The current study aims to understand if sport organizations can utilize environmental sustainability (ES) efforts to increase revenue in addition to saving money. To do this, fans of the Philadelphia Eagles were surveyed. Findings indicate fans were willing to pay an average of US$6.50 in the form of a sustainability fee to help the organization implement an environmental initiative. Furthermore, this study found that nearly none of the prevailing thoughts on predictors of fan behavior significantly positively predicted fans’ willingness to pay an environmental sustainability fee. The findings of the current study challenge the conventional theoretical thinking with respect to fan behavior. Furthermore, respondents in the current study were equally likely to financially support the sustainability efforts of their favorite team no matter their income, loyalty to the team, personal values, or conative loyalty associated with environmental sustainability. Theoretically the current study advanced the triple bottom line theory the Contingent Valuation Model, and the Model of Sport Fan Sustainability Behavior.
AnderssonT., RustadA., & SolbergH. A. (2004). Local residents’ monetary evaluation of sports events. Managing Leisure, 9, 145–158.
2.
BabiakK., & TrendafilovaS. (2011). CSR and environmental responsibility: Motives and pressures to adopt green management practices. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 18, 11–24.
3.
BelzF. -M., & PeattieK. (2012). Sustainability marketing (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
4.
BlankenbuehlerM., & KunzM. B. (2014). Professional sports compete to go green. American Journal of Management, 14, 75–81.
5.
BollenK. A. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables. Wiley
6.
BorgerT. (2013). Keeping up appearances: Motivations for socially desirable responding contingent valuation interviews. Ecological Economics, 87, 155–165.
7.
BrowneM. W., & CudeckR. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In BollenK. A. & LongJ. S. (Eds.), Reading and understanding more multivariate statistics (pp. 99–146). American Psychological Association.
8.
CasperJ. M., & PfahlM. E. (2012). Environmental behavior frameworks of sport and recreation undergraduate students. Sport Management Education Journal, 6, 8–20.
9.
CasperJ. M., PfahlM. E., & McCulloughB. (2014). Intercollegiate sport and the environment: Examining fan engagement based on athletic departments sustainability efforts. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, 7, 65–91.
10.
CasperJ. M., PfahlM. E., & McCulloughB. (2017). Is going green worth it? Assessing fan engagement and perceptions of athletic department environmental efforts. Journal of Applied Sport Management, 9, 106–134.
11.
CasperJ., PfahlM., & McSherryM. (2012). Athletics department awareness and action regarding the environment: A study of NCAA athletics department sustainability practices. Journal of Sport Management, 26, 11–29.
12.
CollinsA., JonesC, & MundayM. (2009). Assessing the environmental impacts of mega sporting events: Two options?Tourism Management, 30, 828–837.
13.
CropperM. L. (2000). Has economic research answered the needs of environmental policy?Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 39, 328–350.
14.
DavidsonL., LittlefordC, & RyleyT. (2014). Air travel attitudes and behaviors: The development of environment-based segments. Journal of Air Transport Management, 36, 13–33.
15.
DrayerJ., & ShapiroS. L. (2011). An examination into the factors that influence consumers’ perceptions of value. Sport Management Review, 14, 389–398.
16.
FornellC, & LarkerD. (1981). Structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error: Algebra and statistics. Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 382–388.
17.
GeeraertA. (2016). It's not that easing being green: The environmental dimension of the European Union's sports policy. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 40, 62–81.
18.
HairJ. F., BlackW. C, BabinB., & AndersonR. E. (2009). Multivariate data analyses (7th ed.). Prentice Hall.
19.
HanemannW. M. (1994). Valuing the environment through contingent valuation. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8, 19–43.
20.
HarrolleM. G., TrailG. T., RodriguezA., & JordanJ. S. (2010). Conative loyalty of Latino and Non-Latino professional baseball fans. Journal of Sport Management, 24, 456–471.
21.
HenlyA., HershkowitzA., & HooverD. (2012). Game changer: How the sports industry is saving the environment. Natural Resources Defense Council.
22.
InoueY., & Alfaro-BarrantesP. (2015). Pro-environmental behavior in the workplace: A review of empirical studies and directions for future research. Business and Society Review, 120, 137–160.
23.
InoueY., & KentA. (2012a). Investigating the role of corporate credibility in corporate social marketing: A case study of environmental initiatives by professional sport organizations. Sport Management Review, 15,330-344.
24.
InoueY., & KentA. (2012b). Sport teams as promoters of pro-environmental behavior: An empirical study. Journal of Sport Management, 26, 417–432.
25.
JinL., MaoL. L., ZhangJ. J., & WalkerM. B. (2011). Impact of green stadium initiatives on donor intentions toward an intercollegiate athletic programme. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 10, 121–141.
26.
JohnsonB. K., GroothuisP. A., & WhiteheadJ. C. (2001). The value of public goods generated by a major league sports team: The CVM approach. Journal of Sports Economics, 2, 6–21.
27.
JohnsonB. K., & WhiteheadJ. C. (2000). Value of public goods from sports stadiums: The CVM approach. Contemporary Economic Policy, 18,48-58.
28.
KellisonT. B., & HongS. (2015). The adoption and diffusion of pro-environmental stadium design. European Sport Management Quarterly, 15,249-269.
29.
KellisonT. B., & KimY. K. (2014). Marketing pro-environmental venues in professional sport: Planting seeds of change among existing and prospective consumers. Journal of Sport Management, 28, 34–48.
30.
KellisonT. B., TrendafilovaS., & McCulloughB. P. (2015). Considering the social impact of sustainable stadium design. International Journal of Event Management Research, 10, 63–83.
KlineR. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
33.
KwakD. H., & KwonY. (2016). Can an organization's philanthropic donations encourage consumers to give? The roles of gratitude and boundary conditions. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 15, 348–358.
34.
LakhanC. (2016). Consumer perception of environmental harm and willingness to pay environmental handling fees. Environments, 3(8), 1–12.
LoakimidisM. (2007). Green sport: A game everyone wins. The Sport Journal, 10(2).
37.
MallenC., AdamsL., StevensJ., & ThompsonL. (2010). Environmental sustainability in sport facility management: Delphi A. study. European Sport Management Quarterly, 10, 367–389.
38.
MallenC., ChardC., & SimeI. (2013). Web communications of environmental sustainability initiatives at sporting facilities hosting Major League Soccer. Journal of Management and Sustainability, 3, 115–130.
39.
MallenC., StevensJ., & AdamsL. J. (2011). A content analysis of environmental sustainability research in a sport-related journal sample. Journal of Sport Management, 25, 240–256.
40.
MallenC., StevensJ., AdamsL., & McRobertsS. (2010). The assessment of the environmental performance of an international multi-sport event. European Sport Marketing Quarterly, 10, 97–122.
41.
McCulloughB. P., & CunninghamG. B. (2011). Recycling intentions among youth baseball spectators. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 10, 104–120.
42.
MuthenL. K., &MuthenB. O. (1998-2017). Mplus user's guide (5th ed.). Muthen & Muthen.
OttmanJ. (2011). The new rules of green marketing: Strategies, tools, and inspiration for sustainable branding. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
45.
OwenJ. G. (2006). The intangible benefits of sports teams. Public Finance and Management, 6, 321–345.
46.
PfahlM., CasperJ., TrendafilovaS., McCulloughB. P., & NguyenS. (2015). Crossing boundaries: An examination of sustainability department and athletic department collaboration regarding environmental issues. Communication & Sport, 3, 27–56.
RobinsonM. J., & TrailG. T. (2005). Relationships among spectator gender, motives, points of attachment, and sport preference. Journal of Sport Management, 19, 58–80.
49.
RosasF., & OrazemP. F. (2014). Is self-sufficiency for women's collegiate athletics a hoop dream? Willingness to pay for men's and women's basketball tickets. Journal of Sports Economics, 15, 579–600.
50.
ScherbaumC. A., PopovichP. M., & FinlinsonS. (2008). Exploring individual-level factors related to employee energy-conservation behaviors at work. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38,818-835.
51.
ShapiroS. L., DwyerB., & DrayerJ. (2016). Examining the role of price fairness in sport consumer ticket decisions. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 25, 227–240.
52.
ShapiroS., RidingerL., & TrailG. T. (2013). An analysis of multiple spectator consumption behaviors, identification, and future behavioral intentions within the context of a new college football program. Journal of Sport Management, 27, 130–145.
53.
SpectorS., ChardC, MallenC, & HyattC. (2012). Socially constructed environmental issues and sport: A content analysis of ski resort environmental communications. Sport Management Review, 15, 416–433.
StegL., DreijerinkL., AbrahamseW. (2005). Factors influencing the acceptability of energy policies: A test of VBN theory. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 25, 415–425.
56.
StegL., & VlekC. (2009). Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: An integrative review and research agenda. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29, 309–317.
57.
SternP. C. (2000). Toward a coherent theory of environmental significant behavior. Journal of Social Issues, 56, 407–424.
58.
ThompsonD. W., AndersonR. C, HansenE. N., & KahleL. R. (2010). Green segmentation and environmental certification: Insights from forest products. Business Strategy and the Environment, 19, 319–334.
59.
TrailG. T. (2015). Marketing sustainability through sport organizations. In McCulloughB. P. (Ed.), Introduction to environmental sport management (pp. 81–101). Forward Sport Sustainability, LLC.
60.
TrailG. T. (2016). Marketing sustainability through sport. Sport Consumer Research Consultants, LLC.
61.
TrailG. T., & JamesJ. D. (2011, Aug.). Model of spectator sport consumption. American Marketing Association Summer Marketing Educators Conference. San Francisco, CA.
62.
TrailG. T., & JamesJ. D. (2015). Sport consumer behavior (2nd ed.). Sport Consumer Research Consultants, LLC.
63.
TrendafilovaS. (2011). Sport subcultures and their potential for addressing environmental problems: The illustrative case of disc golf. LARNet: The Cyber Journal of Applied Leisure and Recreation Research, 13(1), 1–14.
64.
TrendafilovaS., BabiakK., & HeinzeK. (2013). Corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability: Why professional sport is greening the playing field. Sport Management Review, 16, 298–313.
65.
TrendafilovaS., KellisonT. B., & SpearmanL. (2014). Environmental sustainability in sport facilities in East Tennessee. Journal of Planning, Design, and Management, 2(1), 1–10.
66.
VoethM., & SchumacherA. (2003). Ticket-pricing fur die WM 2006: Empfehlungen auf Basis von Informationen zur Zahlungs-bereitschaft der deutschen Bevölkerung. Univ. Hohenheim, Inst. fur Betriebswirtschaftslehre.
67.
WaltonH., LongoA., & DawsonP. (2007). A contingent valuation of the 2012 London Olympic Games: A regional perspective. Journal of Sports Economics, 9, 304–317
68.
WalkerM. (2013). Does green management matter for donation intentions?Management Decision, 51, 1716–1732.
69.
WalkerM., & MercadoH. (2016). Environmentally responsible value orientations: Perspectives from public assembly facility managers. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 23, 271–282.
70.
WickerP. (2011). Willingness-to-pay in non-profit sports clubs. International Journal of Sport Finance, 6, 155–169.
71.
WolfeE. J., HarringtonK. M., ClarkS. L., & MillerM. W. (2013). Sample size requirements for structural equation models: An evaluation of power, bias, and solution propriety. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 73, 913–934.
72.
YaoR. T. (2012). The non-market value of biodiversity enhancement in New Zealand's planted forests [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. Department of Economics, University of Waikato, New Zealand.
