The demand for women’s league football in Germany

Meier, H.E., Konjer, M. & Leinwather, M.

Forschungsartikel (Zeitschrift) | Peer reviewed

Zusammenfassung

Research question: Given growing skepticism regarding the future of women's soccer in Germany, research presented here aims to fill a gap in research and explores demand functions for the German women's top division, the Frauen-Bundesliga (FBL). Research methods: FBL attendance data for 1,848 matches from the seasons 1998/99 to 2011/12 are analyzed by employing fixed effects panel regressions. Results and Findings: Aggregate attendance has increased substantially over the period examined. However, there is no continuous growth of attendance at the club levelbut only at a low rate at the club level. Consumers loyalty appears to play a dominant role for FBL attendance but consumer demand appear to be loyal but responds to sporting the quality of the involved teams, the relevance of matches for championship outcomes as well as costs and weather conditions. Host site characteristics appear to play a minor role. Moreover, . The lack of competitive balance in the FBL does not affect attendance. Women's women's soccer might represent an s no inferior good. While national team performance does not affect league attendance, the more aggressive marketing strategy for the home World Cup in 2011 might have served to create a short-term boost in attendance. Implications: More aggressive marketing strategies might be able to increase attendance. However, given the dominant role of habit persistence for FBL attendance, such marketing strategies have to be accompanied by efforts of FBL teams to build and expand a sustainable fan baseProviding top notch venues and increasing competitive balance should not be given priority. The formation of women's first division teams in wealthier regions should be encouraged. Boosting attendance by employing aggressive marketing strategies appears not to be a feasible strategy.

Details zur Publikation

FachzeitschriftEuropean Sport Management Quarterly
Jahrgang / Bandnr. / VolumeVolume 16 - Issue 1
StatusVeröffentlicht
Veröffentlichungsjahr2016
Sprache, in der die Publikation verfasst istEnglisch
DOI10.1080/16184742.2015.1109693

Autor*innen der Universität Münster

Konjer, Mara Verena
Professur für Sozialwissenschaften des Sports (Prof. Meier)
Meier, Henk Erik
Professur für Sozialwissenschaften des Sports (Prof. Meier)