ABSTRACT
The study of consumer behaviour in sport management emphasises the role of consumer experiences and how these experiences influence perceptions and preferences towards sport products and services. A decision to attend or watch a sporting contest, participate in a recreational event, use a mobile device to gather sport information, or purchase and wear a sport branded T-shirt is based on a number of external and internal forces, among which attitudes are particularly influential. This chapter provides a review of a theoretical framework, the Psychological Continuum Model (PCM), that outlines how an individual’s attitude towards a sport object (e.g., team, player, sport, activity) initially forms and may change based on social-psychological principles. Over the past fifteen years, the framework has been developed and refined to advance our understanding of the decision-making process that guides motivations and behaviours in various sport and related contexts, and in different countries. The PCM has been used extensively as a theoretical foundation to guide sport consumer research in order to assist in the development of management actions useful in designing and promoting the optimal consumer experience. In this chapter we explore the PCM from an evolutionary perspective across three important time periods: the Conceptual Period (2001–09), the Operational Period (2009–15) and the Contextual Period (2015-onwards). The Conceptual Period includes an overview of the PCM along with revisions and refinements to the framework. The Operational Period presents empirical results utilised to validate and apply the framework in various contexts. The Contextual Period is a look forward at the role of context in the future development of the PCM.
