FiT Publishing

The current study examines the impact of a professional sport team’s philanthropic initiative on its fans’ CSR participation intention. Furthermore, the study explores how building consumer trust would enhance CSR participation intention among fans with varying psychological connection levels to the team. A scenario-based experimental design was used to test the study hypotheses. The results indicate that CSR participation intention significantly differed based on sport fans’ perception toward their supporting teams’ CSR program. Additionally, fans’ trust mediates perceived CSR and CSR...Read more

This study examines relationships among perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR), perceived team CSR, social identities, and corporate brand equity in the context of using Chinese professional baseball teams as brand extensions. Data from online surveys of Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) consumers (N = 467) were analyzed using structural equation modeling and the SPSS macro PROCESS. Findings revealed that perceived CSR and perceived team CSR have a direct positive effect on corporate brand equity. The results also showed that consumer-company identity mediates...Read more

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities have the ability to impact the image and reputation of professional sports franchises, and ultimately, their relationships with the respective fan bases. The National Basketball Association (NBA), in particular, utilizes CSR as part of its marketing and public relations strategy. Based on field survey data collected with the assistance of an NBA team in the Southeastern United States over three consecutive seasons, this study expands our understanding of CSR by exploring how fans’ expectations and perceptions of CSR initiatives impact the...Read more