FiT Publishing

This study investigates the relationships between fans’ perceptions of the credibility and demographic fit of local sport broadcasters and their corresponding attachment to the broadcasters, along with their identification and loyalty to the team. A sample of 288 Major League Baseball (MLB) fans from the United States and Canada were recruited via Twitter and Facebook fan pages and surveyed to answer questions about their fandom, favorite team, and organization’s broadcasters. The perceived demographic fit with the locale of an MLB broadcast team was found to be significantly related to...Read more

This research takes a psychological approach to measuring social media engagement in sport by applying the consumer brand engagement (CBE) in social media scale. We collected two samples to evaluate the psycho- metric properties of the CBE scale in a professional sport team context. After finding the CBE scale reliable and valid in both samples, we explored its impact on relationship quality, purchase intentions, and referral intentions. We found that an increase in CBE leads to an increase in relationship quality and subsequent purchase and referral intentions. After testing an...Read more

A growing amount of attention has been paid to the topic of dehumanization of professional athletes in recent years, both in mainstream media and in academic literature. Even professional athletes themselves have begun speaking out on the issue. Nevertheless, the academic scholarship on this phenomenon remains sparse, with scholars yet to provide empirical evidence that sport fans do, in fact, dehumanize professional athletes. The current research fills this void by exploring fans’ implicit tendencies to view professional athletes as both machines and animals, with a particular emphasis on...Read more

The COVID-19 pandemic has been highly politicized in the US. Th is study explored the effect of individuals’ political orientation on the relationship between their risk assessments of COVID-19 and intentions to revisit the golf course. A first-stage moderated mediation model consisting of general risk awareness of COVID-19, perceived risk of playing golf, and revisit intention was introduced to specify when and how political orientation influences an individual’s decision to play golf again. Recreational golfers (N = 199) from a survey panel took part in the study, and results showed that...Read more

A growing amount of attention has been paid to the topic of dehumanization of professional athletes. Fantasy sport has been explored as a driver of this phenomenon, but empirical evidence has yet to be provided. This research explores the role of gambling—that is, whether fantasy participants were more driven by money or entertainment/escape—in this phenomenon. Results of SEM analysis indicated that fantasy football participation motivated by gambling was positively associated with dehumanization, while participation for the purpose of entertainment/escape was negatively related. Th is...Read more

Effective consumer segmentation is crucial to accurately address target markets and develop marketing campaigns. Sport industry practitioners increasingly segment their consumers using behavior and attitudinal measures. To accommodate the need for ease and speed of responses, practitioners generally employ single- item attitudinal measures to examine the level of fandom of their consumer base. Th e current research bridges a gap between academia and industry by examining the utility of a single-item self-perception fandom measure. Findings of three studies indicate that the single-item...Read more

The proliferation and growth of women’s professional sport over time has seen a range of consumer outcomes and attention. Recently, there has been increased acknowledgement by sport marketing researchers that there is something inherently unique about the consumption and engagement of individuals as fans of women’s sport. Simultaneously, there have been new findings regarding the importance of brand associations for new sport teams as they seek to craft a brand to ensure financial success. Th is study builds on this work by showcasing the changing nature of consumer perceptions as they...Read more

With increased exposure on college athletics, coaches are often subject to augmented attention from fans. However, little research has focused on the drawing power that coaches exude as essential components of the sport product. Given the tenets of social identity theory, which focus on the value of group membership and the development of prototype characteristics and associated biases within a group and its leaders, it is reasonable to suggest that coaches induce fan attachment. Multiple regression analyses revealed that perceived congruence between the coach and prototype for the program...Read more

Considering the academic literature regarding athlete brands as role models is largely fragmented, the present study contributed significantly to this evolving construct and our understanding of the impact superstar athletes have on their consumers. Specifically, the central aim of this exploratory study was to uncover the traits of the athlete brand as a role model from the perspective of the sport consumer. Thirty-one consumers of the athlete brand were purposefully selected to participate in semi-structured interviews. The interview data revealed four prevalent themes including personal...Read more

Sport organizers may employ one of two common pricing strategies—partitioned pricing (PP) and all-inclusive pricing (AIP)—to present the price of the ticket and associated fees to potential consumers. The study examines differences in spectators’ price recall, perceived value, and search intentions when purchasing tickets to attend a regular-season Major League Baseball game based on the pricing format experienced (PP v. AIP), as well as the moderating effect of price tier selected, and participants’ level of team identification on the impact of the pricing format. Findings point to both...Read more