Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that motivate Korean baseball fans to support Korean Major League Baseball (MLB) players and to identify the effects of the motivations on identification and behavioral loyalty. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire at three Korean universities. A model was designed to see which three motivations (commitment to Korean baseball, interests in MLB and ethnic identity) affect loyalty behaviors to support Korean MLB players. In the model, the mediating effect of player identification is set to the relation between the three motivations and behavioral loyalty. The moderating effect of team identification is also set to the relation between player identification and behavioral loyalty. Collected data (n=294) were first analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis to ascertain the factor structure of the study model. Then, the study performed a structural equation modeling which finds the magnitude and significance of each causal path among designed factors. Findings All the effects were found to be significantly positive except team identification whose moderating effect was not significant. Interests in MLB had the greatest impact on the fan’s player identification followed by commitment to the Korean baseball league and their ethnic identity. It was also found that the influence of player identification was positive on behavioral loyalty. Originality/value This work can help MLB expand their fan base internationally, especially in Asian countries.

PurposeThis study aims to examine how sport fans' intention to donate to college athletics differs by the type of communication and by the interactivity of communication when a college athletic department uses a social cause for marketing.Design/methodology/approachTo discover differences in donation intention, the study adopts a two (social media/newspaper) by two (interactive/non-interactive) factorial experiment in which the study's created scenario is randomly presented to subjects. Participating in the online survey are 184 collegiate sport fans at a university in the American Midwest. Collected data are analyzed on the analysis of variance.FindingsResults show that fans demonstrating the highest donation intention are those in the group of fan-interactive marketing on social media. Those showing the lowest are in the group of non-interactive marketing on newspaper. Between marketing interactivity and marketing platform, no interaction effect is found.Originality/valueThe study tests the effectiveness of marketing communication in the context of collegiate sports and identifies the impact of social media on college sport fans' donation intention. For collegiate athletic administrators designing a cause-related marketing campaign, this study provides practical information on how to use social media in delivering fan-oriented activities.

The purpose of current study was to examine the impact of potential factors that influence audience's attitude toward and intention to watch LPGA tournaments that are typically led by a large number of foreign golfers today. Research participants (N = 375) were LPGA consumers who responded to a questionnaire administered online. SEM analysis was performed to investigate the impact of diversity beliefs, cultural familiarity, perceived image, and femininity on attitude toward and intention to watch. The results revealed positive influence of perceived image and femininity on audience's attitude, while negative impact of assimilation belief on attitude was identified. Furthermore, positive associations between attitude and intention as well as subjective norm and intention were confirmed. These findings suggest that promotion of the image of tour-leading foreign golfers and femininity would be useful to attract media spectators while promotion of diversity mitigating audiences' belief on assimilation approach can be effective under the new globalized tour environment.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide meaningful information to sport organizations that have just recently started hosting sporting events in a new market and want to build long-term relationships with that market’s consumers. Design/methodology/approach Using self-administered questionnaires, the study surveys 463 spectators who attended the 2012 Formula One Korean Grand Prix. Findings Prior affect and existing sensory cues are crucial for spectators’ consumption behavior. Spectators’ prior event attendance plays a significant role on perceiving sensory stimuli as well as on consequent outcomes. This study also finds arousal significantly affected by seeing and hearing and prior affect. Arousal mediates the effects of these sensory stimuli and prior affect on satisfaction and revisit intention. Originality/value This study expands the knowledge on spectators’ experience at live sporting events. In addition, more dimensions of the mechanisms that are at work between cognitive elements and sensory stimuli are added to the existing knowledge of sport spectators’ behavior.

The purpose of this study is to reveal the role of ethnic sport participants' subjective well-being as it interacts with its antecedents and consequences. The antecedents are participants' perceived benefits of sport participation and their satisfaction with an event. The consequences are participants' organizational commitment and their ethnic identity. The dynamics of subjective well-being and those constructs were tested at the 2015 Korean American Sports Festival where 283 Korean American participants reported on self-administered questionnaires. The collected data were first analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis; structural equation modeling was then used to secure the magnitude and significance of each path designed in the model. The social, psychological, and health benefits of sport participation positively affected satisfaction with the event, and satisfaction in turn affected subjective well-being. Subjective well-being positively influenced organizational commitment. Ethnic identity had a mediating effect on the relation between subjective well-being and organizational commitment. This study highlights the importance of ethnic sport participants' subjective well-being in understanding how the quality of their experience makes them committed to an ethnic sport organization. Ethnic sporting events can implement the findings to facilitate an increase in the subjective well-being of their events' participants.