“bend_it

‘‘Bend it like Beckham’’: the influence ofsports celebrities on young adultconsumers

Steve Dix, Ian Phau and Sonia Pougnet

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how sports celebrities can be perceived as rolemodels and influence young adult consumers’ purchase and behavioural intentions. Further, it alsoseeks to examine whether this influence differs between males and females.

Design/methodology/approach – A self-administered questionnaire was designed using establishedscales. A convenience sample was drawn from students in a large university in Western Australia.

Findings – Athlete role model endorsers have a positive influence on young adults’ product switchingbehaviour, complaint behaviour, positive word-of-mouth behaviour and brand loyalty. This confirms theassumption that sports celebrities are important socialisation agents and can have significant impact onpurchase intentions and behaviours.

Practical implications – This research provides useful insight into the influence of athlete endorsers onyoung adults and suggests athletes have a positive influence on young adults’ behavioural intentions inswitching products, generating word-of-mouth and establishing brand loyalty. More importantly, thisstudy is a significant step towards providing useful information about how young consumers respond tothe use of sports celebrities in advertising.

Originality/value – Previous studies indicate that this potential influence and impact of sports starendorsers would be at its peak amongst the youth market. This paper extends previous studies byfocusing on one specific market – young adults in Australia.

Keywords Sports, Advertising, Consumer behaviour, Celebrities, Australia, Young adults

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Businesses are spending millions in endorsement deals each year to associate their

products or brands with some of the biggest names in sport (Bower and Mateer, 2008;

Harris, 2008; Thomaselli, 2008; Byrne et al., 2003). Many believe that the celebrity and

popularity of celebrity athletes would benefit brands, creating positive associations,

contributing to brand name recognition and creating meaning for even the most ordinary

products (Miciak and Shanklin, 1994; Charbonneau and Garland, 2005; Stevens et al., 2003;

Tingchi Liu et al., 2007). More importantly, in a crowded media environment where

advertisers face an increasing challenge of attracting consumers’ attention, celebrities are

said to have the ability to break through this media clutter and hold viewers’ attention (Miciak

and Shanklin, 1994; Charbonneau and Garland, 2005).

Products and brands endorsed by English soccer star David Beckham are all vicariously

consumed because of his success and his desirable lifestyle (Cashmore, 2002). In fact, a

new poll on British children conducted by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers found

that 53 percent voted David Beckham as their role model. Further, 70 percent of the teachers

felt that celebrity culture has an impact over their pupils’ aspirations for the future

(Association of Teachers and Lecturers, 2008). The ‘‘effect’’ of basketball superstar Michael

PAGE 36 j YOUNG CONSUMERS j VOL. 11 NO. 1 2010, pp. 36-46, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1747-3616 DOI 10.1108/17473611011025993

Steve Dix, Ian Phau and

Sonia Pougnet are all based

at the School of Marketing,

Curtin University of

Technology, Perth,

Australia.

Received November 2008Revised October 2009Accepted November 2009

Jordan on the economy, including sales of drinks, cereals, tickets and sports shoes, was

estimated at US$13billion in 2003 despite the fact that his best playing days were behind

him (Horne, 2006). Other international sport celebrities such as Tiger Woods or Roger

Federer are also worth millions in endorsements and sponsorships. This illustrates the

tremendous impact that sport celebrities can have on the economy and for business.

Sports celebrities and sport figures who display extraordinary personal characteristics were

found to be a popular hero choice among young adults (Stevens et al., 2003; Chan and

Zhang, 2007; Tingchi Liu et al., 2007). It was also suggested that celebrity endorsers, such

as film stars and athletes, are beneficial to advertising message strategy and are most

effective in influencing the attitudes of this market because they are respected by and are

highly identifiable with young people (Atkin and Block, 1983; Wolburg and Pokrywczynski,

2001). Atkin and Block (1983) found that young people were more readily persuaded when a

celebrity was linked to a product. They attributed this to the fact that young people are at a

more impressionable stage of development and concluded that endorsement by a celebrity

has a meaningful influence on young people’s evaluation of ads and products (La Ferle and

Chan, 2008; Xu, 2008).

There is a need for further insight into the influence athletes’ endorsements have on attitudes

and behaviours and how effective they really are at encouraging brand purchase or brand

loyalty (Bower and Mateer, 2008; Chan, 2008). This study replicates and extends Bush et al.

(2004) study, by examining the influence sports celebrities as role models can have on

young adults in Australia. Whereas the original study draws responses from teenagers in the

USA, this replication focuses on young Australian adults aged 17 to 25 years of age.

Specifically, this study looks at how sports celebrities can influence young adults’ product

switching, complaining behaviour, word of mouth communication and brand loyalty. Further,

it examines whether there is a difference in these behaviours between genders. This paper is

organized into several sections beginning with a discussion on extant literature and leading

to the hypotheses development. This is followed by a description of the research method.

The discussion of the findings and analysis will next be presented. Finally, the managerial

implications and limitations of the study are highlighted.

Relevant literature

Young adults and sports

Braunstein and Zhang (2005) reported that Australians aged between 17 and 24 were

estimated to spend around AUS$836 a week (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005), with

around $300 a week allocated to products such as food, drinks, alcohol, clothing, footwear,

recreation and personal care. Thus 36 percent of their total weekly expenditure is spent on

goods for which advertising and sports celebrity endorsements can have an influence.

Young adults are major sport consumers (Bennett and Henson, 2003) and as such, college

or university students are a highly coveted target market for sport marketers (Tingchi Liu

et al., 2007). According to Kwon and Trail (2001), college students have been found to be at

least moderately identified sport fans. To be precise, they are more likely to have moderate

levels of identification with a specific team or athlete and to be attracted to some specific

attributes or elements in a sport. More involved sports fans might also display a high and

long-lasting emotional attachment to a team or athlete (Kwon and Trail, 2001; Harris, 2008).

The more a student identifies himself or herself as a sport fan, the more likely he or she is to

attend games (Kwon and Trail, 2001). Young adults love to be entertained by sports, movies

and the internet (Bush et al., 2005). Accordingly, a consumer’s positive attitude toward a

sport or sporting event may manifest itself through increased attendance and television

viewing of those sports or events and increased product consumption of sports related

products (Bennett and Henson, 2003; Thomaselli, 2008).

Female consumers offer great potential for marketers and are often an under-estimated

consumer group in the sports domain. They have become a key niche within the sport

marketplace and have grown in strength as sports related decision makers and spenders

(Bradish et al., 2001). The rising popularity of women’s sport and the increasing number of

VOL. 11 NO. 1 2010 jYOUNG CONSUMERSj PAGE 37

female sport consumers can be attributed to the growing number of opportunities for

females to participate in and watch sport; a gradual shift toward cultural acceptance of

females in sport settings; enhanced media interest in women’s sport; increased decision

making and purchasing power of women; and enhanced public knowledge of the long-term

health benefits for woman participating in sport (Bradish et al., 2001).

Young women view sports as fun. They value respect and the social aspect of sports and

thus prefer to buy sporting goods that are endorsed by their favourite athletes from

companies that are socially responsible and supportive of female sports (Bush et al. 2005).

Research has also found that women are 22 percent more likely to buy a product or service

that is endorsed by a female athlete (Women’s Sport Foundation, 2003, cited in Bush et al.,

2005).

Women in general may be more likely to engage in word-of-mouth communication due to

their gender role (Bush et al. 2005). Young women in particular have been found to be quite

adept at spreading word-of-mouth due to their susceptibility to both normative and

informational influences (Bush et al. 2005). They rely heavily on interpersonal influences,

such as peer groups and endorsers, in their product decisions. Further, it appears that if

such products and services are endorsed by their favourite athletes, young females have an

increased propensity to spread positive word-of-mouth.

Consumer socialisation

Consumer socialisation is ‘‘the process by which young people acquire skills, knowledge,

and attitudes relevant to their effective functioning as consumers in the market place’’ (Ward,

1974). Socialisation agents are sources of influence such as parents, mass media, school

and peers that can transfer meanings, norms, attitudes, motivations and behaviours to

young people (Moschis and Churchill, 1978). The most influential socialisation agents, on

whom young consumers often model their behaviours, attitudes and skills, are role models

(Byrne et al., 2003; Chan, 2008). These role models have been identified as anyone that the

individual consumer comes into contact with, directly or indirectly, and who can potentially

influence the consumer’s consumption-related decisions and actions (Bandura, 1977).

Role models have been shown to play a significant role in the development of career

aspirations, educational objectives and self-view of young adults (Clark et al., 2001).

Lockwood and Kunda (1997) point out that those individuals of outstanding achievement

can serve as role models to others. Sports celebrities, often admired for their outstanding

athletic achievements, can be considered as vicarious role models for children, teenagers

and young adults (Chan and Zhang, 2007). Although they have no direct contact with the

athletes, young people might be able to learn specific attitudes and behaviours from these

individuals through observation (Clark et al., 2001). Bandura (1986) states that modelling is

an indispensable aspect of learning and can occur by observing other people’s behaviour

and its consequences for them. This enables individuals to generate and regulate their

behavioural patterns without having to form them progressively by tedious trial and error

(Bandura, 1986). Celebrity endorsers can thus be models of cultural and behavioural

patterns on which people can base themselves (Tingchi Liu et al., 2007).

Social influence processes

According to Friedman and Friedman (1979), there are two main processes of social

influence that cause individuals to adopt attitudes advocated by an influencing agent in an

endorsement situation. These are identification and internalisation. Identification occurs

when ‘‘individuals conform to the attitude or behaviour advocated by another person

because these individuals derive satisfaction from the belief that they are like that person’’

(Friedman and Friedman, 1979). Identification is related to likeability and attractiveness and

would be the process that best explains persuasion by a celebrity endorser. On the other

hand, internalisation occurs when ‘‘individuals conform to the attitude or behaviour

advocated by another person because they believe in the substance of the new attitude or

behaviour’’ (Friedman and Friedman, 1979). Internalisation would thus occur when the

PAGE 38 jYOUNG CONSUMERSj VOL. 11 NO. 1 2010

source is perceived as honest, sincere and having expertise and it would more likely apply to

persuasion by an expert endorser.

Sport celebrities could be persuasive through both processes depending on which product

they are endorsing and to what extent they can be regarded as having expertise in that

product category (Tingchi Liuet al., 2007; Chan, 2008; Harris, 2008). For example, athletes

endorsing sports equipment or sporting gear could be seen to be expert endorsers and

would influence individuals through an internalisation process (Thomaselli, 2008).

Conversely, athletes endorsing beauty products or fashion items would more likely

influence individuals through an identification process (Harris, 2008). According to Kamins

(1989), celebrity endorsements that are evaluated through an internalisation process are

more effective at advancing brand attitudes and purchase intentions. Credibility of the

spokesperson would be at the centre of determining whether or not consumers make

‘‘internal’’ attributions (Kamins, 1989). A celebrity can be seen to endorse a product for

monetary gain rather than because they truly believe in the value and benefit of the product

(Byrne et al., 2003). The consumers’ perception of the credibility of an endorser can affect

their perception of the advertisement’s believability (Kamins, 1989). Athlete endorsers that

are perceived as role models for young people might be more likely to induce trust and be

believable to the audience, therefore being more capable of influencing purchase

behaviours and intentions through an internalisation process (Harris, 2008; Thomaselli,

2008; Xu, 2008).

Associative learning

Associative learning research has demonstrated that the pairing of two stimuli can affect

how people feel about at least one of the stimuli (Till, 2001). Consumers have particular

established association sets of brands, products and celebrities based on their evaluation of

and experiences with them (Till, 2001). It is suggested that by repeatedly pairing the brand

and the celebrity, these two can become part of each other’s association set (Till, 2001).

Marketing practitioners have tapped into the value of associative learning in changing

attitudes and perceptions towards brands. The association of a liked stimulus with a

relatively neutral stimulus, so as to lead to a more favourable evaluation of the relatively

neutral stimulus, has been the basis for many advertising campaigns and brand image

promotions (Byrne et al., 2003; Bower and Mateer, 2008). This process of pairing a positive

stimulus with a brand is essentially behind the concept of product-endorsement, in which it

is hoped that by pairing a well-liked endorser with a particular brand, consumers will

respond more favourably to the endorsed brand (Till, 2001).

Factors influencing effectiveness of celebrity endorsements

A number of models and theories have been suggested to explain how endorsers might

influence consumers and what aspects of the endorsement are more likely to guarantee

success (Braunstein and Zhang, 2005). The source credibility model advocates that the

effectiveness of the advertising message depends on the expertise and trustworthiness of

the source (McCracken, 1989). A number of researchers found that the celebrity’s credibility

is a much more significant factor in explaining consumers’ purchase intentions than the

celebrity’s attractiveness (Ohanian, 1991; Natarajaan and Chawla, 1997; Byrne et al., 2003).

Conversely, McCracken (1989) contends that these models cannot explain some of

endorsement’s most essential features. The source attractiveness model and the source

credibility model identify degrees of attractiveness and credibility when marketers need to

know about the type of attractiveness and credibility that is necessary for different products

and situations.

Several researchers have previously identified that endorser-product relationships and

endorser-audience relationships play a major role in how well the endorsement message is

able to influence the audience (Schaefer and Keillor, 1997; Jones and Schumann, 2000;

Charbonneau and Garland, 2005). The Product Match-Up Hypothesis proposes that a

message is most effective when the image of the celebrity and the product match one

another (Kahle and Homer, 1985, cited in Braunstein and Zhang, 2005; Tingchi Liu et al.,

2007). Finally, the meaning transfer model advocates that an endorsement succeeds when


an association is created between the cultural meanings of the celebrity’s world, on the one

hand, and the endorsed product, on the other (McCracken, 1989). The meaning associated

with the celebrity endorser would transfer to the endorsed product, which would in turn

transfer this particular meaning to the consumer. Advertising would facilitate the transfer of

meaning from the culturally constituted world to consumer goods while the movement of

meanings from consumer goods to the individual consumer is accomplished through the

consumer’s efforts (McCracken, 1989; Chan and Zhang, 2007; La Ferle and Chan, 2008;).

Hypotheses development

Previous studies have mostly focused on the influence and effectiveness of athlete

endorsers in terms of their credibility, expertise, attractiveness, likeability, ability to transfer

meaning or similarity with the endorsed product. Very few have considered the powerful

impact that athlete endorsers as role models might have on consumers, especially within the

younger generation. This study will address this gap and provide insight into Bush et al.

(2004) proposition that athlete endorsers can have significant influences on behavioural

intentions of young adults, due to their competence as role models.

Behavioural intentions is an outcome of socialisation that may be of particular importance to

advertisers because it relates to favourable and unfavourable behaviours consumer might

exhibit towards a brand (Bush et al., 2004). A multidimensional construct and measure of

behavioural intentions, such as the one used by Zeithaml et al. (1996), fits well into the

socialisation process of the young adults market because it deals with different facets of

behavioural intentions related to friends, peers and celebrity spokespersons (Bush et al.,

2004). For the present study, behavioural intentions will be defined based on the following

three dimensions identified by Bush et al. (2004):

1. product switching or complaining behaviour;

2. positive word-of-mouth; and

3. brand loyalty.

These measures will form the basis against which the hypotheses will be tested.

Sport celebrities have been established as viable and influential role models for young

people, playing an important part in their consumer socialisation process. Based on the

findings previously identified by Bush et al. (2004), it can be expected that role models such

as athletes would positively affect young adults’ buyer intentions and behaviours. Hence,

this is the basis for the following hypotheses:

H1. Young adults’ athlete role model influence is positively related to product switching

and complaint behaviour

H2. Young adults’ athlete role model influence is positively related to positive or positive

word-of-mouth behaviour

H3. Young adults’ athlete role model influence is positively related to brand loyalty

Furthermore, young female adults are said to have a growing potential for consumption of

sports products and an increase in purchasing power. They are also more involved in sports

than and just as likely as men to be sports fans, although they do not perceive the sport fan

identity in the same way as their male counterparts do. Most importantly, young women were

identified as more likely to be influenced by athlete endorsers and to spread positive

word-of-mouth; and less likely than men to consider athletes as materialistic, making them

more receptive to sports celebrity role models. Thus, this is the basis for the following

hypothesis:

H4. Young adults’ athlete role model influence among females is more positively related

to: product switching and complaint behaviour; positive word-of-mouth behaviour;

and brand loyalty, than among males.


Method

Sample

This study focuses on young adults aged between 17 and 25 residing in Australia. A

convenience sample was drawn from students at a large university in Western Australia. A

total of 249 students voluntarily participated in the survey. In all, 42 surveys were discarded

because they were either incomplete, improperly answered or because the respondent was

above 25 years old. The usable responses from 207 students equates to an 83 percent

response rate.

Research instrument

The two page self-administered survey comprised three sections. Section A consists of the

five-item athlete role model influence scale developed by Rich (1997). Section B consists of

a 12-item purchases and behavioural intentions scale developed by Zeithaml et al. (1996)

which was adapted for this study. This scale provides responses to a variety of purchase and

behavioural intention questions specifically related to the consumer’s favourite athlete. Both

scales are seven-point Likert scales, anchored on a ‘‘strongly disagree’’ to ‘‘strongly agree’’

continuum. All scale items are presented in the Appendix. The last section of the survey

captured the demographic and psychographic information of the respondents.

Results and analysis

Sample characteristics

An acceptable gender split among respondents was obtained, with 51.7 percent male

respondents (n ¼ 107) and 48.3 percent female respondents (n ¼ 100). Respondents’ ages

varied across 17 to 18 years old (35.7 percent), 19 to 20 years old (27.5 percent), 21 to 22

years old (22.7 percent) and 23 to 25 years old (13.5 percent).

The most popular sport among respondents was Australian football or footy (26.1 percent),

followed by soccer (21.3 percent), swimming (13 percent), basketball (6.3 percent), tennis

(5.8 percent), rugby (4.3 percent), cricket (4.3 percent) and netball (3.4 percent). When

asked to think of their favourite athlete, 95 percent of respondents identified a male athlete.

This corroborates the survey findings of Elling and Knoppers (2005) that male athletes are

the predominant choice of sport heroes.

Most respondents participated in between one and three hours of sport per week (31.4

percent), while 20.3 percent took part in between four to six hours of sport per week and 9.2

percent did more than seven hours of sport a week. Therefore, it can be concluded that

around 60.9 percent of respondents were actively involved in sports. On the other hand, a

significant number did not play any sport (17.4 percent) or did less than one hour of sport per

week (21.7 percent).

A similar pattern can be observed for the number of hours respondents spent watching

sport. The majority said they would spend one to three hours watching sports per week (34.3

percent), while 15.5 percent said they would watch between four to six hours and 5.8

percent said they would watch more than seven hours of sport per week. Around 15 percent

of respondents did not watch any sport and 23.2 percent watched less than one hour of

sport per week.

The average rating of respondents for the statements pertaining to their perception of their

favourite athlete as a role model ranged between 4.2 and 5 on a scale of 1 to 7, where

1 ¼ strongly disagree and 7 ¼ strongly agree. On average, respondents somewhat agreed

that their favourite athlete: provides a good model for them to follow (mean ¼ 4:5); leads by

example (mean ¼ 4:6); sets a positive example for others to follow (mean ¼ 5:0); exhibits the

kind of work ethic and behaviour that they try to imitate (mean ¼ 4:6); and acts as a role

model for them (mean ¼ 4:2).


Factor analysis and reliability

An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the five-item athlete role model influence

scale developed by Rich (1997). As expected, this revealed a high correlation between

items resulting in a unidimensional factor. The five items loaded on the same factor, which

explained 59.9 percent of the variance. An exploratory factor analysis was also conducted

on the 12-item purchase and behavioural intentions scale developed by Zeithaml et al.

(1996). The factor analysis with a varimax rotation and principal axis factoring confirms

previous results obtained by Bush et al. (2004). Three distinct factors emerged, with the

proposed items loading on the intended factors, Complaining and switching behaviour (six

items), Positive word-of-mouth (three items), and Brand loyalty (three items). The three

factors explained 56.2 percent of the variance. A Cronbach’s alpha analysis confirmed all

factors above were reliable, each having alpha values exceeding 0.79, therefore rendering

those factors acceptable for theory testing research (Churchill, 1979).

Regression analysis

The athlete role model influence was separately regressed onto each of the three dependent

variables (switching and complaint behaviour; positive word of mouth; brand loyalty).

Regression analysis revealed that athlete role model influence is a significant predictor

(p ¼ 0:000) of product switching and complaint behaviour (F ¼ 24:591). Athlete role model

influence explained 10.8 percent of the variance in switching and complaint behaviour

(t ¼ 4:959). H1 is therefore supported. Interestingly, this contradicts the replicated study by

Bush et al. (2004) which found no support for this contention. However, the present study

focuses on young adults aged 17-24 who are likely to be more conversant with product

switching and buyer complaint behaviour.

H2 is also supported by a regression analysis, which shows that athlete role model influence

is significantly related (p ¼ 0:000) to positive word-of-mouth (F ¼ 41:168). Athlete role

model influence explained 16.8 percent of the variance in positive word-of-mouth

(t ¼ 6:416). This result is congruent with Bush et al.’s (2004) findings among teenagers.

H3 is also supported, demonstrating that athlete role model influence is a significant

predictor (p ¼ 0:000) of brand loyalty (F ¼ 18:798). Athlete role model influence explained

8.4 percent of the variance in brand loyalty (t ¼ 4:336). This result also supports Bush et al.’s

(2004) findings among teenagers. These results are presented in Table I.

Gender differences

An independent sample T-test was conducted to testH4, which is the contention that females

would report more positive results than males in the amount of influence athlete role models

have on their purchase and behavioural intentions. However, the comparison of means

betweengenders providedno support for this hypothesis. Therewas no significant difference

between the average rating of females andmales on almost all variables pertaining to product

switching and complaint behaviour, positive word-of-mouth or brand loyalty. The only item in

which males and females differed significantly was in relation to the item ‘‘The opinions of my

favourite athlete influenceme to complain to other customers if I experience a problemwith a

company’s service’’ (p , 0.05) in which males (M ¼ 4:19) expressed a higher level of

agreement than females (M ¼ 3:95). The conclusion of Bush et al. (2004) that females are

more likely to be influenced by celebrity athlete endorsers in relation to their purchase and

behavioural intentions is generally not supported in this replicated study.

Table I Regression of role model influence on purchase and behavioral intentions

Dependent variable B-values Standard error Beta Adj. R2 t-value Sig.

Product switching and complaint behaviour 0.259 0.052 328 0.108 4.959 0.01Positive word of mouth 0.440 0.069 0.410 0.168 6.416 0.01Brand loyalty 0.283 0.065 0.290 0.084 4.336 0.01

Note: Predictor – Athlete’s role model influence on purchase intentions and behaviour


Discussion and implications

The results obtained in this study offer some important considerations for marketing and

advertising practitioners in regards to the use of athlete celebrity endorsers. It sheds more

light on the ability of those endorsers to influence young adults purchase intentions and

behaviours. Specifically, it offers partial confirmation of previous results obtained by Bush

et al. (2004). It seems that there are several similar trends between American teenagers and

Australian young adults in terms of their response to celebrity athlete endorsers.

The most interesting finding of this study is that young adults’ perception of celebrity athlete

endorsers has a positive influence on their product switching intentions, complaint

intentions, positive word-of-mouth and brand loyalty. This suggests that celebrity athlete

endorsers have an impact on young adults’ decisions to switch brands, their tendency to talk

about brands in a positive manner and their inclination to complain about products. This

confirms the assumption that athletes are important socialisation agents for young adults

and that, as role models, they have significant impact on purchase intentions and consumer

behaviour. It is interesting to note that although Bush et al. (2004) did not find any support for

the contention that celebrity athletes influence teenagers’ intended product switching and

complaint behaviour, this study did support this hypothesis. However, this finding serves to

reinforce the previous authors’ conclusions that celebrity athletes’ influence can be

expected to affect intended product switching and complaint behaviour to the same extent

that it predicts positive word-of-mouth and brand loyalty.

Females were expected to spread more positive word-of-mouth about a product or brand

that is endorsed by their favourite athlete than males (Bush et al., 2004). A later study by

Bush et al. (2005) also supported this result, stating that teenage girls were more adept at

spreading word-of-mouth, especially for products endorsed by their favourite athlete, than

their male counterparts. This finding however was not supported by this study. Female

young adults rated the influence of their favourite athlete on positive word-of-mouth

behaviour and brand loyalty similarly to youngmale adults. The only exception was that male

respondents were significantly more inclined to ‘‘complain to other customers’’ than female

respondents. With their growing purchasing power and increased participation in sports,

females were expected to display more susceptibility to athlete endorsements and to be

more influenced by these in their behavioural intentions than males. Contrary to this

contention, female and male behavioural intentions were not significantly different as a result

of a celebrity athlete’s influence.

Future research might look into whether males and females hold the same perceptions of the

influence of celebrity athletes. It was previously suggested that females might be more likely

to select favourite athletes based on attractiveness over sporting ability (Elling and

Knoppers, 2005). If this is the case, males may be more influenced by the athlete’s skill while

females may be more influenced by their physical attractiveness. Further research may

focus on the difference between gender role orientation rather than traditional anatomical

gender (Wann et al., 2004). Thus, celebrity athletes’ influence might differ between groups

according to their perceived level of masculinity or femininity rather than their physical

gender definition. For example, as a male celebrity athlete, David Beckham embraces a

‘‘metrosexual’’ lifestyle and openly consumes products that are traditionally female-oriented.

Concluding comments

Celebrity endorsements are a multi-million dollar industry and involve a consequent financial

benefit versus risk analysis for business. Marketers and advertisers need to know if sport

celebrities are worth the investment and what impact they have on advertising objectives

and company profitability. This research is a significant step in that direction, replicating a

previous study (Bush et al., 2004) which focused on the influence of celebrity athletes on

teenagers’ consumption-related intentions and behaviours. This study investigates the

influence of celebrity athlete endorsers on young adults between the ages of 17 and 25,

suggesting that celebrity athletes may be viable and influential spokespersons for this

market segment


The impact and extent of sports celebrity influence still has a number of dimensions for which

marketers and advertisers have limited information. Numerous researchers have previously

identified that endorser-product relationships and endorser-audience relationships play a

major role in how effectively the endorsement message influences the audience (Schaefer

and Keillor, 1997; Jones and Schumann, 2000; Charbonneau andGarland, 2005; Tingchi Liu

et al., 2007). This study does not consider the impact of celebrity athletes’ on different types

of product and brand purchases. It might be that sport celebrities have a greater influence

on purchase intentions and behaviours of young people for sports-related products than

other products, or for highly conspicuous products. Moreover, further research should be

conducted among more diverse and larger samples of young adults to advance the findings

of this study.

Despite its limitations, this study provides a valuable replication and supports a number of

findings by previous researchers. Moreover, this study adds weight to the validity and

reliability of measures used to identify the influence of celebrity athletes and their impact on

purchase intentions and behaviours.

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Appendix. Measures of constructs

Role model influence (Rich, 1997)

My favorite athlete. . .

B provides a good model for me to follow;

B leads by example;

B sets a positive example for others to follow;

B exhibits the kind of work ethic and behavior that I try to imitate; and

B acts as a role model for me.

Purchase and behavioral intentions (adapted from Zeithaml et al., 1996)

The opinions of my favorite athlete influence me to. . .

1. Positive word of mouth:

B say positive things about products or brands to other people;

B recommend products or brands to someone who seeks my advice; and

B encourage friends or relatives to buy certain products or brands.

2. Switching and complaining behaviour:

B buy fewer products from certain companies;

B take some of my purchases to other businesses that offer better prices;

B switch to a competitor if I experience a problem with a company’s service;

B complain to other customers if I experience a problem with a company’s service;

B complain to external agencies, such as the Better Business Bureau, if I experienceproblems with a company’s service; and

B complain to a company’s employees if I see a problem with that company’s service.

3. Brand loyalty:

B continue to do business with a certain company even if it increases its prices;

B pay more for products at one business even though I could buy them cheaperelsewhere; and

B buy certain brands.

Corresponding author

Ian Phau can be contacted at: [email protected]


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