ABSTRACT
Much of the research on consumers’ involvement in sports distinguishes between participation and spectatorship (for a review, see Burnett, Menon, & Smart, 1993). In a seminal segmentation study, Shoham and Kahle (1996) went one step further by subdividing and analyzing these two traditional categories. Within the two categories, they identified three “communication communities” and three “consumption communities.”Thefirst consumption community includes those who engage in competitive sports (either team or individual), the second includes those who participate in fitness sports (e.g., jogging), and the third includes thosewho participate in nature-related sports (e.g., fishing). Communication communities include those who attend live sport events (spectators), those whowatch sports on television (viewers), and those who read sports magazines (readers). Through analysis of a consumer survey, Shoham and Kahle found that members of different consumption communities tend to belong to different communication communities.
