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Who Goes to the Game? A Model of Organization-Public Relationships and Team Identification with Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions
Abstract
This study presents a structured model to investigate whether sports fans’ team identification and organization-public relations (OPR) directly affect their attitudes toward their favorite teams or related behavioral intentions. In addition, it examines which antecedents, such as sports media consumption or duration of being a fan, affect team identification and OPR, and investigates whether gender works as a moderator in the model. An online survey was used and a total of 673 responses of the National Football League (NFL) fans were analyzed. The results of path analyses show that sports media consumption directly affects team identification and OPR, while the duration of being a fan did not significantly influence OPR and had only a small effect on team identification. Moreover, the degree of identification and relational perception of an NFL fan directly affect attitudes toward his or her favorite team. Finally, a person’s attitudes toward the favorite team directly affect his or her purchase intention of team-related products and attendance intention. Among paths in the proposed model, only one path, from attitude to attendance intention, was significantly different between the male and female groups.
... It has been well-documented that OPRs play an important role in shaping individuals' behaviors (Chon, 2019;Pressgrove et al., 2024). Research has shown that OPRs increase individuals' positive attitudes toward organizations, as well as positive behavioral intentions, such as positive WOM intentions (Browning et al., 2020), purchase intentions (Kim and Gower, 2023), and social media engagement intentions toward an organization (Oh and Ki, 2024). More recently, a growing number of researchers have begun to investigate how organizations' use of emerging technologies affects OPRs (Men et al., 2022(Men et al., , 2023Oh and Ki, 2024). ...
Purpose
As artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly accessible, a growing number of organizations have begun to adopt AI in hiring. Despite the increasing use of AI in hiring, little is known about how organizations can effectively communicate with their stakeholders about their AI use. Using gain and loss message frames and organization–public relationships (OPRs) as theoretical frameworks, this study tests the impact of exposure to job advertisements that address AI use on individuals’ attitudes and behaviors toward organizations using AI during hiring.
Design/methodology/approach
We conducted a 2 (message frames: gain vs loss) × 2 (benefits of using AI in hiring: faster hiring process vs reduced unconscious hiring bias) between-subjects experiment using a Prolific online panel ( N = 224). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions and viewed a fictitious company’s job advertisement that varied in message frames and benefits of using AI. After viewing the experimental stimuli, participants answered questions about OPRs, attitudes toward the company and positive word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions.
Findings
Loss-framed messages appeared as more effective in increasing OPRs, favorable attitudes toward the company and positive WOM intentions. OPRs positively mediated the impact of exposure to loss-framed job advertisements on attitudes and positive WOM intentions. The benefits of using AI in hiring moderated the impact of loss-framed messages on OPRs, attitudes and positive WOM intentions.
Practical implications
This study offers important practical implications for organizations that use AI technology in their hiring practices or are interested in incorporating AI into their hiring processes. The significant impact of loss-framed messages suggests that organizations should highlight the anticipated negative outcomes of not using AI rather than addressing the positive outcomes from AI use. The findings align with established negativity bias research in framing literature, demonstrating individuals’ greater susceptibility to negative information and adverse outcomes in persuasive contexts. The moderating effect of the benefits of using AI in hiring indicates that the impact of message frames on individuals’ attitudinal and behavioral responses to organizations’ AI use varies depending on organizations’ rationale for using AI.
Originality/value
This study is one of the early studies to examine individuals’ attitudinal and behavioral responses to organizations’ use of AI in hiring. Prior research suggests that OPRs mediate the relationship between individuals’ exposure to organizational messages and their attitudes toward organizations. Extending this line of inquiry, the current study explores OPRs’ mediating role in the context of AI-driven hiring processes and investigates how OPRs mediate the relationships between organizations’ message framing strategies and individuals’ attitudes toward the organization as well as their WOM intentions. By examining the effectiveness of gain- and loss-framed job advertisements, this study offers important insights for organizations on how to more effectively and ethically communicate about AI use with their stakeholders.
... Team identification is described as a spectator's personal commitment and emotional involvement with his or her sport team (Fridley et al., 2023). Kim and Gower (2023) mention that amid psychological factors, team identification may be the most significant variable in influencing perceptions of the service experience. Spectators with prominent levels of identification tend to display different behaviours than those with low levels of identification (Cunningham & Eastin, 2017). ...
This study examined factors affecting spectator attendance at professional women's soccer matches in South Africa. The study is descriptive and correlational in nature following a quantitative research approach. The target population comprised spectators of professional women's soccer in Gauteng province. A snowball sampling technique was used to identify the participants fitting the predetermined sample standards. Relevant areas, research methods and data-acquiring procedures were employed. A total of 316 properly completed study questionnaires were received and analysed. Factor analysis was performed to determine underlying motivational factors of spectator intention to attend professional women's soccer matches. Correlation analysis was conducted to establish the strength and direction of relationships between the study constructs. Furthermore, regression analysis assessed the predictive association between the study's variables. The study results revealed that identification, vicarious achievement, involvement, social interaction and perceived value variables had a significant relationship with spectator intentions to attend women's professional soccer matches. This study contributes valuable insights to the scant women's sports spectator literature. It highlights the spectator behavioural patterns, which aid sports organisation owners and federations with the knowledge of how best to elevate women's soccer sports in an emerging South African sporting market.
... Jang et al. (2018) revealed that outcome has a stronger influence on happiness for sport consumers with high team identification. Kim and Gower (2021) found in their study that the degree of fan identification directly affects attitudes toward the favorite team and, furthermore, directly affects purchase and attendance intentions. Kim et al. (2022) confirmed for minor and major leagues that team identification leads to revisiting intentions. ...
Purpose
This study aims to address customer focus as an important component of total quality management (TQM) and explore the key drivers of member satisfaction in tennis clubs via a novel theory-based member satisfaction index (MSI) model with high explanatory and predictive power. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate the relationship between satisfaction and behavioral intentions (willingness to stay; WTS) with consideration of the mediating effect of identification with the club.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses variance-based partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to estimate the MSI model, which was tested in a leading tennis club in Germany ( n = 185).
Findings
The results reveal that club atmosphere, club facilities and the price/quality ratio of the membership fee are the most important drivers of member satisfaction in tennis clubs. Member satisfaction has a large influence on the WTS of tennis club members. Identification with the club, when included as a mediator in the model, increases the variance explained in WTS considerably.
Research limitations/implications
The small sample limits the generalizability of findings, and further research is recommended.
Practical implications
The MSI model is a useful benchmark tool for club managers who want to quantify the satisfaction and WTS of their club members. In addition, because of the integrated formative measurement models, the PLS-SEM results show which indicators can be used to positively impact satisfaction with each of the service quality dimensions, overall member satisfaction and WTS. The most important of these results are discussed in an importance-performance map analysis.
Originality/value
The MSI model is a multi-attribute index model through which members' evaluations of various dimensions of service and value are derived through multivariable linear function with each dimension weighted according to its importance in one holistic model. The model shows the strong impact of satisfaction on WTS of sports club members and reveals that findings of previous research on the relationship between fan and spectator identification and loyalty are transferable to sports club members. The MSI represents a new contribution to the literature; it was applied here to tennis clubs but is also suitable for application to other sports clubs.
Çalışmada takımla özdeşleşme ve tüketim arasındaki ilişkinin X ve Y kuşağı taraftarların bakış açısından incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma evrenini Kahramanmaraş’taki X ve Y kuşağı taraftarlar olarak belirlenirken; örneklem ise çalışmaya gönüllü katılım sağlayan 186 X ve 206 Y kuşağı taraftar oluşturmuştur. Verilerin toplanmasında “Kişisel Bilgi Formu”, “Futbol Taraftarı Tüketim Davranışı Ölçeği” ve “Spor Taraftarı Özdeşleşme Ölçeği” kullanılmıştır. SPSS programı ile analize tabi tutulan veriler normal dağılım göstermediğinden ikili gruplar için Mann Whitney U; ikiden fazla gruplar için Kruskal Wallis H analizleri ve Spearman Korelasyon analizi kullanılmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda cinsiyet, X ve Y kuşağı ve harcanabilecek gelir düzeyi ile özdeşleşme ve tüketim davranışları arasında farkın anlamlı olduğu bulunmuştur. Özdeşleşme ile futbol tüketimi arasında çok yüksek düzeyde pozitif ilişki olduğu saptanmıştır. Ayrıca özdeşleşme ile tüketim ölçeği alt boyutlarından müsabaka tüketimi ve ağızdan ağıza iletişim arasında çok yüksek pozitif ilişki; medya tüketimi ve lisanslı ürün tüketimi arasında ise yüksek düzeyde pozitif ilişki saptanmıştır. Sonuç olarak X kuşağı taraftarların takımlarıyla daha fazla özdeşleştikleri ve bunun sonucu olarak da futbolu daha fazla tükettikleri saptanmıştır.
Organization-public relationships (OPRs) have been central to public relations theorizing for decades. Guided by Broom et al. (1997)’s foundational three-stage model of OPRs, this study contributes to the public relations literature by conducting the first meta-analysis of the associations between each of the four dimensions of OPRs (trust, satisfaction, commitment, and control mutuality) and their most frequently studied antecedents and outcomes. A total of 454 correlations from 67 empirical studies (N = 30, 223) were included in the analysis. The results confirmed the strong correlations among OPRs and the nine most frequently studied antecedents: engagement, involvement, authenticity, transparency, interactivity, two-way communication, interpersonal communication, mediated communication, and symmetrical communication. The research also confirmed the strong connections among OPRs and six commonly researched outcomes: reputation, attitudes, positive word-of-mouth communication, purchase intentions, advocacy, and information seeking. We identified the sampling method, employee-organization relationships (EORs), organization type, and country as significant moderators for certain relationships. Overall, the findings support OPRs as a mature and well-supported theory that continues integrating with other public relations theories. Findings also enrich the three-stage model of OPRs with integrated empirical evidence. Areas for future scholarship are discussed relevant to the insignificant potential moderators, such as channel and crisis topic, along with important limitations in the extant scholarship.
Attitude toward the ad (Aad) has been postulated to be a causal mediating variable in the process through which advertising influences brand attitudes and purchase intentions. Previous conceptual and empirical research on this topic has suggested four alternative models of the relationships between brand-related cognitive, affective, and conative responses and ad-related cognitive and affective responses. The authors describe a structural equations analysis of these four models, utilizing two data sets generated within a commercial pretest setting. The results suggest that a dual mediation hypothesis, which postulates that Aad influences brand attitude both directly and indirectly through its effect on brand cognitions, is superior to the other three models under the particular set of conditions in the pretest setting.
The results of this study indicated that respondents differed on satisfaction with, and importance of, venue characteristics (overall venue cleanliness, concessions, parking, usher behavior, restrooms, audio experience) at intercollegiate basketball games based on team gender and spectator gender. Results also indicated that product satisfaction for the whole sample explained 18% of the variance in future sport consumption behavior while satisfaction with venue aspects added only an additional 5%. Implications and applications of these findings in relation to sport management strategies are presented.
The purpose of the study is to examine the relative effects of game process (i.e., boring versus exciting) and outcome (i.e., losing versus winning) on sport consumers’ happiness depending on their level of team identification. The authors investigated how sport consumers’ levels of happiness are different after recalling (Study 1) and imagining (Study 2) a game when the positivity of the game process and the outcome contradict each other. Results indicate that sport consumers with high team identification exhibited greater degrees of happiness after recalling and imagining a boring win game compared to an exciting loss game. Meanwhile, sport consumers with low team identification exhibited similar degrees of happiness between a boring win game and an exciting loss game.
Through a survey of organizational stakeholders (N = 660), this study contributes to the understanding of nonprofit public relations in three key areas. First, a new five-factor scale to measure perceptions of the relationship cultivation strategies of stewardship was tested. Second, group differences between organization stakeholder types were explored. Third, a new working model that extends previous organization-public relationship (OPR) models to include variables of loyalty and behavioral intentions was advanced. Findings revealed theoretical, measurement, and practical applications.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine the key determinants of brand commitment in sports products based on the investment model and seeks to predict consumers’ repurchase intention.
Design/methodology/approach
– Data from a survey questionnaire ( n = 247) were analysed primarily using structural equation modelling techniques.
Findings
– The results support the investment model’s hypothesis that brand commitment is weakened by the quality of alternative options but strengthened by consumers’ satisfaction with and investment in the brand. Moreover, brand commitment had a positive influence on consumers’ repurchase intention.
Originality/value
– Using the investment model of commitment processes, the study provides useful information on consumer-brand relationships and repurchase intention.
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Beyond BIRGing and CORFing: Continuing the Exploration of Fan Behavior.
Authors
Richard M Campbell Jr, Damon Aiken, Aubrey Kent
Publication date
2004/9/1
Journal
Sport Marketing Quarterly
Volume
13
Issue
3
Description
While much previous research has been conducted related to the tendencies for sports fans to bask in reflected glory (BIRG) and cut off reflected failure (CORF), the present work derives a model of fan behavior inclusive of two new concepts that extend existing theory: basking in spite of reflected failure (BIRF) and cutting off reflected success (CORS). The authors provide examples of image-management behaviors associated with BIRF and CORS and suggest multiple explanations for these relatively unusual consumer actions. Further, the authors develop formal propositions to guide future study. The authors conclude with a brief discussion of strategic sport marketing applications as well as a theoretical expansion into additional areas of fanship.
Research on sports fans has demonstrated a positive relationship between fan identification and self-esteem. The current investigation extended previous research by testing media use as a moderator. The author hypothesized that media use would be positively associated with measures of fan identification and collective self-esteem and also moderate the relationship between these 2 variables. This is because media use enhances positive distinctiveness for fans of sports teams, leading to higher collective self-esteem levels because of the ability to get up-to-date information about the team or player they support. Data gathered from student fans (N = 203) of a major U.S. west coast university football team confirmed the author’s expectations that sports fans’ use of 4 types of media—print, broadcast, online, and mobile phones—moderated the relationship between fan identification and collective self-esteem, with online media having the greatest impact on this relationship.
Social media have been increasingly used by sports organizations to establish relationships with the public. This study explored the Twitter using practices of NBA clubs (N = 30) in the United States in building relationships with their publics during the 2013-14 season. Specifically, it focused on how these clubs used Twitter to build professional, personal, and community relationships through a content analysis of 5561 tweets on their official Twitter sites. The results demonstrated that sports organizations tended to use social media to develop professional relationships with fans via sharing information and promoting products. There were significant relationships between relationship dimensions and the number of retweets and favorites. Sports organizations should use social media effectively to strengthen the professional, personal and community relationship with their publics.
A higher mean rating of sport-spectating enjoyment was found for highly identified spectators who had just watched their team win.
Over the past three decades, researchers have employed the Basking in Reflected Glory (BIRG) I Cutting off Reflected Failure (CORF) phenomenon to help illustrate the impression management processes of sport fans. However, a comprehensive empirical measure of the larger BIRGing and CORFing constructs has not been explored. This study highlights the development of self-report measures of BIRGing and CORFing behaviors related to sport fandom. National Football League (NFL) fans (N = 735) were recruited through NFL-related biogs and websites and completed an online questionnaire. Both BIRGing and CORFing behaviors were comprised of smaller subscales. The two BIRGing subscales were basking communication and communication disinhibition. Meanwhile, the four CORFing subscales were display avoidance, media avoidance, online team distancing, and communication suppression. Although the overall scales demonstrated internal consistency for both the BJRGing and CORFing construct, additional findings suggested that the four subscales are predicted by team identification and demographic factors in notably different ways. Therefore, it is implied that BIRGing and CORFing behaviors, as they have been liberally defined in extanJ research, may be collection of behaviors as opposed to a universal concept related to a sporting event outcome. Areas of future research and limitations are also addressed.
This case study, using social-identity theory as a framework, examines how sport consumers and producers used different identifiers to engage in conversation during the final games of the 2012 College World Series of baseball. Five major hashtags were noted for each baseball team as primary identifiers; users fit in 3 main groups and subgroups. The analysis of tweets revealed 5 major themes around which the conversations primarily revolved. The study has implications for social-identity theory and team identification, as well as broader implications for audience fragmentation and notions of the community of sport.
This study examined the relationship among social media consumption, team identification, word-of-mouth
intention, and attendance intention. By analyzing a total of 146 undergraduate students, this study revealed the following insights. First, social media consumption directly affects team identification and word-of-mouth
intention. Second, team identification directly affects word-of-mouth intention and attendance intention. Third,
social media consumption affects word-of-mouth intention and attendance intention, mediated by team
identification. These results expand the use of social media in the marketing and research field upon prior studies of social media and team identification in sport. The most important contribution of this study was to provide the evidence that social media consumption can affect behavioral intention directly and indirectly with team identification as a mediating factor. Thus, this study suggests the way that social media can be used not only for information distribution but also for driving more revenue by stimulating fans’ team identification and
intentions.
Havard et al. (2013) developed and validated the sport rivalry fan perception scale (SRFPS) as a way to measure fan perceptions of four aspects regarding a rival team (indirect competition, academic prestige, sportsmanship, sense of satisfaction through direct competition). The current study investigated differences in SRFPS subscale mean scores of highly-identified intercollegiate football and men's basketball fans in the USA regarding type of favourite team, proximity to favourite team, season ticket holder status of favourite team, and the outcome of the most recent rivalry contest. A series of MANCOVAs indicated that favourite team (football or basketball), season ticket holder status, and outcome of the most recent rivalry contest contributed to significant differences in rival perceptions after controlling for team identification. Discussion focuses on implications of these findings for academics and practitioners, as well as areas for future research.
The propensity of strongly identified fans to contribute positive organizational outcomes for sport teams underpins why team identification maintains a central position in sport management. In the current study we examine the multidimensional structure, stability, and interrelationships between the dimensions of team identification, using longitudinal data (April 2011 April 2012) collected from fans of a new Australian Rules football team (N = 602). A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of the team identification items included (measured using the Team*ID scale), supported a five-dimensional model structure. This model was subsequently computed as a longitudinal CFA to test the configural and metric invariance of the Team*ID scale. We used a cross-lagged panel model to examine the longitudinal stability of, and interrelationships between, the dimensions: affect, behavioral involvement, cognitive awareness, private evaluation, and public evaluation. Each dimension displayed relative stability overtime. In addition, public evaluation and private evaluation in April 2011 displayed a positive relationship with behavioral involvement in April 2012. Similarly, cognitive awareness in April 2011 predicted increases in public evaluation in April 2012. We conclude with implications for theory and practice.
In the sport management literature, limited attention has been devoted to the conceptualization and measurement of fan engagement. Two quantitative studies were completed in order to validate the proposed fan engagement scale composed of three defining elements (management cooperation, prosocial behavior, and performance tolerance). The results from Study 1 provided evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for the three-factor model of fan engagement. In Study 2, the authors assessed nomological validity by examining the antecedents and consequences of fan engagement and found that team identification and BIRGing played a particularly important role in increasing the three dimensions of fan engagement. Furthermore, the results indicate that performance tolerance has a positive effect on purchase intention. These findings highlight the importance of the sequential relationships between team identification, performance tolerance, and purchase intention.
As a result of increased geographic mobility, industrialization, and the like, traditional social and community ties have declined. Conversely, sports spectatorship has continued to flourish. We argue that strong identification with a specific sports team provides a buffer from feelings of depression and alienation, and at the same time, fosters feelings of belongingness and self worth. In effect, sports team identification replaces more traditional family and community-based attachments to the larger social structure. Three studies find support for these notions, using basketball and baseball fans. The relationship between degree of team identification and team success was also examined; it was only significant for individuals who identify with teams geographically removed from themselves. Discussion focuses on the positive implications of sports team identification for self-esteem maintenance and the social ties it creates.
This study investigated the effects of crisis response strategies on the attribution of an organization’s crisis responsibilities and relationship quality outcomes and determined the linkages among relationship quality outcome indicators. This study found that none of the tested crisis response strategies were helpful in reducing public blame surrounding the featured organization’s responsibility in the crisis. This study also found that the presence of crisis itself tends to negatively affect the relationship quality and that the publics examined were not influenced by the use of crisis response strategies.
Understanding the psychological aspects that influence fans’ attachment to a sporting event can help shape its legacy as well as preparations for similar future events. Using theories of social identity and attachment, this study evaluates the cognitive and affective predictors of fans’ attachment to an event. The study models discrete emotions (i.e., anger, sadness, happiness, and love) as outcomes of team identification, which in turn influences fans’ satisfaction with team performance and, by extension, team and event attachment. This proposition was tested using a sample of 324 ‘All Blacks’ fans who were surveyed online during the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The findings suggest that team identification has a positive influence on the discrete emotions of happiness and love, which then predict team attachment. Pride, meanwhile, moderates the relationship between team and event attachment. The paper discusses the implications of these results for event sustainability and fandom management.
Fishbein's attitude theory posits that beliefs are the only mediators of attitude formation and change. The validity of this proposition for consumers’ beliefs about product attributes and brand attitudes was exmained in the context of an advertising effects study. To manipulate product attribute beliefs and to create settings in which other mediation processes might occur, the authors exposed subjects to simple advertisements that contained either a verbal claim or visual information. Level of repetition also was varied. As expected, product attribute beliefs mediated attitude formation. However, another variable, termed attitude toward the advertisement, also mediated brand attitudes and purchase intentions. The authors discuss alternative explanations for the results and offer suggestions for future research.
In the current study, the explored the moderating role of ageing in the relationship between team identification/fandom and fan aggression. The authors used an online panel-based survey that offered access to a realworld population of sports fans. Participants were 740 fans of Israeli professional basketball. Results from structural equation modelling demonstrated that older fans reported higher levels of mere sports fandom and lower levels of self-reported aggression and acceptance of aggression. Moreover, age moderated the relationships between team identification (or fandom) and self-reported aggression, such that team identification (or fandom) was more strongly associated with selfreported fan aggression among younger fans than among older fans. The moderating role of age in the relationships between team identification (or fandom) and perceptions of appropriateness of aggression was not supported. The findings contribute to our theoretical understanding of the role of ageing in the relationship between fan identification and fan aggression. Based on these findings, the authors assert that managers might particularly benefit from leveraging the potential, but often neglected, segment of senior fans, since older fans can play a key role in reducing the level of aggression during competitive sports events. Suggestions for future research are also discussed. © 2018 Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand
The Dynamics of Persuasion has been a staple resource for teaching persuasion for nearly two decades. Author Richard M. Perloff speaks to students in a style that is engaging and informational, explaining key theories and research as well as providing timely and relevant examples. The companion website includes materials for both students and instructors, expanding the pedagogical utilities and facilitating adoptions. The sixth edition includes: • updated theoretical and applied research in a variety of areas, including framing, inoculation, and self-affirmation; • new studies of health campaigns; • expanded coverage of social media marketing; • enhanced discussion of the Elaboration Likelihood Model in light of continued research and new applications to everyday persuasion. The fundamentals of the book - emphasis on theory, clear-cut explanation of findings, in-depth discussion of persuasion processes and effects, and easy-to-follow real-world applications - continue in the sixth edition.
This paper introduces the psychological empowerment framework from community psychology to the social media context. Intrapersonal empowerment and interactional empowerment are tested as two focal components of the empowerment process at the individual level. This paper aims to assess the connections between active and passive social media use and psychological empowerment. An online survey was conducted through an online panel (MTurk) with 371 effective responses. Results showed that active use was positively related to both intrapersonal and interactional empowerment, while only a weak association was found between passive use and interactional empowerment.
This study examined the relationship among social media consumption, team identification, word-of-mouth intention, and attendance intention. By analyzing a total of 146 undergraduate students, this study revealed the following insights. First, social media consumption directly affects team identification and word-of-mouth intention. Second, team identification directly affects word-of-mouth intention and attendance intention. Third, social media consumption affects word-of-mouth intention and attendance intention, mediated by team identification. These results expand the use of social media in the marketing and research field upon prior studies of social media and team identification in sport. The most important contribution of this study was to provide the evidence that social media consumption can affect behavioral intention directly and indirectly with team identification as a mediating factor. Thus, this study suggests the way that social media can be used not only for information distribution but also for driving more revenue by stimulating fans’ team identification and intentions.
The purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to examine the effects of perception of PR activities for the community on sports team public relationships (STPR) and (2) to investigate how fans' identity with the team will be affected by the dimensions of STPR.
Relationship marketing (RM) is about retaining customers through the achievement of long-term mutual satisfaction by businesses and their customers. Sport organizations, to retain customers by establishing, maintaining, and enhancing relationships, need to communicate and engage in dialogue with their customers. To achieve this on an ongoing basis, sport organizations need to employ effective communication platforms. In this regard, social media (SM) is becoming an ideal tool for a continuing 2-way dialogue. However, the effects of SM, primarily in terms of addressing RM goals, are not yet well understood. This study explores the opportunities and challenges facing managers in sport organizations in using SM in an RM strategy. Eight case studies were undertaken on organizations that put on running events. The article presents the findings on the use, opportunities, and challenges of SM and recommendations encouraging continued investigation.
In sports consumer behaviour literature only a small amount of variance in attendance is explained by motives. One possible explanation for this is the existence of a third factor which moderates this relationship between the motives and attendance. Individuals who strongly identify with a sports team demonstrate distinctly different behavioural patterns from weakly identified individuals. Identification may, therefore, serve as a moderator. Accordingly, two hypotheses are generated: (a) the relationship between motives and attendance intention ranges from weak to moderate; and (b) the overarching construct of Identification (Team Identification) moderates the influence of motives on attendance intention. Participants were 207 United States of America National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division IA student-subjects. Instrumentation includes measures of motivation, points of attachment and attendance intention. Through hierarchical Confirmatory Factor Analysis, regression analyses and latent variable scores approach, the results largely support both hypotheses.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential mediating effect of perceived value in the relationship between team identification and intent to purchase collegiate team-licensed apparel. Direct effect, partially mediated, and fully mediated models were compared. The respondents were students (N =110) attending a large university in the southeastern United States. Participants first completed the Team Identification Scale and then viewed a slide depicting an article of licensed merchandise (t-shirt). Participants next completed the Perceived Value and Purchase Intention Scales. Goodness-of-fit statistics indicated that the direct effect model did not fit the data. The partially mediated and the fully mediated models fit equally well; the latter was more parsimonious and thus was chosen for further analysis. Team, identification explained 13.2% of the variance in perceived value: perceived value explained. 42.6% of the variance in purchase intentions. The findings indicate that team identification alone did not drive the purchase intentions in this study; it is important to take into account the perceived value of the team-licensed merchandise.
In the current article, we extend the literature on fan identification and social identity theory by examining the effects of unscrupulous off-field behaviors of athletes. In doing so, we drew from both social identity theory and Heider's balance theory to hypothesize a significant interaction between fan identification level and leadership response on fans' subsequent levels of identification. An experimental study was performed and a 2 (high, low identification) × 2 (weak, strong leadership response) ANOVA was conducted with the pre to post difference score in team identification as the dependent variable. There was a significant interaction effect (F (2, 80) = 23.71, p < .001) which explained 23% of the variance in the difference between prepost test scores. The results provide evidence that unscrupulous acts by athletes off the field of play can impact levels of team identification, particularly for highly identified fans exposed to a weak leadership response. The results are discussed relative to a propriate theory. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are also forwarded.
The current study sought to identify the effect of team identification on brand attitude and purchase intention in terms of team logo changes. Doubly Multivariate Analysis of repeated measures, 2 (logo change: original and redesigned logo) × 3 (team identification: high, moderate, and low), was conducted on attitude toward the brand and purchase intention of team-logoed merchandise. The results showed that there were significant differences between fans with high identification and fans with low identification. The findings of this study can be beneficial for both sport industry practitioners and marketing scholars by providing an understanding of brand attitude and purchase intention related to new redesigned logos based upon different levels of team identification.
Online crowdsourcing markets (OCM) are becoming more popular as a source for data collection. In this paper, we examine the consistency of survey results across student samples, consumer panels, and online crowdsourcing markets (specifically Amazon's Mechanical Turk) both within the United States and outside. We conduct two studies examining the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the expectation-disconfirmation theory (EDT) to explore potential differences in demographics, psychometrics, structural model estimates, and measurement invariances. Our findings indicate that (1) U.S.-based OCM samples provide demographics much more similar to our student and consumer panel samples than the non-U.S.-based OCM samples; (2) both U.S. and non-U.S. OCM samples provide initial psychometric properties (reliability, convergent, and divergent validity) that are similar to those of both student and consumer panels; (3) non-U.S. OCM samples generally provide differences in scale means compared to those of our students, consumer panels, and U.S. OCM samples; and (4) one of the non-U.S. OCM samples refuted the highly replicated and validated TAM model in the relationship of perceived usefulness to behavioral intentions. Although our post hoc analyses isolated some cultural and demographic effects with regard to the non-U.S. samples in Study 1, they did not address the model differences found in Study 2. Specifically, the inclusion of non-U.S. OCM respondents led to statistically significant differences in parameter estimates, and hence to different statistical conclusions. Due to these unexplained differences that exist within the non-U.S. OCM samples, we caution that the inclusion of non-U.S. OCM participants may lead to different conclusions than studies with only U.S. OCM participants. We are unable to conclude whether this is due to of cultural differences, differences in the demographic profiles of non-U.S. OCM participants, or some unexplored factors within the models. Therefore, until further research is conducted to explore these differences in detail, we urge researchers utilizing OCMs with the intention to generalize to U.S. populations focus on U.S.-based participants and exercise caution in using non-U.S. participants. We further recommend that researchers should clearly describe their OCM usage and design (e.g., demographics, participant filters, etc.) procedures. Overall, we find that U.S. OCM samples produced models that lead to similar statistical conclusions as both U.S. students and U.S. consumer panels at a considerably reduced cost.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of using Twitter on American stakeholders’ crisis appraisal for organizations originated from two foreign countries with distinctively different perceptions.
Design/methodology/approach
– This study uses a 2 (medium: Twitter vs news release)×2 (country-of-origin: China vs France) factorial experiment. The participants (n=393) are recruited through the Amazon Mechanical Turk system (Mturks).
Findings
– The findings suggest that using Twitter substantially mitigates participants’ negative evaluation of the organization undergoing a crisis. Country-of-origin affects how individuals perceive the organization after it has experienced a crisis. In addition, participants’ product involvement intensifies the reputational threat specifically for the organization with a less favorable country-of-origin perception.
Originality/value
– This study is one of the few empirically based studies in international public relations research, using an experiment to extrapolate the effects of social media and country-of-origin on consumers’ crisis appraisal. This investigation reinforces the need to consider social media not just at the individual level, but also as a form of communication that can have broader consequences at the organizational level. In addition, it is important for company leaders to understand that the organization’s home country image may exacerbate the negative management outcomes during a crisis. It is expected that this study yields theoretically indicative, empirically informative, and culturally relevant results.
This study assessed the direct and interaction effects of team identification and satisfaction with facets of a game on intentions to attend future games. A sample of 1256 spectators in seven J-League (Japan professional football/soccer league) soccer games responded to a questionnaire eliciting their team identification; satisfaction with the final score, with the performance of the favourite team, and the excellence of the contest; and intention to attend future games. Correlational and regression analyses showed that both team identification and facets of satisfaction were significantly correlated with intention to attend future games with team identification correlating at a higher level. Identification explained the greatest amount of variance in the intention to attend future games followed by satisfaction with the performance of the favourite team and excellence of the contest. The significance of the interaction of identification and satisfaction indicated that the intentions of highly identified fans relative to low-identified fans were less influenced by any of the facets of satisfaction.
One essential and increasingly emphasized area for sport managers to consider is relationship marketing (RM), with particular reference to relationship quality (RQ). Relationship quality is the overall assessment of relational strength and it is important to the study of RM because it provides a lens to view wide-ranging relational constructs and more precisely distinguish sport RM efforts. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the RQ construct of reciprocity on the outcome of attendance intention through the established relational mediators of trust and commitment. Several hypotheses were generated. Specifically, reciprocity will positively impact trust, commitment, and attendance intentions. Additionally, both trust and commitment were hypothesized to positively impact attendance intentions. Participants were 423 NCAA Division 1 student-subjects. Through CFA and bootstrap confidence interval (CI) the research hypotheses concerning the direct and mediated effects of reciprocity on sport consumer attendance intentions were supported.
Increasingly, scholars and practitioners are defining public relations as relationship management. The investigation reported herein is an attempt to identify through qualitative research and verify through quantitative research relationship dimensions upon which good organization-public relationships are initiated, developed, and maintained. The respondents for this study were local telephone subscribers who resided in territories that were recently opened to competition for local telephone service. A total of 384 respondents were surveyed.The results indicate that the relationship dimensions of trust, openness, involvement, investment, and commitment differentiate those respondents who indicated they would stay with the current provider, would sign up with a new provider, or were undecided as to what they would do. Conclusions as to the impact of public relations as relationship management are offered, as well as suggestions for future areas of research.Dr. Ledingham and Dr. Bruning are members of the Public Relations faculty at Capital University in Columbus, OH.
As sport marketers are increasingly engaging in cause-related sport marketing (CRSM) programs, there is a growing interest in understanding what CRSM characteristics and circumstances can lead to success. This study extends prior research by examining the direct and moderating impacts of team identification and cause organizational identification on consumer attitudes toward cause related sport marketing (CRSM) programs using intercollegiate sport contexts in the United States. A two groups (high vs. low-fit CRSM messages), between subject, and post-test only experiment (N = 309) denoted that respondents showed more positive attitudes toward high-fit CRSM messages and both team identification and cause organizational identification had different moderating effects of sport/cause fit on attitudes. Fit between a sport team and a cause had a greater impact on attitudes when consumer affinity toward the sport team was more positive. However, fit had little or no impact when consumer affinity toward the cause was positive, but it played a significant and positive role when consumers showed low affinity toward the cause.
The concept of commitment in sport marketing has largely been regarded as unidimensional. In the broader study of organizational behavior, commitment has been studied as a multidimensional construct. The multiple dimensions of commitment construe that one's behavior can be conveyed by different psychological states, comparable to those found to characterize different forms of commitment. The multidimensional perspective appears to yield more detailed and relevant information regarding a consumer's commitment in predicting specific behaviors. In past decades, a variety of researchers in organizational psychology and organizational behavior have investigated the relationship between motivation and commitment in order to better understand the two processes and their impact on behavior. However, there have been few attempts to integrate the two domains in order to demonstrate how motives and commitment combine to influence sport consumer behavior. Accordingly, a model of commitment and its relationship to sport consumer motives (i.e., antecedent) and behavioral intentions (i.e., consequence) is proposed.
Previous empirical studies attempting to predict sports spectator attendance have centered primarily on aggregate data, and as such have overlooked more consumerspecific effects on patronage. Using a field study approach at professional baseball games, the interactive effects of team identification, social influence (reference group and community acceptance), and perceived ticket value are found to influence spectators' intentions to attend future games. Implications are drawn concerning the effects of owner and player work stoppages on future patronage of games.
Using Piaget's (1970) theory of cognitive development, the present study examines when children first begin to demonstrate team loyalty. An interview and testing protocol was administered to children aged 5-6 and 8-9. Preoperational, transitional, and concrete operational children were capable of demonstrating a psychological commitment to a favorite team that was resistant to change, but not the behavioral consistency indicative of loyalty. The current study demonstrates that children form preferences for sports teams early in life and that they are capable of forming a commitment to a sports team as young as age 5. The present study is one of the first efforts to include a transitional phase in the assessment of cognitive development. Results from the interviews showed that fathers were the most influential socializing agent relative to introducing children to sports teams and that the gender stereotype associating sports with males was prevalent among children in both age groups.
This article explores the concept of relationships in the theory and practice of public relations. Even though the public relations function builds and maintains organizations' relationships with publics, we found few definitions of such relationships in public relations literature. We also found the same paucity of useful definitions in the literature of other fields in which the concept of relationships is central.