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Deriving pleasure from other people’s pain: The influence of vicarious pain on viewing intentions for violent sports

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  • Quansah, Tommy Kweku
  • Lang, Markus
  • Mühlbacher, Hans

Abstract

The current study used the example of mixed martial arts to explore how empathetic vicarious pain and everyday vicarious sadism influence viewing intentions in violent sports in addition to service quality and perceived value. Structural equation modeling of data from 797 respondents revealed that service quality (a formative construct comprising athletic performance, outcome uncertainty, violence, and excitement) predicted future intentions. Violence and excitement contributed most strongly to perceived service quality, with athletic performance and outcome uncertainty as supporting factors. Everyday vicarious sadism had a positive influence on future viewing intentions but a slight negative impact on satisfaction, underscoring its complex role in viewers’ motivations. Empathetic vicarious pain is weakly linked to lower viewing intentions. Necessary Condition Analysis showed that service quality was the only necessary condition for viewing intentions, underscoring its importance in sustaining spectator engagement. These findings contribute to consumer behavior research by demonstrating the impact of violence on service quality and by highlighting the roles of empathetic vicarious pain and everyday vicarious sadism in shaping viewers’ engagement with violent sports.

Suggested Citation

  • Quansah, Tommy Kweku & Lang, Markus & Mühlbacher, Hans, 2025. "Deriving pleasure from other people’s pain: The influence of vicarious pain on viewing intentions for violent sports," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:199:y:2025:i:c:s014829632500356x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115533
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    1. Kastanakis, Minas N. & Magrizos, Solon & Belk, Russell W., 2026. "“No pain no Gain”: understanding and applications of pain in marketing scholarship and practice," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).

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