The Antecedents and Consequences of Subjective Well-Being Among Sport Participants: The Case of Korean American Sports Festival

Abstract

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.

Relationships between Community Festival Participation, Social Capital, and Subjective Well-Being in a Cross-Cultural Context

“…The benefits of festivals have been illustrated well [ 38 , 39 ]. Various types of festivals can provide economic boosts, as well as social cultural benefits such as social engagement, self-congruence, the sense of cohesiveness, commitment, and pride [ 40 , 41 ]. Festival participants can relax from daily life, feel refreshment, enjoyment and a meaning of life in a festive celebration atmosphere at an individual level [ 42 , 43 ].…”

“…The development of social capital deepens shared values and trust, and increases the extent of individuals’ commitment to social ties and group cooperation [ 27 ]. Shared identity and congruence facilitate engagement in group collaborations in organizations, which is reflected in the volume of social capital accumulated and increases in organizational commitment and the exchange of knowledge [ 27 , 31 , 41 ].…”

“…It has demonstrated the mediating role of festival participation between close social groups, as well as SWB, among Koreans. Chung [ 41 ] examined the effect of the perceived benefits of seeking an ethnic sport event on SWB, visitor satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Mesana and de Guzman [ 43 ] recently examined festival happiness and the positive consequences of festival participation among Filipino participants by using a qualitative research approach.…”