Formation Mechanism of Spectator Sport Consumption Behavior: A Case Study of Dalian Football

Abstract

Spectator sport consumption has emerged as a new growth area within the service economy and plays an important role in expanding domestic demand and empowering urban development. However, spectator sport consumption in China currently faces the dilemma of “aggregate expansion accompanied by structural imbalance.” Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, this study constructs an integrated analytical framework of “external stimuli–psychological responses–behavioral outcomes.” Taking the football market in Dalian as a representative case, this research employs both interviews and questionnaire surveys to systematically examine the formation mechanism of spectator sport consumption behavior. The findings indicate that spectators’ game-attending behavior results from the joint influence of antecedent variables-such as product attributes, personal interest, and opportunity availability-which operate through psychological mechanisms including perceived value, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and behavioral intention, with situational perception serving a moderating role. At present, spectator consumption faces several challenges, including high enthusiasm but insufficient sustainability, significant differences in psychological need satisfaction, and multiple constraints hindering behavioral conversion. Accordingly, this study proposes guidance strategies from three dimensions-optimizing the experience structure, strengthening competence experience, and deepening emotional attachment-aiming to provide both theoretical and practical references for promoting the high-quality development of spectator sport consumption.