FiT Publishing

This study examines home advantage in German handball, focusing on the impact of varying attendance due to COVID-19. Like in other sports, home advantage is acknowledged in handball, but the audience’s impact on it remained unexplored. Analyzing data from 3,235 matches of the first and second German handball Bundesliga, we find a statistical home advantage consistent with prior research. During the pandemic, we identify a significant decrease in home advantage without spectators in the first division, while the second division remains unaffected. This applies to both the winning...Read more

This paper investigates the elements of fighter performance that lead an MMA bout to be considered the “best” of the night, using data on UFC Fight of the Night bonus award decisions over 15 years of events. Promoter preferences toward particular bout positions on the event card are also examined as well as the influence of crowds due to the exogenous shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings suggest a meaningful difference between performance factors that generate entertainment value relative to those that tend to score points with the judges. They are also supportive of behavioral...Read more

Examining shifts in sport organizations’ social media content from before to during the pandemic-induced stoppage of play provides insight into digital branding during crises. Drawing on consumer-based brand equity and the context, content, and process framework, we examined adjustments made to brand image portrayal on Instagram and corresponding consumer engagement during the lockdown for two sport organizations at different seasonality stages. Results highlight how the National Basketball Association (NBA), facing the loss of their core product, utilized a need-based adjustment, while...Read more

This study aimed to examine the impact of a major sporting event, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, on abnormal returns of Japanese sponsors and Taiwanese Olympic-related stock prices during three different periods, including the hosting announcement, the postponement in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the holding as scheduled. Using the event study approach, secondary data were collected to investigate the fluctuation of abnormal returns of official Japanese sponsors and Taiwanese Olympic-related stocks. The empirical evidence showed that Olympics-related news disclosures significantly...Read more

This study investigates the impact of restricted crowds caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the margin of victory of games in the NBA. Using 12,500 game-level observations from 11 NBA seasons from 2010/11 to 2020/21, the study first shows that during the COVID-19 season of 2020/21, games had a greater average margin of victory than any of the prior seasons. Regression results reveal that games played in front of restricted crowds were more likely to be won by a margin of 15, 20, or 25 points than games played in front of non-restricted crowds. The results indicate similar effects for games...Read more