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Technical University of Munich

Why should spectators eat plant-based foods when attending sport events? New insights from an SMR article

Lehrstuhl-News |

In two empirical studies, Lennart Pape, Jonathan Casper and Jörg Königstorfer show that the personality of a sports team can be important in determining whether the team's measures to promote sustainable nutrition are effective or not. The article was published in Sport Management Review and shows that a high level of identification with the team and a similarity in the personality of the club and fans are an advantage.
Vegane Burger schmecken gut und können bequem in Sportstadien konsumiert werden

Background

Eating plant-based foods (fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds) not only has health benefits, but helps combat climate change through reduced greenhouse gas emissions. A plant-based diet is a diet that represents a diverse range of dietary patterns that emphasize foods from plant sources, coupled with reduced consumption or exclusion of animal products. There are currently only a few such offerings in sports stadiums and meat-based options often dominate. The aim of the article is to find out which factors increase fans' intentions to rely more on a plant-based diet in the future.
 

Design and results

Study 1 surveyed 799 fans of 12 different sports teams from different countries who had implemented environmentally friendly food initiatives in the past. Study 2 used an experimental design to manipulate identification with a selected team from the USA (n = 356 fans). The authors control for attitude and subjective norm toward plant-based diets in their analyses and show that level of team identification moderates the relationship between fan awareness and plant-based food consumption via fan-team personality congruence. Ironically, despite high levels of awareness, the perception that the team's personality is superior to their own personality is negatively associated with adopting a plant-based diet among fans with low self-identification. This is not the case for fans with high identification.
 

Recommendations

Sports teams can educate fans about the benefits of plant-based foods and reduce potential barriers. However, communication should take into account that low-identification fans may feel distant from the team in the sense that they may perceive the team's personality as superior if these fans become aware of the team's dining activities. To avoid such situations, managers should address fans as equals and emphasize the similarities in personalities, combined with articulating the benefits of a plant-based diet.
 

To the study
 

Contact

Chair of Sport and Health Management

Prof. Dr. Jörg Königstorfer
Uptown München Campus D
Georg-Brauchle-Ring 60/62
80992 Munich

Phone +49.89.289.24559
Fax +49.89.289.24642

info.mgt@mh.tum.de

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