The Effect of Personality Traits on Consumer Behaviour Among Football Fans: The Mediating Role of Fan Loyalty

The aim of the current study was to examine the impact of personality traits on consumer behavior among football fans in a Turkish setting by focusing on the mediating role of sports fans’ loyalty. Drawing on the Social Identity Theory, this research examines how the Big Five Personality characteristics, including openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and emotional stability, influence sports consumption through loyalty mechanisms. Data were gathered from 929 active university students who were all active football fans by using three validated scales for personality, fan loyalty, and consumption behaviour. Results revealed that fan loyalty fully mediates the relationship among all five personality characteristics and consumer behaviour. Even though the direct impacts of personality traits were not significant, the indirect effects through loyalty were substantial across all characteristics. Besides, the results also indicate that personality traits impact sports fan consumption patterns only through the development of loyalty. This emphasises the role of sports fans’ loyalty as the psychological bridge that connects individual characteristics with collective behaviour patterns. Furthermore, the findings shed light on our understanding of sports fan engagement by combining perspectives from personality theory and social identity theory. Ultimately, it offers practical implications for both sports marketers and club managers seeking ways to foster long-term relationships with their fans, particularly within collectivist cultures.