American Journal of Sports Science

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Impact of City Image, Event Fit, and Word-of-Mouth Attempt Through the Host City of an International Sporting Event

Received: 01 October 2016    Accepted: 10 October 2016    Published: 18 November 2016
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Abstract

This study develops a structure of host city image, verifies the backgrounds and consequences of host city image, and predicts spectators’ positive word-of-mouth (WOM) attempt through the host city via structural equation modeling. A descriptive methodology was used with the cooperation of the local city government; questionnaires were distributed to spectators of the 30th Iran International Cycling Tour (Tour de Urmia) in Iran. Convenience sampling was utilized, and 280 usable questionnaires were obtained. First, the results produced a city image scale comprised of six factors and 21 items with reliability and validity. This scale incorporates the sports image into the city image to enable a comparison between the sports image and other city images, which is original to this paper. Second, the results indicated that affect toward the event (ATE) was a background variable to city image, image fit, and WOM attempt as a consequent variable. Third, the theoretical model could predict positive WOM attempt through the host city with a 23% explanatory rate. The host city of Tabriz provides evidence about the role of ATE, city image, and image fit, which is an important new contribution, as few studies have focused on city image or image fit.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajss.20160406.13
Published in American Journal of Sports Science (Volume 4, Issue 6, November 2016)
Page(s) 112-119
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

City Image, Event Fit, Affect Toward Event, Social Impact, Tour de Urmia

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Author Information
  • Department of Physical Education, University of Kerala, Trivandrum, India

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  • APA Style

    Mohammadhadi Tavakkoli. (2016). Impact of City Image, Event Fit, and Word-of-Mouth Attempt Through the Host City of an International Sporting Event. American Journal of Sports Science, 4(6), 112-119. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20160406.13

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    Mohammadhadi Tavakkoli. Impact of City Image, Event Fit, and Word-of-Mouth Attempt Through the Host City of an International Sporting Event. Am. J. Sports Sci. 2016, 4(6), 112-119. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20160406.13

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    Mohammadhadi Tavakkoli. Impact of City Image, Event Fit, and Word-of-Mouth Attempt Through the Host City of an International Sporting Event. Am J Sports Sci. 2016;4(6):112-119. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20160406.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajss.20160406.13,
      author = {Mohammadhadi Tavakkoli},
      title = {Impact of City Image, Event Fit, and Word-of-Mouth Attempt Through the Host City of an International Sporting Event},
      journal = {American Journal of Sports Science},
      volume = {4},
      number = {6},
      pages = {112-119},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajss.20160406.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20160406.13},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajss.20160406.13},
      abstract = {This study develops a structure of host city image, verifies the backgrounds and consequences of host city image, and predicts spectators’ positive word-of-mouth (WOM) attempt through the host city via structural equation modeling. A descriptive methodology was used with the cooperation of the local city government; questionnaires were distributed to spectators of the 30th Iran International Cycling Tour (Tour de Urmia) in Iran. Convenience sampling was utilized, and 280 usable questionnaires were obtained. First, the results produced a city image scale comprised of six factors and 21 items with reliability and validity. This scale incorporates the sports image into the city image to enable a comparison between the sports image and other city images, which is original to this paper. Second, the results indicated that affect toward the event (ATE) was a background variable to city image, image fit, and WOM attempt as a consequent variable. Third, the theoretical model could predict positive WOM attempt through the host city with a 23% explanatory rate. The host city of Tabriz provides evidence about the role of ATE, city image, and image fit, which is an important new contribution, as few studies have focused on city image or image fit.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Impact of City Image, Event Fit, and Word-of-Mouth Attempt Through the Host City of an International Sporting Event
    AU  - Mohammadhadi Tavakkoli
    Y1  - 2016/11/18
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20160406.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajss.20160406.13
    T2  - American Journal of Sports Science
    JF  - American Journal of Sports Science
    JO  - American Journal of Sports Science
    SP  - 112
    EP  - 119
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8540
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20160406.13
    AB  - This study develops a structure of host city image, verifies the backgrounds and consequences of host city image, and predicts spectators’ positive word-of-mouth (WOM) attempt through the host city via structural equation modeling. A descriptive methodology was used with the cooperation of the local city government; questionnaires were distributed to spectators of the 30th Iran International Cycling Tour (Tour de Urmia) in Iran. Convenience sampling was utilized, and 280 usable questionnaires were obtained. First, the results produced a city image scale comprised of six factors and 21 items with reliability and validity. This scale incorporates the sports image into the city image to enable a comparison between the sports image and other city images, which is original to this paper. Second, the results indicated that affect toward the event (ATE) was a background variable to city image, image fit, and WOM attempt as a consequent variable. Third, the theoretical model could predict positive WOM attempt through the host city with a 23% explanatory rate. The host city of Tabriz provides evidence about the role of ATE, city image, and image fit, which is an important new contribution, as few studies have focused on city image or image fit.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

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