Investigation of the motivations of active sport consumption by developing a general sport motivation scale

Abstract

THE AIMS OF THE PAPER

Mapping motivations behind active sport participation has an important role in understanding sports consumption as accurately as possible. The aim of our research was to develop a scale which can be used to measure the sport motivations of those who do sports regularly in the Hungarian population comprehensively. This approach represents a novelty compared to other sport motivation scale research because it focuses mainly on the motivations of average people who somehow engaged in sports and not only on those athletes who are competitors in sports.

METHODOLOGY

We developed our own sport motivation scale, that we surveyed through comprehensive sport consumption questionnaire conducted in the framework of the EFOP-3.6.2-16-2017-00003: "Creating a Cooperating Research Network for Sport, Recreational and Health Economy" project. Our survey is based on 2000 pencil and paper interviews which sample is representative for the Hungarian population in age, gender and the region of residence. On our sample firstly a factor analysis was used to form the measurement dimensions of the scale. Then we verified the appropriate internal reliability of the resulting factors. In the last step, we performed a cluster analysis on our sample in order to be convinced of the practical usability of our scale by mapping the sport motivation patterns of the Hungarian population.

MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS

Our scale has proven to be suitable for measuring the motivations behind the sport participation of average people along three different dimensions. With its help, we managed to explore six groups with different sport motivations among the Hungarian population, who are the relaxers, the committed physical trainers, the community athletes, the average sport consumers, those who want to meet themselves and the lone bodybuilders. The practical applicability of our scale is proved by the fact that the sport consumption of different groups shows significant differences in several aspects.

RECOMMENDATIONS

With the help of the sports motivation scale developed during our research, companies related to leisure sports can segment their markets and define target groups more precisely, which would also create the possibility of better positioning. Due to many competitors and fierce competition, this can be a key issue for the success of a given sport company. However, it is also suitable for helping the targeted delivery of social messages.

Acknowledgements: This research was partially supported by the Human Resource Development Operational Programme, grant No.: HRDOP-3.6.2-16-2017-00003, Cooperative Research Network in Economy of Sport, Recreation and Health.