Impact of Constraints and Behavioral Motivations on Loyalty of Horse Racing Spectators

The present study aims to investigate the effect of constraints and behavioral motivations of spectators on their loyalty in horse racing competitions in Golestan province. The research method is descriptive and analytical. The statistical population includes spectators of the horse racing in three cities of Aqqala, Bandar Torkaman and Gonbad-e Kavus, which includes a sample size of 388 people. The data gathering tool is the standard questionnaire for sport spectators’ behavior (Yu, 2010) including 80 items measuring 5 general factors of internal motivators, internal constraints, external motivators, external constraints, and loyalty. SPSS 21 and Amos 18 software are used to analyze the data. The result of the test shows that the internal motivators and constraints of spectators and the external motivators and constraints of their behavior affect their loyalty with a path coefficient of .78, -.38, .75, and -.42, respectively. Given that the support of the special horse and rider is the internal motive of the spectators, more spectators can be encouraged to participate in horse race competition by inviting the country's top horseback riders and even the best riders in Asia and their horses to the horse riding competitions of Golestan province.


Introduction
Many club managers need to design their own plans in an environment that revenue sources are reduced and operating costs are increased (James & Ross, 2004).The attraction of people to the stadiums is the perfect solution for many clubs to increase revenues and differ from other clubs (Aminuddin & Lee, 2008).Therefore, recognizing the factors that have the greatest impact on attracting individuals encourages marketers to use effective marketing strategies to target spectators (Mullin et al., 2007).It also encourages managers to effectively organize competitions and apply new ways to increase spectator attendance and revenue (Baker & Crompton, 2000).The attendance of 13.7 million people in the English Premier League and an average of 14,436 people per match reflects the importance of this issue (Deloitee & Touche, 2008).Today, the focus of scientific research on spectators has increased significantly, especially from the marketing and economic aspects (Dale et al., 2005).But in Iran, few researches have been done on the attendance of spectators at sports events.With the dramatic development of the sports industry in the whole world, different clubs and sport teams focus on loyalty to attract more spectators and earn more money.Spectators' loyalty to a club makes the club enjoy a variety of advantages because loyal spectators are a source of revenue and are typically well-suited for advertising (Sultan Hussein et al., 2011).A scholar named Parkhouse believes that sport marketing is the prediction, management, and supply of the needs and wants of customers (spectators) through the application and implementation of marketing principles.In the definition of sport events by Correia, the experience is fundamentally abstract, in which spectators and athletes are part of the product and its evaluation is very difficult (Correia & Esteves, 2007).These definitions indicate the importance of the attendance of spectators at the stadiums, as the most important part of the sport events.Attracting people to the stadiums is the perfect solution for many clubs to increase income and diverge from other clubs (Yusof et al., 2008).In this context, recognizing motivations and how of shaping human behavior is an important factor.Therefore, the impact and importance of sport regarding the motivation of individuals and their loyalty to their favorite sport should be taken into account, which makes the people of the community to be present as spectators in the stadiums (Soltani, 2002;Lager, 2010).Since the importance of spectators in horse racing is very high, it seems necessary in Iran that sport managers pay special attention to this important category and make strategic plans to attract and support spectators more and more.
Considering that the concept of the attendance of spectators at the stadiums is one of the most important and most recent topics in the field of sport events, it has attracted the attention of theorists and researchers.However, little research is currently available on this issue.Little research has been particularly done on horse racing spectators in the Golestan province, where horse racing is considered as an old sport and is always welcomed.
If managers do not properly understand the spectators, their motives and constraints, they cannot create the necessary internal and external stimuli for spectators to invite them to the stadiums and keep them loyal to the horse racing.Also, if the horse racing managers cannot identify the internal and external constraints that are facing spectators and become sensitive to their elimination, not only the number of spectators may not increase over time, but also their number will decrease.Thus, spectators are considered as one of the most important financial sources of clubs and sports teams, the reduction of which will reduce the funding of organizing organizations and participating teams.Also, people who come to the stadiums spend a large part of their leisure time on sports activities, and it can be said that the leisure time of the spectators will pass in a sporty and healthy environment.The continuity of existence in sports environments will diminish person's stress and fatigue that was created during the week and cause good energy.
Therefore, if spectators are faced with many obstacles and do not have enough motivation to come to the stadiums, they may spend their leisure time on non-sports and unhealthy affairs, and this can endanger the health of the community.Accordingly, this research studies the motivations and constraints of the behavior of horse racing spectators in Golestan province so that they can answer the question of what is the relationship between the motivations and constraints of spectators' behavior with their loyalty?On this basis, the research hypotheses are:

Main hypothesis
Constraints and behavioral motivations of spectators affect their loyalty in horse races in Golestan province.

Sub-hypotheses
1. Internal motivators of spectators' behavior affect their loyalty in horse races of Golestan province.
2. Internal constraints of spectators' behavior affect their loyalty in horse races of Golestan province.
3. External motivators of spectators' behavior affect their loyalty in horse races of Golestan province.
4. External constraints of spectators' behavior affect their loyalty in horse races of Golestan province.

Research method
The present research is descriptive-analytic carried out through a field research.The statistical population of this study included all spectators present at the horse races in Golestan province.The hippodromes of this province include three cities of Aqqala, Bandar Torkaman and Gonbad-e Kavus.The average number of spectators in the city of Aqqala in each match is 4000, 4000 in Bandar Torkaman, and 8000 in Gonbad-e Kavus, a total of 16,000 people watch the matches in three days.Since the tournament was held in three cities of Aqqala, Bandar Torkaman and Gonbad-e Kavus, the researcher appeared on three consecutive days in the competitions of all three cities.Since about 16,000 people watch horse racing each week, according to the Morgan table, 377 people were considered as samples.Sampling method was also stratified random.Classes in this sampling are the venue of horse racing.According to the percentage of spectators in Gonbade Kavus, 158 people were selected as spectators of this city.Also, 115 people were selected from each of the cities of Aqqala and Bandar Torkaman.A total of 388 spectators were selected for sampling.
The instrument used in this study was the standard questionnaire for sport spectators' behavior by Yu (2010) including 80 items.The questionnaire includes five general factors.Internal motivators (success achievement, dependency on community, dependency on coach, support for horse racing, support for horseback rider and horse, support for horseback riding, support for horse racing clubs, escape and social interaction) included 28 items, and the factor of internal constraints (lack of knowledge, lack of people to attend, lack of success, lack of interest from others in the tournament) included 12 items.The factor of external motivators (aesthetics, drama, media, rider behavior, promotion, and role model) included 20 items and external constraints (commitments, costs, leisure alternatives, location, and parking) included 14 items.Finally, loyalty (sports alternatives and sports hobbies) included 2 items.The questionnaire's questions were based on the seven-point Likert scale including (completely disagree = 1, disagree = 2, slightly disagree = 3, no difference = 4, slightly agree = 5, agree = 6 and totally agree = 7).To assess the validity of the questionnaire, 5 university experts modified the questionnaire.Its face and content validity was confirmed by the use of available scientific literature and experts' opinion in marketing, organizational behavior and sport management.KMO & Bartlett's Test Confirmatory Factor Analysis has also been used to measure reliability.

Data analysis
After collecting the required data, the data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential methods through Spss21 software.To describe the population of the study, descriptive statistics (frequency tables, mean and deviation) were used.To determine the normality of the test, Kolmogorov Smirnov was used.To test the hypothesis and for testing the conceptual model, Amos software version 18 was used and all the statistical tests were performed at a significance level of p ≤ .05.The results of Table 2 show that among the various dimensions of the external motivators of the spectators, the drama that refers the quality of the competition (non-unilateral competition) (4.22) has the highest mean and the aesthetic component (2.25) has the lowest mean.Also, in the components of external constraints, the costs component (3.56) has the highest mean and the parking component (2.36) has the lowest mean.

Description of the main research variables
As can be seen in Table 3, regarding the probability of variables in the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, which is greater than .05, the H0 hypothesis of the normal distribution of the variables is accepted.This means that the research variables are of normal distribution at 95% confidence level, with an error of .05.

Confirmatory factor analysis
In conducting factor analysis, it must be first ensured that it is possible to use existing data for analysis purposes.So, first, we examine the suitability of the data for factor analysis.There are several ways to do this, including calculating the KMO value, which always varies between 0 and 1.If the KMO value is less than .5, then the data is not suitable for factor analysis; if its value is between .5 and .69,then factor analysis can be done with more cautious; but, if its value is greater than .7,correlations between the data will be appropriate for factor analysis.According to the results of Table 4, the KMO test value is higher than the standard (.7) in all components.
On the other hand, the Bartlett test was used to ensure that the data is consistent with the fact that the matrix of correlations that are the basis of analysis is not zero in the population.In other words, sampling adequacy is ensured using the Bartlett test.The results of Table 4 show that the correlations between the data are appropriate for factor analysis and sampling adequacy; therefore, factor analysis can be done.Also, in the Cronbach's alpha section, which is a questionnaire's reliability test, the reliability of all components is confirmed as they are higher than .70(H0: Alpha ≥ .70).

Investigation of the theoretical model
To test the validity of the theoretical model and to calculate the impact coefficients, structural equation modeling method has been used by Amos software.In the goodness of fit test, the fit of the total data is checked.According to Table 5, the maximum probability method is used to estimate the model, and in order to examine the fit of the model, the ratio of Chi-square to degree of freedom ( ) (2.61), comparative fit index (CFI = .93),goodness of fit index (GFI = .92),adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI = .87),normed fit index (NFI = .92),non-normed fit index (NNFI = .91),the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA = .09)are used, which confirmed the fit of the model.Therefore, the spectators' behavior model is appropriate in terms of fit indices and all of the proposed factors can be integrated into the spectators' behavior model.The fit of various indicators is shown in Table 5.

Correlation between research variables
In Table 6, the matrix of correlation is given by two main variables.According to the table, all correlated coefficients are significant at the level of one percent (P < .01)and (P < .05),and there is a good correlation between them.The results of Table 6 showed that the highest correlation was among the community with social support (r = .66),sport support with sport level (r = .64),supporting the team with sports level (r = .68),and success achievement with supporting the team (r = .54).The results of Table 7 showed that the highest correlation was among the lack of knowledge with lack of people to attend (r = .35).The results of Table 8 showed that the highest correlation was among media with promotion (r = .64)and aesthetics with media (r = .42).The results of Table 9 showed that the highest correlation was among sports recreation with sport alternatives (r = .62),sports recreation with leisure alternatives (r = .57),sports alternatives with commitments (r = .54),and leisure alternatives with commitments (r = .54).The results of Table 10 showed that the correlation between spectators of next game and spectators of next season was .45,indicating a significant relationship among them.

Discussion and conclusion
The lack of adequate knowledge of managers and sports officials about the behavior of the spectators and the factors affecting their attendance at the stadiums is an important issue affecting the organization of sporting events.Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to identify the motivators and constraints of behavior of spectators and provide a strategy to managers and sports officials.
The results of the first hypothesis showed that the internal motivators of spectators' behavior affect their loyalty in the horse races of Golestan province.
This finding is consistent with the findings of other researchers, including Kim et al. (2010), Robinson & (2005), Fink et al. (2002), andWann &Branscombe (1993).They also found that supporting the club and rider or favorite player is part of the identity of the spectator.So they encourage them to come to watch their favorite team or club.The findings of this study also are in line with the findings of Won and Kitamura (2006), since the various dimensions of team or club affiliation (including coach, special sport, and sports levels) predict a significant variance of spectators' presence and play an important role in the satisfaction of the spectators and the behavior of the spectator.Won and Kitamura (2006) categorized the factors affecting the spectators' presence and considered recognition with the team as a motivational factor for the spectators.Correia and Esteves (2007), Robinson and Trail (2005), Lough and Kim (2004), Won and Kitamura (2007), Fink et al. (2002), andHong (2005) also emphasized the role of supporting the team for the motivation of the spectators.But Dehghan et al. (2010) found that interest in sports, aesthetics, excitement, socialization, escape from daily routine and problems, and interest in the player were of great importance among motivators, respectively.However, in the present research, success achievement, dependency on coach, escape from everyday problems, supporting the rider, social interactions, and support for horseback riding and horse racing played a significant role among the internal motivators.
Among the various internal motivators, "supporting the horseback rider," as the most important motivator, played a major role in explaining the variance of internal motivators.Indeed, it emphasizes the importance of identifying the spectators with their team because they are a strong supporter of the team and they are forced to watch the next game of their team.It's a point that sports marketers and managers should pay particular attention to this factor.Based on this knowledge, they can create communication plans to connect spectators with their favorite rider or club and follow their matches.
The results of the second hypothesis showed that internal constraints of spectators' behavior affect their loyalty in horse races of Golestan province.
Also, the results showed that "lack of success of the favorite rider or horse" is a significant predictor of his absence at the stadium.In fact, they found that the performance of the favorite team affects the attendance of spectators in subsequent games.
Also, this is in line with the findings of the research of Owen and Weathereston (2004), Falter and Perignon (2000) who showed that after losing (lack of success), the player does not participate in subsequent game.However, only an adjusted correlation between the success and re-attendance of the spectator was found in this research, which does not necessarily indicate that a spectator refuses to re-enter the stadium if the team or rider of interest is not successful.Therefore, marketers and sports managers should not be discouraged by poor team performance.This is a constraint, but not as an insurmountable constraint.
Among the internal constraints, the "lack of success" was the most important factor.After that, "lack of interest from others", i.e. family members and friends, is another constraint to the reception of spectators from the horse races.Other factors that did not play a significant role in internal constraints include the lack of people to attend together and the lack of knowledge about horse racing.
The results of the third hypothesis showed that external motivators of spectators' behavior affect their loyalty in horse races of Golestan province.This is consistent with the findings of other researchers such as Kim et al. (2010), Yu (2010), Robinson (2005), Fink et al. (2002), andWann andBranscombe (1993).Among the external motivators of the spectators' behavior, the drama aspect of the horse racing is important.Elmiri et al. (2009) carried out a study entitled "Factors Affecting the Attendance of Sports Spectators in Stadiums" and found that two factors of promotion, quality and attractiveness had a positive effect.The result of this research is, therefore, consistent with Hosseini's research.The quality of the contest was also impressive to the spectator in the form of a drama.
Regarding the dimension of attractiveness, it can be said that the spectator is in fact interested in the matches being close and the results are not one-sided and the result of the match is not already known.They are interested in playing hard, not a comfortable game.Also, other motivators of the spectator are the attention of the public media to the promotion of horse races, which is unfortunately done at the regional media level (only in Golestan province) rather than national and international levels.The third exterior motivator for the horse racing spectators was the pleasure the spectators took from the beauty and the art of horse racing and considered it as an art.But the behavior of riders and the model of riders for the people of the society did not become meaningful as the external motivators.
In the present study, the role model of riders for society was not meaningful as the external motivator.This finding was inconsistent with the results of Asadi et al. (2009).According to the researcher, the reason for this contradiction is that the population targeted by Asadi et al. was football fans who, in any case, are more familiar with soccer players than other athletes, especially riders.
The results of the fourth hypothesis showed that external constraints of spectators' behavior affect their loyalty in horse races of Golestan province.
Among external constraints, the price of horse racing tickets was one of the most important factors.If discounted package tickets are offered to spectators, they are encouraged to come to watch next matches and invite others to accompany them in exchange for a discount package.
Other sports recreations, such as watching other sports from television and going to watch sports other than the horse racing, were among the factors considered by the spectator as a constraint.
In this study, "price and economic factors" had a significant negative effect on the decision of the football spectator, which was consistent with the findings of Elmiri et al. (2009) andSoltan Hosseini et al. (2011).
Other researchers such as Won et al. (2001), Correia and Esteves (2007), and Zhang et al. (1997) also considered economic factors such as ticket prices, shipping costs, and advertising as a factor affecting the spectator's presence.It is consistent with the findings of this research.
Also, the findings of the research revealed that "the problem of parking the car" and "facilities and the location of the stadium," according to the spectator, were considered constraints to watching the competition, which was consistent with the results of the research by Asadi et al. (2009).Therefore, the standards for spectator safety and comfort in parking the car are issues that allow spectators to watch the race with pleasure.The venue was also one of the other factors that prevented viewers from seeing the horse racing.Easy access to the tournament venue, security, beauty, and modernity of venues, racing seats, restaurants, coffee shops, web access, and other equipment on the site of the stadium can be a pleasant experience for spectators.
Other factors such as "leisure alternatives" were not a serious constraint to the spectators.Perhaps there are no other good options for excitement and a sense of accomplishment for the spectator, which is why they were not a serious constraint to them.The "commitments" factor was not a new constraint to the spectator.In fact, because the tournament was held on weekends, spectators could come to the stadium to watch the tournament.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Model obtained from the relationship between variables

Table 1 .
Description of the main research variables (internal motivators and constraints) and spectators' loyalty According to the findings of the above table, it can be seen that in the internal motivators, the component of support for horseback rider and horse has the highest mean (4.36) and the component of support for sports levels (2.25) and the relationship with the community (2.23) have the lowest means.Also among different dimensions of the internal constraints, the lack of interest from others (4.42) has the highest mean and lack of knowledge (2.25) has the lowest mean.Finally, in describing the spectators' loyalty, spectators of the next season with a mean of 4.14 were more than the spectators of the next game.

Table 2 .
Description of external motivators and constraints

Table 4 .
Factor Analysis of Different Factors of the Sport Spectators' Behavior Questionnaire

Table 5 .
Model fit indices

Table 6 .
Correlation between internal motivators

Table 8 .
Correlation between external motivators

Table 9 .
Correlation between external constraints