The concept of brand equity has been widely recognized as both an academic construct and an important business consideration (Aaker, 1991; 1996; Farquhar, 1989; Kamakura & Russell, 1993; Keller, 1993; Gladden et al., 1998; Ross, 2006). The concept has been defined as the added value associated with a particular product that is accrued by a brand beyond the utilitarian or functional value of the product (Ambler, 2003; Simon & Sullivan, 1993; Keller, 1993). Despite general agreement about the definition of brand equity, the measurement of it is not well established (Christodoulides & de Chernatony, 2010; Keller & Lehmann, 2006). A critical challenge in this regard is developing the means necessary to assess the intangible elements that comprise a consumer's determination of brand equity. By using the CVM--a stated preference technique for estimating and assigning non-pecuniary values that are contingent on a specific hypothetical scenario or description of the products-- to measure an individual's willingness to pay for tangible and intangible elements from sports products, the brand equity of both spectator sports and participant sports can be estimated. A primary goal of the current study was to examine the willingness to pay Price Premiums for a sporting event, and estimate the brand equity of the sport product based on the Price Premiums by utilizing the CVM. Three research questions were examined: (1) Whether there is a difference between customers' willingness to pay for a branded event (i.e., IRONMAN triathlon event) compared to corresponding unbranded events (i.e., hypothetical non-IRONMAN triathlon event), (2) What the customer-based brand equity of a branded sporting event is, and (3) What factors significantly influence the Price Premium of a sporting event. To examine the equity of the IRONMAN brand and a consumer's determination of brand equity, data were collected at two triathlon events. The sample size was 349 combining responses from the Half and Full distance events. I asked two sets of questions for a consumer's willingness to pay a Price Premium: one for the branded sporting event (i.e., IRONMAN triathlon event) and the other for the unbranded hypothetical sporting event (i.e., non-IRONMAN triathlon event). The difference between a branded and an unbranded sporting event represents a Price Premium. I concluded from the results of an analysis of variance assessment indicated there was a statistically significant difference in willingness to pay for IRONMAN branded events compared to non-IRONMAN branded events. That is, triathletes were willing to pay additional Price Premiums for IRONMAN branded events. The aggregated Price Premiums for the target population were calculated to estimate the brand equity values based on the sport consumer perceptions. The equity of brand IRONMAN was approximately $102 million (Half distance) and $123 million (Full distance). To identify determinants that influence sport consumers' willingness to pay for one brand over the other, I proposed three potential regression models and tested them with through multiple regression analysis. Among ten Price Premium Determinants, Price-quality Inference, Brand Uniqueness, and Gender significantly influenced an individual consumer's willingness to pay a Price Premium. As the brand stands out, consumers were willing to pay a higher Price Premium. Also, as the degree that consumers believe an association between price and quality increases, their willingness to pay a Price Premium increases. Males tend to pay a higher Price Premium than Females. A significant contribution of the study is that this is a first attempt to estimate customer-based brand equity with the CVM, and an initial attempt to identify Price Premium determinants in the service-oriented product context. The dollar value of actual brand equity that is based on consumers' perceptions and evaluations may provide marketers and practitioners with several benefits such as a selling point for developing relationships with business partners, a starting point for business negotiations, and for leveraging partnerships (e.g., sponsors, media). / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2014. / June 24, 2014. / Contingent Valuation Method, IRONMAN Triathlon, Price Premium, Sport Brand Equity / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey D. James, Professor Directing Dissertation; Robert A. Schwartz, University Representative; Yu Kyoum Kim, Committee Member; Janelle E. Wells, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_253620 |
| Contributors | Lee, Jiesun Lucy (authoraut), James, Jeffrey D. (professor directing dissertation), Schwartz, Robert A. (university representative), Kim, Yu Kyoum (committee member), Wells, Janelle E. (committee member), Department of Sport Management (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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