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The Fans’ Perception of Competitive Balance and Its Impact on Willingness-to-Pay for a Single Game

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  • Georgios Nalbantis
  • Tim Pawlowski
  • Dennis Coates

Abstract

The economics literature related to the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis reopens the discussion of whether the fans’ perceptions of competitive balance (CB) are in line with Rottenberg’s and Neale’s theory. This article contributes to the literature by analyzing the effect of fans’ perceptions of suspensefulness on their willingness-to-pay for a single-game ticket and evaluating monetarily the (un)importance of CB. Results suggest that fans’ notions of competitiveness influence their spending behavior, rising as perceived balance rises, at least up to high levels of competitiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Georgios Nalbantis & Tim Pawlowski & Dennis Coates, 2017. "The Fans’ Perception of Competitive Balance and Its Impact on Willingness-to-Pay for a Single Game," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 18(5), pages 479-505, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:18:y:2017:i:5:p:479-505
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002515588137
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    Cited by:

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    2. Brad R. Humphreys & Thomas J. Miceli, 2019. "The Peculiar Preferences of Sports Fans: Toward a Preference-Based Motivation for the Uncertainty of Outcome Hypothesis," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(6), pages 782-796, August.
    3. Dominik Schreyer & Sascha L. Schmidt & Benno Torgler, 2018. "Game Outcome Uncertainty in the English Premier League," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 19(5), pages 625-644, June.
    4. Tim Wallrafen & Georgios Nalbantis & Tim Pawlowski, 2022. "Competition and Fan Substitution Between Professional Sports Leagues," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 61(1), pages 21-43, August.
    5. Fernández-Roldán Díaz, Alejandro & Santiago-Caballero, Carlos, 2017. "Decomposing competitive balance in the major European football leagues : a Rawlsian approach," IFCS - Working Papers in Economic History.WH 24658, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Instituto Figuerola.
    6. Thomas J. Miceli, 2024. "A Note on the Preferences of Sports Fans: Partisanship Versus Uncertainty of Outcome," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 25(2), pages 155-168, February.
    7. Carlos Gomez-Gonzalez & Julio del Corral & R. Todd Jewell & Jorge García-Unanue & Cornel Nesseler, 2019. "A Prospective Analysis of Competitive Balance Levels in Major League Soccer," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 54(1), pages 175-190, February.
    8. de Boer, Willem I.J. & Koning, Ruud H. & Mierau, Jochen O., 2017. "Ex-ante and ex-post willingness-to-pay for hosting a major cycling event," Research Report 17013-EEF, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    9. Tim Wallrafen & Tim Pawlowski & Christian Deutscher, 2019. "Substitution in Sports: The Case of Lower Division Football Attendance," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(3), pages 319-343, April.
    10. Raul Caruso & Francesco Addesa & Marco Di Domizio, 2019. "The Determinants of the TV Demand for Soccer: Empirical Evidence on Italian Serie A for the Period 2008-2015," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(1), pages 25-49, January.
    11. Anthony Macedo & Marta Ferreira Dias & Paulo Reis Mourão, 2023. "European Men's Club Football in the Eyes of Consumers: The Determinants of Television Broadcast Demand," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 24(5), pages 579-623, June.
    12. Rudkin, Simon & Sharma, Abhijit, 2017. "The Impact of Football Attendance on Tourist Expenditures for the United Kingdom," MPRA Paper 81427, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Alexander John Bond & Francesco Addesa, 2020. "Competitive Intensity, Fans’ Expectations, and Match-Day Tickets Sold in the Italian Football Serie A, 2012-2015," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 21(1), pages 20-43, January.
    14. David Matesanz & Florian Holzmayer & Benno Torgler & Sascha L Schmidt & Guillermo J Ortega, 2018. "Transfer market activities and sportive performance in European first football leagues: A dynamic network approach," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-16, December.
    15. Iuliia Naidenova & Petr Parshakov & Sofiia Paklina, 2020. "Determinants of Football Fans’ Happiness: Evidence from Facial Emotion Recognition," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 1103-1116, March.
    16. Tim Pawlowski & Georgios Nalbantis & Dennis Coates, 2018. "Perceived Game Uncertainty, Suspense And The Demand For Sport," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(1), pages 173-192, January.
    17. Willem I. J. de Boer & Ruud H. Koning & Jochen O. Mierau, 2019. "Ex Ante and Ex Post Willingness to Pay for Hosting a Large International Sport Event," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(2), pages 159-176, February.

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