Casual relationship between reference groups’ demographic characteristics and purchasing decision process in sport consumers with SEM-PLS method

The purpose of present research was to consider causal relationship of reference groups’ demographic characteristics and its effect on purchasing decision process in sport consumers.

The present research is practical and descriptive-correlation. Research statistical population is all of physical education students in Guilan University Province which statistical samples were selected classified accidental. For gathering data was used research-made questionnaire and content validity of questionnaire was confirmed by 12 experts. Also, its reliability was calculated by Cronbach’s alpha (0.95) and composite reliability. To analyze data and investigating model fitting was used structural equation modeling and PLS software.

According to analysis of course was revealed that variable of reference groups’ demographic features has positive and significant relationship with informational influence, utilitarian influence and value-expressive (0.79, 0.68 and 0.74) directly; but it didn’t have significant influence on purchasing decision making directly. Also, variables of informational influence, utilitarian influence and value-expressive influence (0.10, 0.64 and 0.22) had positive and significant relationship with purchasing decision directly.

Generally, reference groups’ demographic features by influencing on three types of informational influence, utilitarian influence and value-expressive influence can be determinative of purchasing decision making in consumers considerably. Thus, sport stores in marketing strategies and keeping consumer should consider to factors and influencing ways on consumer purchasing behavior.