Content uploaded by James J. Zhang
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by James J. Zhang on Dec 31, 2018
Content may be subject to copyright.
International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship
Attracting international spectators to a sport event held in Asia: The case of
Formula One Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix
Yasuhiro Watanabe, Cassendra Gilbert, Mohd Salleh Aman, James J. Zhang,
Article information:
To cite this document:
Yasuhiro Watanabe, Cassendra Gilbert, Mohd Salleh Aman, James J. Zhang, (2018) "Attracting
international spectators to a sport event held in Asia: The case of Formula One Petronas Malaysia
Grand Prix", International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Vol. 19 Issue: 2, pp.194-216,
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-08-2017-0077
Permanent link to this document:
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-08-2017-0077
Downloaded on: 08 May 2018, At: 16:55 (PT)
References: this document contains references to 92 other documents.
To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com
The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 23 times since 2018*
Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by
Token:Eprints:FJWKMSSDAUFBFFEUUPHV:
For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald
for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission
guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com
Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company
manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as
well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and
services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for
digital archive preservation.
*Related content and download information correct at time of download.
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
Attracting international
spectators to a sport event held
in Asia
The case of Formula One Petronas Malaysia
Grand Prix
Yasuhiro Watanabe
Department of Sport Business Administration,
Hiroshima University of Economics, Hiroshima, Japan
Cassendra Gilbert and Mohd Salleh Aman
University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and
James J. Zhang
Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the systematic influence of core product features, event
operation quality, sport fan identification, and image of host city as a tourism destination on behavioral
intentions of international spectator at a Formula One (F1) event held in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach –A survey form assessing the specified concepts was designed and
employed to examine the structural relationships. The research participants were international spectators
(n¼512) attending the event. Data were randomly split into two halves, one for EFA (n¼256) and the other
for CFA and SEM (n¼256).
Findings –Findings revealed that core product feature and sport fan identification factors were significantly
(po0.05) related to both of international spectators’desire to stay at the event, attend the event in the future,
and revisit the country; whereas, event operation quality was only found to be significantly influential of the
re-patronage, and destination image was only significantly influential of the desire to stay. The findings
highlight the importance and relevance of these concepts in attracting, serving, and retaining international
visitors to the event.
Originality/value –Unlike other studies that are centered merely on game and event factors, this study
expanded on a bigger ecological spectrum surrounding a F1 event and systematically evaluated the critical
concepts and factors affecting international tourist to the event that can be considerable sources of economic
growth. The findings provide empirical evidence for event and tourism management and marketing.
Keywords Destination image, Fan psychology, Core product, Peripheral service
Paper type Research paper
Executive summary
Malaysia has experienced a significant increase in tourist arrivals over the past decade; it is
now one of the top tourist destinations in the Asia Pacific region. Malaysia puts efforts into
internationalizing its various sporting events, which are an integral focus of contemporary
tourism as part of national economic development. Sport events such as the Formula One
(F1) Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix have contributed to the continued growth of its tourist
arrivals. However, among domestic industries in Malaysia, the sport industry including
sport tourism has a relatively short history and is only considered an emerging industry.
A question remains on what approaches to be taken to increase international spectatorship
demand and satisfy their needs and wants by attending sporting events. Tourism offering
as a co-product of a sport event represents a growing trend of products and services that
tourists acquire before, during, and/or after a specific period of sport competition time
of their stay in the destination country. The purpose of this study was to examine the
International Journal of Sports
Marketing and Sponsorship
Vol. 19 No. 2, 2018
pp. 194-216
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1464-6668
DOI 10.1108/IJSMS-08-2017-0077
Received 13 August 2017
Accepted 4 September 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1464-6668.htm
194
IJSMS
19,2
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
systematic influence of core product features, event operation quality, sport fan
identification, and image of host city as a tourism destination on behavioral intentions of
international spectator at a F1 event held in Malaysia.
Research respondents (n¼512) included 35.2 percent spectators traveling from
European countries, 18.0 percent from Australia/New Zealand, 10.7 percent from Singapore,
and 10.7 percent from East-Asian countries or territories, including Japan, China, Taiwan,
and Korea. Data were randomly split into two halves, one for exploratory factor analysis
(EFA) (n¼256) and the other for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural
equation model (SEM) (n¼256). Statistical analyses were performed using procedures in
SPSS 16.0 and Amos 16.0. As the results, the core product feature factor and the fan
identification factor had a significantly positive influence on both of spectators’continuous
Stay at Event and spectators’Intention of Re-patronage to the same event. The peripheral
service factor was found to have minimum influence on Intention of Re-patronage. Although
the effect size was small, the destination image had a significantly positive influence on
spectators’continuous Stay at Event.
The findings have provided some interesting implications for both theoretical
development and practical applications. For a hallmark sport event held in a developing
economy with a growing sport industry, it appears that it is still the tangible and intangible
factors that are directly related to the core product (Zhang, 2015) of the F1 event and they
are critical to draw spectators, particularly those from international communities. It is
important that event organizers and tourism marketers need to pay attention to this notion.
In the future research, diverse tourist roles, purposes, and segmentations according to
various background variables should be included and integrated into future studies.
Introduction
Today, Malaysia is classified as an “upper middle income country”(per capita income
ranging between US$4,086 and $12,616) with a per capita gross national income (GNI) of
US$9,800 (in 2012 market prices) and $16,530 in purchasing power parity (PPP)
(World Development Report, 2014). Malaysia intends to achieve high-income status by 2020
and move further up the value-added production chain by attracting investments in high
technology, knowledge-based industries, and service industries. The primary factor used to
distinguish developed countries from developing countries is gross domestic product (GDP)
per capita, a figure calculated by dividing a country’s GDP by its population
(World Development Report, 2014). The GDP of Malaysia was US$312.4 billion in 2013
and US$302.7 billion in 2016, with GDP growth rate shifting to 6 percent in 2014, 5 percent
in 2015, and 4.2 percent in 2016. A remarkable growth has been seen in the tourism industry.
Malaysia has experienced a significant increase in tourist arrivals over the past decade; it is
now one of the top tourist destinations in the Asia Pacific region (Habibi, 2017). Malaysia was
listed among the top ten international tourism destinations from 2009 to 2012 and has been
ranked as the tenth most visited place in the world (World Tourism Organization, 2013).
Tourist arrivals to Malaysia numbered 27.4 million in 2014, 25.7 million in 2015, and 26.8 million
in 2016. Tourist receipts for Malaysia also shifted to US$16.8 billion in 2014, US$16.1 billion
in 2015, and US$19.2 billion in 2016 (Tourism Malaysia, 2017). Even so, tourism’sdirect
contribution to GDP growth in recent years has shifted from 5.7 percent in 2014 to 3.0 percent in
2015 and 4.7 percent in 2016 (World Travel and Tourism Council, 2015, 2016, 2017).
While the tourism industry has received significant attention in Malaysia, sport events
such as the F1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix have contributed to the continued growth of
its tourist arrivals. However, among domestic industries in Malaysia, the sport industry has
a relatively short history and is only considered an emerging industry. According to the
Youth and Sports Ministry, in terms of GNI, Malaysia’s sports industry is worth US$10.18
billion or about 5 percent of total GDP in 2009. The high growth potential of the sport
195
Malaysia
Grand Prix
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
industry may deliver many opportunities for related stakeholders in Malaysia, who will
likely play a role either directly or indirectly in the near future. Hosting international sports
events undoubtedly has many positive impacts for the host country. Such events are
identified as strong marketing vehicles and have a proven record of meeting and shaping
the needs of the de-regulated global market (Silk and Andrews, 2001). Multi-million dollar
investments have been made by Malaysian Government and businesses for the long term,
including building infrastructure facilities, improving the transportation system, upgrading
the quality of services from the public and private sectors, expanding efforts to market the
nation’s products and image, and achieving valuable promotions through international
media. Bidding and staging mega or hallmark events such as the F1 Petronas Malaysia
Grand Prix is a part of such efforts.
Malaysia puts efforts into internationalizing its various sporting events, which are an
integral focus of contemporary tourism as part of national economic development.
Oftentimes, a country hosting an international mega sport event helps boost economic
growth, receives global media exposure, and enhances national pride and image;
nevertheless, hosting events involves a vast financial outlay (Aman, 2007; Aminuddin and
Parilah, 2008). In recent years, the Malaysian Government has spent billions of dollars in
hosting such events as they are considered investments in economic development and
nation building. For example, the F1 event, which can provide spectators with an adrenalin
rush and stimulate their feelings of excitement, is currently the third most watched live
sporting event after the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. As the second country in Asia,
after Japan, to have a F1 world-class racing circuit, Malaysia has attracted spectators from
other Asian countries and even across the globe. The presence of large audiences and the
involvement of domestic and international participants and spectators during F1 events
have contributed significantly to the national income. Building the circuit and successful
organization of a F1 event helped to propel Malaysia’s reputation internationally; findings
from an economic impact study show that a single F1 race event contributed more than
US$32.4 million to the national economy in 2007 with this figure being expected to
continuously soar (Akil, 2008).
F1 in Malaysia has received immense support from the government of Malaysia, the
Ministry of Tourism and Culture, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and other government
agencies. The circuit in Sepang, costing US$58.4 million, is one of the governmentally
invested mega projects. Designed by a German company, it was officially opened on
March 9, 1999. The track is 5.6 kilometers long and 16 meters wide, and drivers can peak at
260 kilometers/hour. The facility boasts two grandstands that can accommodate about
130,000 spectators at each event. It is a mere stone’s throw away from the Kuala Lumpur
International Airport. The event’s early success is in the process of transforming Malaysia
into a global sports icon, generating massive tourism revenue, jumpstarting the country’s
motor sport industry, and building sport tourism. Since the inaugural race in 1999, this
event has been steadily developed in stature and prominence and has created a tremendous
amount of positive exposure for Malaysia’s destination image. Since its inception, as many
as 500 million viewers from more than 180 countries have viewed or followed the
proceedings of the F1 Grand Prix in Malaysia through on-site visit, television, or social
media platforms. The economic impact this prestigious event brings to Malaysia also
includes many spin-off industries and businesses (Official Race Programme, 2014).
Generally speaking, sport tourism is defined as sport-based travel away from the home
environment for a limited time, where sport is characterized by unique rule sets, competition
related to physical prowess, and a playful nature (Hinch and Higham, 2001). When some
countries with sport-related resources are recognized as sport destinations by people from
other countries, activities to attract more in-bound tourists using their sport tourism
assets can be spurred. To expand in-bound tourists to Malaysia, the country’s diversified
196
IJSMS
19,2
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
sightseeing resources are identified from the viewpoint of sport to promote sport tourism.
An event that is attractive as a sightseeing resource would be high in the push factors for
visitors seeking sightseeing and should incorporate the pull factors of sub-objectives,
such as sightseeing spots and cultural activities, to make the event competitive in the
international tourism market.
For F1, the number of races and even the locations of events can change from year to
year. In 2017, for example, the schedule includes 20 F1 races in 20 different countries. As the
characteristics of spectators seem to differ from one event setting to another, it is
comparatively more important to scrutinize relevant characteristics for a F1 setting than for
other sports. The special F1 event experience, only once a year, can be substantially
different from those typical spectator experiences where fans can attend multiple games of a
league over a season; thus, previous research findings on consumer behavior of regular
season basketball, baseball, and football may not be directly applicable to this unique
setting of F1 events. Of a few previous studies on F1 spectatorship focused on local
consumers (Kim et al., 2013; Kim, Park and Kim, 2016; Kim, Yim, Byon, Yu, Lee and
Park, 2016), failing to examining marketing perspectives of international tourism.
A question remains on what approaches to be taken to increase international spectatorship
demand and satisfy their needs and wants by attending a F1 event. Tourism offering as a
co-product of a sport event represents a growing trend of products and services that tourists
acquire before, during, and/or after a specific period of sport competition time of their stay in
the destination country. The utility of sport events for sustainable tourism depends not
only on the attractiveness of the host destination, but also on the type of sport event
(Taks et al., 2009). The challenge is always on how to sustain this growth and. It is important
and necessary to understand tourists’assessment of core product features, sport fan
identification, event operation quality, tourism destination image, and behavioral response,
and how these affect each other. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine the
systematic influence of core product features, event operation quality, sport fan
identification, and image of host city as a tourism destination on behavioral intentions of
international spectator at a F1 event held in Malaysia in an effort to gain insightful
information about hosting a hallmark sport event in an avant-garde sport destination with
growing economies.
Conceptual framework
The current study adapted with modification the Levitt (1980) and Kotler (1991)
product-expand concept as a conceptual framework, which is illustrated in Figure 1.
Generally speaking, sport products are complex, with different physical features, game
activities, consumer motives, event services, and location characteristics (Levitt, 1980;
Kotler, 1991). This framework suggests that evaluation of the core, extension, and ecological
environment services could lead to further understanding of consumer behavior intentions.
The marketing of sport products requires an approach that may at times go beyond the
approaches of mainstream business marketing (Mullin et al., 2014). Levitt (1980) proposed
four product levels, with a focus on the generic, expected, and augmented components of a
product. Sport has certain characteristics in the core, extensions, and presentation that
result in unique aspects. The sport consumer’s expectations of the main attributes of the
game or event itself, such as player and techniques, are reflective of core products
(Zhang et al., 2003). However, the core product is just one element of a larger ensemble. Sport
event attendees rarely consume the game, event, or contest in isolation. Sport events include
the atmosphere of the venue, the equipment, the apparel, the music, the concessions, and the
pre- and postgame festivities (Mullin et al., 2014). All of these elements extend the sport
product beyond the contest itself as the core product can hardly be controlled and
consequently efforts must focus on product extensions; in the meantime, game extension
197
Malaysia
Grand Prix
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
products need to be provided to facilitate smooth event operations and promote a
comprehensive consumer experience (Mullin et al., 2014). As a feature of sport fans who
travel to an event, those with stronger sport identification are more likely to attend the game
event and travel greater distances to do so, purchase merchandise, spend more on tickets
and products, and report intentions to attend future games (Smith and Stewart, 2007).
Some may even travel around the world to express their identification with the team.
According to Kolb (2006), an augmentation of an international sport event would be tourism
destination image that can been well packaged surrounding the core and expected products
associated with the sport event.
Review of literature
Service quality
The perceived quality of core product (e.g. the game itself, the players’performance) and the
servicescape (i.e. the physical environment) may play an important role in determining
whether consumers are satisfied (Bitner, 1992; Wakefield and Sloan, 1995; Zhang et al., 2003).
Service quality is the consumer’s perception of the received service performance; it is defined
as the judgment or attitude toward how good or bad the service is (Grönroos, 1984;
Parasuraman et al., 1988). Grönroos (1984) suggested classifying service quality into the two
dimensions of technical quality and functional quality. Technical quality includes
uncertainties that the organizer cannot control ahead of time and is a quality related to the
core product. Functional quality is seen as awareness related to the customer’s assessment
through the interaction of customers, staff, and the service environment, with an emphasis on
how the service is provided (Grönroos, 1984; Zhang et al., 2004). The consumer perceives
service as something that combines technical and functional dimensions, and a perception is
obtained of the service quality by comparing these perceptions with the expectations of the
relevant service (Parasuraman et al., 1988). However, although the basic service quality
dimensions may be common across service industries, some researchers have pointed out that
specific dimensions that determine service quality differ based on the industry because each
service industry faces different service environments (Cronin and Taylor, 1992). It is
important to note that marketers exert a great deal of control over functional quality but have
little influence over technical quality in service encounters. For instance, team or player
performance tends to dominate this component of service quality and this factor is not
Core sport produc
t
features
Fan psychology/
identification
Event operation
quality
Tourism destination
image
Figure 1.
Conceptual framework
for the examining the
product-expand
concept
198
IJSMS
19,2
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
controlled by most sports event personnel (Kelly and Turley, 2001). For sport events, many
spectators seek to enjoy the game itself, the players’performance, and experiences that can
only be gained at that arena: The “core product”is spectator demand (Mullin et al., 2014).
When considering this interpretation, some researchers have noted that the provision of
services that consider both the core product and peripheral services that support the event can
play an important role in defining spectator satisfaction (Tsuji et al., 2007; Yoshida and
James, 2010). However, sport spectator behavior was understood in reference to a standard
scale developed in a previous study, which did not clearly focus on the sport spectator
behavior as a sport tourist in a specific sport setting, such as a F1 event.
Included in this understanding of the consumer perspective is an assessment of the value
of events in promoting a positive destination image, place marketing in general, and
co-branding with destinations (Getz, 2008). In the case of a F1 event, this is a particularly
important consideration given the event’s heavy reliance on attracting tourism to ensure
that it provides a return on investment for the government (Fairley et al., 2011).
To understand the consumer perspective, it is necessary to determine who travels for events
and why, who attends events while traveling, and what “event tourists”do and spend
(Getz, 2008).
Consumer demand for core product. The core product consists of the items that
influence the characteristics of an event, the quality of a game, star players, and other
elements. The quality of core products and related services plays an important role in
maintaining and increasing spectator attendance (Mullin et al., 2014). Consumers’
expectation of these core products is called the “market demand.”Market demand is
defined as spectator expectations regarding the important attributes of the core products
(Schofield, 1983; Hansen and Gauthier, 1989; Zhang et al., 1995, 2003; Braunstein et al.,
2005). When these elements are reflected in the strong attitude of the spectator toward
game attractiveness (e.g. home team, opposite team), the configured attitudes indicate the
possibility of defining later spectator behavior (Zhang et al., 2000). Byon et al. (2013)
clarified the structural relationship of core service quality factors and peripheral service
quality factors in the consumption of professional team sport games while considering the
mediating influence of perceived value. The home team, opposing team, game promotion,
game amenities, venue quality, and perceived value were found to be predictive of
behavioral intentions. The quality of the core product and related services may play an
important role in maintaining and increasing spectators as sport tourists as well
(Gibson et al., 2003). However, market demand studies have not been conducted in the
context of an F1 event and sport tourists.
In studies dealing with F1 core products, Kim et al. (2013) and Ballouli et al. (2016) pointed
out that the F1 event is known for the speed of game, aggressive driving, and automobile
noise, all of which attract spectators to enjoy the epitome of the event. Ballouli et al. (2016)
highlighted the aesthetic motives of consumers and the relevance of having a state-of-the-art
circuit. Kim et al. (2013) also found that social motives explain spectators’consumption
behavior at the Chinese Grand Prix. Achievement seeking and salubrious effects were
predictive of repurchase intentions; and achievement seeking, entertainment, and catharsis
were motivating factors that were positively related to word-of-mouth. Ballouli et al.
examined the motives that affect consumer role identities, which were in turn found to be
related to the behavior or behavioral intentions of F1 US Grand Prix attendees. In this study,
a second-order product/place motive construct was found to be unique for F1 racing,
encompassing aesthetics of the track, sound of the cars, appearance of new cars, quality of
new engines, and adoption of new technology.
Although existing studies have provided insight into the variables that affect F1
attendance, F1 itself has unique characteristics as a professional sport. Based on the
199
Malaysia
Grand Prix
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
speculations made by Zhang et al. (2005), the extent to which the findings of previous
studies apply to the setting of this specific sporting event is unknown. The weakness
associated with previous studies may be partly attributed to the lack of a valid assessment
tool to measure consumer demand for a specific sporting event. Thus, due to the unique
nature of a F1 event, assessment of core product features of F1 event should be specifically
articulated, along with those latent variables significantly affecting the motives of fan
behavior, such as those sport fan identification variables.
Prior studies have examined the effect of consumer attention on and identification with
individual players or teams on sports spectatorship (e.g. Mahony et al., 2000; Zhang et al., 1997).
Trail et al. (2000) defined fan identification as an orientation of the self in regard to other
objects, including an individual or group, which results in feelings or sentiments of close
attachment. Zhang et al. (1997) reported that the charm of the game (e.g. the players) influences
the spectators at an event. Mahony et al. (2000) indicated that individuals exhibiting a high
level of identification with a team are not only more likely to attend games but also more
willing to provide indirect support. In professional sport settings, fans who strongly identify
with a team tend to invest large amounts of time and money to purchase team merchandise
and watch the team play (Madrigal, 1995; Fisher and Wakefield, 1998). Of various points of fan
attachment, researchers have found that identification with the sport played an important role
in one’s choice among different sport events (Trail et al., 2003; Robinson et al., 2004). Assuming
that differences in identification exist by the type of sports, this would indicate that the salience
of the role may be different for fans of F1 (Robinson et al., 2004). Ballouli et al. (2016) indicated
that the attachment to F1 would affect one’s conative loyalty, predict the intention of
purchasing team-licensed merchandise. Identification with a sport would motivate consumers
to travel to follow a favorite team and attend to a sport event (Fairley, 2003; Fairley et al., 2014).
Chen (2007) suggested that satisfaction, attachment, involvement, and commitment are
the essential factors of sport fan loyalty. Also, Irwin and Sandler (1998) argued that the level
offanidentificationwithateamorathleteshouldbeexaminedinfuturestudiesofevent
sport tourists.
Peripheral service. A sport event’s peripheral service is defined as game support
programs (Zhang et al., 2005). Specifically, it is the event operation quality related to
supplementary services in the process of providing the core product, such as the staff
quality or the quality of food and beverage in game intervals (Wakefield and Sloan, 1995;
Wakefield et al., 1996). To ensure successful event operations and satisfy spectators, it is clear
that preparation and delivery of good services are necessary for food and beverages, ample
parking, staff guidance, and other peripheral activities that are key to staging a sport event
(e.g. the physical environment), yet not a part of the core product (Wakefield and Blodgett,
1996; Mullin et al., 2014). Based on the research findings of Wakefield et al. (1996), specific
items have been identified and a parameter is created for assessing spectator satisfaction.
Previous studies have primarily been conducted in spectator event settings and examined
factors affecting customer satisfaction of such sports as football (Wakefield and Sloan, 1995;
Wakefield et al., 1996), rugby (Hill and Green, 2000), ice hockey (Greenwell et al., 2002; Zhang
et al., 2005), and tennis (Tsuji et al., 2011). For example, Hill and Green (2000) pointed out that
the importance of spectator car parking differs depending on the stadium and the spectators
at that stadium, and Greenwell et al. (2002) suggested that facility accessibility, aesthetics,
scoreboard, comfort, and layout affect hockey spectator satisfaction. Tsuji et al. (2011)
reported that facility aesthetics, seat comfort, and signage affect satisfaction levels with a
facility. In a study dealing with F1 peripheral service, Kim, Yim, Byon, Yu, Lee and Park
(2016) recognized the importance of event service by using an importance performance
analysis for the F1-Shanghai Grand Prix event and found that staff courtesy was the strength
of the event.
200
IJSMS
19,2
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
Destination image
Destination image is defined as the sum of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a person has
regarding a location of potential visit (Crompton, 1979). Milman and Pizam (1995) and
Turco et al. (2002) suggested that destination image is usually formed based on a mixture of
the cultural, natural, and social attributes. Perceived tourism infrastructures of a particular
destination, such as national tourism resources, human-made tourism resources, human
tourism resources, and communication convenience, are also fundamental to one’s image of
a destination. As Walmsley and Young (1998) stated, a city’s image can be multidimensional
and be classified into various component images according to different typologies. Byon and
Zhang (2010) differentiated destination image based on cognitive images such as beliefs and
affective images such as feelings. Destinations can enhance their image by hosting sport
events that attract first-time and revisiting sport tourists to the destination by conducting
such activities as co-branding, brand leverage, and product bundling (Kaplanidou and
Vogt, 2007; Xing and Chalip, 2006). Kaplanidou (2009) pointed out that spectators who travel
to attend an international sport event may seek an intensified cultural experience, which can
generate differential perspectives toward certain stimuli. Also, positive images are more
likely to lead visitors to revisit and recommend the destination to others. Taks et al. (2009)
pointed out that spectators as tourists are primarily interested in the sport event, suggesting
that they are less interested in other tourism activities although tourist participation in sport
events does not preclude interest in more traditional tourism activities. In other words,
tourists of either sport-first or tourism-first group may desire to partake in both
event-related activities and traditional tourism activities during their stay, which may be
based on the effect of destination image. A few studies on destination images of Malaysia
(e.g. Habibi, 2017; Mohanmad et al., 2011) revealed that natural scenery, public safety,
transport infrastructure, and exotic cuisine are some of the main elements of a
country’s destination image. Din (1982) once emphasized that evaluation of those factors
attracting international visitors is fundamentally important, which would help alleviate
consumer dissatisfactions, biased views, and unhealthy images potentially exerting
negative influences on Malaysia’s inbounding tourism.
Behavioral intentions
The term behavioral intention is used most often when investigating concepts of social
behavior. Zeithaml et al. (1996) stated that behavioral intention is associated with the results
of services related to the intent to repurchase, intent to revisit, word-of-mouth, and a sense of
premium value based on price. Fishbein and Ajzen’s (1975) theory of reasoned action
hypothesizes that human behavior is the direct result of behavioral intentions, and their
effects are influenced by human attitudes and subjective norms. In addition, Ajzen (1991),
who proposed the theory of planned behavior, argued that when a psychological reaction
(intent) creates an attempt to act, the attitude and subjective norms toward that behavior
and the interaction with the behavioral controls serve to increase the intent and thus,
behavior occurs. In this way, understanding behavioral intentions can directly affect
people’s future behavior (Ajzen, 1991).
The theoretical framework proposed by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) and Ajzen (1991) has
been applied in conducting empirical research of spectator sports, supporting the
relationship of perceived service quality or customer satisfaction level to behavioral
intentions (Wakefield et al., 1996; Cronin et al., 2000). Noticeably, a spectator’s behavioral
intentions have been found to affect matters through consumer demand variables for core
product features, peripheral services (Tsuji et al., 2007; Zhang et al., 1995, 2003, 2004),
and team loyalty (Wakefield and Sloan, 1995). For example, Wakefield et al. (1996) confirmed
that sportscape have an effect on football and baseball spectator attendance intentions,
and Wakefield and Blodgett (1996) confirmed that the satisfaction of football, baseball, and
201
Malaysia
Grand Prix
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
casino attendees had a positive effect on their intents to revisit. Cronin et al. (2000) noted that
core service quality awareness underpinned the visitor’s intention to return. Taking a
summative view of these studies, it appears apparent that the enrichment of service quality
can increase behavioral intentions and promote customer repurchase desire. Zhang et al.
(2005) summarized that the quality of the core product and related services plays an
important role in maintaining and increasing spectators’intentions. Byon and Zhang (2010)
provided empirical support for the notion that destination image has significant effects on
tourists’behavioral intentions, such as spreading positive word-of-mouth information.
Tourism demand for a sport event represents the set of products and services that tourists
acquire during the specific period of time of their stay in the destination country.
Hypotheses
In an effort to effectively market and host the F1 event and sustain sport tourism in
Malaysia, it is important to understand these aforementioned factors potentially influencing
international tourists coming to Malaysia. Presumably, the behavioral response would be
the result of offering core product features, meeting fan’s psychological needs, ensuring
event operation quality, and elevating destination image. The following hypotheses were
examined in the current study:
H1. Core product would have a positive effect on spectators’desire to stay and
re-patronage intentions.
H2. Fan identification would have a positive effect on spectators’desire to stay and
re-patronage intentions.
H3. Peripheral services would have a positive effect on spectators’desire to stay and
re-patronage intentions.
H4. Destination image would have a positive effect on spectators’desire to stay and
re-patronage intentions.
Method
Participants
A survey study was conducted for international spectators at a recent F1 Petronas Malaysia
Grand Prix on the race day. Research respondents (n¼512) included 35.2 percent spectators
traveling from European countries, 18.0 percent from Australia/New Zealand, 10.7 percent
from Singapore, and 10.7 percent from East-Asian countries or territories, including Japan,
China, Taiwan, and Korea. There were 68.0 percent male and 32.0 percent female spectators.
Of them, 46.7 percent were single and 49.4 percent married. The mean age was 36.5 years
old, ranging from younger than 30 years old to over 60 years old. Most of these spectators
either held an advanced degree (36.7 percent) or were college students at the time of study
(38.3 percent). About one-third of them were first-time attendees of the event and the
remaining of them were repeating consumers with an average of 3.0 times attending the
same event.
Instrumentation
A questionnaire was formulated to measure core product features, event operation quality,
sport fan identification, destination image of the host city, and behavioral intentions of
international spectator at a F1 event held in Malaysia, which was based on the following
procedures: formulating preliminary measures via qualitative research procedures
including comprehensive review of related literature, on-site observations of previous F1
events in Malaysia, and dialogues with F1 a sample of numerous event marketers and event
202
IJSMS
19,2
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
attendees, conducting a test of content validity through a panel of experts, and conducting
an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis. For sample
description purpose, variables for demographic information were also included in the
questionnaire.
To measure core product features and operational quality of peripheral services of the F1
event, research findings and measures in a few critical studies were taken into consideration
(e.g. Wakefield and Sloan, 1995; Braunstein et al., 2005; Zhang et al., 2005; Byon et al., 2013;
Kim, Yim, Byon, Yu, Lee and Park, 2016). As a result, for the core product feature section,
there were 17 unique items. For the peripheral services, there were 11 items. To assess fan
sport identification, three items from Robinson et al.’s (2004) were adopted. For the
destination image section, 16 items were derived mainly from Byon and Zhang (2010) and
Kaplanidou (2009). For behavioral intentions, six items were adopted from Byon et al. (2013)
and Wakefield and Blodgett (1996). All of the items were modified and adapted to fit with
the F1 event setting in Malaysia. Each was phrased in a seven-point Likert-type scale
ranging from 1 ¼“strongly disagree”to 7 ¼“strongly agree.”
Procedures and analyses
The panel of expert included two marketing directors of F1 events, two Sepang
International Circuit (SIC) organizers, and two sport management professors with
background and expertise in automobile sport. Each panel member was asked to assess
content relevance, clarity, and representativeness of each item. Based on an agreement level
of 70 percent among panel members, four items were eliminated, including three items for
the core product feature section and one item for the peripheral service section. While the
panel members generally supported the content in each section of the questionnaire,
constructive suggestions; accordingly, improvements were made to improve the wording
clarity of items.
Based on the seating sections, the questionnaire was distributed through a random
cluster sampling procedure. Trained research assistants helped with administering the
survey, who were instructed to approach all spectators respectfully, seek for informed
consent, ask for voluntary participation politely, ensure an eligible respondent to be 18 years
or older, and collect the survey form before the event started or during race breaks. A total
of 650 copies of the questionnaire were distributed and 610 copies were returned, for a
response rate of 93.8 percent; however, 98 of them were either blank or with more than
10 percent of missing responses, and were thus eliminated. At last, a total of 512 copies of
the questionnaire were retained, representing a completion rate of 78.8 percent.
Statistical analyses were performed using procedures in SPSS 16.0 and Amos 16.0.
The sample of 512 was randomly split into two halves, one (n¼256) for EFA and the other
(n¼256) for CFA and SEM analysis. The factor analyses were conducted identify and
confirm the construct validity of the measures in the study. The SEM analysis tested the
hypotheses by examining the direct and indirect relationships among the factors in the
conceptual model. These analyses were conducted by using a two-step process (Anderson
and Gerbing, 1988). In the first step, the instruments are tested through an appropriate
validation process. The second step was to assess the relationships.
Results
Descriptive statistics for the variables in the questionnaire are presented in Table I.
For core product features, “Speed of the race (M¼6.11; SD ¼1.03),”“Overtake thrills
(M¼6.00; SD ¼1.11),”“Driver’s technique (M¼5.84; SD ¼1.15),”and “Team driver
(M¼5.82; SD ¼1.23)”had the highest mean scores. For peripheral services, “Facility
cleanliness (M¼5.83; SD ¼1.23)”and “Ease of entrance (M¼5.75; SD ¼1.15)”had the
highest mean scores. For destination image, “Hospitable, friendly people (M¼5.86;
203
Malaysia
Grand Prix
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
Variables Mean SD Skewness Kurtosis
Core product
Speed of the race 6.11 1.03 −1.23 1.50
Overtake thrills 6.00 1.11 −1.17 1.27
Start position (e.g. Pole position) 5.71 1.19 −0.74 0.09
Lap time (e.g. opening Lap, fastest lap) 5.31 1.32 −0.78 0.49
Team brand (e.g. Ferrari, Red Bull, team strategy etc […]) 5.72 1.33 −1.18 1.32
Team driver (e.g. Hamilton) 5.82 1.23 −1.27 1.95
Driver’s technique 5.84 1.15 −1.19 1.97
Machine quality (e.g. engine, tire, body etc […]) 5.81 1.21 −1.27 1.92
Engine sound 5.53 1.57 −1.28 1.18
Pit stop (e.g. Pit work; change tires) 5.42 1.34 −0.88 0.64
Safety car (support car) 5.05 1.68 −0.71 −0.27
Fickle weather 5.19 1.37 −0.85 0.74
Commendation ceremony (e.g. Podium) 5.10 1.49 −0.88 0.57
Landscape of the circuit 5.60 1.22 −1.03 1.41
Digital scoreboards (e.g. electric screen) 5.68 1.26 −0.98 0.79
Announcer performance (e.g. progress of race) 5.60 1.18 −0.83 0.78
Ticket affordability 5.66 1.25 −1.15 1.58
Fan identification
I consider myself to be a real fan of the F1 5.52 1.43 −1.23 1.51
Being a fan of the F1 is very important to me 5.33 1.49 −1.01 0.79
I would experience a feeling of "loss" if I had to stop being a fan of the F1 5.05 1.73 −0.95 0.15
Peripheral service
Staff courtesy 5.63 1.20 −0.96 1.05
Restroom availability 5.74 1.26 −1.05 0.77
Facility cleanliness 5.83 1.23 −1.28 1.77
Event security 5.66 1.27 −1.13 1.27
Ease of entrance 5.75 1.15 −1.12 1.64
Parking convenience 4.89 2.11 −1.16 0.31
Shuttle bus availability 5.22 2.08 −1.52 1.41
Food/Drink quality (e.g. variety, taste, amount) 5.51 1.36 −1.11 1.29
Souvenir shop (e.g. memorial goods) 5.32 1.43 −1.07 1.04
Entertainment activities (variety events, exhibition booth) 5.29 1.35 −0.97 0.94
Enough signs directing to various necessities 5.67 1.15 −0.96 0.90
Destination image
Beautiful scenery/natural attractions 5.75 1.20 −1.16 1.31
A crowded country 5.23 1.41 −0.82 0.26
Good night life and entertainment 5.55 1.24 −1.10 1.59
Many cultural attractions (e.g. Historical sites and museums) 5.61 1.19 −1.04 1.39
Exotic cuisine 5.64 1.10 −0.83 0.80
Highly urbanized 5.37 1.19 −0.80 0.94
Many shopping facilities 5.70 1.20 −1.19 1.90
Exotic atmosphere and culture 5.73 1.10 −1.02 1.28
Good weather 5.49 1.34 −1.06 0.96
A safe destination 5.65 1.15 −1.01 1.46
Convenient transportation 5.60 1.22 −1.13 1.41
A family oriented destination 5.45 1.25 −0.96 1.11
A good name and reputation 5.64 1.06 −0.95 1.67
A clean country 5.46 1.28 −0.97 1.03
Hospitable, friendly people 5.86 1.03 −1.11 2.02
Readily available travel information 5.67 1.15 −1.20 2.08
(continued )
Table I.
Descriptive statistics
for the core product,
peripheral service, fan
identification,
destination image, and
behavioral intentions
variables
204
IJSMS
19,2
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
SD ¼1.03),”“Beautiful scenery/natural attractions (M¼5.75; SD ¼1.20),”and “Exotic
atmosphere and culture (M¼5.73; SD ¼1.10)”had the highest mean scores. The skewness
and kurtosis coefficients were all between ±3.00, indicating that the data distribution did
not substantially deviate from normality for any given variable.
According to Zhang et al. (2015), a measure’s validity is population specific. Although a
large number of measurement items in the current study were adapted from previous studies,
it appeared necessary that their measurement properties be examined via both exploratory
and confirmatory analyses, particularly for their factor validity. Conducting the EFA with
principal component extraction and varimax rotation for the core product feature variables,
five factors were extracted based on an eigenvalue equal to or greater than 1.0 (Kaiser, 1974),
with a total of 61.1 percent of the variance explained. Following the criterion of a factor
loading equal to or greater than 0.40 without double loading (Nunnally and Bernstein, 1994),
all of the 17 items were retained. The factors were labeled as Race Context (six items, α¼0.79),
Game Nature (three items, α¼0.77), Automobile Action (three items, α¼0.70), Information
Que (three items, α¼0.72), and Team Brand (two items, α¼0.73). The factor loadings ranged
from 0.54 to 0.87. Following the same EFA procedures, three factors emerged for peripheral
service variables, with a totalof 68.2 percent of the variance explained. All of the 11 items were
retained and the factors were labeled as Circuit Service Condition (six items, α¼0.86), Event
Amenity Activities (three items, α¼0.76), and Facility Accessibility Convenience (two items,
α¼0.81). The factor loadings ranged from 0.62 to 0.86. For the three fan identification
variables, one factor emerged with a total of 81.2 percent variance explained (three items,
α¼0.89). The factor loadings ranged from 0.88 to 0.92. For the destination image variables,
three factors emerged with 16 items retained, with a total of 59.3 percent of the variance
explained. These factors were labeled as Infrastructure Elements (eight items, α¼0.90),
Enjoyment Activities ( four items, α¼0.73), and Cultural Attraction ( four items, α¼0.77). The
factor loadings ranged from 0.56 to 0.80. For the behavioral response variables, two factors
emerged with six items meeting the retention criteria, with a total of 72.5 percent of the
variance explained. Two factors were labeled Stay at Event (three items, α¼0.83) and
Intention of Re-patronage (three items, α¼0.77). The factor loadings ranged from 0.71 to 0.90.
Conducting the CFA with maximum likelihood estimation by using the second half of the
data set, the following model fit indices for core product feature variables were obtained,
including the minimum sample discrepancy divided by degrees of freedom (CMIN/DF ¼1.17),
comparative fit index (CFI ¼0.93), standardized root m ean square residual (SRMR ¼0.06), and
root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA ¼0.065 with a 90 percent CI ¼0.04-0.06),
which were all within the acceptable range (CMIN/DF o5.0, CFI W0.90, SRMR o0.10,
RMSEAo0.08) (Bollen, 1989; Kline, 2005). The values of Cronbach’sα(i.e. α¼from 0.71
to 0.77), composite reliability (i.e. CR ¼from 0.73 to 0.84), and average variance extracted
(i.e. AVE ¼from 0.47 to 0.57) were also well above the recommended cutoff criteria, indicating
Variables Mean SD Skewness Kurtosis
Behavioral intentions
I enjoy spending time at this event 5.84 1.07 −1.02 1.14
I like to stay at this facility as long as possible 5.50 1.27 −1.01 1.13
I like to stay for the entire event 5.57 1.35 −1.18 1.22
I will attend this event again next year 5.40 1.51 −1.11 0.77
I will attend this event held in other countries next year 5.33 1.54 −1.01 0.49
I will attend this event held in another country at least one more during
this year 4.99 1.77 −0.81 −0.27
Notes: n=512 Table I.
205
Malaysia
Grand Prix
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
that the items within the measurement model were both valid and reliable (Fornell and
Larcker, 1981). However, one AVE value for the Race Context factor was slightly below the
suggested standard of 0.50 (i.e. 0.47 for Race Context). Considering the high αand CR values of
this factor, the slightly low AVE value was not of great concern for the factor.
For the peripheral service factors, the following indices were obtained, including
CMIN/DF ¼3.19, CFI ¼0.92, SRMR ¼0.07, and RMSEA ¼0.09 (90 percent CI ¼0.07-0.10),
which were all acceptable. All of the values of α( from 0.72 to 0.88), CR ( from 0.75 to 0.88),
and AVE ( from 0.50 to 0.67) were also acceptable. Similarly for the destination image
variables, CMIN/DF ¼2.95, CFI ¼0.91, SRMR ¼0.05, and RMSEA ¼0.08 (90 percent
CI ¼0.07-0.09) were all acceptable and the values of α( from 0.77 to 0.90), CR ( from 0.80 to
0.90), and AVE ( from 0.50 to 0.53) were also acceptable. In addition, for the behavioral
response and fan identification variables, all of the validity and reliability values were
acceptable (Table II). Table III shows inter-factor correlations among the constructs, which
ranged from −0.10 to 0.63 and were all below 0.85, a threshold of ensuring between-factor
discriminant validity.
Research hypotheses were tested by conducting SEM analyses, which revealed that the
data fit the proposed structural model well (Figure 2). The fit indices included
CMIN/DF ¼1.46, CFI ¼0.90, RMSEA ¼0.04 (90 percent CI ¼0.04-0.05), and SRMR ¼0.05,
which were all within the acceptable range. A second-order core product feature factor had a
significantly ( po0.01) positive influence on both of spectators’continuous Stay at Event
(β¼0.22) and spectators’Intention of Re-patronage to the same event ( β¼0.41). The fan
identification factor had a significantly ( po0.01) positive influence on spectators’
continuous Stay at Event and Intention of Re-patronage, with large effect sizes ( β¼0.53;
β¼0.63), respectively. A second-order peripheral service factor was found to have minimum
influence on Intention of Re-patronage ( β¼−0.15, po0.05) and no influence spectators’
Stay at Event ( β¼−0.07, pW0.05). Although the effect size was small, the destination
image had a significantly ( po0.01) positive influence on spectators’continuous
Stay at Event ( β¼0.15); yet, it did not influence spectators’Intention of Re-patronage
(β¼−0.03, pW0.05). The tested model explained approximately 45 percent of the variance
in spectators’continuous Stay at Event and approximately 60 percent of variance in
spectators’Intention of Re-patronage.
Discussion
Adapting the product-expand concept illustrated by Levitt (1980) and Kotler (1991), this
study proposed an ecological parameter model examine the systematic influence of key
within-racetrack and beyond-racetrack concepts and factors affecting spectatorship and
tourism behavior of a F1 event held in Malaysia, a country with a growing economy and
most importantly, a growing sport industry. Hypotheses were tested on the potentially
positive impact of core product features, event operation quality, sport fan identification,
and image of host city as a tourism destination on spectators’desire to stay and
re-patronage intentions. The findings revealed that core product features and sport fan
identification were significantly predictive of spectators’desire to stay and intention for
re-patronage. However, although peripheral service activities are critical for successfully
staging a F1 event in a practical sense, they were not most critical for retaining and
attracting spectators, at least not for international spectators coming to a F1 event Malaysia,
which is a relatively new market environment for the Grand Prix. Destination image had
some impact on the desire to stay at the event, but not on re-patronage. Thus, H1 and H2
were fully supported; H4 was partially supported, and H3 was not supported in this study.
The findings have provided some interesting implications for both theoretical development
and practical applications. For a hallmark sport event held in a developing economy with a
growing sport industry, it appears that it is still the tangible and intangible factors that are
206
IJSMS
19,2
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
Factor and items Loadings αCR AVE
Race Context 0.72 0.77 0.84 0.47
Commendation ceremony (e.g. Podium) 0.74
Safety car (support car) 0.75
Pit stop (e.g. Pit work; change tires) 0.69
Fickle weather 0.66
Landscape of the circuit (i.e. Esthetic design) 0.63
Lap time (e.g. opening Lap, fastest lap) 0.62
Race Nature 0.73 0.72 0.76 0.51
Overtake thrills 0.71
Speed of the race 0.73
Start position (e.g. Pole position) 0.70
Automobile Action 0.81 0.71 0.78 0.54
Machine quality (e.g. engine, tire, body etc […]) 0.78
Driver’s technique 0.76
Engine sound 0.65
Information Que 0.56 0.77 0.76 0.52
Announcer performance (e.g. progress of race) 0.80
Digital scoreboards (e.g. electric screen) 0.70
Ticket affordability 0.64
Team Brand 0.73 0.71 0.73 0.57
Team brand (e.g. Ferrari, Red Bull, team strategy etc […]) 0.71
Team driver (e.g. Hamilton) 0.80
first-order Facor: CMIN/DF ¼1.71, CFI ¼0.93, SRMR ¼0.06, RMSEA ¼0.05 (90% CI ¼0.04-0.06)
Second-order Factor: CMIN/DF ¼1.63, CFI ¼0.94, SRMR ¼0.06, RMSEA ¼0.05 (90% CI ¼0.04-0.06)
Circuit Service Condition 0.70 0.88 0.88 0.56
Restroom availability 0.83
Staff courtesy 0.77
Facility cleanliness 0.81
Event security 0.66
Ease of entrance 0.68
Enough signs directing to various necessities 0.71
Event Amenity Activities 0.77 0.72 0.75 0.50
Souvenir shop (e.g. memorial goods) 0.72
Entertainment activities (variety events, exhibition booth) 0.71
Food/Drink quality (e.g. variety, taste, amount) 0.69
Facility Accessibility Convenience 0.70 0.79 0.80 0.67
Shuttle bus availability 0.72
Parking convenience 0.90
First-order factor: CMIN/DF ¼3.19, CFI ¼0.92, SRMR ¼0.07, RMSEA ¼0.09 (90% CI ¼0.07-0.10)
Second-order factor: CMIN/DF ¼3.19, CFI ¼0.92, SRMR ¼0.07, RMSEA ¼0.09 (90% CI ¼0.07-0.10)
Infrastructure Elements 0.80 0.90 0.90 0.53
Hospitable, friendly people 0.73
Readily available travel information 0.78
A good name and reputation 0.76
Convenient transportation 0.75
A clean country 0.76
A safe destination 0.68
Beautiful scenery/natural attractions 0.63
A family oriented destination 0.69
Enjoyment Activities 0.79 0.77 0.80 0.50
A crowded country 0.68
Highly urbanized 0.78
Many shopping facilities 0.68
Good night life and entertainment 0.68
(continued )
Table II.
Indicator loadings,
critical ratios,
Cronbach’sα,
construct reliability,
average variance
extracted for the
measurement model
207
Malaysia
Grand Prix
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
directly related to the core product (Zhang, 2015) of the F1 event and they are critical to
draw spectators, particularly those from international communities. It is important that
event organizers and tourism marketers need to pay attention to this notion.
Consumer expectations toward the attributes of the core product differ depending on
consumer needs and wants. Previous studies have examined factors affecting viewing
demand principally for professional sports (Byon et al., 2013), baseball (Braunstein et al.,
2005), action sports (Tsuji et al., 2007), Taekwondo (Kim, Zhang, and Ko, 2009), ice hockey
(Zhang et al., 1997), and golf (Watanabe et al., 2013). These studies revealed that the core
Factor and items Loadings αCR AVE
Cultural Attraction 0.78 0.80 0.81 0.52
Exotic atmosphere and culture 0.83
Exotic cuisine 0.73
Many cultural attractions (e.g. Historical sites and museums) 0.72
Good weather 0.57
first-order Facor: CMIN/DF ¼2.95, CFI ¼0.91, SRMR ¼0.05, RMSEA ¼0.08 (90% CI ¼0.07-0.09)
Second-order Factor: CMIN/DF ¼2.95, CFI ¼0.91, SRMR ¼0.05, RMSEA ¼0.08 (90% CI ¼0.07-0.09)
Stay at Event 0.79 0.80 0.59
I enjoy spending time at this event 0.58
I like to stay at this facility as long as possible 0.86
I like to stay for the entire event 0.82
Intention of Re-patronage 0.84 0.85 0.66
I will attend this event again next year 0.68
I will attend this event held in other countries next year 0.92
I will attend this event held in another country at least one more during this year 0.83
Fan Identification 0.89 0.89 0.74
I consider myself to be a real fan of the F1 0.79
Being a fan of the F1 is very important to me 0.93
I would experience a feeling of "loss" if I had to stop being a fan of the F1 0.84
Table II.
Factors 1234567891011121314
1. Race Context −
2. Race Nature 0.29 −
3. Automoble Action 0.10 0.15 −
4. Information Que 0.46 0.47 0.13 −
5. Team Brand 0.35 0.46 0.16 0.39 −
6. Circuit Service
Condition 0.05 0.25 0.58 0.17 0.17 −
7. Event Amenity
Activities 0.14 0.18 0.39 0.15 0.13 0.47 −
8. Facility Accessibility
Convenience 0.06 0.19 0.23 0.07 0.09 0.37 0.37 −
9. Infrastructure
Elements 0.27 0.25 −0.01 0.13 0.11 0.01 0.03 0.18 −
10. Enjoyment Activities 0.33 0.16 0.09 0.21 0.19 0.08 0.09 0.08 0.50 −
11. Cultural Attraction −0.01 0.12 0.22 0.04 0.10 0.31 0.26 0.18 −0.01 0.01 −
12. Fan Identification 0.40 0.28 0.02 0.17 0.25 0.02 0.07 0.05 0.14 0.13 −0.05 −
13. Stay at Event 0.42 0.20 −0.06 0.18 0.11 −0.02 0.13 0.13 0.24 0.20 −0.03 0.54 −
14. Intention of
Re-patronage 0.52 0.21 −0.05 0.19 0.21 −0.03 0.03 0.02 0.16 0.14 −0.10 0.63 0.54 −
Mean 5.30 5.97 5.65 5.72 5.79 5.72 5.39 5.04 5.69 5.67 5.56 5.40 5.63 5.26
SD 0.94 0.85 1.02 1.05 1.08 0.98 1.09 1.87 0.76 0.90 1.00 1.36 1.06 1.42
Table III.
Inter-concept
correlations among
core product,
peripheral service, fan
identification,
destination image, and
behavioral intentions
208
IJSMS
19,2
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
product of each sport event has an impact on spectators’desire to stay and re-patronage
intentions. The findings of the current study were consistent with these indications.
With respect to the core product, it makes a reasonable sense that speed of the race,
overtake, team driver, and driver’s technique are common variables affecting spectator
attendance. In fact, SIC has a characteristically wide track and long straights leading into
tight corners that promote overtaking and allow for thrilling battles. In addition, Kim et al.
(2013) suggested that it would be constructive for F1 event host cities to highlight
high-achieving drivers and/or their teams when promoting the event through building
individualized, psychological connections between consumers and drivers. More so than
ever, a F1 event needs to feature the best drivers and encourage drivers to engage with fans
to revitalize the sport and improve the spectacle and appeal of F1.
In Wakefield and Sloan’s (1995) research, the moderating factor of sport fan
identification was found to be strongly influential of one’s desire to stay and re-patronage.
Of particular note in their study is that this cognitive-affective concept had a stronger
influence on staying at the event and re-patronage intentions than any factor(s).
The findings in the current were in fact quite similar. Choe et al. (2017) studied visitors’
consumption benefits of the F1 Korea Grand Prix event by using the customer
value model, which revealed that sport identification (i.e. F1 identification) affected the
number of F1 events previously visited, event satisfaction, and future behaviors;
apparently, sport fan identification with F1 played an important role in consumer
behavior. This notion is supported by the fact that 36 percent of spectators watched every
session during the grand prix weekend and nearly 65 percent of them had been following
F1 for at least 15 years (Full Formula 1 fan survey results revealed, 2015). In other words,
F1 is supported by enthusiastic fans, and the findings of this study also helped verify
these perspectives.
Numerous researchers have reported that destination image would predict behavioral
intentions, including revisit intentions and willingness to recommend to others (e.g. Gibson
et al., 2008; Liu and Gratton, 2010; Byon and Zhang, 2010). For instance, Byon and Zhang (2010)
Stay
Re-
patronage
Core
product
RC
RN
AA
IQ
Fan
identification
EAA
Peripheral
service
Destination
image
Notes: n= 256. CMIN/DF =1.46, CFI = 0.90, RMSEA= 0.04 (90% CI = 0.04-0.05), SRMR= 0.05.
RC, race context, RN, race nature, AA, automobile action, IQ, information que, TB, team brand,
CSC, circuit service condition, EAA, event amenity activities, FAC, facility accessibility
convenience, IE, infrastructure elements, EA, enjoyment activities, CA, cultural attraction; solid
lines indicate significant paths; dashed line indicates insignificant paths. **p<0.01
FAC
CSC
EA
CA
IE
R2=0.45
R2=0.60
–0.07
–0.03
0.22**
0.84**
0.68**
0.67**
0.50**
0.77**
0.87**
0.60**
0.81**
0.70**
0.77**
TB
0.75**
0.53** 0.15**
0.63**
0.41** –0.15**
Figure 2.
Model for the Formula
One spectator’s
response using second
half data
209
Malaysia
Grand Prix
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
found that destination image was positively predictive of tourism behavioral intentions.
Liu and Gratton (2010) suggested that the affective destination image is subjective and more
likely to be influenced by mega sports events like the F1, which are by their nature highly
emotional and associated with symbolic meanings. However, in this study destination image
only affected the desire to stay. In other words, sport spectators seemed to lean on the
destination image that they had already formed. It appears necessary that the destination
should help international spectators form a new image of the place as a hallmark event host
city so that new destination images could nurture future visit intentions. Although not
examined in the current investigation, a positive stay experience at the event may play a role of
mediation effect in future event attendance, which deserves future research attentions.
For instance, Kaplanidou et al. (2012) suggested that behavioral intentions to participate in the
event in the future were predicted by the destination atmosphere and event characteristics,
which was a finding that underlines the focus on the relevant of studying multiple aspects of
consumption, experience, and destination.
Peripheral service activities at the F1 event involved providing quality event operations,
game support programs, and service activities to meet the needs of both domestic and
international spectators. Tickets for F1 are generally expensive. After making a big
payment, many spectators expect to enjoy high quality service. However, the fact that
peripheral services were negatively related to re-patronage indicated that spectators tend to
be less satisfied with facility accessibility convenience and event amenity. In fact, some of
these items were evaluated lower than the other peripheral service items. This finding
indicates that negative discrepancy existed between customer’s perception of service
quality and that expectation. While spectatorship may not be driven by peripheral services,
under-delivery could potentially have detrimental effect over a long run. Although
peripheral services were not found to be of high relevance to behavioral intentions in the
current study, their importance cannot be overlooked. Efficiently identifying the needs and
wants of spectators and visitors and formulating strategies to satisfy those needs
and wants are important in improving the event quality (Zhang et al., 2004). For sport
tourists who travel to attend sport events, the racetrack with actions such as applause,
cheers, booing, and shouting, the fan fares that elaborate ideas and plans, food service,
merchandising, staff performance, and other event experiences can all be deemed relevant
and important (Bitner, 1992; Wakefield and Sloan, 1995; Zhang et al., 2003). For example,
Kim, Park and Kim (2016), Kim, Yim, Byon, Yu, Lee and Park (2016) argued that a shortage
of restrooms could result in long waits, preventing spectators from following the quick
changes that occur in F1 racing. Spectators who have already attended and had a negative
experience with event services may be hesitant to attend the event again. Negative
experiences at an event site are likely to reduce a patron’s desire to remain at the event and
perhaps cause him or her to leave the event early and avoid returning to similar events
in the future.
Conclusion
A by-product of this study was the development of a questionnaire assessing consumer
behavior of international spectators at a F1 event held in a marketplace with growing
economy and sport industry, which is located in southeastern Asia. While all of the concepts
included in the current study already existed in the literature and helped guided the study,
most of the items for the core product features and peripheral services of event operation
were written and tested for the current study, reflecting the specific research context as
proposed by Ballouli et al. (2016), Kim et al. (2013), and Zhang (2015), among others.
The resolved factor structures and the labels for these two concepts were also unique to the
research context. Although measures for sport fan identification, destination image, and
behavioral intentions closely followed existing scales, some adaptations had to be made and
210
IJSMS
19,2
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
most importantly, the measurement properties of these modified scales were tested in the
specific setting of the current study. With the sound characteristics of the measures, the
questionnaire can be readily applied in future research investigations in the same and
similar context and environment. Nonetheless, the questionnaire was developed for study
international visitors at the F1 event. Modifications would be necessary if it is adopted for
studying domestic sport consumers.
The F1 race in Malaysia has helped promote the country as a world-class sporting
destination, as well as a global tourist destination. However, Malaysia Government
has recently announced that it will end the contract to host the F1 race after 2018
(Awaina, 2017). Although Malaysia has spent around $97 million a year to organize the F1
race at the SIC, the return on investment has not been up to par. In particular, attendance
has fallen overtime, with Malaysian officials revealing that the circuit, which can
accommodate 120,000 fans, drew just 45,000 spectators in the 2016 grand prix. TV ratings
have also been going down. While the findings of this study may be a bit late to help solve
consumer behavior issues faced by the organizers of the F1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix,
they can be timely for F1 events in similar market environment, preventing them from
falling. Also, many other events held in Malaysia or the geographical region, such as the
Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix and Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race, can learn from
the knowledge gained in the current study. In fact, F1 fans first and foremost continue to
support the Motorcycle Grand Prix (43.6 percent) and World Endurance Championship
(38.5 percent) in big numbers (Motor Sport Network; Global F1 Fan Survey, 2017).
The Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix has hosted the F4 SEA Championship’s first event of the
2017-2018 seasons. Based on the findings of this study, it appears that important for a motor
sport event not only to offer a great show in terms of racing but also to attract the
interest of the younger generations and make them feel closer to motor sport grass roots
(Formula1.com, 2017). Also, developing Asian drivers in Malaysia could nurture the
potential for a come back of F1 in Malaysia again.
This study was limited to a sample of international spectators at one F1 hallmark event
held in Malaysia. It is necessary to conduct similar studies in other types of motor sports in
order to increase the generalizability of the research findings and elevate the level of
conceptualization for forming useful theories. When studying sport fan psychology, only
fan identification was included in this study; future studies should consider other aspects of
sport fan motivations, such as entertainment, eustress and stimulation, escape, and
catharsis (e.g. Pease and Zhang, 2001; Robinson et al., 2004; Wakefield and Sloan, 1995).
Similarly, diverse tourist roles, purposes, and segmentations according to various
background variables should be included and integrated into future studies.
References
Ajzen, I. (1991), “The theory of planned behavior”,Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes, Vol. 50 No. 2, pp. 179-211.
Aman, M.S. (2007), “Globalisation and its economic contribution to leisure and sport tourism in
Malaysia”,SEA Games Scientific Congress and 5th ASPASP International Congress on Sport
Psychology,Bangkok, December 1-4.
Akil, A. (2008), “Investment in F1 sports: issues, impacts and opportunities”,1st Commonwealth
Conference on Sport Tourism,Kota Kinabalu,May 13-15.
Aminuddin, Y. and Parilah, M.S. (2008), “Globalization and the Malaysia sports industry”,Research
Journal of International Studies, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 114-116.
Anderson, D.R. and Gerbing, D.W. (1988), “Structural equation modeling in practice: a review and
recommended two-step approach”,Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 103 No. 3, pp. 411-423.
211
Malaysia
Grand Prix
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
Awaina, A. (2017), “No more F1 races in Malaysia from 2018”,New Straits Times, April 4, available at:
www.nst.com.my/news/2017/04/228119/no-more-f1-races-malaysia-2018 (accessed June 8, 2017).
Autosport.com (2015), “Full Formula 1 fan survey results revealed”, available at: www.autosport.com/
f1/news/120142/full-f1-fan-survey-results-revealed (accessed June 3, 2017).
Ballouli, K., Trail, G.T., Koesters, T.C. and Bernthal, M.J. (2016), “Differential effects of motives and
points of attachment on conative loyalty of formula 1 US grand prix attendees”,Sport Marketing
Quarterly, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 166-181.
Bitner, M.J. (1992), “Servicescapes: the impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees”,
Journal of Marketing, Vol. 56 No. 2, pp. 57-71.
Bollen, K.A. (1989), Structural Equations with Latent Variables, Wiley, New York, NY.
Braunstein, J.R., Zhang, J.J., Trail, G.T. and Gibson, H.J. (2005), “Dimensions of market demand
associated with major league baseball spring training: development of a scale”,Sport
Management Review, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 271-296.
Byon, K.K. and Zhang, J.J. (2010), “Development of a scale measuring destination image”,Marketing
Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 508-532.
Byon, K.K., Zhang, J.J. and Baker, T.A. (2013), “Impact of core and peripheral service quality on
consumption behavior of professional team sport spectators as mediated by perceived value”,
European Sport Management Quarterly, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 232-263.
Chen, P. (2007), “Sport tourists’loyalty: a conceptual model”,Journal of Sport & Tourism, Vol. 11
Nos 3-4, pp. 1-37.
Choe, Y., Park, H.Y. and Kim, D.K. (2017), “Holding or not holding a mega-event: case of the F1 Korea
grand prix”,Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 88-98.
Crompton, J.L. (1979), “Motivations for pleasure vacation”,Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 6 No. 4,
pp. 408-424.
Cronin, J.J. and Taylor, S.A. (1992), “Measuring service quality: a re-examination and extension”,
Journal of Marketing, Vol. 56 No. 3, pp. 56-68.
Cronin, J.J., Brady, M.K. and Hult, G.T.M. (2000), “Assessing the effects of quality, value, and customer
satisfaction on consumer behavioral intentions in service environments”,Journal of Retailing,
Vol. 76 No. 2, pp. 193-218.
Din, K.H. (1982), “Tourism in Malaysia competing needs in a plural society”,Annals of Tourism
Research, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 453-480.
Fairley, S. (2003), “In search of relived social experience: group-based nostalgia sport tourism”,Journal
of Sport Management, Vol. 17 No. 3, pp. 284-304.
Fairley, S., Green, B.C. and Chalip, L. (2014), “The effects of commitment and identification on
consumption”,Journal of Sport & Tourism, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 55-78.
Fairley, S., Tyler, B.D., Kellett, P. and D’Elia, K. (2011), “The Formula One Australian grand prix:
exploring the triple bottom line”,Sport Management Review, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 141-152.
Fishbein, M. and Ajzen, I. (1975), Belief. Attitude, Intention and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory
and Research Reading, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
Fisher, R.J. and Wakefield, K. (1998), “Factors leading to group identification: a field study of winners
and losers”,Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 23-40.
Formula1.com (2017), “Bumper support programme confirmed for final Malaysia grand prix”,
Formula1.com, July 4, available at: www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2017/7/bumper-
support-race-programme-confirmed-for-final-malaysia-grand.html (accessed July 9, 2017).
Fornell, C. and Larcker, D.F. (1981), “Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable
variables and measurement error”,Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 39-50.
Getz, D. (2008), “Event tourism: definition, evolution, and research”,Tourism Management, Vol. 29
No. 3, pp. 403-428.
212
IJSMS
19,2
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
Gibson, H.J., Qi, C.X. and Zhang, J.J. (2008), “Destination image and intent to visit China and the 2008
Beijing Olympic games”,Journal of Sport Management, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 427-450.
Gibson, H.J., Willming, C. and Holdnak, A. (2003), “Small-scale event sport tourism: fans as tourists”,
Tourism Management, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 181-190.
Greenwell, T.C., Fink, J.S. and Pastore, D.L. (2002), “Assessing the influence of the physical sports
facility on customer satisfaction within the context of the service experience”,Sport
Management Review, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 129-148.
Grönroos, C. (1984), “A service quality model and its marketing implications”,European Journal of
Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 36-44.
Habibi, F. (2017), “The determinants of inbound tourism to Malaysia: a panel data analysis”,Current
Issues in Tourism, Vol. 20 No. 9, pp. 909-930.
Hansen, H. and Gauthier, R. (1989), “Factors affecting attendance at professional sport events”,Journal
of Sport Management, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 15-32.
Hill, B. and Green, B.C. (2000), “Repeat attendance as a function of involvement, loyalty, and the
sportscape across three football contexts”,Sport Management Review, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 145-162.
Hinch, T.D. and Higham, J.E. (2001), “Sport tourism: a framework for research”,International Journal of
Tourism Research, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 45-58.
Irwin, R.L. and Sandler, M.A. (1998), “An analysis of travel behavior and event-induced expenditures
among American collegiate championship patron groups”,Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 4
No. 1, pp. 78-90.
Kaiser, H.F. (1974), “An index of factorial simplicity”,Psychometrika, Vol. 39 No. 1, pp. 31-36.
Kaplanidou, K. (2009), “Relationships among behavioral intentions, cognitive event and destination
images among different geographic regions of Olympic Games spectators”,Journal of Sport &
Tourism, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 249-272.
Kaplanidou, K., Jordan, J.S., Funk, D. and Rindinger, L.L. (2012), “Recurring sport events and
destination image perceptions: impact on active sport tourist behavioral intentions and place
attachment”,Journal of Sport Management, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 237-248.
Kaplanidou, K. and Vogt, C. (2007), “The interrelationship between sport event and destination
image and sport tourists’behaviors”,Journal of Sport & Tourism, Vol. 12 Nos 3-4,
pp. 183-206.
Kelly, S.W. and Turley, L.W. (2001), “Consumer perceptions of service quality attributes at sporting
events”,Journal of Business Research, Vol. 54 No. 2, pp. 161-166.
Kim, S.K., Byon, K.K., Yu, J.G., Zhang, J.J. and Kim, C. (2013), “Social motivations and consumption
behavior of spectators attending a Formula One motor-racing event”,Social Behavior and
Personality, Vol. 41 No. 8, pp. 1359-1377.
Kim, S.K., Park, J.A. and Kim, W. (2016), “The mediating effect of destination image on the relationship
between spectator satisfaction and behavioral intentions at an international sporting event”,
Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 273-292.
Kim, M.K., Zhang, J.J. and Ko, Y.J. (2009), “Dimensions of market demand associated with Taekwondo
schools in North America: development of a scale”,Sport Management Review, Vol. 12 No. 3,
pp. 149-166.
Kim, S.K., Yim, B.H., Byon, K.K., Yu, J.G., Lee, S.M. and Park, J.A. (2016), “Spectator perception of
service quality attributes associated with Shanghai Formula One: importance and performance
analysis approach”,International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Vol. 17 No. 2,
pp. 153-171.
Kline, R.B. (2005), Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling, 2nd ed., Guilford, New York, NY.
Kolb, B.M. (2006), Tourism Marketing for Cities and Towns: Using Branding and Events to Attract
Tourism, Elsevier, Oxford.
Kotler, P. (1991), Marketing Management, 7th ed., Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
213
Malaysia
Grand Prix
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
Levitt, T. (1980), “Marketing success through differentiation of anything”,Harvard Business Review,
Vol. 59 No. 3, pp. 94-102.
Liu, D. and Gratton, C. (2010), “The impact of mega sporting events on live spectators’images of a host
city: a case study of the Shanghai F1 grand prix”,Tourism Economics, Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 629-645.
Madrigal, R. (1995), “Cognitive and affective determinants of fan satisfaction with sporting event
attendance”,Journal of Leisure Research, Vol. 27 No. 3, pp. 202-227.
Mahony, D.F., Madrigal, R. and Howard, D.A. (2000), “Using the psychological commitment to team
(PCT) scale to segment sport consumers based on loyalty”,Sport Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 9
No. 1, pp. 15-25.
Milman, A. and Pizam, A. (1995), “The role of awareness and familiarity with a destination: the central
Florida case”,Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 33 No. 3, pp. 21-27.
Mohamad, M., Ali, A.M. and Ab Ghani, N.I. (2011), “A structural model of destination image, tourists’
satisfaction and destination loyalty”,International Journal of Business and Management Studies,
Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 167-177.
Motor Sport Network (2017), “Formula1
Ⓡ
in 2017 Global fan insight into the world’s largest annual
sporting series (2005-2017)”, Motor Sport Network.
Mullin, B.J., Hardy, S. and Sutton, W.A. (2014), Sport Marketing, 4th ed., Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL.
Nunnally, J.C. and Bernstein, I.H. (1994), Psychometric Theory, 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
Official Race Programme (2014), “Formula 1 petronas Malaysia grand prix official F1
®
race
programme”, available at: www.formula1.com (accessed December 1, 2014).
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1988), “SERVQUAL: a multiple item scale for
measuring consumer perceptions of service quality”,Journal of Retailing, Vol. 64 No. 1, pp. 12-40.
Pease, D.G. and Zhang, J.J. (2001), “Socio-motivational factors affecting spectator attendance at
professional basketball games”,International Journal of Sport Management,Vol.2No.1,pp.31-59.
Robinson, M.J., Trail, G.T. and Kwon, H. (2004), “Motives and points of attachment of professional golf
spectators”,Sport Management Review, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 167-192.
Schofield, J.A. (1983), “Performance and attendance at professional team sports”,Journal of Sport
Behavior, Vol. 6 No. 4, pp. 196-206.
Silk, M. and Andrews, D.L. (2001), “Beyond a boundary? Sport, transnational advertising, and the
reimagining of national culture”,Journal of Sport and Social Issues, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 180-201.
Smith, A.C. and Stewart, B. (2007), “The travelling fan: understanding the mechanisms of sport fan
consumption in a sport tourism setting”,Journal of Sport & Tourism, Vol. 12 Nos 3-4,
pp. 155-181.
Taks, M., Chalip, L., Green, B.C., Kesenne, S. and Martyn, S. (2009), “Factors affecting repeat visitation
and flow-on tourism as sources of event strategy sustainability”,Journal of Sport & Tourism,
Vol. 14 Nos 2-3, pp. 121-142.
Tourism Malaysia (2017), “Malaysia’s 2016 tourist arrivals grow 4.0%”, available at: www.tourism.
gov.my/media/view/malaysia-s-2016-tourist-arrivals-grow-4-0 (accessed June 6, 2017).
Trail, G.T., Anderson, D.F. and Fink, J.S. (2000), “A theoretical model of sport spectator consumption
behavior”,International Journal of Sport Management, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 154-180.
Trail, G.T., Robinson, M.J., Dick, R.J. and Gillentine, A.J. (2003), “Motives and points of attachment:
fans versus spectators in intercollegiate athletics”,Sport Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 12 No. 4,
pp. 217-227.
Tsuji, Y., Bennett, G. and Dees, W. (2011), “Exploring the effects of sportscape at a professional tennis
tournament”,International Journal of Sport Management, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 33-49.
Tsuji, Y., Bennett, G. and Zhang, J. (2007), “Consumer satisfaction with an action sports event”,Sport
Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 199-208.
Turco, D.M., Riley, R. and Swart, K. (2002), Sport Tourism, Fitness Information Technology, Inc.,
Morgantown, WV.
214
IJSMS
19,2
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
Wakefield, K.L. and Blodgett, J.G. (1996), “The effect of servicescape on customers’behavioral
intentions in leisure service settings”,Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 10 No. 6, pp. 45-61.
Wakefield, K.L., Blodgett, J.G. and Sloan, H. (1996), “Measurement and management of the sportscape”,
Journal of Sport Management, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 15-31.
Wakefield, K.L. and Sloan, H. (1995), “The effects of team loyalty and selected stadium factors on
spectator attendance”,Journal of Sport Management, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 153-172.
Walmsley, D.J. and Young, M. (1998), “Evaluative images and tourism: the use of personal constructs to
describe the structure of destination images”,Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 65-69.
Watanabe, Y., Matsumoto, K. and Nogawa, H. (2013), “Variables influencing spectators’desire to stay
at a professional golf tournament In Japan”,Contemporary Management Research, Vol. 9 No. 3,
pp. 283-298.
World Development Report (2014), Risk and Opportunity-Managing Risk for Development, The World
Bank, Washington, DC.
World Tourism Organization (2013), “UNWTO tourism highlights 2013 edition”, available at: http://
mkt.unwto.org/en/publication/unwto-tourism-highlights2013-edition (accessed June 10, 2017).
World Travel and Tourism Council (2015), “Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Malaysia”, World
Travel and Tourism Council, London.
World Travel and Tourism Council (2016), “Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Malaysia”, World
Travel and Tourism Council, London.
World Travel and Tourism Council (2017), “Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Malaysia”, World
Travel and Tourism Council, London.
Xing, X. and Chalip, L. (2006), “Effects of hosting a sport event on destination brand: a test of
co-branding and match-up models”,Sport Management Review, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 49-78.
Yoshida, M. and James, J.D. (2010), “Customer satisfaction with game and service experiences:
antecedents and consequences”,Journal of Sport Management, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 338-361.
Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L. and Parasuraman, A. (1996), “The behavioral consequences of service
quality”,Journal of Marketing, Vol. 60 No. 2, pp. 31-46.
Zhang, J.J. (2015), “What to study? That is a question: a conscious thought analysis”,Journal of Sport
Management, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 1-10.
Zhang, J.J., Kim, M. and Pifer, N.D. (2015), “Importance of theory in quantitative inquiry”,
in Cunningham, G.B., Fink, J. and Doherty, A. (Eds), Handbook of Theory and Theory
Development in Sport Management, Routledge, London, pp. 9-20.
Zhang, J.J., Lam, E.T.C. and Connaughton, D.P. (2003), “General market demand variables associated
with professional sport consumption”,International Journal of Sports Marketing and
Sponsorship, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 33-55.
Zhang, J.J., Lam, E.T.C., Connaughton, D.P., Bennett, G. and Smith, D.W. (2005), “Development of a
scale to measure spectator satisfaction toward support programs of minor league hockey
games”,International Journal of Sport Management, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 47-70.
Zhang, J.J., Pease, D.G., Hui, S.C. and Michaud, T.J. (1995), “Variables affecting the spectator decision to
attend NBA games”,Sport Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 29-39.
Zhang, J.J., Pease, D.G., Smith, D.W., Lee, J.T., Lam, E.T.C. and Jambor, E.A. (1997), “Factors affecting
the decision making to attend minor league hockey games”,International Sports Journal, Vol. 1
No. 1, pp. 40-49.
Zhang, J.J., Pease, D.G., Smith, D.W., Wall, K.A., Saffici, C.L., Pennington-Gray, L. and Connaughton, D.P.
(2004), “Spectator satisfaction with the support programs of professional basketball games”,
in Pitts, B.G. (Ed.), Sharing Best Practices in Sport Marketing, Fitness Information Technology,
Morgantown, WV, pp. 207-229.
Zhang, J.J., Wall, K.A. and Smith, D.W. (2000), “To go or not? Relationship of selected variables to game
attendance of professional basketball season ticket holders”,International Journal of Sport
Management, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 200-226.
215
Malaysia
Grand Prix
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
About the authors
Yasuhiro Watanabe is an Associate Professor of Sport Management in the Department of Sport
Business administration at the Hiroshima University of Economics, Japan. Yasuhiro Watanabe is the
corresponding author and can be contacted at: ys-wata@hue.ac.jp
Cassendra Gilbert is a PhD Candidate of Safety Management System in Sports in the Sport Centre
at the University of Malaya, Malaysia.
Mohd Salleh Aman is an Associate Professor of Sport and Recreation Management in the Sports
Centre at the University of Malaya, Malaysia.
James J. Zhang is a Professor of Sport Management in the Department of Kinesiology at the
University of Georgia, USA.
For instructions on how to order reprints of this article, please visit our website:
www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/licensing/reprints.htm
Or contact us for further details: permissions@emeraldinsight.com
216
IJSMS
19,2
Downloaded by University of Georgia At 16:55 08 May 2018 (PT)
