A case for loyalty-based relational business models: Assessing direct - and mediating effects of the Net Promoter Score (NPS) metric in commercial football consumption decisions

Abstract

Although the Net Promoter Score (NPS) consumer metric as proposed by Reichheld (2003) has been established as a pragmatic commercial revenue indicator in business management, empirical scrutiny of the measure remains limited. Moreover, scholars have criticised the simplistic and generalised approach of NPS; which some argue lack scientific robustness. In this study, an evaluation of the NPS is made in the context of professional football consumerism in South Africa in an effort to evaluate the empirical rigour of the metric. With the theoretical context of loyalty-based business models and relationship marketing as departure point, a measurement and structural model was evaluated with direct paths specified between NPS and consumer expenditure, as well as indirect paths with NPS postulated as a mediator to activate purchasing behaviours in a nomological network that included the traditional sport consumption motives. 2465 adult fans of one of the country's best supported and most established professional football clubs participated in the study. A cross-sectional, exploratory and quantitative research design was utilised. Respondents were requested to complete self-report measures that were uploaded onto a specially designed digital interface made available on the club Facebook page. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the research model by evaluating goodness of fit statistics for the measurement model and evaluating direct and indirect paths between the variables under investigation. Results suggested that NPS is a direct predictor of consumer expenditure. It also provided evidence that NPS may mediate between sport consumption motives and expenditure. The results of the study are discussed, with recommendations made for the future.