Advertisement
Guest User

Untitled

a guest
Apr 17th, 2016
83
0
Never
Not a member of Pastebin yet? Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features!
text 42.36 KB | None | 0 0
  1.  
  2. Girl power and word-of-mouth behavior in the flourishing sports market
  3.  
  4. Victoria D. Bush
  5.  
  6. The School of Business Administration, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, USA
  7.  
  8. Alan J. Bush
  9.  
  10. University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
  11.  
  12. Paul Clark
  13.  
  14. Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA, and
  15.  
  16. Robert P. Bush
  17.  
  18. University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA
  19.  
  20. Abstract
  21.  
  22. Purpose – To investigate the influence of word-of-mouth (WOM) behavior among the growing teenage female market segment in the flourishing sports market.
  23.  
  24. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 118 teenaged girls, aged 13-18, participated in the study. The theory of consumer socialization and interpersonal influence was used as the conceptual foundation to generate hypotheses concerning female teens’ susceptibility to interpersonal influence, self-esteem, and WOM behavior. Female teens’ ethnicity and media habits were also investigated.
  25.  
  26. Findings – All hypotheses were either supported or partially supported, suggesting that female teens’ susceptibility to interpersonal influence and self-esteem are related to athlete WOM behavior. Additionally, African-American teenaged girls had significantly higher media habits than Caucasian teenaged girls.
  27.  
  28. Research limitations/implications – The research is based on a small sample of teenaged girls from one region of the USA. However, the sample is from a diverse socioeconomic group of teenagers, and represents a relatively unexplored, yet extremely important, consumer market segment. Practical implications – The study provides insights for managers who want to learn more about the WOM behavior of one of the largest and most powerful market segments in the USA. Implications and applications are given to consumer marketers to help better serve this segment. Originality/value – This paper fills a gap in the literature on female teens and what influences their WOM behavior in the enormous and growing sports market. Additionally, the paper looks at ethnicity and media habits and how these variables may impact on WOM behavior.
  29.  
  30. Keywords Marketing strategy, Communications, Women, Sports, United States of America
  31.  
  32. Paper type Research paper
  33.  
  34.  
  35.  
  36. An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article.
  37.  
  38. Introduction
  39.  
  40. Word-of-mouth (WOM) communication, or more recently dubbed “buzz marketing” (e.g. Rosen, 2000), continues to be an important component for consumer marketers. Previous studies have indicated that WOM can have a significant impact on consumers’ purchase behavior and satisfaction with products and services (Mangold et al., 1999; Murray, 1991; Richins, 1983). Further, consumers tend to rely more on, and even prefer, personal information sources for services than for products. Thus, many service and sports-oriented companies
  41.  
  42. The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
  43.  
  44. The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0736-3761.htm
  45.  
  46.  
  47. Journal of Consumer Marketing 22/5 (2005) 257– 264
  48.  
  49. q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0736-3761] [DOI 10.1108/07363760510611680]
  50.  
  51.  
  52.  
  53. are recognizing that creating a “buzz”, whether it is via peers, key internet portals, market mavens, or celebrity endorsements, is an integral part of their marketing communications strategy (Rosen, 2000).
  54.  
  55. Concurrently, according to the Sports Business Journal (2004), the sports business is estimated to be a $213 billion industry – that is approximately twice the size of the automotive industry and seven times the size of the movie industry. This figure includes $897 million spent on athlete endorsements (Sports Business Journal, 2004). The mere size of these figures indicates that sports marketing is a vital part of our economy and offers a ripe opportunity for consumer marketers. In fact, academic researchers have acknowledged this important industry and have called for more research (Shannon, 1999; Turley, 1999) to investigate and understand sports marketing and various consumer segments’ behavior and motivations toward athletes and sports.
  56.  
  57. One of the fastest growing market segments noted for its WOM behavior is the teen market. It is estimated that teens and young adults spend approximately $156 billion annually (Harris Interactive YouthPulse, 2003). This market segment loves to be entertained by sports, movies, and the internet. In fact, research has shown that the internet is now teens’ medium of choice, eclipsing television. By 2007, 86 percent of
  58.  
  59.  
  60. 257
  61.  
  62. Girl power and word-of-mouth behavior
  63.  
  64. Victoria D. Bush, Alan J. Bush, Paul Clark and Robert P. Bush
  65.  
  66. teens will be online (Jupiter Research, 2003). The interactivity of teens’ media of choice demonstrates that understanding WOM behavior as it relates to sports is of vital importance.
  67.  
  68. Perhaps even more important to consumer marketers is the female portion of the fast-growing teen market. It has been suggested that women in general may be more likely to engage in WOM due to their gender roles (Bakan, 1966). Female sex roles are characterized by fostering harmonious relationships, affiliating with others, and having strong concern for other people’s feelings (e.g. Meyers-Levy, 1988). Young women, in particular, have been found to be quite adept at spreading WOM. For example, Bush et al. (2004) found that young women were more apt than young men to recommend products and services to their friends that were endorsed by their favorite athlete.
  69.  
  70. Because of teenaged girls’ increasing interest in sports, entertainment, and internet usage (Lords, 1999), we investigate this segment’s motivations for WOM behavior. More specifically, we investigate if WOM behavior is related to such socialization variables as susceptibility to interpersonal influence and self-esteem. First, we discuss the current status of women and teenaged girls and their relationship with sports. Second, we discuss the theoretical foundations of consumer socialization, susceptibility to interpersonal influence, and self-esteem as potential explanations for athlete influenced WOM behavior. Third, we compare media habits of teenaged girls based on ethnicity. Finally, we discuss implications for sports and consumer marketers. Understanding teenaged girls’ socialization, self-esteem, and media habits may provide insights that could help sports and consumer marketers better target this enormous and flourishing market segment.
  71.  
  72.  
  73.  
  74. Background
  75.  
  76. Women and sports
  77.  
  78. For the sports industry, the consumer segment with perhaps the greatest potential is the female market. A recent study by the US General Accounting Office found that, since 1977, more women than men participated in intercollegiate athletics (Lords, 1999). Many attribute this finding to “Title 9” of the Education Acts Amendment. In 1972, Title 9 of the Education Acts Amendment was passed, which mandates that educational institutions that receive federal funds must provide equal opportunities to men and women. Since then, more and more females have become involved with sports and sports related products and services.
  79.  
  80. However, little academic research has been conducted concerning teenaged females, let alone African-American females, and their perceptions toward sports. Some researchers have begun to make strides in understanding these valuable market segments. Yet, the focus has been on participation in sports. For example, Bradish et al. (2001) examined female teens’ consumer psyche as it relates to sports and sports participation. These authors surveyed female teen participants in an e´lite sports camp. They found that young women participate in sports for intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation, view sports as fun, and prefer to buy sporting goods that are endorsed by their favorite athletes from companies that are socially responsible and supportive of female sports.
  81.  
  82.  
  83. In one of the few studies conducted on African-American women’s participation in sports, Armstrong (2001a, p. 17)
  84.  
  85. Journal of Consumer Marketing
  86.  
  87. Volume 22 • Number 5 • 2005 • 257 – 264
  88.  
  89. states that “black women are also active, thoughtful, and loyal consumers. When they feel respected by a company or organization and view the company or organization’s product as something that appreciates their ethnic uniqueness, they often respond favorably through their patronage”. These studies infer that teenaged females value respect, self worth, and the social aspects of sports.
  90.  
  91. Female sports fans
  92.  
  93. According to Scarborough Sports Marketing, approximately 50 million women avidly follow professional sports (Gaffney, 2002). This study found that the number of women who claim that they are avid sports fans went from 29 percent in 1998 to 58 percent in 2002. Among these avid fans, the sports of interest for these women are not women’s sports. According to Scarborough (Gaffney, 2002), female sports fans closely follow the National Football League (31 percent), Major League Baseball (28 percent), National Basketball Association (19 percent), NASCAR (13 percent), and the PGA (12 percent). Further, a recent survey indicated that women comprise 44 percent of the NFL’s fan base, buy 70 percent of the $3 billion’s worth of the league’s licensed products, and that 40 million women watch NFL games weekly and nearly half a million attend games weekly.
  94.  
  95.  
  96. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, young female sports fans may represent a “Super Bowl of an opportunity for marketers”(Gardyn, 2001, p. 12). These young women are descendants of many mothers who benefited from Title 9. Plus, they are members of one of the fastest growing demographic groups in the USA, Generation Y, which is estimated to be three times as large as Generation X (Neuborne, 1999). In a study conducted by The Taylor Research & Consulting Group, girls aged 9 to 18 reported spending a surprising amount of time playing, watching, reading, talking and thinking about sports (Applebaum, 2003). In fact, although 85 percent of older boys said they either love or like sports a lot, it should not be overlooked that 75 percent of younger and older girls also said they love or like sports. The study also found that younger girls report spending an average of 15 hours per week playing, watching, reading, or thinking about sports. Coupled with the fact that teenaged girls are one of the fastest growing segments online (Jupiter Research, 2003), more insight is needed on the motivations and behaviors of this segment toward sports.
  97.  
  98.  
  99. Research on female sports fans
  100.  
  101. While the female sports fan market is growing rapidly, only recently have researchers begun to study this important segment. Most research tends to focus on gender differences in spectator attendance (e.g. Fink et al., 2002; Swanson et al., 2003; Lough and Kim, 2004), attitudes toward sports associations and teams (Dixon, 2002), perceptions of sports service experiences (Greenwell et al., 2002), and investigations of women’s sports sponsorships (Lough and Irwin, 2001).
  102.  
  103. With regard to sports fan behavior, Dietz-Uhler et al. (2000) conducted a study to examine similarities and differences between male and female college students with regard to their sport fan behavior. Their findings suggested that males engaged in more sports fan behavior (e.g. watching sports shows, listening to sports radio), whereas, females reported sports behavior as more of a social event (e.g.
  104.  
  105.  
  106. 258
  107.  
  108. Girl power and word-of-mouth behavior
  109.  
  110. Victoria D. Bush, Alan J. Bush, Paul Clark and Robert P. Bush
  111.  
  112. opportunity to be with family and friends). Similarly, Armstrong (2001b) surveyed males and females at a minor league hockey game and reported that women make up roughly one half of hockey fans and their reasons for attending often centered around the event as an experience to share with family and friends. Armstrong (2001b) posited that a sporting event provides women with an entertaining atmosphere in which they can fulfill a social need.
  113.  
  114. More recently, James and Ridinger (2002) attempted to compare sport consumption motives for male and female sports fans. Their results suggest that men tend to have a stronger connection to sports in general, whereas women tend to have a stronger connection to a specific team. Their results also suggested that women felt significantly more empathy (feeling disappointed of a loss) and less achievement (sharing in a team’s success) than did their male counterparts.
  115.  
  116. Recent research on sports marketing has suggested that female and male sports fans differ regarding their orientation toward sports and sports celebrities. Sukhdial et al. (2002) were instrumental in developing a scale to measure the “old-school” orientation of sports fans. The authors not only developed a reliable scale to measure the old school concept, but also discovered differences between male and female sports fans. For example, females were found to be less “old school” than males regarding materialism. That is, females were less apt to view today’s athletes as too materialistic.
  117.  
  118. Bush et al. (2004) discovered that females were more influenced by sports celebrities than their male counterparts. Females tended to spread more positive WOM about a brand that is endorsed by their favorite celebrity or athlete than males. Females were also more apt than males to recommend products and services to their friends that were endorsed by their favorite athlete. Again, it appears women treat sports more as entertainment that also fulfills a social need.
  119.  
  120. In summary, recent research on women in sports suggests that females have different views toward participation in sports and sporting events as well as perceptions toward sports celebrities. Females tend to view sports as more of a social event to share with family and friends. Females also tend to be more influenced by sports celebrities than males. Understanding why these differences occur would provide valuable insights to sports and consumer marketers. A conceptual foundation to help us discern these differences is the theory of consumer socialization and interpersonal influence.
  121.  
  122.  
  123.  
  124. Conceptual foundation and hypothesis development
  125.  
  126. Consumer socialization and interpersonal influence
  127.  
  128. Consumer socialization is the process by which “young people acquire skills, knowledge, and attitudes relevant to their functioning as consumers in the marketplace” (Ward, 1974, p. 1). Consumer socialization emphasizes sources of influence or “socialization agents” which transmit norms, attitudes, motivations, and behaviors to the learner (Moschis and Churchill, 1978). A socialization agent may be any person or organization directly involved with the individual. Socialization agents commonly used in the literature include parents, peers, mass media, school, and television viewing.
  129.  
  130. The concept of consumer socialization has been utilized to determine, among other things, how consumers learn thought
  131.  
  132. Journal of Consumer Marketing
  133.  
  134. Volume 22 • Number 5 • 2005 • 257 – 264
  135.  
  136. processes and consumption behaviors through modeling (Moschis and Churchill, 1978). Role models can be anyone the individual consumer comes in contact with who can potentially influence the consumer’s consumption decisions (Bandura, 1977). From this conceptual definition of role models, it is obvious that parents, teachers, peers, or mass media can all be considered role models and be influential in a female teenagers’ consumer socialization.
  137.  
  138. Of particular interest to the present study is the influence of peers among this young consumer segment. Research conducted in interpersonal influence may shed light on teenaged girls’ reliance on peers. A key factor of an individual’s behavior in a certain situation is the influence of others. Evidence of this behavior abounds in the marketing context, such as consuming products in social situations and the “use of prominent/attractive spokespersons endorsing products . . . ” (Bearden et al., 1989, p. 473). Many aspects of sports are social in nature, whether it’s attending a sporting event, participating on a team, or watching a game with others on television. Further, many athletes, such as Venus and Serena Williams, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods just to name a few, are spokespersons for a number of products and services. Thus, consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence may aid in explaining WOM behavior in the sports context.
  139.  
  140. Consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence is defined as “the need to identify or enhance one’s image with significant others through the acquisition and use of products and brands, the willingness to conform to the expectations of others regarding purchase decisions, and/or the tendency to learn about products and services by observing others and/or seeking information from others” (Bearden et al., 1989, p. 474). This construct is multidimensional and consists of normative and informational influences (Deutsch and Gerard, 1955). Normative influence is the tendency to conform to the expectations of others (Bearden et al., 1989). Informational influence is the tendency to accept information from others as evidence about reality (Deutsch and Gerard, 1955). Consumer research has found that these two dimensions of interpersonal influence can impact on such decisions as the conspicuousness of the product, service heterogeneity, product evaluations, and brand selections (e.g. Bearden et al., 1989; Burnkrant and Cousineau, 1975). Hence, this is the basis for our first hypothesis:
  141.  
  142.  
  143. H1. Female teen’s susceptibility to interpersonal influence is positively related to athlete WOM behavior.
  144.  
  145. Consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence has also been found to be inversely related to self-esteem (e.g. Bearden et al., 1989). Thus, the lower an individual’s self-esteem, the more susceptible the individual is to interpersonal influence. Women have been studied extensively regarding the issue of self-esteem. More recently, a flurry of popular press books such as Odd Girl out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls
  146.  
  147. (Simmons, 2002), and Queen Bees and Wannabees (Wiseman, 2002), have chronicled the toils of teenaged girls as they struggle to gain acceptance, deal with aggression, and develop self-esteem when confronted with unattainable media representations such “waif” supermodels. It is of interest here to investigate the relationship between susceptibility to interpersonal influence, self-esteem, and athlete WOM behavior. Thus, we hypothesize that:
  148.  
  149.  
  150. 259
  151.  
  152. Girl power and word-of-mouth behavior
  153.  
  154. Victoria D. Bush, Alan J. Bush, Paul Clark and Robert P. Bush
  155.  
  156. H2. Female teen’s self-esteem is negatively related to: (a) susceptibility to interpersonal influence, and (b) athlete WOM behavior.
  157.  
  158.  
  159. Female teen media habits and ethnicity
  160.  
  161. As stated previously, according to social learning theory, socialization agents may be any person, institution, or organization directly involved with the individual. In consumer behavior, these agents include the media. Traditionally, mass media has been considered an important socialization agent related to consumption-related behaviors. Bandura (1969, 1971) posited that television commercials are dispensers of product information and that individuals learn how to attach social meaning to material goods through television advertising. Moschis and Churchill (1978) found a strong relationship between television viewing and an individual’s social motivation for consumption. Their research indicated that watching television can be a means of gathering information about lifestyles and behaviors. Moreover, Moschis and Churchill (1978) found a strong positive relationship between amount of television viewing and social motivations for consumption. Bush et al. (1999) found a strong positive association between amount of television viewing and attitude toward advertising. Their research also suggested that women watch more television than men and use television more for guidance and information than men.
  162.  
  163.  
  164. In particular, Bush et al.’s (1999) research also found that African-Americans spend more time watching television than other groups. Previous research has also found that African-American children and adolescents watch more television and may be susceptible to media’s effects because they often use television as a source of guidance (e.g. Anderson and Williams, 1983). The same may be true for young African-American women. Hence we posit here that:
  165.  
  166. H3. African-American female teens consume more media (television, internet, and magazines) than Caucasian female teens.
  167.  
  168.  
  169. Methodology
  170.  
  171. Subjects
  172.  
  173. The teenage segment of Generation Y was the selected sample for the current study. Teenagers were selected for many reasons including:
  174. . their sheer size;
  175.  
  176. . they are in the process of acquiring preferences for products and brand loyalties;
  177. . they will spend a lot of money in the future; and
  178.  
  179. . they tend to be trendsetters for each other as well as the general population.
  180.  
  181. Perhaps most importantly, teens were selected for this study because teenagers are still learning and searching for their own identity. Positive reinforcement from outside individuals or media can reinforce preferences in deciding which behaviors, values, attitudes, and skills are appropriate for them in a social context.
  182.  
  183. As a part of a larger study, a total of 118 teenaged females, ages 13-18, participated in this study. Subjects were drawn from 74 separate high schools and junior high schools in the
  184.  
  185. Journal of Consumer Marketing
  186.  
  187. Volume 22 • Number 5 • 2005 • 257 – 264
  188.  
  189. southern USA. Of the sample, 24 percent were African-American, 62 percent were Caucasian, and 15 percent declared themselves as Asian, Hispanic, or other.
  190.  
  191. Measures
  192. Athlete WOM influence
  193.  
  194. Athlete role model influence was assessed using a three-item WOM measure (Zeithaml et al., 1996). This scale has been used in previous research to assess WOM influence (e.g. Bush et al., 2004). Respondents were asked how their favorite athlete influences their WOM behavior on a seven-point strongly disagree to strongly agree continuum. Items included such statements as “The opinions of my favorite athlete influence me to: say positive things about products or brands to other people; recommend products or brands to someone who seeks my advice”. The coefficient of reliability of this scale, via Cronbach’s alpha, was 0.87. All three items loaded on one factor with all loadings above 0.80.
  195.  
  196. Susceptibility to interpersonal influence
  197.  
  198. This two-dimensional scale was adapted from the work by Bearden et al. (1989). Susceptibility to normative peer influence was measured using three items and included such statements as “I like to know what products and brands make a good impression on my friends”. Cronbach’s alpha for this scale was 0.92 with all factor loadings above 0.90. Susceptibility to informational influence was measured using four items with statements such as “I often ask friends to help me choose the best product”. This dimension also achieved a high Cronbach’s alpha of 0.94 with all factor loadings above 0.83.
  199.  
  200. Self-esteem
  201.  
  202. This construct was measured with items from Oliver and Bearden (1985). Six items were used that included such statements as “I seem to have a great deal of self-respect,” and “I would give a good deal to be very different than I am” The reliability of this scale was 0.76 with all items loading on one factor that ranged from 0.57 to 0.80.
  203.  
  204. Media habits
  205.  
  206. Respondents’ media habits were assessed using several questions related to media usage and behavior. Respondents were asked how many hours of television they watched each week, number of magazines read each week, and how many hours per week they spent on the internet. All participants were also asked if they used these media alternatives for shopping and purchasing products. Demographic questions were also included in the questionnaire. All items used were consistent with previous socialization research.
  207.  
  208. Results
  209.  
  210. The results for both our first (H1) and second (H2) hypotheses are presented in Table I. Our first hypothesis posited that there would be a positive relationship between teen girls’ susceptibility to interpersonal influence and athlete WOM behavior. This hypothesis is supported in that there was a significant correlation between both normative peer influence (r ¼ 0:259, p , 0:01), and informational peer influence (r ¼ 0:237, p , 0:05). Additionally, we found no significant differences in these correlations when controlling for ethnicity. Thus, regardless of race, young women appear to spread positive athlete WOM due to their susceptibility to both normative and informational influence.
  211.  
  212.  
  213. 260
  214.  
  215. Girl power and word-of-mouth behavior Journal of Consumer Marketing
  216.  
  217. Victoria D. Bush, Alan J. Bush, Paul Clark and Robert P. Bush Volume 22 • Number 5 • 2005 • 257 – 264
  218. Table I Correlations between female teen’s susceptibility to interpersonal influence, athlete WOM behavior, and self-esteem
  219.  
  220. Variable Normative peer influence Informational peer influence Self-esteem Athlete WOM behavior
  221.  
  222. Normative peer influence 0.569 * * 2 0.345 * * 0.259 * *
  223. Informational peer influence 2 0.060 0.237 *
  224. Self-esteem 20.234 *
  225. Athlete WOM behavior
  226.  
  227. Notes: * Significant at the 0.05 level; * * Significant at the 0.01 level; n ¼ 118
  228.  
  229.  
  230. Our second hypothesis (H2) posited an inverse relationship between teen girl’s self-esteem and both susceptibility to interpersonal influence and athlete WOM behavior. This hypothesis is partially supported. Although we found a significant negative relationship between self-esteem and normative peer influence (r ¼ 20:345, p , 0:01), we did not find a significant negative relationship between self-esteem and informational peer influence (r ¼ 20:060, p . 0:05). We did find a significant negative relationship, as predicted, between self-esteem and athlete WOM behavior (r ¼ 20:234, p , 0:01). Again, we found no significant differences in these results when controlling for race. Thus, our results suggest that the less self-esteem teenaged girls possess, the more susceptible they are to normative peer influence and athlete WOM behavior. These results are discussed further in the implications section.
  231.  
  232. Table II presents the mean results of our study regarding our last hypothesis (H3). Indeed, there is a significant and quite profound difference between the media habits of African-American and Caucasian teenaged girls. Our study found that African-American teen girls watch almost 25 hours of television per week – more than twice the amount that Caucasian teen girls reported watching (mean ¼ 11:3 hours). African-American girls also read twice as many magazines (mean ¼ 3 per week) vs Caucasians (mean ¼ 1:5 per week). Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, we found that African-American girls reported spending 6.3 hours on the internet per week. Again, this is more than twice the amount of Caucasian girls, who reported 3.1 hours per week. Clearly, this initial investigation reveals that there are significant differences in the media habits of African-American and Caucasian teenaged girls.
  233.  
  234.  
  235. Managerial implications
  236.  
  237. Our results shed some interesting light on a flourishing and powerful young female consumer market. First, our results indicate that, regardless of race, this group of individuals relies heavily on interpersonal influences in their product and service decisions. Further, it appears that if such products and services are endorsed by their favorite athletes, young females tend to spread positive WOM. Second, it appears that teenaged girls rely on their peers and athlete endorsements
  238.  
  239.  
  240. while they develop self-esteem. Finally, our results support previous research conducted on African-American media habits (e.g. Bush et al., 1999; Robinson et al., 1998). The implications of these insights are discussed further, along with directions for future research.
  241.  
  242. The results of our study support research conducted in consumer socialization and interpersonal influence. Similar to previous studies (e.g. Bush et al., 2004; Meyers-Levy, 1988), we found that teenaged girls appear to be more socially-oriented and interpersonal in nature. In particular, we found that the more susceptible teen girls are to interpersonal influence, the more they tend to generate positive WOM about products and services endorsed by their favorite athlete. More research is needed on who these young women consider to be their “favorite” athlete.
  243.  
  244. Although our research demonstrates that the social nature of teenaged girls and their increasing interest in watching and participating in sports represents a unique opportunity for sports and consumer marketers, the results of our second hypothesis reveal the fragile nature of young women as they develop into adults. Similar to previous research (e.g. Bearden et al., 1989), we found that the lower female teen’s self-esteem, the more they rely on interpersonal and sports celebrity influences. More specifically, a strong inverse relationship was found between self-esteem and susceptibility to normative influence. We did not find a significant relationship between self-esteem and susceptibility to informational influence. These results can be interpreted to mean that young women rely heavily on buying products and services that will impress their friends. However, these women do not necessarily rely on friends for information about products and services. Thus, marketers should be aware that this developing group of young women may look to the marketplace and select products that make impressions on others in order to build their self-esteem.
  245.  
  246. Given the well-documented affects of the media on this impressionable group (e.g. Simmons, 2002; Wiseman, 2002), marketers must use caution and be socially responsible when developing their messages. Using successful female celebrity athletes, as well as other successful females, to endorse products may be a way to help these young women develop confidence. In fact, in an extensive report compiled by the Women’s Sports Foundation (2003), research has found that
  247.  
  248.  
  249. Table II Media consumption habits of female African-American and Caucasian teenagers
  250.  
  251. African-American Caucasian
  252. Medium Mean (n 5 28) Mean (n 5 72) T-value Significance
  253.  
  254. Television hours watched per week 24.50 11.30 4.26 0.000
  255. Number of magazines read per week 3.00 1.50 3.61 0.000
  256. Internet hours per week 6.35 3.13 2.42 0.017
  257.  
  258.  
  259.  
  260.  
  261. 261
  262.  
  263.  
  264. .
  265. .
  266.  
  267. .
  268. .
  269. .
  270. .
  271. Girl power and word-of-mouth behavior
  272.  
  273. Victoria D. Bush, Alan J. Bush, Paul Clark and Robert P. Bush
  274.  
  275. participating in sports has helped women develop self confidence and leadership skills in the workplace. Further, research has also found that women are 22 percent more likely to buy a product or service that is endorsed by female athletes (Women’s Sports Foundation, 2003). These findings, along with our results, suggest that when using celebrity athletes as endorsers, marketers must acknowledge and understand the social ramifications of marketing to teenaged girls.
  276.  
  277. Finally, in this particular study, we found that African-American female teens watch more television, read more magazines, and surf the internet to a greater extent than their Caucasian counterparts. Although media usage has been well documented among African-Americans, this study adds additional support for media usage among African-American female teens. Interestingly, we found that this group surfs the internet twice as much (over six hours a week) as Caucasian female teens. While sports and consumer marketers may be aware of the benefits of television and magazines among this group, using the internet as a potential medium to reach African-American female teens may be an essential and overlooked part of a communications strategy. Thus, as the internet emerges as the medium of choice for teens, more research needs to be conducted as to the activities conducted on the web amongst such sub groups as female African-American teens as well as other ethnicities.
  278.  
  279. If one factors in the frequent and ever-increasing usage of the internet by teens, marketers have the enormous potential to create a “buzz” amongst female teens. WOM behavior among family, friends, and peers has been well documented as one of the most powerful influences on purchase decisions – especially when it comes to consumer products and services (e.g. Mangold et al., 1999; Murray, 1991; Richins, 1983). However, with advent of the internet, WOM and creating a “buzz” can reach a new level. For example, if a young woman is influenced by her favorite athlete about a product or service she can (Rosen, 2000):
  280.  
  281. e-mail her friends;
  282.  
  283. participate in chat rooms or news groups;
  284.  
  285. add her comments to the product or service web site; rate the product or service on a consumer feedback web site (e.g. www.planetfeedback.com);
  286.  
  287. publish her thoughts on her own personal web page; and establish a web site dedicated to the company.
  288.  
  289. These are but a few examples of how WOM translates to the internet. Of course, this can be positive or negative WOM. Marketers thus can seize an opportunity among this young group of influential women by conducting more research on how young females use the internet to spread WOM.
  290.  
  291. Conclusion
  292.  
  293. In this study, we attempted to explain the motives behind why female teens spread WOM about products endorsed by their favorite athlete. We also examined differences in media consumption patterns between African-American and Caucasian female teens. Our results demonstrate that this flourishing group of young women relies on their friends and the media to communicate about products as they grow and develop self-esteem. These findings may provide marketing researchers and practitioners with insight into the mindset of this market segment in terms of developing communication strategies and using celebrity athlete endorsements in their
  294.  
  295. Journal of Consumer Marketing
  296.  
  297. Volume 22 • Number 5 • 2005 • 257 – 264
  298.  
  299. marketing efforts. It is important for sports and consumer marketers to understand the impact of using athletes in their communications campaigns on teenaged girls.
  300.  
  301. References
  302.  
  303. Anderson, W.H. and Williams, B.M. (1983), “TV and the black child: what Black children say about the shows they watch”, Journal of Black Psychology, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 27-42.
  304.  
  305. Applebaum, M. (2003), “If you build it, will she come?”, Brandweek, Vol. 44 No. 35, p. 28.
  306.  
  307. Armstrong, K.L. (2001a), “Black women’s participation in sport and fitness: implications for sport marketing”, Sport Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 183-204.
  308.  
  309. Armstrong, K.L. (2001b), “Self and product image congruency among male and female minor league ice hockey spectators: implications for women’s consumption of professional men’s sports”, Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 27-39.
  310.  
  311. Bakan, D. (1966), The Duality of Human Existence: An Essay on Psychology and Religion, Rand McNally Publishing, Chicago, IL.
  312.  
  313. Bandura, A. (1969), Principles of Behavior Modification, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, New York, NY.
  314.  
  315. Bandura, A. (1971), “Modeling influences on children”, testimony to the Federal Trade Commission, November.
  316.  
  317. Bandura, A. (1977), Social Learning Theory, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
  318.  
  319. Bearden, W.O., Netemeyer, R.G. and Teel, J.E. (1989), “Measurement of consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 15, March, pp. 473-81.
  320.  
  321. Bradish, C., Lathrop, A.H. and Sedgwick, W. (2001), “Girl power: examining the female pre-teen and teen as a distinct segment of the sport marketplace”, Sport Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 19-24.
  322.  
  323. Burnkrant, R.E. and Cousineau, A. (1975), “Informational and normative social influence in buyer behavior”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 2, December, pp. 206-15.
  324.  
  325. Bush, A.J., Smith, R. and Martin, C.A. (1999), “The influence of consumer socialization variables on attitude toward advertising: a comparison of African-Americans and Caucasians”, Journal of Advertising, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 13-24.
  326.  
  327. Bush, V.D., Martin, C.A. and Bush, A.J. (2004), “Sports celebrity influence on the behavioral intentions of Generation Y”, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 44 No. 1, March, pp. 108-17.
  328.  
  329. Deutsch, M. and Gerard, H.B. (1955), “A study of normative and informational influence upon individual judgment”,
  330.  
  331. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, Vol. 51,
  332.  
  333. November, pp. 629-36.
  334.  
  335. Dietz-Uhler, B., Harrick, E.A., End, C. and Jacquemotte, L. (2000), “Sex differences in sport fan behavior and reasons for being a sports fan”, Journal of Sports Behavior, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 219-21.
  336.  
  337. Dixon, M.A. (2002), “Gender differences in perceptions and attitudes toward the LPGA and its tour professionals: an empirical investigation”, Sports Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 44-53.
  338.  
  339. Fink, J.S., Trail, G.T. and Anderson, D.F. (2002), “Evironmental factors associated with spectator attendance and sport consumption behavior: gender and
  340.  
  341.  
  342. 262
  343.  
  344. Girl power and word-of-mouth behavior
  345.  
  346. Victoria D. Bush, Alan J. Bush, Paul Clark and Robert P. Bush
  347.  
  348. team differences”, Sport Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 8-19.
  349.  
  350. Gaffney, J. (2002), “Female sports fans are hot market”, Media Daily News, available at: www.mediapost.com/ dtls_dsp_news.cfm?newsID ¼ 188187.
  351. Gardyn, R. (2001), “A league of their own”, American Demographics, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 12-13.
  352.  
  353. Greenwell, T.C., Fink, J.S. and Pastore, D.L. (2002), “Perceptions of the service experience: using demographic and psychographic variables to identify customer segments”, Sports Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 233-41.
  354.  
  355. Harris Interactive YouthPulse (2003), “The MTVi Group and Harris Interactive Launch Syndicated Youth Poll”, available at: www.harrisinteractive.com/news/ allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID ¼ 46.
  356.  
  357. James, J.D. and Ridinger, L.L. (2002), “Female and male sport fans: a comparison of sport consumption motives”,
  358.  
  359. Journal of Sports Behavior, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 260-71.
  360.  
  361. Jupiter Research (2003), “Survey: teens ‘born to be wired’”, available at: www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2003/07/ 21/daily57.html.
  362.  
  363. Lords, E. (1999), “More women and fewer men participate in intercollegiate athletics, study finds”, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 45 No. 44, p. A40.
  364.  
  365. Lough, N.L. and Irwin, R.L. (2001), “A comparative analysis of sponsorship objectives for US women’s sport and traditional sport sponsorship”, Sports Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 202-11.
  366.  
  367. Lough, N.L. and Kim, A.-R. (2004), “Analysis of sociomotivations affecting spectator attendance at women’s professional basketball games in South Korea”,
  368.  
  369. Sports Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 35-42. Mangold, W.G., Miller, F. and Brockway, G.R. (1999),
  370.  
  371. “Word-of-mouth communication in the services marketplace”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 73-84.
  372.  
  373. Meyers-Levy, J. (1988), “The influence of sex roles on judgment”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 14, March, pp. 522-30.
  374.  
  375. Moschis, G.P. and Churchill, G.A. Jr (1978), “Consumer socialization: a theoretical and empirical analysis”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 15, November, pp. 599-609.
  376.  
  377. Murray, K.B. (1991), “A test of services marketing theory consumer information acquisition activities”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 55 No. 1, pp. 10-25.
  378.  
  379. Neuborne, E. (1999), “Generation Y”, Business Week, February 15, pp. 80-8.
  380.  
  381. Oliver, R. and Bearden, W. (1985), “Crossover effects in the theory of reasoned action: a moderating influence attempt”,
  382.  
  383. Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 12, December, pp. 324-40.
  384.  
  385. Richins, M. (1983), “Negative word-of-mouth by dissatisfied consumers: a pilot study”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 47, Winter, pp. 68-78.
  386.  
  387. Robinson, J., Landry, B. and Rooks, R. (1998), “Time and the melting pot”, American Demographics, Vol. 20, June, pp. 18-24.
  388.  
  389. Rosen, E. (2000), The Anatomy of Buzz, Currency/ Doubleday, New York, NY.
  390.  
  391. Shannon, R.J. (1999), “Sports marketing: an examination of academic marketing publication”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 13 Nos 6/7, pp. 517-35.
  392.  
  393. Journal of Consumer Marketing
  394.  
  395. Volume 22 • Number 5 • 2005 • 257 – 264
  396.  
  397. Simmons, R. (2002), Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls, Harcourt, New York, NY.
  398.  
  399. Sports Business Journal (2004), available at: www. sportsbusinessjournal.com/index.cfm?fuseaction ¼ page. feature&featureId ¼ 13.
  400.  
  401. Sukhdial, A.S., Aiken, D. and Kahle, L. (2002), “Are you old school? A scale for measuring sports fans’ old-school orientation”, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 42, July/ August, pp. 71-81.
  402.  
  403. Swanson, S.R., Gwinner, K., Larson, B.V. and Janda, S. (2003), “Motivations of college student game attendance and word-of-mouth behavior: the impact of gender differences”, Sport Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 151-62.
  404.  
  405. Turley, L.W. (1999), “Editorial”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 13 No. 6, pp. 434-8.
  406.  
  407. Ward, S. (1974), “Consumer socialization”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 1, September, pp. 1-16.
  408.  
  409. Wiseman, R. (2002), Queen Bees and Wannabees, Three Rivers Press, New York, NY.
  410.  
  411. Women’s Sports Foundation (2003), “Women’s sports and fitness facts and statistics”, available at: www. womensportsfoundation.com.
  412.  
  413. Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L. and Parasuraman, A. (1996), “The behavioral consequences of service quality”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 60, April, pp. 31-46.
  414.  
  415.  
  416.  
  417.  
  418.  
  419.  
  420.  
  421.  
  422.  
  423.  
  424.  
  425.  
  426.  
  427.  
  428.  
  429.  
  430.  
  431.  
  432.  
  433.  
  434.  
  435.  
  436.  
  437.  
  438.  
  439.  
  440.  
  441.  
  442.  
  443.  
  444.  
  445.  
  446.  
  447.  
  448.  
  449.  
  450.  
  451. Makale İnceleme Ödevi Rapor İçeriği
  452. Yazarlar : Victoria D. Bush (The School of Business Administration, University of Mississippi,
  453. Mississippi, USA)
  454. Alan J. Bush (University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, USA)
  455. Paul Clark (Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA)
  456. Robert P. Bush (University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA)
  457. Yayımlandığı dergi : Journal of Consumer Marketing
  458. Yayın yılı : 2005
  459. Dergi sayısı : 22/5, 257 – 264
  460. Yayınlandığı yer : Amerika Birleşik Devletleri
  461. Web sitesi : www.emeraldinsight.com
  462. Makalenin başlığı :
  463. Anahtar kavramlar : Pazarlama Stratejileri, Baglantılar, Kadınlar, Spor, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri
Advertisement
Add Comment
Please, Sign In to add comment
Advertisement