Articles in this issue:

• Factors Influencing Fan Acceptance or Rejection of a Sport Team’s Revolutionary Rebrand

  Jason Simmons

  Michael L. Naraine

  and Chris Greenwell

  Using the context of the Washington Football Team, the current study examined the importance of six brand associations (team colors, community integration, culture/traditions, nickname, logo, uniform style) on fan attitudes toward a revolutionary rebrand. Data were collected from 669 Washington Football Team fans through an online questionnaire. A rating-based conjoint analysis was used to test for the relative influence of each brand association on brand desirability and rejection. Separate analyses were conducted based on respondent geographic location, existing attitudes toward the name...Read more

• Which Fantasy Sports Players Will Bet on Sports? A Trait-Based Predictive Model of Fantasy Sport Players Engaging in Sports Betting

  David M. Houghton

  Edward L. Nowlin

  Doug Walker

  and Bryan T. McLeod

  Fantasy sports is a favorite form of sports consumption, and sports betting is becoming increasingly more popular and accessible. Following the recent Supreme Court decision concerning legalization, many fantasy sports operators are now incorporating sports betting into their platforms to capitalize on this opportunity. However, little research examines the motivations behind why some fantasy players bet on sports while others do not. Using a trait-based model, we investigate the likelihood that fantasy sports players would also engage in sports betting, revealing that traits are...Read more

• Determinants of Subscription Renewal Behavior in Sport Spectatorship Services: A CHAID Decision Tree Modeling Approach

  Yonghwan Chang

  Clinton Warren

  and Matthew Katz

  Attempts were made to identify the prioritized determinants of season ticket holders’ (STHs) renewal behavior. Also, grounded in the lens of luxury fever, we explored how the determinants are differently weighed and processed across two types of STHs, including regular (R-STHs) vs. premium seat holders (P-STHs). Through a partnership with a Big Ten athletic department, the attendance data were obtained and analyzed. This study adapted a decision tree modeling approach to predict renewal/churning behavior by setting learning decision rules in the CHAID algorithm, a supervised learning...Read more

• Effects of Commitment to CSR-Linked Sport Sponsorship on Consumers’ Fit Perception, Attitude toward Sponsor, and Word-of-Mouth Intention

  Akira Asada

  Meimei Yan

  Yong Jae Ko

  and Joon Sung Lee

  Corporate social responsibility (CSR)-linked sport sponsorships attract attention from sport marketing professionals and scholars alike. Th e purpose of this research was to examine how the effectiveness of a CSR-linked sponsorship varies depending upon the sponsor’s commitment to the CSR program. Th e results of our experiment showed that a CSR-linked sponsorship could hurt consumers’ fi t perception if the sponsor shows only minimum commitment to the cause. We also found that a CSR-linked sponsorship is more effective than a standard sponsorship in inducing consumers’ positive attitudes...Read more

• Political Identity, Risk Perception, and Sport Participation: Conditional Process Analysis of Golfers’ Revisit Intent During the COVID Pandemic

  Sungho Cho

  Dae Hee Kwak

  J. Lucy Lee

  and June Won

  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

• Aggressive Motives and Fan Passion Across Different Types of Sports

  Chris Greenwell and Sin Wook Yoo

  On-field aggression can attract and entertain sport consumers. However, the promotion of aggression in sport has been controversial, as societal shift s raise questions about how much aggression in sport is appropriate. Therefore, this study seeks to better understand the relationship between on-fi eld aggression and fandom by examining how two motives (physical aggression and violence) predict sport fan passion for three categories of sports (limited-contact, full-contact, and combat). An online questionnaire was utilized to solicit responses from 540 adult sports fans. Overall, results...Read more