The influence of consumer innovativeness on purchase intention of team-licensed sports products

Sport manufactures have the aim to improve their products with the newest technologies to enhance the performance of athletes. However, these technology features do not always add value for the unprofessional consumer. What derives their decision to buy these innovative products? What role does a consumer’s self-stated innovativeness have in relation to the purchase intention of innovative products? The study is focused on team-licensed football jerseys. It is aimed to analyze how different personality traits have influence on purchase intention of an innovative team-sport licensed product. Team identification has a positive impact on the purchase intention of innovative football products but more remarkable was the effect of consumer innovativeness. Consumer innovativeness has a positive influence on innovative football jerseys, even a stronger impact than team identification. In contrast to lesser innovative jerseys where a negative influence was found. And unlike existing literature suggests, there was no relationship found between product involvement and the purchase intention. In conclusion, consumer innovativeness has the greatest effect (positive and negative) on the purchase intention of sport-team licensed products. Sport manufactures should take this in consideration by developing a new product line, in order to target the right consumers.