Experiential effects on mass sport participants’ event satisfaction and behavioral intentions: examining sensory, affective, behavioral, intellectual and relational dimensions

Purpose The purpose of the present study was to investigate the interrelationships among the dimensions of sport event experience, event satisfaction and event behavioral intentions. Design/methodology/approach The sample was comprised of 186 individuals who actively participated in a mass participation sport event. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the relationships among the latent constructs. Findings The results indicated that the dimensions of sport event experience predicted 55% of the variance of event satisfaction and 63% of the variance of event behavioral intentions was predicted by sport event experience dimensions and event satisfaction. Specifically, the sensory, affective and relational dimensions of experience sought to have a statistically significant and positive association with event satisfaction, while event satisfaction and the relational dimension of experience were found to have a statistically significant and positive correlation with event behavioral intentions. In addition, event satisfaction was found to mediate the relationships between sensory, affective and relational experiences and event behavioral intentions. Originality/value The present study is one of the first that explores the relationships among sport event experience’s dimensions, event satisfaction and positive behavioral intentions in the context of sport event participation.