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Abstract:Despite a wealth of team identification research, little scholarship has focused on how considerable changes to a team’s performance may impact the meaning of the team identity (as such a meaning is understood/ exposited by in-group members). To this end, we examined fans of a historically poor-performing team that had reversed course, becoming a winner. We conducted semi-structured interviews with supporters of Major League Baseball’s (MLB’s) Chicago Cubs to explore how the team’s 2016 World Series (i.e., championship) win had impacted supporters’ identification with the team. We noted two primary themes defining how the team identity had changed: (1) different expectations for performance following the championship; and (2) the team’s new success representing a threat to interviewees’ understanding of the team identity meaning. We also observed constants in the composition of the team identity, factors unchanged by the success. We make our primary contribution by addressing the role of considerable team performance changes in the meaning of team identity.

Abstract:The potential link between sport team identity and religious identity has been recognized for decades, but minimal empirical work has examined the phenomenon. Using social identity theory and social identity complexity as a theoretical lens, this study provides both practitioners and academics with insights on the relationship between religious identification and team identification. Using a qualitative methodology, interviews were conducted with 15 individuals who highly identify with both a sport team and their religion. Among all participants, we discovered that religious identification is prioritized over team identification. Participants consistently stated that although their sport team fandom was an important part of their self-concept, religion was the most important component of who they are. This work expands upon the extant literature in sport management and religiosity, providing insight into the way consumers behave when considering multiple group affiliations.

Abstract:For decades, scholars have sought to understand individuals’ identification with sport teams. As a result, we have great knowledge of how team identification influences a variety of attitudinal and behavioral outcomes as well as the impact of identifying with a team on an individual’s sense of self. However, nearly all studies of team identification have dealt with men’s sport rather than women’s sport. The authors addressed this issue in the current study by using the Delphi technique to solicit expert opinion on the lack of team identification research in women’s sport, including reasons for the lack of research, the extent to which context matters in studying team identification, and potential contributions to the team identification literature by examining the concept in women’s sport settings. The authors conclude by discussing experts’ opinions, the extent to which some views may underpin the lack of research, and implications for future studies of team identification.

Abstract:Scholars have studied sport team identification for decades, advancing our understanding of the influence of a psychological connection to a sport team on attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. Despite the contribution of the study of team identification to the sport fan psychology and sport consumer behavior literatures, a critical issue is apparent. A review of the methods used by scholars to assess and study team identification uncovered a misinterpretation of participant responses to team identification scale items. In previous research, not-identified individuals have been examined as individuals with low team identification. We illustrate the problem with scales used to measure team identification, then propose one approach to resolving the problem with the most frequently used scale, the Sport Spectator Identification Scale. We report on the testing of a modified scale, the Sport Spectator Identification Scale–Revised (SSIS-R), to detect not-identified individuals. We conclude with suggestions moving forward the study of team identification in general.

Although much is known about how individuals are socialised into sport fandom during their youth (via family and peer groups), little is known about individuals socialised into sport fandom as adults. Recognising globalisation and the increasing popularity of soccer as a spectator sport worldwide, in the current study we conducted focus groups with adults in the USA to understand how they became soccer fans. We found that those socialised into fandom as adults did so via exposure to the sport while travelling to places where the sport was central to the local sport culture. For these individuals, becoming a soccer fan via cultural immersion provided them a sense of belonging and uniqueness while travelling. While maintaining fandom once returning from travel is a challenge for some, the socialisation via travel finding has important implications for sport teams and leagues looking to expand their global reach.

This article addresses the rise of social media in professional sport and the varying ways in which sport organizations have interacted with consumers in the social media environment. We examine one particularly interesting case: The innovative social media marketing practices of the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization, most especially through its twitter account @LAKings. Through the use of digital ethnography, we analyze and interpret official statements produced within the context of the Kings marketing and consumer strategies. We argue that the Los Angeles Kings’ social media strategy illustrates the potential collaborative efforts of an organization and its consumers in a social media space. This “coexistence” between brand and consumer provides the organization an opportunity to encourage relationship development and brand community.