Consuming Extreme Sports : Psychological Drivers and Consumer Behaviours of Extreme Athletes

This book explores the consumption behaviour of ‘extreme’ athletes from a quantitative perspective. Extreme sports are a multi-billion-dollar industry. The behaviour of athletes who participate in them differs from the majority of consumers in that they voluntarily seek out risky and dangerous situations that other consumers actively avoid. It has therefore been suggested that these consumer-athletes may have a unique psychology in this regard.

The book adopts a novel approach based on established psychological theories concerning the behaviour of extreme individuals, applying and translating them into marketing research and practice. It discusses how specific psychological drivers impact the consumption behaviour of consumer-athletes and a variety of marketing-relevant outcomes.

By demonstrating that extreme consumers are characterized by a unique psychology that leads them to act and think differently, this book offers scholars deeper insights into consumer behaviour, while also helping practitioners target this lucrative marketing segment more effectively.

Francesco Raggiotto is Research Fellow in Marketing at the Department of Economics and Statistics, University of Udine, Italy. His current research interests are in tourism management and sport management. He has published extensively in various academic journals, including the Journal of Business Research, Tourism Management and the Sport Management Review.