Purpose

Over the past years, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have sparked growing interest in the sport industry. NFTs are unique digital assets verified using blockchain technology. Each NFT has a distinct identifier that sets it apart from other tokens, documenting its uniqueness and ownership. NFTs promise innovative growth opportunities by generating revenue via novel products such as digital collectibles which can be owned and traded on dedicated platforms. Despite this promising outlook, it currently seems unclear how sports NFTs should be designed and which features they should offer to align with consumer values, effectively meet their needs and ultimately drive Purchase Intention. This study will therefore attempt to answer the following research question: Which consumer values and consumer needs have a positive impact on PI of sports NFTs? Based on the results, the study seeks to offer advice on concrete characteristics sports NFTs should possess in order to foster mainstream adoption.

Design/methodology/approach

To address the current gap in the literature and provide an answer to the research question, this paper uses structural equation modelling exploring the impact of consumer values and consumer needs or wants on purchase intention regarding sports NFTs.

Findings

The results of this study indicate that social needs or wants (SNW) have the strongest impact on purchase intention, as well as on experiential and functional needs or wants. NFTs should therefore possess characteristics that foster community, interaction and connection with other team or athlete supporters while enhancing the overall consumer experience. Incorporating these elements into future NFTs can help sports organizations tap into the social SNW of consumers by providing opportunities for connection, interaction and collective experiences within supporter communities.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the low response rate of Baby Boomers, the results of the study cannot be applied to this cohort. Additional research, potentially using physical in-stadium surveys and targeted specifically at the BB cohort may shed light on their particular values, needs or wants and impact on sports NFT purchase intention. Moreover, Generation Z respondents may statistically be underrepresented in the sample due to the fact that only respondents aged 18 and older were included in the study. Hence, the part of Generation Z, which was born after March 2006 and had not yet come of age at the time of this research, was explicitly excluded from the survey. Results should be applied carefully to the population of sports team or athlete supporters due to the method of data collection which was based on convenience sampling and may therefore not be representative. Since the survey was exclusively administered online, people with no Internet access are not represented in this research.

Practical implications

Sports organizations and marketers can leverage the strong impact of SNW identified in this study to position their NFT portfolio accordingly. Using athletes themselves or other influencers as product ambassadors may trigger purchase intention of consumers. Additionally, it is crucial that socializing agents, such as family, friends, colleagues and other team supporters with a strong influence on consumers own or promote NFTs. Marketers can support this adoption process by encouraging testimonials, reviews and user-generated content that showcase how NFTs have positively impacted others. Reaching a critical mass of adoption among supporters as a first step will ultimately impact consumers’ desire to satisfy ENW and FNW as well. Consumers may then recognize the benefits of using NFTs to enhance their overall consumer experience and to make their lives easier, for instance by using NFTs as season tickets or to collect loyalty points they can redeem later.

Originality/value

This study is the first attempt to determine the relationship between consumer values, consumers’ needs or wants and their impact on purchase intention regarding sports NFTs.

中文翻译：

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消费者为何购买体育 NFT？ – 解读消费者价值观和驱动购买意愿的需求

 目的

在过去的几年里，不可替代代币（NFT）引发了人们对体育行业日益增长的兴趣。 NFT 是使用区块链技术验证的独特数字资产。每个 NFT 都有一个独特的标识符，将其与其他代币区分开来，记录其唯一性和所有权。 NFT 通过新颖的产品（例如可以在专用平台上拥有和交易的数字收藏品）产生收入，从而带来创新的增长机会。尽管前景乐观，但目前似乎还不清楚体育 NFT 应该如何设计，以及它们应该提供哪些功能来符合消费者价值观、有效满足他们的需求并最终推动购买意​​愿。因此，本研究将尝试回答以下研究问题：哪些消费者价值观和消费者需求对体育 NFT 的 PI 产生积极影响？根据研究结果，该研究旨在就体育 NFT 应具备的具体特征提供建议，以促进主流采用。

设计/方法论/途径

为了解决当前文献中的空白并为研究问题提供答案，本文使用结构方程模型探索消费者价值观和消费者需求或愿望对体育 NFT 购买意愿的影响。

 发现

本研究的结果表明，社交需求或愿望 (SNW) 对购买意愿以及体验和功能需求或愿望的影响最大。因此，NFT 应具备促进社区、与其他团队或运动员支持者互动和联系的特征，同时增强整体消费者体验。将这些元素融入未来的 NFT 中可以通过在支持者社区内提供联系、互动和集体体验的机会，帮助体育组织利用消费者的社交 SNW。

研究局限性/影响

由于婴儿潮一代的反应率较低，该研究结果不能应用于该人群。其他研究，可能使用体育场内的实地调查，并专门针对 BB 群体，可能会揭示他们的特殊价值观、需求或愿望以及对体育 NFT 购买意愿的影响。此外，由于研究中仅包括 18 岁及以上的受访者，因此在统计上，Z 一代受访者在样本中的代表性可能不足。因此，2006年3月之后出生且在本研究时尚未成年的Z世代被明确排除在调查之外。由于数据收集方法基于方便抽样，因此结果可能不具有代表性，因此应谨慎地将结果应用于运动队或运动员支持者群体。由于该调查完全是在网上进行的，因此无法访问互联网的人并未参与本次研究。

 实际意义

体育组织和营销人员可以利用本研究中确定的 SNW 的强大影响来相应地定位他们的 NFT 产品组合。使用运动员本人或其他影响者作为产品大使可能会引发消费者的购买意向。此外，社交代理（例如家人、朋友、同事和其他对消费者有强大影响力的团队支持者）拥有或推广 NFT 也至关重要。营销人员可以通过鼓励推荐、评论和用户生成的内容来支持这一采用过程，这些内容展示了 NFT 如何对其他人产生积极影响。作为第一步，在支持者中达到临界数量的采用将最终影响消费者满足 ENW 和 FNW 的愿望。然后，消费者可能会认识到使用 NFT 来增强整体消费者体验并让他们的生活更轻松的好处，例如使用 NFT 作为季票或收集可以稍后兑换的忠诚度积分。

 原创性/价值

本研究首次尝试确定消费者价值观、消费者需求或愿望之间的关系及其对体育 NFT 购买意愿的影响。