Articles in this issue:

• Examining the Prevalence and Impact of Sport Fans’ Rituals: A Sensory Marketing Perspective

  Eric M. Hungenberg

  Mark A. Slavich

  and Ricardo R. Cayolla

  The purpose of the study was to empirically demonstrate that sensory impressions, emblematic of rituals, have an ability to impact perceptions of atmospherics to a degree that may facilitate place attachment. In this paper, sensory rituals reflecting aesthetics, sound, taste, touch, and socialization are operationalized as multi-dimensional perspectives based upon three fundamental characteristics: frequency, meaningfulness, and novelty. Data were acquired by surveying individuals attending live sport events. In total, 444 useable surveys were collected from patrons representing three...Read more

• Sports Viewing Experience on Social Live Streaming Services: Examination of the Impact of Live Chat and Streamer Presence on Flow

  Deokkyung Ock

  Yongjin Hwang

  and Seomgyun Lee

  Social Live Streaming Services (SLSSs) have emerged as a novel distribution channel for mediated sports, necessitating an exploration of their impacts on viewers’ flow experiences. This study integrates flow theory and the limited capacity model to assess the extent to which interactive elements, specifically live chat and streamer presence, contribute to viewers’ flow experiences under different suspense levels. The findings revealed that the live chat positively affected viewers’ flow, while streamer presence had a negative impact. Moreover, under low suspense conditions, both...Read more

• Are Bad Calls Part of the Game? Impact of Bad Calls on the Emotional Outcome: Focusing on the Excitation Transfer Theory

  Jin Woo Ahn and Joon Sung Lee

  Undoubtedly, bad calls during sport matches have been known to disrupt the spectators’ viewing experiences. However, do the bad calls always damage the enjoyment of the game? Drawing on the excitation transfer theory and the attributional model, we attempted to examine the impacts of unavoidable negative situations on fans’ experiences. To achieve the research objective, we experimented (n = 145) with a 2 (Bad calls: with vs. without) x 2 (Game result: win vs. loss) between-subjects designs by using actual NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball videos as experimental stimuli. The results showed...Read more

• The Emotional Experiences of Fantasy Sports Participants

  Luke Wilkins

  Ross Dowsett

  Zoella Zaborski

  Laura Scoles

  Noel Kinrade

  Minh Huynh

  and Peter M. Allen

  The growth of fantasy soccer has been rapid over the last decade. Yet, surprisingly, very little is understood about the emotional experiences associated with playing the game. The present study utilized the Multidimensional Emotion Questionnaire to measure the emotions of 1,932 fantasy soccer players categorized as having either low, low-to-moderate, moderate-to-high, or high engagement with the game. Kruskal-Wallis tests followed by Dunn’s post-hoc tests found a very consistent pattern of emotional response characteristics (frequency, intensity, duration, and regulation) increasing in...Read more

• Does a Professional Sport Team’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiative Increase Fans’ Trust in the Team and CSR Participation Intention? A Moderated Mediation Model

  Young Suk Oh

  Skye G. Arthur-Banning

  Yoseph Mamo

  and Weisheng Chiu

  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

• Factors Driving Virtual Running Event Participation: A CHAID Segmentation Approach

  Bianca Lizelle Frost

  Elizabeth Ann du Preez

  and Yolanda Jordaan

  Virtual running events (VREs) have emerged as participatory events and are projected to be a legitimate future segment in the sport event industry. This paper considers the most suitable market segment(s) with future intentions to partake in VREs. A Chi-Squared Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) algorithm, scarcely used to segment sport consumer markets, was applied based on various motivational factors that may drive VRE participation. Data were collected from 1,017 individuals who had participated in a VRE. Ten distinct market segments with varying intentions to partake in VREs were...Read more