Konsumtion av sport är mer än bara laget/idrottaren i sig. Supporterengagemang är en del i sportkonsumtionen, bland annat genom människor som deltar i tävlingar och matcher för att stötta sitt lag/idrottare. Engagemanget kan vara gynnsamt för både sportorganisationen och den individuella supportern och kan bidra med både positiva och negativa effekter. Studiens syfte var att undersöka motivationsfaktorer hos supportrarna, för att se vad som ger upphovtill deras engagemang. Efter analys av tidigare studier inom området, skapade vi en egenmodell med ett antal utvalda motivationsfaktorer. För att mäta faktorerna användes en webbenkät som instrument. Enkätundersökningen skickades ut via ett snöbollsurval tillsupportrar för diverse sportorganisationer i Sverige. Resultatet blev en respons på 287enkätsvar, och för att analysera detta tillämpades en regressionsanalys. Resultatet visade att Självidentitet var den största motivationsfaktorn till att supportrar väljer att engagera sig i ett lag/idrottare. Även skillnader mellan fysiskt engagemang och engagemang på sociala medier mättes, där Social gemenskap var en större motivationsfaktor på sociala medier än för det fysiska engagemanget. Vidare mätte vi eventuella skillnader i engagemanget mellan kvinnor och män, då man i tidigare forskning sett brist på data inom området. Resultatet för studien visade att engagemanget inte skiljer sig något nämnvärt åt mellan kvinnor och män, och att samma motivationsfaktorer är underliggande för båda parters engagemang. Den enda möjliga slutsats för könsskillnader som kunde mätas, var att mängenerellt anser sig vara mer engagerade än vad kvinnor anser sig vara. / Sport consumption is more than just the team/athlete itself. Fan engagement is a part of the consumption, for example through people that are attending competitions and games to support their team/athlete. Fan engagement comes with both positive and negative effects, as well as bringing different kinds of profits to both the sport organisation and the individual fan. The aim of the study was to examine motivational factors for sport fans to see which factors contribute most to their engagement. After analysing previous studies on the subject, we created our own model using a few selected motivational factors. To measure the motivators, we created an online self-questionnaire survey. Through a snowballing sample we collected answers from fans of multiple sport organisations in Sweden. As a result we received 287responses that later was analysed through a regression analysis. The results showed that Self identity was the key motivator to why sport fans decides to engage with a team/athlete. The differences between physical engagement and social media engagement was measured as well. The results showed that Social community was proven to be a higher motivator on social media engagement rather than in physical engagement. Furthermore, the differences in engagement between men and women were measured, since studies on this subject was lacking in previous research. The results showed little difference between the two and that they are driven by the same motivators. The only possible conclusion regarding differences between the genders was that men, in general, consider themself more engaged in sports than women do.

The external shock of COVID-19 forced many professional sport organizations to cancel live sporting events, requiring sport organizations to engage consumers primarily through social media. This research uses the Sports Experience Design (SX) framework to explore how social media influenced the WNBA fan experiences in the 2020 season. In addition, principles of a relationship marketing approach were integrated into the SX to guide this investigation. To understand how the WNBA’s social media content fits into the SX framework the research examined engagement rates and how that impacts the user’s experience and organization’s strategy and off-season opportunities for the organization or players to remain relevant to their consumer base. / Business Administration/Marketing

Why do supporters to ice hockey teams in Sweden engages with their team on Twitter? The Swedish Hockey League season 2020/2021 was different than the previous ones in the league history. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to play games without any spectators. This study aims to understand why fans, to the teams who came in 13th and 14th in the league table during the season, engages with the teams Twitter accounts. The study will do that with the help of uses and gratifications theory, agenda setting theory and priming theory. The method used in the study was to check tweets from the teams during a specific time period and code the tweets to get a result and find a conclusion. The result showed that fans to the two teams engages with the teams Twitter accounts when they either win or lose games. The conclusion showed that fan engagement was mostly driven by results.