Holy cow!Wait ’til next year! A closer look at the brand loyalty of Chicago Cubs baseball fans

Abstract

This study examined several factors related to the brand loyalty exhibited by fans of the Chicago Cubs major league baseball team. A total of 371 patrons of a restaurant located in Wrigleyville were surveyed prior to Cubs games at Wrigley Field. Working from a tripartite model of brand loyalty, it was predicted that, compared to less loyal fans, die-hard (extremely loyal) Cubs fans would demonstrate different attitudes and behaviors regarding the Chicago Cubs. Several hypotheses were developed and tested using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations, and ANOVA procedures. Significant differences between the two fan groups were found in the areas of brand loyalty, baseball knowledge, childhood exposure to Cubs’ games, frequency of Cubs’ game attendance, and likelihood of purchasing Cubs paraphernalia. A variety of managerial implications are drawn from the results and future research suggestions are provided.