereas the prestige of the event was more important for first-time spectators. Originality/value: This study suggests that sport event organizers need to employ different strategies in developing the subsequent editions of the event and retaining fans’ interest in the sport. Specifically, event organizers need to enhance the prestige of the sporting event through effective marketing communication to attract first-time spectators to the event.