University of Northern Colorado Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC Dissertations Student Research 5-1-2014 Investigation of involvement in university-affiliated alumni sport fan clubs Craig Damon Schmitt Follow this and additional works at:http://digscholarship.unco.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Schmitt, Craig Damon, "Investigation of involvement in university-affiliated alumni sport fan clubs" (2014).Dissertations.Paper 248. This Text is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © 2014 CRAIG DAMON SCHMITT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO Greeley, Colorado The Graduate School AN INVESTIGATION OF INVOLVEMENT IN UNIVERSITY-AFFILIATED ALUMNI SPORT FAN CLUBS A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Craig Damon Schmitt College of Natural and Health Sciences School of Sport and Exercise Science Sport Administration May 2014 This Dissertation by: Craig Damon Schmitt Entitled: An Investigation of Involvement in University-Affiliated Alumni Sport Fan Clubs has been approved as meeting the requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in College of Natural & Health Sciences in School of Sport and Exercise Science, Program of Sport Administration Accepted by the Doctoral Committee _______________________________________________________ Dianna P. Gray, Ph.D., Research Advisor _______________________________________________________ David K. Stotlar, Ed.D., Committee Member _______________________________________________________ Susan R. Hutchinson, Ph.D., Committee Member _______________________________________________________ Mark Alcorn, Ph.D., Faculty Representative Date of Dissertation Defense _________________________________________ Accepted by the Graduate School _________________________________________________________ Linda L. Black, Ed.D. Dean of the Graduate School and International Admissions ABSTRACT Schmitt, Craig. An Investigation of Involvement in University-Affiliated Alumni Sport Fan Clubs. Published Doctor of Philosophy dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2014. Numerous motivations for spectating sport have been studied, with higher levels of motivations found to be consistent with higher fan involvement levels. In addition, many people are connected to a community through their identification with a sports team. University-affiliated alumni sport fan clubs are one community that sport consumers may join. These clubs provide the opportunity to maintain and potentially strengthen their connection to the university’s athletic teams. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between sport spectator motivations, as well as team identification, and involvement in a university-affiliated alumni sport fan club. Then, the relationship between involvement and donation intention was examined. Lastly, geographic proximity was tested as a moderator in several of the relationships. A 53-item online survey was disseminated through presidents of university- affiliated alumni sport fan clubs. A final sample of 296 was analyzed. Prior to analyzing the relationships of interest, confirmatory factor analysis was performed on several multidimensional scales including the Motivation Scale for Sport Consumption (MSSC), Team Identification Scale (TIS), and the Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) staging tool (measures involvement). The seven-factor MSSC and the three-factor TIS showed iii overall fit statistics that were considered good. The three-factor PCM staging tool showed an overall fit that was not considered adequate. Because the results of the three-factor involvement model could not be trusted, all further analysis was conducted using the individual dimensions of involvement as well as a total involvement score that showed excellent reliability. Assumptions were assessed prior to the interpretation of results from hierarchical multiple linear regression models used to address the research questions. Social interaction was related to all dimensions of involvement and total involvement. Clubs provide an opportunity for members to share history about their respective university’s athletic programs through reliving shared experiences. While managers tend to stress the importance of winning, involvement in the club appears to have little relationship with the product on the field, but rather with the opportunities to socialize with other alumni. Neither aesthetics nor the athletes’ physical skills were found to explain involvement in the clubs. Thus, managers charged with strengthening the alumni fan base through development of these clubs may be more successful by focusing on other aspects of the experience. Escape was related to pleasure while acquisition of knowledge was related to centrality and sign, as well as total involvement. Although in the digital age, access to information is essentially limitless, membership in a university- affiliated alumni sport fan club provides exposure to other people with similar interests and opportunities for a member to acquire knowledge face-to-face. After controlling for income, alumni status, and age, neither the individual dimensions of involvement nor the total involvement score explained a significant amount of variance in donation intentions. Geographic proximity was not found to moderate any of the relationships of interest. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................1 Statement of Problem ...................................................................................4 Research Questions and Hypotheses ...........................................................6 Rationale for the Study ................................................................................8 Delimitations ................................................................................................9 Limitations .................................................................................................10 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ....................................................................12 Social Identity Theory................................................................................13 What is a “Group”? ........................................................................14 Self-Categorization ........................................................................14 Social Comparison .........................................................................15 Minimal Group Paradigm ..............................................................17 Ethnocentrism (i.e., Ingroup Bias or Intergroup Discrimination) ..18 Two Motivations ............................................................................19 Self-esteem .........................................................................19 Uncertainty reduction.........................................................20 Interpersonal Behavior vs. Intergroup Behavior ............................21 Intergroup conflict .............................................................22 Social movement ................................................................22 Stereotyping .......................................................................23 The Multidimensionality of Social Identity ...................................23 v CHAPTER PAGE Cognitive and affective ..................................................................23 Evaluation ......................................................................................24 Spectator Motivations ................................................................................24 Achievement/Self-Esteem..............................................................26 Aesthetics .......................................................................................27 Drama and Escape..........................................................................27 Acquisition of Knowledge .............................................................28 Physical Skills of Players ...............................................................28 Social/Group Affiliation ................................................................28 Family ............................................................................................29 Physical Attractiveness of Players .................................................30 Gender Differences in Spectator Motivations ................................31 Team Identification ....................................................................................31 Characteristics of Team Identification ...........................................33 Ingroup bias .......................................................................34 BIRGing .............................................................................35 CORFing ............................................................................36 Identification as a moderator to BIRGing and CORFing ..36 Operationalizing Team Identification ............................................37 Team identification as unidimensional ..............................38 Identification as a multidimensional construct ..................40 Involvement in Sport..................................................................................42 Sign/Self-Expression......................................................................47 Pleasure/Attraction .........................................................................47 Centrality........................................................................................48 Sport Behavioral Intentions/Outcomes ......................................................48 Ticket Purchase/Attendance Behavior and Intentions ...................50 Emotional State Outcomes .............................................................50 Other Behavioral Outcomes ...........................................................51 vi CHAPTER PAGE Donation/Support ...........................................................................52 Summary ....................................................................................................53 III. METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................55 Sample........................................................................................................56 Population ......................................................................................56 Sampling Frame .............................................................................57 Sample Size ....................................................................................59 Description of Participants .............................................................60 Instrumentation ..........................................................................................63 Spectator Motivations ....................................................................64 Team Identification ........................................................................66 Involvement in a University-Affiliated Alumni Sport Fan Club ...69 Behavioral Intentions to Donate ....................................................70 Demographics ................................................................................71 Design and Procedures ...............................................................................72 Pilot study ......................................................................................73 Full study .......................................................................................74 Data Analyses ............................................................................................76 Confirmatory Factor Analysis ........................................................78 Regression Diagnostics ..................................................................83 Analyses of Research Questions ....................................................84 Research question one........................................................84 Research question two .......................................................85 Research question three .....................................................85 IV. RESULTS ..................................................................................................87 Diagnostics and Preliminary Analysis .......................................................88 vii CHAPTER PAGE Confirmatory Factor Analyses .......................................................88 Motivation Scale for Sport Consumption (MSSC) ............89 Team Identification Scale (TIS).........................................96 Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) staging tool .....100 Regression Diagnostics ................................................................106 Analyses of Research Questions ..............................................................107 Research Question One ................................................................107 Sign ..................................................................................108 Pleasure ............................................................................111 Centrality..........................................................................114 Total involvement score ...................................................118 Research Question Two ...............................................................121 Individual dimensions of involvement.............................121 Total involvement score ...................................................123 Research Question Three .............................................................124 Summary of Results .................................................................................127 Confirmatory Factor Analysis ......................................................127 Regression Diagnostics ................................................................128 Research Question One ................................................................129 Research Question Two ...............................................................130 Research Question Three .............................................................131 V. DISCUSSION ..........................................................................................132 Summary ..................................................................................................132 Conclusions ..............................................................................................140 Research Question One ................................................................141 Research Question Two ...............................................................149 Research Question Three .............................................................151 Discussion ................................................................................................153 viii