Motorsport entertainment industry

: complexity makes it emotional

Abstract

There is some research on sports fans motives for their consumption of the sport. But which factor influences the most the consumers of motorsports to see live or on TV motorsport events and to buy their favourite motorsports merchandise? This Master Thesis explores how knowledge about technical aspects and rules of the sport impacts how consumers respond to different types of stimuli related to general motorsport events and championships. In order to make this analysis, three studies were created, two of which served as pre-tests to the last one which encompasses results of the previous ones. In the main study, we manipulated the complexity of the rules participants had to learn about a motorsport, and presented either a purely technical or an emotional and technical report of a specific race. We found that more complex technicalities of certain elements of motorsport joined with the emotions created in racing events increased the general attitude of consumers towards motorsport events and championships. Other main finding was the impact of technical motives versus emotional motives which the latter has a clear bigger impact on consumers consumption intentions towards motorsport. The theoretical implications of these findings will be discussed throughout this thesis.

Date of Award	9 May 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	João Niza Braga (Supervisor)