Willingness-to-pay in non-profit sports clubs

Abstract

In Germany, some sports clubs increasingly encounter financial problems due to decreasing public subsidies. A way to compensate for the decrease is to increase membership fees. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze members' willingness-topay (WTP) for membership fees and to identify determinants of WTP. For this study, active, adult members (n = 10,013) in 21 sports were surveyed. The results show that members paid an average annual membership fee of ?148 and stated an average WTP of ?265. The consumer surplus for all sports amounted to ?113 on average. The results of the regression analysis reveal that WTP is determined significantly by the current membership fee, personal income, level of education, years of participation, and level of performance. The findings of the study suggest that increasing membership fees might be one option for sports clubs experiencing financial problems. Sport-specific differences have to be considered in this regard.