Segmenting the Canadian Hockey Market: An Exploratory Study

Peter Yannopoulos

A segmentation study was conducted to investigate the motivational factors of spectators of hockey games in Canada. Social identity and certain motivational factors were used to understand hockey fan behavior. A survey was conducted, and the results were analyzed using principal component and K-means cluster analysis. Based on the results, the study grouped survey participants into five segments: “Rational/Selective Fans”, “Genuine-passionate fans”, “Indifferent hockey fans”, “Rational/passionate fans” and “Casual socialite fans.” The results contribute to the extant literature on hockey attendance behavior and have practical implications for the design of marketing strategy of hockey clubs.

DOI : https://doi.org/10.21102/wjm.2018.09.92.01