An Examination of Football Fans on the Basis of Customer Loyalty and Consumer Behavior (Futbol Taraftarlığının Müşteri Sadakati ve Tüketici Davranışı Temelinde İncelenmesi)

Fans' expenditures are one of the most important income items of sports clubs. In addition to socio-demographic factors, the connection that fans establish with their teams can also be effective in this expenditure. From a sports marketing perspective, it is important to focus on the influence of fan loyalty and advocacy in spending for the team. In this study, it was examined whether different types of fans, fan loyalty, and the socio-demographic characteristics of the fans have effects on the spending for the team. The research was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, data were obtained from a group of 50 people in order to determine the different types of supporters, the types of financial support provided and, if not, the reasons for this. The information obtained from this preliminary study was used in the main survey form prepared later. To measure the loyalty of the fans, scales in Mahony, Madrigal and Howard (2000), Bobalca, Gătej and Ciobanu (2012), El-Manstrly and Harrison (2013), and Tachis and Tzetzis (2015) were used. Data were obtained from a sample of 533 people using the convenience sampling method. According to the results of the regression analysis, it was observed that these variables were effective in some of the expenditures made for the team, but not in others.