How advertising claims affect sports consumers' purchase intention of badminton rackets? The role of regulatory fit

Purpose Regulatory focus theory suggests that regulatory fit influences individuals' decisions. However, little is known regarding the effect of regulatory fit on sports consumers' purchase intention. Accordingly, the authors extend the concept of regulatory fit to the sports context to understand how advertising claims affect amateur badminton players' purchase intention of badminton rackets. Design/methodology/approach A total of 200 amateur badminton players participated in this study. These participants were randomly assigned to the promotion-prime advertising claim or prevention-prime advertising claim condition. Findings Authors’ findings demonstrate that the experience fit between personal regulatory focus in the sports context and advertising claims induces higher purchase intention. This finding corresponds with expectations based on regulatory focus theory. Originality/value The present study extends and strengthens knowledge of personal regulatory focus in the sports context and thus shows marketers how to communicate with target customers to precisely sell sports products using the regulatory fit strategy.