Examining fan motives and loyalty for the Chinese Professional Baseball League of Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to examine social motivations of Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) consumers and their relationships with fan loyalty. A questionnaire was developed based on the Sport Interest Inventory (SII) (Funk, Ridinger, & Moorman, 2003) with proper modification to measure the unique market environment of the CPBL. The final questionnaire included a total of 18 fan motives, two loyalty constructs (attitudinal and behavioural domains), and demographic variables. Research participants (N = 346) were CPBL consumers, who voluntarily responded to an on-line survey. The result of a confirmatory factor analysis revealed a strong psychometrical property of the SII. The result of structural equation modeling indicated strong predicting power of fan motives on fan loyalty. Discussions are presented with regard to theoretical relevance and managerial practice.