An Investigation into the Product Attachment between Athletes and Their Sports Equipment

Abstract

This study investigated the product/user relationship between a sample of 186 athletes and their racing bicycles. These participants completed a product relationship questionnaire that utilized a five-point Likert scale that investigated five pre-validated determinants of a product/athlete attachment. The questionnaire obtained an internal consistency using Cronbach’s Alpha with a range of 0.73-0.89 of the sub sections. The results of this study achieved generally supportive responses for all five determinants of the product/user attachment. The data therefore supported that a positive product attachment can exist between athletes and this particular form of sporting equipment. By acknowledging that a product attachment can exist – even in the performance orientated biases of a competitive sport, offers the possibility of a new potential form of design-based ergogenics that warrants further exploration in the future.

Keywords:

• Product
• sport
• emotional bonding
• sports equipment
• athletes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bryce Dyer

Bryce Dyer is Deputy Head in the Department of Design & Engineering at Bournemouth University in the UK. He holds a PhD in Sports Technology Ergogenics, a PhD in High Performance Product Development, a Master of Science Degree in Engineering Project Management and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Product Design. His current research interest is with the philosophy, design or performance analysis of technology used in either sport or biomedical applications.