Sports Management and Sports Humanities PDF

Kazuyuki Kanosue Editor in Chief
Kohei Kogiso
Daichi Oshimi
Munehiko Harada Editors
Sports
Management
and Sports
Humanities
Sports Management and Sports Humanities
Kazuyuki Kanosue
Editor in Chief
Kohei Kogiso • Daichi Oshimi

Munehiko Harada
Editors
Sports Management and

Sports Humanities
Editor in Chief
Kazuyuki Kanosue
Faculty of Sport Sciences
Waseda University
Saitama, Japan
Editors
Kohei Kogiso Daichi Oshimi
Faculty of Sport Sciences Faculty of Sport Sciences
Waseda University Waseda University
Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, Japan
Munehiko Harada
Faculty of Sport Sciences
Waseda University
Tokyo, Japan
ISBN 978-4-431-55323-6 ISBN 978-4-431-55324-3 (eBook)

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3
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Introduction to the Series
Waseda University of Japan has a tradition of producing great athletes amongst its
graduates, such as Mikio Oda, the first Japanese ever to win an Olympic gold medal.
Waseda University strongly supports coaching techniques that embody a practical
application of the knowledge gained from the fundamental research findings of
sports science. Waseda University also takes pride in providing athletes with medical
care that utilizes leading-edge sports medicine, and formulates management strate-
gies that combine all these elements. This approach has led to a strong tradition of
sports-based research—what we like to call “Waseda Sports”—which has enjoyed
an unprecedented level of success. This tradition was enhanced by the Faculty of
Sport Sciences in Waseda University in 2009 when they initiated the Global COE
(Center of Excellence) Program, entitled “Sport Sciences for the Promotion of
Active Life”. The Global COE Program is under the aegis of the Japanese Ministry
of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology; this Ministry supports the
development of international centers of education and research excellence.
While life expectancy in Japan is the highest in the world, large-scale societal
changes here and elsewhere have led to an increase in health problems due to a
decrease in activity and physical fitness. In the aging population there has been a
deterioration of overall health, much of which can be attributed to inactivity and
excess body weight. It is especially troubling that similar problems are increasing
among children and are associated with severe physical and mental disabilities. The
international scope of the above problems provided the impetus for Waseda
University to form the Global COE Program. This effort involved the construction
of an international hub of education and research specifically designed to develop
and encourage talented researchers to create sports programs that would contribute
to an active and vital lifestyle. The program emphasizes the development of specialist
knowledge in conjunction with a broad understanding and awareness of the diverse
world of sports. One of our goals was to focus not just on improving the individual
health of mind and body, but also to develop an understanding of the conditions
present in regions and societies that facilitate such improvements in the lifestyle
of individuals.
v
vi Introduction to the Series
The sports sciences have created and are extending an important body of
knowledge. It is critical that this information be utilized to produce an active, two-
way interaction between the investigators and the active participants of sporting
events. In order to provide a focus for developing this reciprocal intercommunica-
tion, the Global COE program identified three strategic project themes: (1) Active
Children Project, (2) Active Elderly Project, and (3) Elite Athlete Project. The COE
Program was proactive in seeking out mature graduate students who were returning
to higher education after a period of work, thereby facilitating a meaningful contri-
bution to the formation of academic careers for specialists who were active in the
practical domain of sports. Many graduate students from abroad, especially from
Asian countries, joined the program and have contributed to our goals via both the
creation of academic knowledge and direct participation in the sports relevant to
their area of investigation.
The formal funding for the Global COE Program came to an end in March 2014,
but the projects initiated by the program and the activities of the graduates continue
unabated. The accomplishments made during the 5 years of the program have been
documented in a series of four books with the overall theme of “Sports Science and
an Active Life”. We are proud to present this substantial body of research in the fol-
lowing series of books: Vol. 1: Sports Management and Sports Humanities (Kohei
Kogiso, Daichi Oshimi, Munehiko Harada, Eds.), Vol. 2: Physical Activity, Exercise,
Sedentary Behavior, and Promoting Health (Satomi Oshima, Zhen-Bo Cao,
Koichiro Oka, Eds.), Vol. 3: Sports Performance (Tomoyuki Nagami, Jun Tsuchiya,
Eds.), and Vol. 4: Sports Injuries and Prevention (Tetsuya Ogawa, Mako Fukano,
Toru Fukubayashi, Eds.). The series was written by the dedicated faculty members
and young graduate students and postdoctoral researchers under the guidance of
investigators who took part in the Global COE program. The series was also con-
tributed to by leading researchers around the world, most of whom belong to Waseda
University’s research institute or university partners. I appreciate their contributions
as well as their participation in the Global COE program. During the 5 years of the
program, an international network of individuals and universities doing active
research in the area of sports sciences has been established. I expect this network to
grow wider and stronger in the future and to contribute to the solution of many of
the health problems that plague modern societies. We will all continue to work hard
to involve sports activities in the solutions to these problems, and in the process, aid
in advancing the sports activities themselves.
Finally, I express my appreciation to the editors of each volume, who not only
did a fine job of organizing the volumes but also wrote chapters that were important
scientific contributions to the overall effort. We would also like to thank the Global
COE staff for their efficient work and the kind support they extended to the graduate
students. Drs. Larry Crawshaw and Candace S. O’Connor are thanked for their
enthusiastic editorial assistance.
Program Leader Kazuyuki Kanosue

Global COE “Sport Sciences for the
Promotion of Active Life”
Waseda University
Preface
Sport has become a global industry over the last 30 years, and it has spun off several
new research subjects, such as fan behavior, corporate social responsibility, the eco-
nomic and social impact of sporting events, sports tourism, and the legacy of mega-
sporting events. Moreover, with regard to international sports-related education,
FIFA Master, one of the leading-edge sports management education programs
founded by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and CIES
(The International Centre for Sports Studies), adopts sports management, sports
law, and sports humanities as mandatory programs.
The fact that sports humanities is a part of the sports management education
program means that a person with extensive knowledge—not only business-related
comprehension but also acquaintance with art-related fields, such as the humanities
and law—will play a central role in sports management in the next generation.
Considering these trends in the global sports industry, three parts are included in
this book: (1) sports management, (2) sports economics and policy, and (3) sports
humanities.
The former two parts aim to provide a clear understanding of sports management
and marketing, including the motivational and/or emotional components of fan
behavior and sports participation, sports club management, sports sponsorship, ath-
lete reputation management, sports economics, and elite sports policy. As stated
above, various topics can be found in sports management research from the macro
to the micro point of view, and they are not individually separated but intimately
connected. Moreover, given the interdisciplinary nature of sports management, spe-
cific, common, and cross-border issues arise in each country. Data from several
countries are included in the sports management part.
In 2014, the first conference of the World Association for Sport Management
(WASM), which consists of six continental associations for sports management
(North America, Europe, Australia–New Zealand, Asia, Latin America, and Africa),
will be held in Madrid, Spain. Research beyond borders and collaborative research
are expected to increase more significantly than before. Researchers in sports man-
agement are expected to find the best answers to such questions as how to manage
vii
viii Preface
sports-related organizations or people effectively, how to stimulate the global or

local economy and exert social impact through sports, and how to help people gain
well-being through sports. These research questions have not changed all through
the ages and across the globe. In this book, the researchers also try to find the opti-
mized solution in each topic, and readers can find traces of their passionate
exploration.
In the humanities, sport is a broad theme for discussing nationalism, moderniza-
tion of the body, globalization, and the invention of tradition. Within half a century,
sport has come to be treated as one of the central themes in the humanities. However,
the connection between sports and the aforementioned problem has only become
stronger; the problem has in fact become even more serious rather than being pro-
vided with a possible solution. The Olympic Games might be social phenomena that
clearly show nationalism as if they are proxy wars. Alternatively, the modernization
of the body through sports activities continues to exert its power on physical educa-
tion in schools and the health and fitness industry. In contrast, the progress of glo-
balization accelerates the fluidity of people, products, and money related to sports
and gives people a “transnational sports arena” beyond the national scale.
Additionally, traditional sports are created not only to reconstruct ethnic identities
but also to develop tourism resources in relation to expanding intellectual property
rights for traditional knowledge.
Although sports humanities cover a wide variety of themes, one aspect common
to all the chapters in the book is the observation that sport is a critical cultural phe-
nomenon that raises the most important issues of modern society. As has been dem-
onstrated thus far, sports humanities are expected to considerably increase the
importance of sports.
The editors called in young researchers and authors and asked them to write
chapters that reviewed cutting-edge topics of their interest. The book offers the
latest findings in sports management and the humanities to senior and junior
researchers as well as to professionals in sports management. This book is expected
to sow the seeds of future research in sports management and sports humanities.
Tokyo, Japan Kohei Kogiso

Tokyo, Japan Daichi Oshimi
Tokyo, Japan Munehiko Harada
Contents
Part I Sports Management

1 Pro-environmental Behavior in Sport Participants ............................. 3
Kurumi Matsui
2 Emotions of Sport Spectators ................................................................ 17
Daichi Oshimi
3 The Coming Super Aged Society: Exploring Management
of Community Sport Clubs .................................................................... 31
Tzu-Yu Lin and Seiichi Sakuno
4 Motives of Sport Spectators ................................................................... 47
Chengcheng Wang and Hirotaka Matsuoka
5 Sport Spectators’ Decision Making: Attendance
and Constraints ....................................................................................... 61
Rei Yamashita and Munehiko Harada
6 Sport Sponsorship in the Global Marketplace ..................................... 75
Yosuke Tsuji
7 Sport Fans and Their Behavior in Fan Communities.......................... 89
Masayuki Yoshida, Brian Gordon, Jeffrey D. James, and Bob Heere
8 Negative Information in Sport: Minimizing Crisis Damage ............... 103
Shintaro Sato
Part II Sports Economics and Policy

9 A Panel Analysis of the Relationship Between Club
Performance and Wages ......................................................................... 115
Takayuki Fukuhara and Munehiko Harada
ix
x Contents
10 Socio-psychological Factors Associated with

the Public’s Willingness to Pay for Elite Sport Policy ......................... 127
Hiroaki Funahashi and Yoshiyuki Mano
Part III Sports Humanities

11 The Success of Health Tourism in Thailand: A Big
Demand for Asian Healing Arts ............................................................ 149
Kohei Kogiso
12 A History of the National Traditional Games of Ethnic
Minorities of China (1953–2011) ........................................................... 161
Chiachi Cheng
13 Research on the Rules of Chinese Korean Ssireum ............................. 175
Chang-ming Yang and Tsuneo Sougawa
14 An Analysis of the Organization, Management
and Policy of the Beijing Olympic Games ............................................ 189
Shuying Yuan
Index ................................................................................................................. 199

Part I
Sports Management
Chapter 1
Pro-environmental Behavior in Sport
Participants
Kurumi Matsui
Abstract The purpose of this study is to use triathlon and trail-running participants
as examples in order to evaluate the relationship between sports participants and
global environmental issues. In recent years, in the field of sports, there is a trend,
among sports organizations, to implement pro-environmental initiatives. However,
the relationship between those sports participants and environmental issues has not
been discussed. Therefore, I focus on whether sports participants will also begin
acting in an environmentally conscious manner. While I examine global issues,
much of my specific information emanates from observation of how Japanese sports
and related organizations address environmental issues.
In this study, I conducted questionnaire surveys of triathlon and trail-running
participants and analyzed the relationship between specialization and the environ-
mental awareness. The results from both sports indicated that the participants’
involvement in the sport (emotional involvement) affected their pro-environmental
behaviors, and that they were more likely to take pro-environmental behaviors only
when their involvement was high. On the other hand, the participant’s behavior, for
example, the number of years in competition or their skill in the sport does not
increase the likelihood of becoming environmentally conscious, even in sports such
as triathlons or trail running that are closely related to nature. This result presents
sports organization with a social-responsibility challenge; going forward, perhaps it
is important for them to encourage pro-environmental behaviors and promote a
sense of social responsibility, as athletes, among the participants.
Keywords Pro-environmental behavior • Sport participant • Specialization
K. Matsui (*)
Institute of Sports Policy, Sasakawa Sport Foundation, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: kurumi.matsui@gmail.com
© Springer Japan 2015 3

K. Kanosue et al. (eds.), Sports Management and Sports Humanities,
DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3_1
4 K. Matsui
1.1 Introduction
1.1.1 Global Environmental Issues
What do you think of when you hear the term “global environmental issues”?
Simply saying “global environmental issues” could imply a variety of issues, includ-
ing global warming, the depletion of the ozone layer, acid rain, desertification, a
decrease in wild animals populations, and other related issues (Nishio 1999). These
global environmental issues have their origins in the traditional values, attitudes,
and beliefs held by our respective societies (Dunlap and Vanliere 1978). In this
chapter, while I examine global issues, much of my specific information emanates
from observation of how Japanese sports and related organizations address environ-
mental issues.
Given the rise of such environmental issues, Nishio (1999) showed that the idea
of a marketing approach that incorporates the viewpoint of “coexistence with the
environment” with customer benefit and social interest has developed in the global
society. She also stressed the need for presenting consumers with new lifestyles that
could shift their values toward environmental protection issues such as recycling,
which could result in recycling practices that aim to protect the global environment.
She also stressed the need to create systems that encourage the development and use
of products and services that enable such a lifestyle (Nishio 2002).
As interest in global environmental issues has grown throughout the global
society, and certainly also in the Japanese society, many energy-saving products
have been produced since the 1970s. Some of the impetus for these developments
has been due to serious pollution problems such as itai-itai disease and Minamata
disease, which were caused toward the end of the 1950s, and the “oil shock”,
which triggered a new awareness of the finite nature and importance of natural
resources (Nishio 1999). In recent years, pro-environmental behavior is dis-
cussed as a possible course of action that can be undertaken by private sector
agents to fulfill their corporate social responsibility (CSR). According to the
Survey on the Behaviors of Environmentally-Friendly Companies, conducted by
the Japanese Ministry of the Environment (2013), 80 % of the respondents—
including 2,364 public companies and 4,326 private companies with 500 or more
employees—said that it is the company’s social responsibility to take environ-
mentally conscious actions. Consumer awareness is also growing. According to
the FY 2012 Survey on Environmentally-Friendly Lifestyles, conducted by the
Japanese Ministry of the Environment (2012), 75 % of respondents said that the
global environment is deteriorating. In terms of the environmental issues creating
the most interest, participants most commonly mentioned global warming (68 %),
environmental pollution caused by the radioactive materials generated by acci-
dents (40 %), air pollution (39 %), and deforestation (38 %). The results also
indicated that many individuals routinely take some kind of environmental mea-
sures at home, such as sorting trash, reducing their power consumption to con-
serve energy, and conserving water.
1 Pro-environmental Behavior in Sport Participants 5
1.1.2 The Effect of Sports on the Global Environment
Are sports and global environmental issues unrelated? Let us consider the summer
climate in Japan, and then imagine holding the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic
games in 2020. The candidature file states that the Olympic and Paralympic games
will be held from July 25 to August 9 and from August 25 to September 6, respec-
tively (The 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Bid Committee 2013). In August
of 2013, the average maximum temperature in Tokyo was 33.2°C, while the highest
recorded temperature was 38.3°C (Japan Meteorological Agency 2013). Would it be
easy to play, watch, or support sports games under such conditions? Undoubtedly,
complex factors are involved in the increasing temperatures, and I cannot conclude
that they are solely due to global warming. However, I can still state that sports are
closely related to the natural environment, and that it may not be possible to holding
sporting events intolerable environmental conditions.
The relationship between sports and the natural environment extends further.
Thibault (2009) described how burdens on the environment increase when a sport-
ing event is held: people travel to participate in the event, the natural environment is
destroyed by the construction of sports facilities, and the chemicals used in facility
maintenance can impact the ecosystem. In other words, playing sports could put a
burden on the global environment. Therefore, it is important to raise awareness
about the impact of sports on the natural environment (Thibault 2009) while reduc-
ing negative impacts and incorporating an awareness of the global environment into
the development of sporting events (Zhang et al. 2013).
Furthermore, some researchers have discussed the relationship between sports
and global environmental issues from a CSR perspective. For many companies, the
importance of CSR has increased in recent years. Sports organizations are also
quickly responding to this situation, and the actions they have taken to incorporate
environmentally conscious measures into their business strategies are becoming
increasingly evident. Inoue and Kent (2012) list the following values as part of the
CSR marketing1 strategy of today’s sports organizations: youth health and educa-
tion, environmental protection, participation in the local community, and cross-
cultural understanding. Babiak and Wolf (2009) state that there are external pressures
and internal resources that drive sports organization to work on their CSR They list
context, content, constituents, control, and cause as elements of the former, and
rare, valuable, and inimitable as aspects of the latter. In addition, Iokimidis (2007)
argues that sports organizations must, as members of society, fulfill their responsi-
bilities for ethical reasons. In other words, sports organizations need to promote
sports while also caring for the global environment, just as other companies do.
However, even though many studies discuss the environmentally conscious
actions of sports organizations—or the need for such behaviors—very few studies
have been conducted from the perspective of sports participants and spectators.
1
It is to understand marketing programs and marketing activities in the context of ethics, environ-
ment, law, social (Kotler and Keller 2008).
6 K. Matsui
Considering the sustainability of sports, the awareness and actions of all of sports
stakeholders regarding the global environment are important viewpoints. Thus,
while it is recognized as important that sports organizations take environmentally
conscious actions, this chapter is organized around the discussion of the next
research question: will sports participants also begin to exhibit pro-environmental
behaviors? Based on this research question, this chapter aims to discuss the relation-
ship between sports participants and global environmental issues. In this study,
“pro-environmental behavior” is defined as a lifestyle, or purchasing behavior, that
is voluntarily performed and environmentally conscious (Matsui et al. 2012).
1.2 Sports and Global Environmental Issues
1.2.1 Sports Organizations and Global Environmental Issues
In line with the objective of this study, I will first summarize the efforts taken by sports
organizations on behalf of the global environment. In 1999, the International Olympic
Committee designated “environment” as the third pillar of Olympism, along with the
“sports” and “culture” pillars, in the Olympic Movement’s Agenda 21, promoting the
idea that environmental activities can be communicated through sports (The Japan
Olympic Committee n.d.). Since then, environmental issues have become one of the
important factors for choosing the host city (Zhang et al. 2013). In 1994, the United
Nations Environment Program (UNEP) also launched an initiative that aimed to pro-
mote the integration of environmental awareness into sports (UNEP n.d.). By August
2013, the UNEP and the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee
came to an agreement on sustainability measures (UNEP 2013).
In Japan, the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) upholds the environmental slogan
“Think Globally, Act Locally (think at the global scale and start acting at the local
level),” and requests that each sports association implement environmental initiatives.
Each sports association now practices environmental measures, such as sorting trash
at the sporting venues, displaying posters that promote awareness, and establishing
environment committees. For example, the FY 2012 Activity Report, released by the
JOC (2013), documents the case of the Japan Volleyball Association, which recycled
unserviceable volleyballs by turning them into coin purses and pen cases. Another
example is provided by the Japan Triathlon Union (JTU), which conducts water puri-
fication and ocean floor cleaning activities, with help from volunteers and the City of
Yokohama, in an effort to improve water quality and create a healthy environment for
the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Triathlon Series Yokohama competi-
tion (World Triathlon Series Yokohama Organizing Committee 2013). As a result, the
ITU World Triathlon Series Yokohama, held in September 2012, became the first event
in Japan to meet international standards set for event sustainability management sys-
tems (ISO 20121) (ITU 2012). This type of environmental practice has also spread to
sports teams: some of the stands at the professional soccer team Vissel Kobe’s (Crimson
Football Club, Inc.) home stadium are equipped with a power-generating floor. This
system generates electricity through the vibrations caused by cheering supporters
jumping up and down; this electricity supplies part of the power needed by the soccer
games (Crimson Football Club n.d.).
In addition to sports associations and sports teams, there is a non-profit organization
called Global Sports Alliance (GSA) which upholds the philosophy of “ecoplay”. This
organization promotes an understanding of the nature of environmental issues, protec-
tion of the abundance of nature in order to create a sustainable society, and the practice
of conservation of energy and resources to the sport enthusiasts (GSA n.d.). Based on
their philosophy, GSA engages in activities that promote “ecoplay” and encourage the
reuse of sports equipment. They also work in cooperation with the UNEP.
As described above, it is clear that sports-related organizations practice a variety
of measures that take the global environment into consideration. The degree of
involvement differs by organization; however, as members of society, organizations
are clearly not in a position to ignore global environmental issues.
1.2.2 Sports Participants and Environmental Issues
One can begin to understanding the perspective of sports participants by substitut-

ing “recreation” for “sports.” Many studies on recreation have demonstrated that
recreational participants tend to have a higher awareness of environmental issues
than the average citizen.
In his discussion on the relationship between society and outdoor activities
involving nature, Brookes (2005) states that participants acquire knowledge about
the types of trees and the behavior of wild animals through recreational activities
outdoors, and that instances of these activities are, with regards to environmental
education, equivalent to places of learning. Based on the fact that many studies have
shown a relationship between environmental attitudes and participation in outdoor
recreation, Theodori et al. (1998) demonstrated a positive relationship between pro-
environmental behavior and participation in outdoor recreation. Likewise, Tarrant
and Green (1999) examined whether participation in outdoor recreation can be a
parameter for environmental behavior, concluding that its effect varied according to
the type of outdoor recreation. Specifically, they found that while participation in
“appreciative activities,” such as hiking, nature observation, and bird-watching, aid
in the development of a positive attitude toward the environment and environmental
behavior, participation in “consumptive activities,” such as fishing and hunting, and
participation in “motorized activities,” such as driving off-road “four wheelers” or
riding in a motorboat, do not encourage environmental behavior. Other studies have
examined the effect of recreational specialization. Specialization2 is defined as “a
2
Specialization refers to the idea that, while the participant is involved in a wide range of unspeci-
fied activities with vague expectations for their experience at the lower developmental stage of this
continuum, the participant starts investing time and effort in improving their skill, increasing their
commitment to the activity and seeking more detailed knowledge to better understand their perfor-
mance and experiences as their specialization advances (Kuentzel and McDonald 1992).
Specialization, in this sense, is measured by three dimensions: the cognitive and behavioral dimen-
sion—proposed by Bryan (1977), and an additional dimension—the affective dimension, which
indicates an increasing emotional tie of the individual to the activity (McIntyre and Pigram 1992).
8 K. Matsui
continuum of behavior from the general to the particular, reflected by equipment

and skills used in the sport and activity setting preferences” (Bryan 1977; Ninomiya
2007), and it has been demonstrated that attitudes toward the natural environment
vary based on their developmental stage (e.g., Bryan 1977; McFarlane and Boxall
1996; Dyck et al. 2003; Thapa et al. 2006).
For example, Bryan (1977) showed that, as the developmental stage of special-
ization evolves to higher levels, the purpose of and behavior toward fishing changes
among its participants; at higher levels they act with greater consideration toward
the natural environment by shifting from a consumption-oriented attitude to a
conservation-oriented one. Based on the preceding studies, I can say that a partici-
pant’s affinity for nature increases when they come into contact with nature through
outdoor recreational activities, causing them to begin a developmental process
which leads them to voluntarily begin taking environmentally conscious actions.
The results of a survey conducted by GSA (2013) indicated that awareness
toward sports and environmental issues is gradually spreading. The study also
showed that individuals who play outdoor sports that take place in real (i.e., unde-
veloped) natural environments were more likely to respond positively to questions
about their participation and interest in environmental protection activities, as com-
pared to those who played sports in other environments. Therefore, the survey indi-
cated that individuals who play outdoor sports are more likely to have a higher
awareness of the environment, just as the participants in outdoor recreational activi-
ties usually develop a higher awareness.
Studies that examine awareness of the environment, or attitudes toward pro-
environmental behavior, among participants in outdoor recreation can be found in
various places. However, as described above, there are only a few studies concern-
ing awareness of the environment or pro-environmental behavior among competi-
tive sports’ participants and spectators. Considering the importance of sustainability
issues surrounding sports and sporting events, there is an urgent need for conducting
studies that focus on the sports participants themselves. As it is becoming increas-
ingly evident that sports organizations are implementing environmental initiatives
as part of their business strategy, clarifying the attitudes of sports participants, and
how they behave, is a strategic move that can define how sports organizations should
work on environmental initiatives in the future. With this in mind, in the following
sections, I will introduce triathlons and trail running as case studies related to pro-
environmental behavior among sports participants.
1.3 Cases on Sports Participants and Environmental Issues
1.3.1 Case of Triathlon Participants
First of all, what are the attitudes that triathlon participants hold regarding the envi-
ronment? As described above, the JTU has implemented a variety of environmen-
tally conscious initiatives. Due to the nature of the triathlon, which includes a
swimming competition at sea, it has a close relationship with the natural environment.
I measured the level of specialization and pro-environmental behavior among triath-
lon participants via a questionnaire survey (N = 262, RR = 68.9 %). The specializa-
tion evaluation was comprised three dimensions (behavior, cognition, and affect),
seven sub-categories and 20 items.3 For example, the cognitive dimension consisted
by two sub-categories, skill and knowledge that were measured by 3 items each.
The items were measured on a five-point scale from 1 (completely disagree) to 5
(completely agree). The synthesis variables were calculated by adding together the
score of each sub-category’s item. Then, I classified participants into the specializa-
tion’s developmental stages; low, medium, and high by using the synthesis vari-
ables. Pro-environmental behavior was measured by six items in the Lifestyle Scale
developed by Matsui et al. (2012). Each item was measured on a seven-point scale
from 1 (completely disagree) to 7 (completely agree).4 Finally, I examined the rela-
tionship between each level of specialization and pro-environmental behavior.
To verify possible differences in pro-environmental behavior among levels of
specialization, an ANOVA was performed. As shown in Tables 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3,
there was no significant difference in the results between the three groups in terms
of the behavioral and cognitive dimension (behavior: F (2, 259) = 1.15, n.s.; cogni-
tion: F (2, 259) = 1.67, n.s.). On the other hand, there was a significant difference
between the three groups in terms of their affective dimension (F (2, 259) = 6.21,
p < .01). The results of multiple comparisons showed a significant difference
between the low group and medium group, as well as between the low group and
3
The level of specialization was measured through three dimensions: behavior, cognition, and
affect. The measurement items of each dimension are as follows.
Behavioral dimension: (1) number of years in the competition, (2) number of entering competi-
tions in the past 3 years.
Cognitive dimension: (1) level of swimming/ bicycling/running skills, (2) level of knowledge
related to triathlon equipment, (3) level of knowledge related to triathlon training, and (4) level
of knowledge related to the triathlon race.
Affective dimension: (1) triathlon is one of the most satisfying things I do, (2) triathlon is very
important to me, (3) triathlon is nothing more than a place to stay while I do other things, (4) I
have little or no interest in triathlons, (5) I can’t say I particularly like triathlons, (6) Triathlons
are one of the most enjoyable things I do, (7) I find that a lot my life is organized around triath-
lons, (8) most of my friends are in some way connected with triathlons (9) I enjoy discussing
triathlon with my friends, (10) you can tell a lot about a person when you see them in a triath-
lon, (11) when I play triathlon I can really be myself, and (12) triathlons says a lot about who I
am.
4
The six determinants of pro-environmental behavior in the Lifestyle Scale, developed by Matsui
et al. (2012), were used to measure pro-environmental behaviors. The attributes are as follows:
1. When I acquire information that is good for the environment, I do my best to implement it.
2. I tend to be sensitive about information pertaining to environmental issues.
3. I strive to save electricity in my daily life.
4. I strive to reduce the amount of garbage I produce.
5. I select products made available by manufacturers who proactively implement environmental
measures.
6. I strive to save water in my daily life.
10 K. Matsui
Table 1.1 Results of one-way ANOVA for the behavioral dimension

Behavioral level
Low Medium High Multiple
(n = 72) (n = 153) (n = 37) F-value comparison
Pro-environmental behavior 4.81 4.61 4.73 1.15 n.s.
Table 1.2 Results of one-way ANOVA for the cognitive dimension

Cognitive level
Pro-environmental behavior 4.66 4.80 4.91 1.67 n.s.
Table 1.3 Results of one-way ANOVA for the affective dimension

Affective level
Pro-environmental behavior 4.26 4.74 5.00 6.21** Low < medium
Low < high
**p < .01
high group. This indicates that the score for pro-environmental behavior is signifi-
cantly higher among individuals in a higher developmental stage of specialization;
individuals are more likely to take pro-environmental behaviors when they are
engaged in a higher developmental stage of specialization.
In order to further evaluate these results, a structure analysis was used to examine
the effects of the three specialization dimensions on pro-environmental behavior.
The results indicated that, of the three dimensions that make up specialization, the
path coefficient from the affective dimension to pro-environmental behavior was
.33, and significant at the 1 % level. This indicates that triathlon participants’ pro-
environmental behavior is influenced by the affective dimension of their specializa-
tion (model’s goodness of fit, χ2/df = 2.49, GFI = .92, AGFI = .88, CFI = .91,
RMSEA = .08) (Fig. 1.1).
This result suggests that emotional involvement5 in a triathlon affects the partici-
pants’ opinion toward pro-environmental behavior. In other words, the likelihood of
taking environmentally conscious actions may increase as emotional involvement in
the triathlon increases. This conclusion is in agreement with the results of Thapa
et al. (2006) and Lee (2011), both of which demonstrated an effect of emotional
involvement on pro-environmental behavior. Kollmuss and Agyeman (2002) stated
that an emotional tie to nature is also important for fostering awareness of and inter-
est toward the environment. It seems that participants become attached to the place
5
For the emotional dimension, I used the 12 attributes related to enduring involvement, used by
McIntyre and Pigram (1992).
Fig. 1.1 Path diagram of specialization and pro-environmental behavior covariance structure analysis
and environment in which the triathlon is held, and begin to feel an emotional tie to
nature as their emotional involvement in the triathlon increases, eventually leading
them to take pro-environmental actions.
The lack of significance for a relationship between the behavioral dimension and
pro-environmental behavior indicates that the frequency of participation in a triath-
lon does not affect pro-environmental behavior. Presumably, participants, as they
continue to compete, become more eager to improve their ability to compete—they
want to enter into more competitions and improve their performances—and as a
result become more interested in their record as competitor than in the environment
in which the competition takes place. The same can be said for the cognitive dimen-
sion: the covariance structure analysis showed that the cognitive dimension,
although not significant, had a negative effect on pro-environmental behavior. This
indicates that a participant’s score for pro-environmental behavior declines as that
participant improves their skill and knowledge.
On the other hand, assuming that the three dimensions—behavioral, cognitive,
and affective—are correlated, I would expect the participants’ emotional involve-
ment in triathlons to increase as the behavioral and cognitive dimensions increase.
However, the results of this study indicate that there is a different relation between
the behavioral and cognitive dimensions and pro-environmental behavior. Kuentzel
and McDonald (1992) stated that, while an individual who is new to an activity is
more likely to commit to an activity and see it as central to their lifestyle when they
are new to the activity, that commitment and vision diverges as they become more
experienced. In other words, it is conceivable that a participant’s involvement in
triathlon becomes diverges once their behavior, skill, and knowledge reach a certain
level. This may explain why behavioral and cognitive dimensions had no direct
effect on pro-environmental behavior.
Based on the above, I conclude that the behavioral and cognitive dimensions of
a triathlon are not related to pro-environmental behavior; only the participants’
emotional involvement in the triathlon can predict pro-environmental behavior.
12 K. Matsui
1.3.2 Case of Trail Running
The next case study concerns trail running participants. Trail running is an athletic
sport in which the participant runs through the environment with (1) unpaved roads,
(2) hilly mountain paths, (3) vast wilderness landscapes, and (4) obstacles such as
mud and tree roots (Japan Trail Running Association n.d.). The Japan Trail Running
Association (JTRA), which aims to foster personal health, an understanding of
nature, mutual aid, and a spirit of compassion towards others, all through the prac-
tice of running in nature, also has regulations for nature conservation. In other
words, trail running can be considered a sport that increases its participants’ under-
standing of nature, because it is deeply connected to the natural environment.
Utilizing a methodology similar to the above-mentioned survey of triathlon
participants, I conducted a questionnaire survey of trail running participants
(N = 228, RR = 75.7 %), examining the relationship between their emotional involve-
ment in trail running and pro-environmental behaviors. “Emotional involvement”
consisted of three factors—attraction, centrality, and self-expression—and 12 items.
The synthesis variables were calculated by adding together the score of each item.
Participants were classified into either a high- or low-attraction group by using the
synthesis variables. A T-test was performed to examine the difference between the
high- and low-group of each factor. The results, shown in Tables 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6,
indicate that, for all three factors, the two groups had different scores for
pro-environmental behaviors, with the high-attraction group scoring higher in all cases.
These results indicate that individuals who have a higher emotional involvement
in trail running are more likely to take environmentally conscious actions. This
Table 1.4 T-test for involvement (attraction) and pro-environmental behavior

Attraction
Low (n = 77) High (n = 76) t-value
Pro-environmental behavior 4.65 4.98 −2.10*
*p < .05
Table 1.5 T-test for involvement (centrality) and pro-environmental behavior

Centrality
Pro-environmental behavior 4.52 5.13 −4.11***
***p < .001
Table 1.6 T-test for Involvement (self-expression) and pro-environmental behavior

Self-expression
Pro-environmental behavior 4.54 5.17 −4.22***
***p < .001
result, which mirrors that of the triathlon participants, suggests that participants’
pro-environmental behavior is affected by their emotional involvement in the sport,
or in their particular human psychology. For example, it is possible for the partici-
pants, recognizing the initiatives implemented by the sports association, to adopt
new views toward the environment as their involvement in the sport increases. They
may also participate in the environmental activities held by the association, and take
actions that are more environmentally conscious as a result.
However, trail running is governed by rules, such a restriction against littering or
against collecting plants. Violating these rules can disqualify participants if they are
deemed to have harmed the natural environment. Therefore, it can be said that the
environmental awareness fostered in the daily life of trail runners is inevitably high,
because they are forced, when competing, to be conscious of the environment.
Furthermore, in the case of both triathlons and trail running, the question remains as
to whether the individuals who have chosen to compete in those sports have a high
awareness of the environment to begin with. In the future, it will be necessary to
examine changes in environmental awareness before and after engaging in these
sports, and to compare these changes to those of individuals who have not engaged
in these sports. The significance of any differences found will be evaluated.
1.4 Discussion
The importance of sports organizations engaging in environmentally conscious

measures has been discussed in the past (e.g., Chalip 2006; Iokimidis 2007; Thibault
2009), and cases in which sports organizations fulfill their CSR can now be seen. I
conducted case studies that evaluated the attitudes of the individuals who engage in
sports in the midst of this corporate trend. The results suggest that sports partici-
pants’ pro-environmental behavior is affected more by their increased emotional
involvement in the sport than it is by their simply engaging in the sport. To put it in
different terms, unless sports participants’ emotional involvement increases, they
are unlikely to become more aware of the environment, even if the sports organiza-
tion implements environmentally conscious initiatives. Given the importance of
social responsibility, encouraging the event participants to be environmentally con-
scious is an important role for sports organizations. Additionally, the number of
individuals who regularly play sports has increased in recent years (Sasakawa
Sports Foundation 2012), and athletes’ awareness of the environment will become
an important social responsibility. Further, there is a strong, likelihood that the com-
panies which promote environmentally conscious practices will also become
increasingly involved in the sponsorship of competitions and sporting events. In
addition, since sports have educational value, and affect the development of per-
sonal character, developing an environment-friendly personality through sports will
further demonstrate the value of sports.
Finally, sports and environmental issues have not been discussed together with
any frequency in the past. The results reported in this chapter do not reflect the
14 K. Matsui
behavior of all sports participants, and they cannot be expanded to apply to attitudes
towards pro-environmental behavior exhibited by sports participants in general.
That being said, I expect that terms, such as “environmental issues” and “environ-
mentally conscious,” to be recognized by society with increasing frequency in the
future, and this chapter provides some basic data for thinking about sports and envi-
ronmental issues. Going forward, we need to conduct more studies on the subject of
sports and environmental issues, and strive for sustainable sports.
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Chapter 2
Emotions of Sport Spectators
Daichi Oshimi
Abstract Much researcher has focused on emotions, because emotions play such
an important role in predicting consumer behavior. In this chapter I review previous
studies related to customer emotion and delight and introduce empirical studies that
apply psychological theory to sport spectator behavioral research. I also briefly
cover fundamental knowledge concerning emotion and delight as a basis for under-
standing the research presented as well as for aiding in the development of future
research topics. The information in this chapter will prove useful to those in the
sport industry and especially to researchers and sport marketers or managers.
Keywords Spectator emotion • Customer delight • Watching sport
2.1 Introduction
It is often said that a strong relationship exists between emotion and watching sport.
A wide variety of emotions are aroused when watching sport. These range from very
positive (such as joy, delight) to quite negative (such as anger, irritation) (Sloan 1989).
Many researchers have focused on emotions in their studies—not only in psychology,
but also in other social sciences such as marketing science—because emotions play
an important role in predicting consumer behavior (Bagozzi et al. 1999). For example,
previous consumer behavior research verified that emotions influence consumer deci-
sion making (e.g., Holbrook and Hirshman 1982), customer satisfaction (e.g., Mano
and Oliver 1993), and purchasing behavior (e.g., Westbrook 1987).
This chapter focuses on the emotions of spectators watching sport and summa-
rizes previous research while introducing my own past empirical studies. Specifically,
this chapter will emphasizes the importance of the emotion of “delight”. This emo-
tion has been verified as an important factor in marketing science (e.g., Oliver et al.
1997; Rust and Oliver 2000), and the number of consumer-related studies focusing
on this emotion has increased recently (Oliver 2010). The information provided in
D. Oshimi (*)
Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: oshimidaichi@aoni.waseda.jp

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3_2
18 D. Oshimi
this chapter, then, will surely be useful for those in the sport industry, and especially
for researchers and sport marketers or managers.
2.2 Fundamental Concepts for Emotion Study
There are three fundamental concepts to consider when applying emotion to con-
sumer behavior study: the variety of emotional terminology, the classification of
emotions, and the hierarchy of emotions. It is helpful to understand these concepts
as well as the fundamental knowledge from previous research. As in most disci-
plines, different scholars present varied viewpoints. It is useful to carefully select
the theory or theories that best suit your research question and purpose.
2.2.1 Variety of Emotional Terminology
In psychology, a variety of terms is used to discuss emotion, such as the general

terms “affect,” “feeling,” “mood,” and, of course, “emotion.” It should be recognized
that these terms have been used inconstantly in the literature (Hama et al. 2001); in
general, the duration, intention, and intensity of the emotion should be considered in
order to differentiate these terms. For example, Bagozzi et al. (1999) mentioned that
it is often difficult to draw a distinction between “emotion” and “mood” but that, by
convention, a mood is often conceived of as lasting longer (from a few hours up to
days) and being lower in intensity than an emotion. Moreover, emotion is intentional
while moods are generally non-intentional and global or diffused (Frijda 1993).
Table 2.1 summarizes the characteristics of emotion and mood. These definitions
should be carefully considered when research involves an evaluation of emotion.
2.2.2 Classifications of Emotion
It is said that most humans, regardless of gender or culture, have certain basic, funda-
mental emotions that are necessary for normal function. Ekman (1992) suggests a “big
six” of emotion; joy, surprise, anger, fear, disgust, and sadness, whereas Plutchik
(1980) maintains there are eight basic emotions: joy, acceptance, fear, surprise, sad-
ness, disgust, anger, and anticipation. Because the expression of emotions is influenced
Table 2.1 Differences between emotion and mood

Intensity Duration Intention
Emotion Higher Shorter Intentional
Mood Lower Longer Non-intentional
2 Emotions of Sport Spectators 19
arousal
(angry, tense, etc...) (excitement, delight, etc...)
displeasure pleasure
(sad, gloomy, etc...) (relaxed, calm, etc...)
sleepiness
Fig. 2.1 Circumplex model of affect (From Russel 1980. Copyright 1980 by the American
Psychological Association. Adapted with permission)
by culture and environment, in adults the emotions encountered by researchers can be

quite different. Moreover, there is general recognition among psychologists that the
basic emotions can be combined to form other emotions (e.g., joy + surprise = delight)
(Plutchik 1980). Therefore, we should recognize a basic framework of classification
for emotions. Figure. 2.1 shows a representative example of such a classification.
The model depicted in Fig. 2.1 is constructed using two dimensions, “pleasure–
displeasure” and “arousal–sleepiness,” and is very useful in understanding each
emotion’s orientation (Bagozzi et al. 1999). Recognize, however, that such
dimensions can be different for each researcher, such as those employed by
Schlosberg (1954) or Mehrabian (1978). It is important to be aware of the basic idea
underlying each model.
2.2.3 Hierarchy of Emotion
Figure 2.2 shows a hierarchy of consumer emotions. In consumer behavior research,

some researchers classify emotions roughly into positive or negative, while other
researchers focus on specific emotions. For example, there are studies focusing on “sur-
prise” (e.g., Derbaix and Vanhamme 2003; Kumar et al. 2001), “anger” (e.g., Bougie
et al. 2003), and “delight” (e.g., Oliver et al. 1997; Chitturi et al. 2008). The advantage
of viewing emotions in a rather rough way (such as positive or negative) is that it makes
it simpler to understand subjects’ attitudes. However, blending various emotions into
one coarse category means that useful information may be lost. For example, although
emotions are typically classified as “positive” or “negative”, we can find distinct
differences between anger and fear or excitement and calm. Therefore, we should
decide which classification method is most appropriate to the purpose of one’s study.
20 D. Oshimi
Super ordinate Negative affect Positive affect

level
Basic Anger Fear Sadness Shame Contentment Happiness Love Pride

level
Angry Scared Depressed Embarrassed Contented Optimistic Sexy Pride

Frustrated Afraid Sad Ashamed Fulfilled Encouraged Romantic
Irritated Panicky Miserable Humiliated Peaceful Hopeful Passionate
Subordinate
Unfulfilled Nervous Helpless Happy Loving
level
Discontented Worried Nostalgia Pleased Sentimental
Envious Tense Guilty Joyful Warm-
hearted
Jealous Relieved
Thrilled
Enthusiastic
Fig. 2.2 Hierarchy of consumer emotions (From Laros et al. 2005. Copyright 2004 by Elsevier.
Adapted with permission)
2.3 Emotion in Watching Sport
In this section, empirical studies are introduced that apply psychological theory to
sport spectators. Two of the characteristics present when watching sport are “com-
petitiveness” and “uncertainty of game outcome” (Wann et al. 2001); these charac-
teristics enable spectators to be aroused easily. Previous studies have examined
spectators’ psychological changes before and after watching games (e.g., Hirt et al.
1992; Knobloch-Westerick et al. 2009; Oshimi and Harada 2012a; Sloan 1989). In
most results, positive emotions were aroused when the spectators’ favorite team
won the game, and negative emotions were aroused when their favorite team lost. In
other words, the outcome of the game, resulting from player or team performance,
is a predicting factor for spectators’ emotions.
However, it is assumed that spectators’ emotional arousal cannot be fully pre-
dicted simply by whether their favorite team wins or loses. This is believed to be
because spectators’ psychological states may differ depending on the content of a
game (such as games won by a narrow or wide margin) (Bee and Madrigal 2012).
One interesting example of the spectators’ emotional state before and after a game
took place in the league qualifier games of the 2013 FIFA CONFEDERATIONS
CUP in which people watched the Japan National Soccer Team (Japan vs. Brazil,
Japan vs. Italy, and Japan vs. Mexico). The study focused on a total of 105 under-
graduate student spectators of these games.
A unitary variance analysis was conducted on spectators’ emotions following
each game, and subsequent verification was conducted using Tukey’s method. The
results indicated a particularly strong occurrence of positive emotions such as pride,
joy, and delight during the Italy game in comparison to the other two games
(p < .001); also observed were differences in the influence of negative emotions such
as anxiety and outrage as compared to the other games (Table 2.2). Therefore, it is
clear that a win or loss of the spectators’ favorite team is not an adequate predictive
Table 2.2 Mean pre- and post-match scores for negative and positive emotions (Oshimi et al.
2013a)
Pre-match Post-match Post hoc
Factor Group (SD) (SD) F analysis
Pride vs. BRA (n = 40) 1.81 (1.19) 1.58 (0.88) 31.57 (2, 95)*** ITA > BRA
vs. ITA (n = 34) 1.54 (0.84) 3.38 (1.45) ITA > MEX
vs. MEX (n = 31) 1.77 (1.10) 1.53 (0.96)
Joy vs. BRA (n = 40) 2.37 (1.45) 1.52 (0.76) 30.68 (2, 95)*** ITA > BRA
vs. ITA (n = 34) 2.07 (1.17) 3.15 (1.43) ITA > MEX
vs. MEX (n = 31) 2.24 (1.44) 1.61 (0.86)
Delight vs. BRA (n = 40) 1.42 (0.82) 2.12 (1.22) 22.95 (2, 95)*** ITA > BRA
vs. ITA (n = 34) 1.26 (0.56) 4.07 (1.71) ITA > MEX
vs. MEX (n = 31) 1.59 (1.04) 2.15 (1.04)
Anxiety vs. BRA (n = 40) 2.08 (1.01) 1.89 (1.20) 3.33 (2, 95)* MEX > ITA
vs. ITA (n = 34) 1.99 (1.32) 1.49 (0.91)
vs. MEX (n = 31) 1.92 (1.27) 2.40 (1.57)
Outrage vs. BRA (n = 40) 1.03 (0.16) 1.45 (0.85) 4.12 (2, 95)* MEX > BRA
vs. ITA (n = 34) 1.09 (0.43) 1.45 (0.98) MEX > ITA
vs. MEX (n = 31) 1.21 (0.77) 2.11 (1.40)
Note 1, BRA = Brazil, ITA = Italy, MEX = Mexico
Note 2, There were no differences between participants’ three pre-test, pre-game expectations,
emotional state, and involvement with their favorite team for their designated game
Note 3, Overall null hypothesis for the five factors (post-match) was rejected (Wilks’ λ = .480,
F(10, 182) = 8.080, p < .001)
*
p < .05, ***p < .001
variable for spectator emotions, because there were major differences among spec-
tators’ emotions after each game even though the results of the games were same;
Japan lost all three games (Japan vs. Brazil = 0–3; Japan vs. Italy = 3–4; Japan vs.
Mexico = 1–2).
Another approach for predicting spectators’ emotions is to apply the cognitive
appraisal theory. This approach is frequently used to determine consumer emotions;
consumers’ thoughts and evaluations of a given product have an impact on emo-
tional arousal (Oliver 1993). The above methodology is based on the cognitive-
motivational-relational theory (Lazarus 1991), which proposes that cognition is a
precedent to emotional arousal. Table 2.3 shows the result of spectators’ emotional
state as determined by applying the cognitive appraisal theory which in this case
focused on discrepancies between the results of the event and the spectators’
expectations.
The results of the study were such that, depending on whether there was a high
or low degree of discrepancy between the results of the event and the spectators’
expectations, there was a clear reinforcement of positive or negative emotions. From
these results, it is assumed that discrepancies between the results of the event and
the spectators’ expectations are important determinants in predicting the arousal of
22 D. Oshimi
Table 2.3 Mean negative and positive disconfirmation for negative and positive emotions (Oshimi
et al. 2013a)
Disconfirmation
Factor Negative Positive t-value
Pride 1.29 (0.49) 2.89 (1.56) 6.91***
Joy 1.23 (0.41) 2.71 (1.43) 7.06***
Delight 1.81 (1.02) 3.67 (1.67) 6.49***
Excitement 3.16 (1.35) 4.83 (1.49) 5.45***
Anxiety 2.45 (1.61) 1.46 (0.85) 3.45**
Outrage 2.13 (1.41) 1.36 (0.86) 2.97**
Disappointment 3.71 (1.70) 2.80 (1.39) 2.69*
Note 1, A seven-step scale was utilized concerned with discrepancies in the spectators’ expecta-
tions ranging from negative disconfirmation = 1–3 to positive disconfirmation = 5–7; *4 (just as
expected) was excluded
Note 2, The overall null hypothesis for the seven factors was rejected (Wilks’ λ = .556, F(7,
90) = 10.248, p < .001)
*
p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001
emotions. This information accrues in addition to whether a spectator’s supported

team won or lost (e.g., Hirt et al. 1992; Madrigal 2008; Sloan 1989). Therefore, two
variables, “outcome of the team they support” and “discrepancies between the
results of the event and spectators’ expectations,” should be taken into account in
predicting spectators’ emotions.
In actually, on comparing the Italy game to the other two games, there was a high
degree of discrepancy post-game (Brazil game mean = 3.53, SD = 1.50; Italy game
mean = 6.38, SD = 0.55; Mexico game mean = 3.27, SD = 1.22, F(2, 95) = 71.14,
p < .01). The Italy game was a close match compared with the other two games,
therefore the game content was enjoyable and caused arousal of positive emotions,
in line with the indications of Bee and Madrigal (2012).
2.4 Customer Delight in Watching Sport
This section focuses on one specific emotion: “delight”; one of the strong positive
emotions (Plutchik 1980). “Delight” is frequently used as a key word in business or
research studies and is often utilized in the marketing evaluations as “customer
delight”. Surprisingly enough, however, studies focusing on delight are scarce in
sport management/marketing research; thus, it will be beneficial to introduce some
fundamental concepts involving delight as well as related empirical studies.
Rust and Oliver (2000) defined customer delight as a profoundly positive emo-
tional state resulting from having one’s expectations exceeded to a surprising
degree. They held that customer delight should be considered as distinct from
customer satisfaction. The advantages of delighting customers are: acquiring posi-
tive word-of-mouth (Torres and Kline 2006), receiving higher royalties, maintain-
Fig. 2.3 The process of

Extremely Customer
creating customer delight Strong
Delight
Surprising
Positive emotions
Disconfirmation
Positive emotions
(joy, happy, pleasure etc…)
Memorable Customer
Experience
ing better customer retention (Hicks et al. 2005; Torres and Kline 2006), and
creating a stronger possibility of re-purchase (Chitturi et al. 2008; Keiningham et al.
1999; Hicks et al. 2005). Being delighted by services or products has the potential
to drastically increase customer satisfaction (Oliver 2010). Figure 2.3 shows the
process of creating customer delight.
The key factors to arouse delight are “surprising emotion” and “positive emo-
tions,” such as joy, pleasure, and happiness. Previous studies have explored the ante-
cedent and outcome variables of customer delight by examining the customer
delight experiences by utilizing quantitative (e.g., Arora 2012; Kim et al. 2012;
Loureiro 2010), qualitative (Arnold et al. 2005; Magnini et al. 2011; Torres et al.
2014), and mixed method approaches (e.g., Swanson and Davis 2012). Based on
these results, the author has examined spectators’ customer delight in watching
sport, which will be introduced in the following section.
2.4.1 Customer Delight and Satisfaction Model
One of the models for investigating the mechanism of customer delight is the “cus-
tomer delight and satisfaction model” (Oliver et al. 1997). Because of its general ver-
satility, researchers have utilized this model in various service industry settings such
as entertainment (theme park and orchestra audiences) (Oliver et al. 1997), turism
(Loureiro 2010), and retail (Finn 2005). The upper part of this model is constructed
based on psychological theory, and bottom is composed of disconfirmation-satisfaction
theory. This model was applied to 254 (155 men, 99 women) Japan professional foot-
ball league spectators’ in an overall evaluation of past stadium experiences. Figure 2.4
shows the results of the model Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).
As a result, the sequence (surprising consumption/disconfirmation → arousal →
positive affect → customer delight) was found to be important in inducing customer
24 D. Oshimi
Surprising Customer
Consumption .20 delight
.24 R2 =.46
.83
Arousal Word-of-mouth
.26 intention
.85 .94
.30 R2 =.46
.25
.47 Re-visit
Positive affect intention
.54
.20
.49
.38
Disconfirmation Satisfaction
Fig. 2.4 The results of spectators’ overall evaluation of past stadium experiences.
Note, χ2/df = 2.56, CFI = .946, RMSEA = .079 (From Oshimi and Harada 2013)
Customer Customer .23

delight R2=.50 delight R2=.50
Intention Intention
Satisfaction .71 Satisfaction

.59
Visitors to wild life park Rural tourist at in northern Portugal

Oliver et al. (1997) (Loureiro, 2010)
Customer .29 R2=.30 Customer .45 R2=.58

delight delight
Intention Intention
Satisfaction .36 Satisfaction .34
Orchestra audience Football spectators of their supported team won

Oliver et al. (1997) c 2/df = 2.87, CFI = .908, RMSEA = .056
(from Oshimi et al. 2013b, p. 47)
Fig. 2.5 The specific evaluations by each industrial customer on the day of his or her experience
delight and positive affect as an antecedent factor which strongly influenced cus-
tomer delight. In addition, customer satisfaction was found to influence word-of-
mouth and re-visit intention better than customer delight. This result agreed with
those of previous studies (Finn 2005; Loureiro 2010; Oliver et al. 1997).
Next, another survey was conducted at the stadium to investigate the spectators’
specific evaluation on the day of their experience at the stadium and to compare the
result with previous studies focusing on the interaction between customer delight/
satisfaction and intentions (re-visit to the stadium and word-of-mouth) (Fig. 2.5)
Figure 2.5 shows the results of specific evaluations by industrial customers on
the day of their experience. Interestingly, customer delight influenced intention
more than satisfaction only when the football spectators’ favorite team won the
game. This result implies that on the day of their stadium experience, when their
favorite team wins the game, there is a strong impact on intention.1 Although we
should take the lack of cases into account, this is one piece of evidence of the strong
propensity of particular sporting event characteristics to contribute to the emotional
state of the spectators (Yoshida and James 2010).
2.4.2 The Experience of Delight While Watching Sport
The customer delight and satisfaction model allows us to better understand the psy-
chological mechanisms of customer delight, such as the importance of surprise
emotion, arousal, and positive emotions and emotional intensity in the spectator
experience. However, in spite of these advances in general understanding, there
remains a general lack of knowledge on how we can arouse these emotions in a
practical situation. For example, Magnini et al. (2011) clarified the determinants of
customer delight in tourism venues through text-mines and content analysis on the
travel blog “Tripadvisor.com,” and Arnold et al. (2005) verified the source of
delightful experience through 113 in-depth interviews in a retail context. In sum,
exploring delight experiences qualitatively leads to concrete and practical under-
standing of customer delight. Therefore, several investigations were conducted to
clarify the delightful experience of watching a sport in the stadium through a ques-
tionnaire survey. Table 2.4 shows the method of this study, and Table 2.5 shows the
results.
2.4.3 Delight Scenes from the Perspective

of Sport Management/Marketing
Table 2.5 shows the name and definition of each factor. Six of the eight delight
scenes, “spectating in stadium,” “dramatic scenes,” “outstanding plays,” “success
from overcoming barriers,” “strenuous figures,” and “humanity,” are related to team/
player performance or the existence or non-existence of a favorite/star player. These
factors correspond to the core products of sport marketing (e.g., Greenwell et al.
2002). These factors are hard to manage, because team managers or marketers are
not able to control team/player performance. However, the key factor to induce
“success from overcoming barriers” and “humanity” is knowledge of the team or
player. For example, if a spectator who has no knowledge about the team/player
observes a certain players’ strong performance, even though the player may be
overcoming a barrier such as a severe injury or some accident, the spectator would
1
As some have clarified that spectators whose favorite team lost showed no influence of customer
delight on intention (Oshimi and Harada 2013), this result may occur when their supported team
wins the game.
26 D. Oshimi
Table 2.4 Summary of the investigation (Oshimi and Harada 2010)

Subjects (n = 1,741) 1,322 Japan professional soccer league spectators (869 men, 453 women)
299 professional basketball spectators (163 men, 136 women)
120 undergraduate students (75 men, 45 women)
Method Five-time questionnaire surveys at stadium, arena, university
Analysis Confirmatory factor analysis, calculated average variance extracted
(AVE) and Cronbach’s α, discriminate validity check
First, 742 free descriptions were collected through a three-time questionnaire survey in Japan
professional soccer league spectators (n = 289), Japan professional basketball league spectators
(n = 299), and undergraduate students (n = 120). Second, these descriptions were categorized by
three researchers, and a two-time (n = 1,033 in total) questionnaire survey was conducted to check
validity and reliability of the scale
Table 2.5 Eight factors name and definition (Oshimi and Harada 2010)
Sympathy/Togetherness Experiencing sympathy/togetherness with other spectators,
including enthusiastic cheering and supporting the team along
with other spectators
Spectating in stadium Spectating in stadium watching a favorite or famous athlete
Dramatic scenes Watching dramatic winning of a favorite team
Outstanding plays Witnessing the exceptional skills of an individual and the
combined effort of a team
Success from overcoming Watching player performing brilliantly after overcoming from
barriers some behind situations
Strenuous figures Watching hard work of players and teams until the end of the
match
Humanity Feeling enriched humanness in athlete
Additional elements Being in a beautiful and spectacular stadium or receiving
excellent services
χ2/df = 2.58, CFI = .923, RMSEA = .065
not be delighted because of his or her lack of knowledge and information about the
player.
Similarly, when spectators watch a “humanity scene,” meaning some player
expresses emotion such as crying during an interview or after the game, if they lack
background information, they cannot understand or share the players’ feelings.
Oshimi and Harada (2013) empirically demonstrated that arousing delight in spec-
tators who had a high degree of knowledge about their favorite team influenced
word-of-mouth and re-visit intention better than when delight was aroused in spec-
tators who possessed only a moderate knowledge about the supported team.
Therefore, sport managers/marketers should release sufficient information to spec-
tators through various media to change common success or emotional scenes, which
do not adequately inspire spectators, into “success from overcoming barriers” or
“humanity” scenes.
Two of eight delight scenes, “sympathy/togetherness” and “additional elements,”

are important variables because of their possibility to manage. Sympathy/together-
ness means that a spectator shares euphoric moments with other spectators or play-
ers in a stadium. Although this is regarded as one of the core products in sport
marketing (Yoshida and James 2010), we are able to manage it by distributing same-
color paper or selling T-shirts, towels, and other merchandise to inspire a sense of
togetherness in the stadium. An additional element is a delightful experience that
occurs due to receiving good service from stadium staff or going to a clean and
spectacular stadium; thus, managers/marketers should train stadium staff well and
improve their stadium facilities.
In summary, it should be recognized that some delight experiences can be man-
aged, and some can be hard to manage. Therefore, we should continue to explore,
as researchers, more specific information about the points of customer delight so
that managers/marketers can better utilize their business models.
2.5 Future Research
In this chapter, previous studies were reviewed, and empirical studies were intro-
duced related to spectator emotion and delight in watching sport. This last section
presents two future research topics: “pre-established harmony delight experience”
and “psychological effect of delight experience.”
2.5.1 Pre-established Harmony Delight Experience
As mentioned in a previous section, arousing delight requires surprise and a positive

emotion (Plutchik 1980). There are many indications that surprise is essential to
inducing delight (e.g., Arnold et al. 2005; Berman 2005; Oliver et al. 1997; Rust and
Oliver 2000). However, there are some delight experiences that occur without the
surprise element. For example, you may be delighted by a movie you have watched
many times or when you watch a TV drama that always follows the same pattern. The
Japan professional football spectators2 provided interesting responses such as “I’m
always delighted when we sing prefectural songs before the game” or “I’m always
delighted when I watch players come in to the pitch for the game.” These scenes may
induce not surprise but joy, happiness, pride, or pre-established harmony feelings.
Kumar et al. (2001) investigated whether surprise is necessary for arousing
delight and concluded that there is a possibility of delight where there is no surprise.
Therefore, we should explore pre-established harmony delight experiences. In
particular, an important aspect of watching sport is clearly the outcome of the game,
2
Subjects were 143 spectators (86 men, 57 women), and the questionnaire survey was conducted
at the stadium.
28 D. Oshimi
and if spectators’ favorite team loses the game, they tend to feel negative emotions
(e.g., Hirt et al. 1992; Knobloch-Westerick et al. 2009; Oshimi and Harada 2012a,
b; Sloan 1989). Thus, we should find some factors or devices to delight or please
spectators even if their favorite team loses the game; this would definitely be a use-
ful research topic for sport management/marketing.
2.5.2 Psychological Effect of Delight Experience
Although the effects of delight were limited to re-visit and word-of-mouth intention
in Oliver’s model (Oliver et al. 1997), our investigation (Oshimi and Harada 2012b)3
showed that the effects of delightful experiences were “motivation,” “positive
thought,” “developing interest,” “stress release,” “happiness,” “change thought,”
“human love,” and “others” (Table 2.6).
Although we received descriptions of “developing interest” such as “I decided to
support this team more than before following a delightful experience” or “I liked
football better than before,” which were responses related to re-visit intention, other
descriptions showed different effects. For example, there were descriptions of
“motivation” such as “I feel motivated toward my job after seeing a player perform-
ing very well” and “I feel energized for the next week (or tomorrow).” Most of these
scenes were related to psychological benefits such as psychological health or happi-
ness. Studies addressing the psychological health or happiness of sport spectators
have been scarce.
Recently, “positive psychology” and “happiness” have become key words in psy-
chology (Lopez and Snyder 2009), and there are studies applying these concepts to
marketing (e.g., Hsee et al. 2009) and sport participants (Lee et al. 2013).
Undoubtedly, such studies may be expected to increase in the sport management or
marketing field in the near future.
Table 2.6 The effect of Number of

delight experience in Each effect descriptions (%)
watching sport
Motivation 54 (37.2)
Positive thought 35 (24.1)
Developing interest 25 (17.2)
Stress release 9 (6.2)
Happiness 8 (5.5)
Change thought 6 (4.1)
Human love 5 (3.6)
Others 3 (2.1)
Total 145 (100)
3
Subjects were 126 spectators (86 men, 40 women), and the questionnaire survey was conducted
at the stadium. content analysis was utilized in this study to categorize free descriptions.
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Chapter 3
The Coming Super Aged Society: Exploring
Management of Community Sport Clubs
Tzu-Yu Lin and Seiichi Sakuno
Abstract To increase the percentage of citizens engaged in sport, the Japanese

government has placed an emphasis on promoting sport activity through developing
community sport clubs (CSC) in each community; however, many management
problems still remain unsolved. This article firstly introduces the current status of
CSC development by analyzing the government’s annual survey, the results of
which indicate that older people comprised a majority of the participants. The fol-
lowing analysis focuses on how older people engage in sport activity, with an
emphasis on urban-rural differences. Various evaluations of CSC are examined, and
overall, indicate that urban participants view interaction with staff as a key factor
while rural participants consider access of service as a particularly important factor.
In order to better understand how the external environment influences the manage-
ment of sport resources by the community sport club, related sport policies advo-
cated by the government are also discussed. Since there is no doubt that a super aged
society is imminent, suggestions are made as to how the CSC can best prepare to
deliver quality sport service for this growing segment of the population.
Keywords Community sport clubs (CSC) • Older people • Urban-rural difference

• Super aged society
3.1 Introduction of Community Sport Club
To promote sport activity for every citizen, since 2002 the Japanese government has
been involved in the development of a lifelong sport society and the creation of a
friendly sport environment for people in all age cohorts. The government has imple-
mented this policy through building up comprehensive community sport clubs
(Sougougatachiiki supotsu kurabu, CSC) in each community. The government has
T.Y. Lin (*)

Healthy Aging Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
e-mail: shinesmilevy@gmail.com
S. Sakuno

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3_3
32 T.Y. Lin and S. Sakuno
30.0
~7
25.0 7~12
13~15
20.0
16~18
15.0 ~29
30s
10.0
40s
5.0 50s
60~
0.0 (Age)
(%) 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Fig. 3.1 Total number of member statistics in CSC (MEXT, 2008–2012)
evaluated the outcomes by measuring the increase in the percentage of citizen sport
engagement, which was defined as adults who engage in sport activity more than
once a week. The government’s main goal is to increase the whole population of
sport engagement in the overall population such that two-thirds of the population
engages in sport activity. The government strategy for accomplishing this involved
providing convenient and affordable places for sport activities of citizens in each
community. The overall goal, often presented as a slogan, is to establish a sport
environment where everyone who is able to engage in sport anytime, anywhere. The
policy specifies the CSC as the provider of sport. Such sport must be available for
participants of all ages, gender, and disability. Programs available in the CSC are
also expected to include cultural activities (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport
Science and Technology, MEXT 2000). Due to a major effort, 3,493 CSC have been
established with an overall membership of 1,418,165 (MEXT 2013). For the previ-
ous 5 years period (MEXT 2012), a majority of the members were 60 years of age
and older. The remaining participants were relatively evenly distributed across
groups comprised of 7–12 year old children and adults in their 40s and 50s (Fig. 3.1).
For the remainder of the chapter, age will be given simply as a number, and will
refer to the age in years.
Although older people form a majority of the CSC membership, the actual nature
of their engagement in sport has not been investigated in earlier studies. In this
chapter1 both the engagement of older people in CSC and the management of CSC
in two areas are analyzed. First, the demographic characteristics of older partici-
pants are described. Included are age cohort, gender, education level, and living
status. The most representative participant was found to be a: 60–70, female, high
school graduate, living with their mate. Next, engagement in sport activity was eval-
uated to understand how members utilized the CSC, including transport time,
1
This article is an excerpt from the results of first author’s dissertation.
3 The Coming Super Aged Society: Exploring Management of Community Sport Clubs 33
Table 3.1 Demographics of urban and rural CSC of this study

Percentage Percentage
Age N O Transport time N O
Below 70 68.1 38.7 <5 min 14.0 5.7
71–80 27.9 45.3 6–10 29.2 34.0
Above 81 4.0 16.0 11–15 25.7 28.3
Gender 16–20 10.2 17.0
Male 22.9 45.3 >20 min 20.9 13.2
Female 77.1 53.8 Engaging time span
Living Status 9:00–12:00 57.4 92.5
Alone 14.2 13.2 12:00–15:00 22.1 0.0
With mate 40.4 59.4 18:00- 14.7 9.4
2 generation 38.2 18.9 Length of memberships
3 generation 5.0 7.5 Means 3.4 4.2
Others 2.2 0.9 Mode 3 3
Educational level Frequency of engagement
Elementary 0.5 4.7 Everyday 1.1 0.0
Junior high 4.0 33.0 3+ days weekly 7.7 9.4
High 43.9 47.2 1–2 days weekly 63.3 70.8
Vocation 13.2 8.5 1–2 days monthly 18.7 13.2
Bachelor 35.2 4.7 Several times yearly 8.0 3.8
Master 0.7 4.7 – – –
Others 2.2 33.0
Note: Total numbers = 545; N represents to Tokyo; O represents to Yamanashi
engaged time, and frequency of engagement. Most participants spent 6–10 min get-
ting to the CSC, engaged in sport at the CSC before 12:00, and went to the CSC
1–2 days per week. Table 3.1 illustrates these and other demographics, including
age segmentation of participants and the time and frequency of engagement for vari-
ous groups. The 60–70 group forms the majority of the older participants. Relative
to the 70+ groups, the 60–70 group is still in a discovering and innovating stage, and
still have the energy to support adventure and enjoy leisure and sport activities.
Indeed, the average age of retirement for Japanese workers is 65 for men and 60 for
women (National Pension Act, kokuminnenkinhou 2012). Many of these retirees
enter a new life stage without any overall plan. Many use the new free time to attend
various leisure sport organizations in the neighborhood. During this stage some
establish a colorful leisure life while others withdraw into to a small social network.
How a person responds to retirement depends on their attitude and how they adapt
to the aging process.
One interesting finding in the results involves the time period of sport engage-
ment in different geographical areas. In Tokyo, it is easy for participants to engage
in sport or cultural activities at practically any time. They generally go to CSC to
exercise in the morning during weekdays, but they still have other opportunities to
go in the afternoon and after sunset, even on the weekend. However, participants in
Yamanashi would typically attend sport activities in the morning, but then have no
other opportunities after the sport program ended. This clearly indicates that the
sport resources that CSC offers should be integrated with the lifestyle and opportu-
nities of each locale. Central government policy established the CSC as legitimate
non-profit organizations. CSC function partially as a government organization
because they get their main financial support from the government. Any sport orga-
nization in the wards in Tokyo can handle their own community affairs with specific
autonomy rights which are based on Revised Local Autonomy Act, 2000. If they
lack material resources, in order to meet the participants’ demand for sport activity,
CSC can seek administrative assistance from the local government as well as the
Tokyo bureau of sport. On the other hand, the CSC in Yamanashi is unable to offer
the sport program after sunset due to a lack of resources and the lifestyle of the peas-
ant society in which people follow the rhythm of working when sun rises and resting
when it sets. Thus, the CSC tends to be closed in the evening, with the exception of
recently offering a downtown sport program for working mothers. In succeeding
parts of the article, CSC will be discussed in relation to older people, different geo-
graphical areas, the Tokyo metropolis, Yamanashi, after which there will be a final
overview.
3.1.1 The Importance of CSC for Older People
The number of 60+ CSC participants will continue to grow as the older population
increases in Japan. The elderly in Japan tend to prefer CSC over other available
options such as community centers or fitness clubs. This preference is due to the
affordable price and multiple benefits available at the CSC. A government report
which investigated citizens’ attitudes toward private fitness and sport clubs indi-
cated the percent of people preferring: lower utilization fees (49.3 %), improved
accessibility of clubs (22.4 %), and providing sport facilities specifically for the old
or disabled (13.8 %) (Cabinet Office 2013). Even if older people preferred to utilize
a private sport organization, more the affordable price of CSC usually makes it the
ultimate choice. Moreover, one of the CSC aims is to provide a convenient place for
people to engage in sport activity. The survey of MEXT (2012) corroborated the
success of this intent by finding that 90.3 % of the CSC were located either in
schools (48.2 %) or in public sport facilities (42.1 %). Older people generally have
poor mobility, so the convenience of travel and overall distance from their homes to
an exercise facility becomes a major factor in whether or not they participate in the
sport club’s activities. Thus, they are most likely to utilize community sport facili-
ties which are nearby (Lin and Sakuno 2012). In addition to the accessibility of the
facility, social connections also influence the extent of sport club engagement by
older people. Thus the previously mentioned Cabinet Office’s survey reported that
one of the main reasons why older people engage in CSC is because their friends or
people in their neighborhood also participate. Rather than engaging in sport by
themselves, older people generally prefer to engage in sport organizations in which
they have a connection with others. Past studies have provided evidence that
engaging in CSC also benefits people by fostering connections with the society and
thereby increasing the individual’s social network. This benefit is especially true for
older people (Okayasu et al. 2010) as the size of social networks and number of
social contacts are important determinants of life satisfaction and successful aging
among the elderly (Rowe and Kahn 1997; Fernandez-Ballesteros et al. 2001; Wenzel
and Sörensen 2000; Katz 2009).
While looking over the purpose of CSC’s policy, one aspect of the Japanese gov-
ernment policy on CSCs is that they are hoped are to provide an increased opportu-
nity for people to engage in sport activity, as well as to create an intergenerational
platform to bring the young and old together (MEXT 2000). The importance of
intergenerational communication to older people has already been noted (Katz
2009). Thus engagement in CSC benefits older people not only by increasing their
functional ability but also by improving their mental and social health. The inter-
generational relationship is considered to be a crucial factor which allows them to
more successfully cope with aging and remain socially integrated (Silverstein and
Bengston 1991) as well as improve their psychological well-being (Rossi and Rossi
1990; Wenzel and Sörensen 2000) and life satisfaction (McCamish-Svensson et al.
1999). Unlike other private sport organizations, such as fitness clubs, which offer
high priced specific services, the CSC provide interaction based sport activities
which helps elders increase their friendship network. Unlike other social welfare
organizations, such as community centers, the CSC are not limited to one age group
and thus provide an opportunity for intergenerational communication. Thus, the
type of sport engagement offered by the CSC benefits the aging by offering the
potential of improving their physical, psychological, and social health.
3.2 Practices of CSC in Different Areas
Differences in both the nature of sport engagement and the type of management
system in the various locations of the CSC was briefly mentioned in part I.
Governmental programs in urban as opposed to rural areas generally have both
more varied and a larger amount of resources to implement sport policy. Participants
in different CSC are assumed to have different opinions regarding their particular
CSC, such differences would be expected to be particularly different for urban and
rural CSC, with urban participants in assumed to produce more favorable evalua-
tions because of the more abundant sport resources. Hypotheses relating to the
above suppositions were examined by Lin and Sakuno (2013). Tokyo metropolis
was used to represent an urban example, and Yamanashi prefecture was selected as
an example of a rural CSC in their study. The results partly supported the above
suppositions. The first set of results highlighted the effect of place on the different
participants’ evaluation. The second set of results indicated that rural participants
produced significantly more favorable evaluations of the CSC than did partici-
pants in the urban areas. To evaluate differences in the characteristics of the
Table 3.2 Summary of the results of the multiple regression analyses of the 3 models
Model I Model II Model III
Variables of sport (Total, n = 527) (Urban, n = 439) (Rural, n = 106)
service quality β t β t β t
Benefits .065 2.11* .053 1.54 .119 1.64
Access .294 8.66*** .284 7.72*** .369 3.94***
Interaction .396 10.31*** .421 9.75*** .263 3.00**
Management .210 5.85*** .208 5.26*** .200 2.14*
Summary Adjusted R2 = .70*** Adjusted R2 = .70*** Adjusted
R2 = .62***
F = 307.30; F = 254.17; F = 40.21;
D-W = 1.80 D-W = 1.77 D-W = 1.97
Note: dependent variable: general evaluation; *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p = .00.
participants in urban and rural areas, in this portion of the chapter we will discuss
how CSC in the two areas provide sport service and how the participants engage in
sport activity. Three models were designed to examine the participants’ different
evaluations toward CSC in urban and rural areas. The results of a multiple regres-
sion analysis show that, in model I (total), the interpersonal interaction dimension is
the best predictor of the overall evaluation (R2 = .592; p = .000); in model II (urban),
interpersonal interaction is also the best predictor (R2 = .605; p = .000). However, in
model III (rural), facility access is the best predictor (R2 = .513; p = .000) (Table 3.2).
For interpersonal interactions, the interactions that occurred during service delivery
had the largest influence on service quality (Gronroos 1990). Surprenant and
Solomon (1987) suggest that the process of delivery is more important than the
overall outcome. The key element is thus the interaction between customer and
employee; this interaction forms a crucial aspect of the influence on customers’
perception of service quality. Elements of this interpersonal interaction quality
include attitude, behavior, and skill of service employees (Czepiel et al. 1985;
Gronroos 1990; Brady and Cronin 2001).
This interaction was particularly evident for the behavior of the administrative
staff and fitness professionals of the sport clubs (Brady and Cronin 2001; Alexandris
et al. 2004). CSC’s employees interact with participants and are responsible for
providing a friendly sport environment and maintaining service quality. The sport
service is a rather unique industry. Participants interact with professionals, usually
coaches or instructors. If the participants have a difficult time following the sport
instructors’ advice while engaging in sport activity, they may get hurt or even quit
the program. This indicates the unique characteristics of sport service and empha-
sizes the importance of interpersonal interactions in the delivery of sport service. On
the other hand, the evaluations indicated that the particular aspects of the program
which were most important depended on whether the participants were from a rural
or urban environment. The following section focuses on how urban-rural differ-
ences, CSC sport policy, and CSC management affect the participants’ evaluation.
3.2.1 CSC in Tokyo Metropolis
Sport programs in the CSC are usually held to improve the health of the participants.
Aquatic programs are the most common and typically consist of walking in the
water and doing stretch gymnastics in the water. Participants enjoy such programs
because the activity is interesting and promotes their physical condition. Gymnastic
activities are also a popular activity, and usually consist of balance ball work, utiliz-
ing bands to stretch, doing stretch exercised, and performing aerobic exercise
(Fig. 3.2). Walking courses and table-tennis are also popular in the CSC as well as
in other community sport organizations (Fig. 3.3). Walking is one of the most popu-
lar sport activities in Japan because of its ease-of-access and potential utilitarian
nature. Walking courses held by the CSC benefit older members not only because of
the involvement in sport activity, but also by encouraging tours which increase the
understanding of cultural, historical, and natural features of the local environment.
The CSC take the participants’ needs into consideration while programming. Table-
tennis is widely played by not only at the CSC, but also by the participants them-
selves. They are enthusiastic about practicing the skills of table-tennis and often
belong to several clubs where this sport is practiced. While designing these sport
programs, it is important for managers to make coaches and instructors aware of the
potential risks and to utilize their professional skills in ways that correctly address
Fig. 3.2 A gymnastic program in urban area

Fig. 3.3 A table-tennis program
the needs of the members. While conducting sport program exercises, it is

particularly important that the entire staff pay attention to the condition of each
participant’s health and current condition.
In the CSC of Tokyo, the capital in Japan, participants have access to consider-
able more sport resources than those of rural areas. It was expected that this area
would also receive higher evaluations. The Basic Plan for the Promotion of Sports
(2000) was designed with the aim that the CSC would offer not only sport programs
but other cultural activities as well for participants in the club. In addition, they were
expected to communicate with people outside their membership. This basic plan
emphasized the integration of community residents through the CSC. Moreover,
since the CSC in urban areas provided numerous sport programs as well as, artistic
and cultural activities and events, the participants had multiple choices for their
favorite activities and felt free to engage in many activities. Because of grants and
the sport lottery’s financial support from both central and local governments, the
participants accepted the idea of paying a modest “user’s fee” and were willing to
play a leading role in designing the sport programs. Thus, in the CSC the design of
an outdoor walking program for participants would be altered according to their
needs as well as the requirements of the seasons. Staffs asked the participants’ to
provide an oral reflection or delivered a simple survey to them at the end of the
program. The goals and general route of the walking program was then revised
based on the ideas provided by the participants. Nevertheless, sport programs and
services that CSC provided in urban areas indicated that the participants’ multi-faced
lifestyles produced an atmosphere of short-term and anonymous interactions with

the other members. This behavior exemplified the prevalence of an orientation
toward commercialization and consumption in the urban culture (Tsai 2000; Zhang
2001). For example, in one case participants were engaged in a gymnastics program
that met in the afternoon once a week. While there were some small groups which
greeted their members, many of the participants simple arrived, warmed-up alone
and exercised separately. This created a situation where the urban participants
longed for interpersonal interactions, but since the overall orientation was to exer-
cise alone, they tended to give low evaluations to the CSC sport service.
Another interesting result demonstrates the importance of the government’s
leading role in controlling CSC, since they are its main financial sponsor. The Tokyo
metropolis functions under the Revised Local Autonomy Law enacted in 2000. The
Nerima ward of Tokyo not only controls their own community affairs, which follow
the authority of the Tokyo government, but also has its own individual administra-
tive structure and system. The Tokyo Bureau of sports belongs to a unique sport
system which is separate from other aspects of the administrative system. They have
an ample budget (30,755,000,000 Japanese yen/year) and provide resources for
sport but only for Tokyo citizens. Regarding sport policies that local government
advocate, In order to match the expectations of both the citizens and the local gov-
ernment, the Nerima officials implemented a series of sport policies to create an
active and sport community. This occurred within 5 years, from 2009. The govern-
ment put an emphasis on increasing sport facilities, increasing opportunities for
sport, and integrating sport related organizations. In response to the issue of a super
aged society, the government emphasized promotion of the health of older people
through sport activity. The government officials also attempted to utilize sport orga-
nizations to improve the social engagement of older people by strengthening the
connection between them and the younger community. To better understand the
current realities faced by older people, the local government initiated an evaluation
of the citizens’ sport engagement. Older people show the most frequent regular
sport engagement. However, a large group of them are not involved with any sport.
Hence, the main focus of plan was to increase the number of old people engaged in
sport. The CSC response was to greatly increase the sport activity available to older
people. This novel approach differed from they typical urban plan wherein aims of
are usually designed for promoting city’s development. For this, the government
always take into account the sport needs of children, adults, and the with labor
force. Older people, as a comparatively disadvantaged minority, enjoy less sport
opportunity and have less sport resource available as compared to the other groups.
3.2.2 CSC in Yamanashi Prefecture
Due to favorable the natural environment, many sport programs in Yamanashi are
able to be conducted outdoors. The most frequent CSC programs involve gymnas-
tics, ground-golf and walking. For older people, gymnastics is the most popular
sport program, and includes yoga, stretching, and aerobic activities. Content of the
Fig. 3.4 A gymnastics program in rural area
programs typically includes utilizing materials to stretch as well as balance-training

(Fig. 3.4). With no particular skill set required, anyone that is interested has no prob-
lem engaging in the gymnastic programs and is thereby able to experience the joy of
sport. Ground golf is another popular sport programs held in Yamanashi. It was
initially developed in 1982 in Japan as a sport specifically designed for older people
(Japan Ground Golf Association 2013). Unlike gate ball, another popular sport spe-
cifically designed, ground-golf stresses individual sport ability rather than team-
work. The player who completes the course with the fewest strokes is the winner.
The influenced element of conducting Ground-golf is particularly enjoyable because
it is played outdoors and the participants feel close to nature (Fig. 3.5). For example,
in the Yamanashi area, ground golf is played in an open field with a breathtaking
view of Mt. Fuji as well as after a walk to a nearby area or on an adjacent hill. The
sport programs are designed to facilitate interpersonal interactions and participants
easily communicate with each other and are often cheerful, laughing and smiling
with each other. The main features of the walking program deliver the same benefits
as the ground-golf program. Walking improves the participants’ functional abilities
and as well as their mental health. In the design of programs, managers consider an
instructor’s successful previous experience as an important factor. While conducting
these sport programs, the availability of place, the season, and participants’ health
condition are considered as the key elements of managing CSC smoothly. The
avoidance of exercise induced injury is a main concern of all staff members.
Fig. 3.5 A ground-golf program
As described above, most of leisure sport experiences occur in casual

surroundings, (Edginton et al. 2002). Participants tend to be intimate with nature,
live a simple life, and generally follow traditional patterns of culture and lifestyle
(Lin and Sakuno 2012). In response to this, the CSC programmers design sport
programs in open, natural places. Of course outdoor temperature and the presence
or absence of precipitation/snowfall are considered key factors that influence
engagement in outdoor activities. Sport place and activity are closed if the tempera-
ture is too low or if there is heavy snow or rain. Nevertheless, overall the, partici-
pants thrive in engaging in sport activities that engage the abundant natural resources
and this leads to a sense of happiness and self-realization. In order to participate in
sport activities, they are willing to spend 20 min driving from home to the CSC. As
previously mentioned access is a key factor that influences participant satisfaction.
Past studies indicate that geographic location plays a major part in influencing
whether or not older people on engage in activities. The central part of community
is usually easiest to access for the largest number, and most facilities and activities
are found there. Also the maximal time for older people to spend travelling to attend
recreational and sport activities about 20 min (Li and Lin 2010).
We will now analyze how the Yamanashi government influences the manage-
ment of CSC sport resources. Yamanashi is one of 47 prefectures in Japan, its gov-
ernmental annual budget for the resources of sport form only a tiny part of the entire
educational budget. While the board of education in the prefecture governs the sport
promotion division, there is not a separate department of sport. Compared with

Tokyo’s budget for sport, Yamanashi has a budget for physical education
(919,435,000 Japanese yen/year) that is only 3 % of Tokyo’s budget. This difference
is indicative of the urban-rural differences in the annual budget for sport administra-
tive governing bodies in Japan. Beginning in 2009, the Yamanashi board of educa-
tion set up a 5-years plan for promoting education, which included goals for sport.
In order to achieve the long-term goals of an involved and active society, the govern-
ment put much effort into promoting three sport categories. These consisted of
improving physical health at the schools, promoting a lifelong sport society, and
advancing competitive sport. The second of the above categories, promotion of a
lifelong sport society, relates to older people and was mainly developed by the
cooperative organization of CSC, the Japan sports association, and its subsidiary the
prefectural (Yamanashi) sport association. The government put an emphasis on
elevating the quality and quantity of CSC through improving the dimensions of
sport human resources, sport facilities, and the network of sport information. They
encouraged people to engage in sport activity in the outdoor natural environment as
well as in the more traditional indoor settings. In conjunction with these efforts, the
local government conducted a sport attitude survey, the results of which indicated a
desire of the population to promote opportunities for sport among the elderly.
3.3 CSC: The Primary Managing Problem

and Vision of the Future
Securing adequate financial resources is always a primary problem for organiza-

tional managers. According to the 2012 report of MEXT, governmental grants and
membership fees are the main financial support of the CSC. Most of the CSC concur
with the current situation wherein the “government is our main sponsor”. Since the
CSC are commissioned by the government, they can obtain grants in order to con-
duct special sport programs. They are required to submit an annual report. The
direct support from the government comes in the form of direct payments, tax
exemptions, preferential regulatory treatment, and tax exemption for donations
(Anheier 2005). CSC, as a nonprofit sport organization, also benefits indirectly from
payments through subsidies to individual members. The nature of the funding from
the government to the CSC takes many forms. In the most usual, according to the
results of a funding format, the CSC receive grants and fee-for-service (with half
discount or free charge) support. Indirect support derived from the fact that, accord-
ing to the 2012 MEXT report, 90.3 % of the CSC in Japan were located in schools
or public facilities. While this situation may be good for development in the initial
stage of developing the CSC, it may limit future growth. In addition to being able to
utilize schools or public facilities such as gymnasiums, CSC can also obtain support
for the professional staff from the government or related institutions such as univer-
sities or professional leagues. In return for the support, the government requires the
CSC to implement special sport policies. The CSC are deeply influenced by
external pressures which come from the government agencies that implement sport
policies and develop related funding requirements and agreements (Meyer and
Rowan 1977; Powell and DiMaggio 1991; Hoye and Cuskelly 2007).
In addition to financial assistance, sport organizations are also involved in orga-
nizational matters and influence CSC management and strategic decisions. By
building multiple resource networks among other external organizations, the CSCs
are able to expand their effective size. Governmental influence and support also
comes from an area wide administrative unit, the Kouikisupotsusenta, which guides
and assists the CSC. This unit can aid the CSC if they encounter operating problems
such a utilization of stadiums or the need for tools or human resources. In general,
they are responsible for eliminating barriers to the efficient functioning of the
CSC. In the end, the government and the CSC are interdependent. The CSC depend
heavily on the governmental for financial and administrative support, while the gov-
ernment needs the CSC to provide an independent implementation of sport policy at
the local level. Even if government advocates an independent management by local
residents (Okayasu et al. 2010), it will not be easy to separate the CSC the govern-
ment. With limited sport resources, CSC have no choice but to seek external support
from other sport organizations such as other CSC or sport alliances. In general, CSC
develop cooperative relationships by sharing human resources and exchanging
information, but when it comes to interests, CSC may compete with each other
because they have similar target groups in the community. Because of these con-
straints, the CSC interacts in ways that embody interdependence, cooperation, and
confrontation (ICC). This leads to a continual alteration in organizational relation-
ships based on resource flow (Fig. 3.6).
While the CSC have been well-developed for a decade, they still encounter vari-
ous management problems such as over dependence on governmental support,
unstable organizational relationships, and unmeet participant sport needs. The core
product of the CSC is to provide sport services which meet participant needs and
expectations. While offering sport services to the elderly, it is important for the
service providers to take into account the characteristics of older people and design
the best possible sport programs for them. The participants’ individual difference
should also be taken into consideration while managing sport organizations
Cooperate, Confront
CSC Sport organizations
CSC
Interdependent Government
*Note: , organizations; , organizational relationship
Fig. 3.6 The ICC organizational relationship

(Chelladurai and Chang 2000). The above results not only highlight urban-rural
differences in the evaluation of CSC and different resources supplied from govern-
ments, but they also clarify the principle of service-providing, following which it
is necessary to pay attention to the best means to offer the most appropriate ser-
vices for older people. Even if the CSC in urban areas offer abundant sport and
cultural programs to participants, and older people also have lots of choices of
which CSC to engage with, they nevertheless get lower evaluations than the rural
CSC. Clearly, the most important factor for participants is the interactional nature
of sport programs. The urban CSC seldom provide this critical service. On the
other hand, while the CSC in rural only supply specific programs and have fewer
sport services, they receive higher evaluations than do the urban CSC. The rural
CSC always support sport programs which encourage interpersonal interactions,
so the participants seldom feel dissatisfied. Conversely, for the rural participants,
accessibility to the CSC as well as the reception of relevant information influences
their evaluation of the CSC.
Consequently, to meet the participants’ needs, managers in the urban CSC setting
should consider combining sport services with strategies to increase the social con-
nections of the elders. Designing programs that include interpersonal interaction
and communicational opportunities during exercise would be a good choice. For
example, doing stretch gymnastics by utilizing another’s support or designing a pat-
tern of group exercise. Since participants place importance on the quality of inter-
personal interactions, managers should strive to improve the congeniality of the
staff and, instructors as well as the atmosphere within which the sport is conducted.
For example, it is important to give participants direct positive feedback and to
design different sport levels that are based on the participants’ abilities. This would
enable the participants to enhance their self-efficacy and self-actualization. For CSC
in rural areas, managers should attempt to increase the accessibility of the activities,
since this greatly augments the participants’ motivation to join in. This could be
accomplished by offering sport programs in the most geo-central location as well as
by establishing sport programs in remote areas. Another solution could involve
forging an alliance with nearby communities so that participants from different
areas would be able to exchange sport information and connect with others of the
same interests. Gatherings centered on sport activity not only benefit older people
and improve their functional ability, they also improve the level of happiness. A
major problem in the management of the CSC is the lack of quality, well trained
sport instructors. Potential solutions might involve recruiting sport instructors from
other sport organizations or searching nearby neighborhoods for veteran of sport
instructors. In summary, the Japanese government advocates engagement in sport
through the widespread development of CSC. While the number of CSC as well as
its overall membership have increased, the quality of the programs is still a problem.
There is a degree of participant dissatisfaction which should be taken into account.
All levels of government need to squarely face the needs of the coming super aged
society, and to respond to the expectations of the cohort of older people. A vigorous
response will provide these citizens with a longer and happier life and provide an
active vision to the entire society.
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Chapter 4
Motives of Sport Spectators
Chengcheng Wang and Hirotaka Matsuoka
Abstract Motives underly many aspects of behavior. A comprehensive

understanding of the motives involved with consumer behavior is crucial if busi-
nessmen are to achieve success. For sport spectators, there is much research on the
motives of those attending sporting events. In this chapter, the meaning of spectator
is initially discussed. Then, a review of the theories of sport spectators motivation,
motives held by sport spectators, the relationships between motives and other
dependent variables, and motives related to other issues are discussed. Wang and
Matsuoka’s (Examining motives of sport spectators in China and Japan. Unpublished
raw data; Motives of sport spectators in China: a case study of the Chinese super
league. Manuscript submitted for publication, 2013) motive scale for Chinese and
Japanese spectators is described. This 9-motive-24-item scale was developed based
on a focus group, literature review, and pre-test given to the Chinese Super League
(CSL) spectators. Further questionnaire surveys were conducted on CSL and
J2-Leagues. The data from the latter two leagues adequately confirmed the scale. To
some extent, the scale can be used as a practical tool for sport managers and market-
ers to explore the characteristic of their consumers, and further, to realize an effec-
tive marketing segmentation.
Keywords Motives • Spectators • Scales
4.1 Introduction
In 1931, Bogardus pioneered a study on sport spectator behavior (cited in

McPhail and Wohlstein 1983) by analyzing galleries at professional golf tourna-
ments. This was followed by a plethora of research dealing with sport spectators’
C. Wang (*)
Graduate School of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
School of Economic and Management, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
e-mail: bingchengzi99@hotmail.com
H. Matsuoka

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3_4
48 C. Wang and H. Matsuoka
behavior. These studies involved influencing factors (Hansen and Gauthier 1989;
Pan and Gabert 1997; Zhang et al. 1995), motives (Sloan 1989; James and
Ridinger 2002; Robinson and Trail 2005; Wann 1995), spectators (Trail et al.
2003a; Robinson et al. 2005), and fans (Smith and Stewart 2007; Rainey et al.
2011). The disciplinary point of view was typically sociological (Zhang et al.
2001) or psychological (Funk and James 2001; Groot and Robinson 2008), and
the spectators were from intercollegiate (Kahle et al. 1996; Kahle et al. 2001)
and professional sport (Sutton et al. 1997). Both individual sport (Kim et al.
2008) and team sport (Fink and Parker 2009) were represented. Since motivation
is a key driving force for behavior, in this chapter we focus on, the motives of
sport spectators.
4.2 Definitions of Sport Fans and Sport Spectators
In order to avoid ambiguity and possible confusion, a clarification of the definitions

of sport fans and sport spectators is crucial. Further, this distinction has proven very
important from the sport marketing perspective (Trail et al. 2003b).
Previous studies typically distinguished fans from spectators by utilizing the
following three dimensions: cognitive, affective and behavioral (Jones 1997).
Pooley (as cited in Jones 1997) stated that spectators are those who attend a game
and then forget it quickly. Fans, on the other hand, continue their interest and even-
tually devote parts of every day to a special team or even to the broad realm of the
sport itself. Sloan (1989) noted that those who merely watch or observe are called
spectators, while those who are enthusiastic devotees of a given diversion and
watch sport to satisfy a particular desire are called fans. Wann and Branscombe
(1990) pointed out that die-hard fans offer continuous support to their chosen team
under almost all conditions, even during the years of defeat; however, fair-weather
fans are persons who seem to enjoy the fun only when the team’s performance is
good. Fair weather fans are more likely to enjoy basking in their team’s reflected
glory. Wann et al. (2001) generalized the definition of sport fans and gave it a
broader scope. They posited that a sport fan is an individual who is interested in
and follows not only a team but also an entire sport or specific athletes. Sport spec-
tators are those who simply witness a sporting event in person or through radio, TV
or other forms of media.
In a general sense, a spectator is someone who watches a game by chance; he/she
simply watches the game, enjoys the atmosphere or the socialization, and enjoys the
feelings of victory. On the other hand, a fan is someone who has points of attach-
ment to the athlete, team, sport, or organization. He/she devotes time or money to
their hobby. Further, he/she watches the game to satisfy particular desires. To some
extent, however, a fan in a stadium must also be a spectator. In this study, when the
term ‘spectator’ is used, it includes fans.
4 Motives of Sport Spectators 49
4.3 Classification of Sport Motivation
A number of theories have been proposed to systematize the influence of motivation

on behavior. These include Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, Alderfer’s ERG
theory, McClelland’s acquired needs theory, Herzberg’s two-factor theory, Adams’
equity theory, and Vroom’s expectancy theory.
To date, only Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory has been applied to sport.
According to Maslow’s theory, there exist a hierarchy of human needs. Starting with
those most critical and immediate, the list proceeds from physiological to safety and
then social, esteem, and self-actualization. In order to fulfill the higher needs, the
more critical lower ones must first be satisfied.
Based on Maslow’s theory, Darmon, Laroche and Petrof (in Correia and Esteves
2007) divided sport necessities into the following three categories: energy spending,
which corresponds to the primary or body needs of human beings; sport insurance,
body products and the quest for health, which corresponds to the secondary or secu-
rity needs of human beings; and team affiliation and quality services which corre-
sponds to the tertiary or social needs of human beings. Next, they developed a
specific pyramid of the quaternary necessities: passions, rest and leisure. These
necessities roughly correspond to the fourth and fifth needs of Maslow’s hierarchy,
ego needs and self actualization. McDonald et al. (2002) note that motives such as
risk taking, stress reduction and aggression belong to physiological needs; while
affiliation and social facilitation belong to social needs. They deem self esteem a
particularly broad category, which includes competition, achievement, skill mas-
tery, aesthetics, risk taking and stress reduction. Self-actualization, also broad, is
considered to include value development, self actualization and aesthetics.
Sloan (1989) developed a five-factor framework to aid in the categorization and
understanding of sport spectator’s motives and their influence on behavior. The
extent to which each factor is present and influences the individuals behavior varies
widely across different spectators. The factors are: (1) Salubrious effects – Sport
increase an individual’s positive feelings, leading to improved physical and mental
states. (2) Stress and stimulation seeking – Sport help individuals regulate their ten-
sion and energy levels, and particularly can act to increase arousal intensity. (3)
Catharsis and aggression – Viewing aggressive sport can either decrease or increase
the viewer’s aggression levels; when the favored team loses, anger will rise. (4)
Entertainment – Sport can enhance individuals’ happiness and enjoyment and sat-
isfy their seeking of aesthetic and moral representation (5) Achievement seeking –
Sport invoke a relationship between emotion and outcome of the game; anger
increases in losses and happiness in victories.
Wann et al. (2001) applied Maehr and Braskamp’s (1986) personal investment
model to sporting events and concluded that the interaction of perceived options, and
a sense of self and personal incentives result in an increased personal investment.
Based on this hypothesis, Correia and Esteves (2007) utilized empirical results to
develop a 5-factor-19-motive model Postulated factors included material reasons,
team affiliation, extras and facilities, star players, and the form of entertainment.
4.4 Motives of Sport Spectators
The search for sport spectators’ motives can be described as a quest to answer the
following two questions: (1) Why do individuals want to go to the stadium to watch
a game? (2) What kinds of needs can be satisfied from watching the game? (Wang
and Matsuoka 2012). Previous studies have utilized over twenty terms to describe a
sport spectators’ motives, and more than five scales have been developed to evaluate
the motives of sport spectators (Wann 1995; Kahle et al. 1996; Milner and McDonald
1998; Trail and James 2001; Funk et al. 2001, 2009; Correia and Esteves 2007).
4.4.1 Discussion of the Previous Scales
The reliabilities and discriminant validities for certain previous scales are given in
Table 4.1 and described below.
Wann developed ‘The Sport Fan Motivation Scale’ (1995) and confirmed the
internal consistency of the scale (1999). However, when Kwon and Trail (2001)
generalized the scale to American students and international students, the reliabili-
ties for group affiliation (.55), economic or betting on sport (.64), and eustress (.69)
were below the .70 benchmark (Hair et al. 2010). Since most of the participants in
those studies were students, the scale might not generalize the to the normal mix of
spectators in a stadium or arena.
‘The Motivation Scale for Sport Consumption’ (Trail and James 2001) showed
good reliability when used in several empirical studies (Trail et al. 2003b; Fink and
Parker 2009; James et al. 2009). However, the participants for those studies were
students, season tickets holders or consumers of a special team. In one study, 683
Japanese professional baseball spectators completed the questionnaire as they left
the stadium (James et al. 2009). Since the performance of the teams or the outcome
of the game clearly has an effect on the spectators’ emotions, it would have been
better to have collected data before the game.
‘The Sport Interest Inventory’ (Funk et al. 2001, 2002, 2003) was developed
especially for spectators who attend women’s games. In the final version of the
scale, eighteen motives were included. However, the discriminant validities for the
first (AVE ranged from .26 to .52) and second (AVE ranged from .22 to .60) versions
of the scale were far below the acceptable level (Hair et al. 2010). Further, data
collection was conducted by sending the questionnaires directly to 800 season ticket
holders and 800 single game attendees (in the third study). Among the 623 usable
respondents, 60 % were season ticket holders. To some extend, the sample was
relatively unique and thus difficult to generalize. Thus, further empirical research
should be done to reconfirm the reliability of the scale. In addition, participants
responded the questionnaire after the game, which also decreased the reliability of
the results.
4
Table 4.1 Reliabilities and discriminant validities for Sport Spectators Motives Scales
Wann’ SFMS (1995) Kahle et al. (1996) Milne & McDonald’s MSC (1999) Trail & James’ MSSC (2001)
Motive α AVE Motive α Motive α AVE Motive α AVE
Aesthetics .81 .60 Internalization .80 Sport-Based Aesthetics .88 .36 Aesthetics .88 .72
Drama (Eustress) .89 .78 Self-expressive experience .56 Needs Stress Release .79 Drama .80 .58
Economics .84 .65 Camaraderie .72 Skill Mastery .83 Physical attraction .78 .69
Entertainment .85 .69 Compliance .53 Mental Well Self-esteem .93 .55 Physical skills .75 .53
Escape .85 .70 Obligation .64 Being Needs Self-actualization .92 Escape .72 .51
Family .63 .61 Self-defining experience .61 Value Development .85 Family .68 .48
Motives of Sport Spectators
Group Affiliation .72 .51 Identification with winning .59 Social Needs Social facilitation .84 .38 Social .78 .54
Self-esteem .78 .68 Affiliation .84 Achievement .89 .74
Personal Needs Achievement .82 .23 Knowledge .80 .59
Risk-taking .90
Aggression .85
Competition .72
Mahony’ et al. SII (2001) Correia and Esteves (2007) Funk’ et al. SPEED (2009)
Motive α AVE Motive alpha AVE Motive α AVE
Soccer .87 .52 Material Reasons .81 .42 Socialization .86 .60
Vicarious achievement .86 .44 Team Affiliation .71 .46 Performance .83 .78
Excitement .84 .40 Extras & Facilities .74 .37 Excitement .77 .77
Team Identification .83 .40 Star Players .65 .40 Esteem .85 .75
Supporting Women’s Opportunity in sport .80 .32 Form of Entertainment .63 .58 Diversion .83 .75
Aesthetics .71 .35
Socialization .70 .31
National Pride .78 .27
Drama .72 .26
Interest in Player .81 .35
51
The SPEED scale (Socialization, Performance, Excitement, Esteem, and

Diversion) was developed by Funk et al. (2009) and represented a good hybrid
approach for measuring and explaining sport consumers’ behavior. However, when
Homma (2009) used it to evaluate the motives of Japanese spectators, the reliability
of factor ‘Excitement’ was only .395. This is substantially lower than the benchmark
of .70 (Hair et al. 2010).
4.4.2 The Scale for Chinese and Japanese Spectators
Unfortunately, all previous studies attempting to develop scales for measuring sport
spectators’ motives have major limitations in reliability, validity, and/or data collec-
tion. This limits their ability to generalize the findings to other spectator groups.
Wang and Matsuoka (2013a) developed a scale to examine the motives of
Chinese and Japanese spectators. This study utilized a focus group which included
Chinese students enrolled in Waseda University as well as in the Tsinghua Alumni
Association in Japan. Data collection took place from June 20, 2012 until July 10,
2012. Twelve motives were utilized: Aesthetics, achievement, drama, sport interest,
family bonding, interest in player, support the city, escape, knowledge, socializa-
tion, entertainment, and wholesome environment. Items for those motives were gen-
erated from previous studies and translated into Chinese by two individuals who
each produced a separate version. The translators were majors in sport sciences and
fluent in both English and Chinese. A back translation indicated that the content of
the items was consistent. The 12-motive-38-item scale was distributed to the specta-
tors before the Chinese Super League games on October 6, 2012 and October 20,
2012. The 333 completely responded questionnaires were divided into group 1 and
group 2. Two Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) were conducted using data from
group 1 and group 2 respectively to purify and confirm the scale. A 9-motive-24-
item scale was confirmed following the aforementioned procedures. On August 31,
2013 and October 6, 2013, the confirmed scale was distributed to CSL and J2-League
spectators separately. When the CFA was conducted again, the results showed that
data from both Chinese and Japanese spectators adequately fit the 9-motive-24-item
scale. Detailed reliability and validity information regarding the scale are reported
in Table 4.2.
Though some of the AVE values are slightly below the ideal cut-off of .5, as
exploratory research, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for both Chinese and
Japanese spectators were all above the benchmark .60 (Hair et al. 2010), so while
the samples could, to some extent, reflect the particular characteristics of the CSL
and J2-League spectators, the 9-motive-24-item scale developed among the Chinese
spectators could profitably be generalized to other countries’ sport spectators. Sport
managers and marketers who aim at a global market could use this scale to further
explore the motives of their potential consumers and thus make a more effective
segmentation of the market. This would allow them to choose better segmentations
and increase their profits.
Table 4.2 Reliabilities and discriminant validities for Wang & Matsuoka’s Scale
Group 1 Group 2 CSL J-League
Motive α AVE α AVE α AVE α AVE
SI .84 .64 .76 .53 .79 .56 .81 .60
ACH .83 .64 .83 .63 .73 .48 .70 .46
SOCa .69 .37 .61 .44 .70 .54 .80 .67
ESCa .60 .34 .70 .54 .73 .57 .60 .43
DRA .68 .45 .81 .58 .70 .44 .66 .40
KNOa .73 .41 .81 .61 .84 .65 .84 .63
CITY .77 .54 .70 .44 .75 .50 .88 .70
FAM .79 .56 .88 .70 .84 .64 .93 .83
IPa .62 .39 .60 .43 .71 .55 .86 .76
AES .67 .40
ENT .60 .32
ENV .68 .42
Model fit indices CFI = .782; CFI = .900; CFI = .952; CFI = .940;
IFI = .789; IFI = .903; IFI = .954; IFI = .941;
RMSEA = .081 RMSEA = .072 RMSEA = .044 RMSEA = .059
SI sport interest, ACH achievement, SOC socialization, ESC escape, DRA drama, KNO knowledge,
CITY Support the City, FAM family bonding, IP interest in player, AES aesthetics, ENT entertain-
ment, ENV the wholesome environment
a
One item was deleted from the original scale
4.4.3 Descriptions of Each Motive
The scale developed by Wang and Matsuoka included nine motives. These were:
Sport interest, vicarious achievement, socialization, escape, drama, knowledge,
support the city, family bonding and interest in player.
Sport Interest/Interest in Player
For attending sport games, interest in the particular sport and interest in particular
player are two of the motives that were most discussed in previous studies (Funk
et al. 2001; Correia and Esteves 2007; Trail and James 2001). The above motives
refer to curiosity or concern about or attention to particular sport and to player that
command an individual’s attention. Using football as a discrete example, in the
9-motive scale, sport interest might refer to the love of football and the spectator’s
personal identification as a football fan would motivate individuals to attend the
game. Interest in player would refer to a particular football, player rather than the
team as a whole, that would attract individuals to the game.
Vicarious Achievement
Vicarious achievement refers to the desire to feel successful, proud or bask in

reflected glory of others (Wang and Matsuoka 2012). There is an antecedent to this
motive. If one has a team preference, he/she supports the team and believes his/her
team will win or at least perform well. Zhang et al. (2001) noted that achievement
seeking was the most important motive for spectators from an International Hockey
League; Wang and Matsuoka (2013a) mentioned that vicarious achievement was
one of the top three motives for Chinese and Japanese spectators. Further, vicarious
achievement was a crucial and effective predictor of future sport attendance (Zhang
et al. 2001; Ridinger and Funk 2006; Mahony et al. 2002).
Socialization
Socialization refers to the concept that attending games at a stadium gives individu-
als the opportunity to interact with others (McDonald et al. 2002; Funk et al. 2003).
It is very common for a spectator to go to the game with friends. Such groups of
friends usually have similar sport interests, and thus can cheer for the same team,
comment on the performance of the team, talk about the players on the team, dis-
cuss the referees, and even gossip about certain players. Those communications
typically help improve one’s relationship with others. Therefore, attending the game
can satisfy one’s desire to socialize with others, especially people with similar sport
interests and with whom they came to the game.
Escape
Escape refers to attending a game to get away from the problems and stresses of
daily life. (Wann 1995; Trail and James 2001; Kim et al. 2009). As far back as the
first century, the Greek orator Dio Chrysostom noted the escape function of sport.
He spoke, in an oration about the Alexandrian crowd, that “when they enter the
stadium, it is as though they had found a cache of drugs; they forget themselves
completely, and shamelessly say and do the first thing that occurs to them” (as cited
in Guttmann 1981).
Drama
Drama refers to the uncertain outcome of a game, or the excitement associated with
a close game, that motivates individuals attend a game (Funk et al. 2003, 2009;
Wang and Matsuoka 2012). To some extent, due to the comparable competitiveness
of the two teams, and the games’ increased importance, drama explains why semi-
final and final games are better attended than normal season games. Increased drama
also explains the increased attendance of relegation matches. While such matches
are rare in the United States, they are common in other countries, and refer to a
match in which, if the lower ranking team looses, they are demoted to a lesser
league. Such games are hotly contested and very well attended.
Knowledge
Knowledge refers to a situation where desire to learn about a sport motivates indi-
viduals to attend game (Funk and Pastore 2000; Funk et al. 2001). Though watching
the game, one can learn the rules of the game, the meaning of special gestures of the
referee, and the technique or tactics of playing the game. Understanding the sport,
in turn, increases the enjoyment of watching the game.
Support the City
Support the city refers to the situation where attachment to the city or city pride
motivates individuals to attend games (Wang and Matsuoka 2013b). Depending
upon the entity the team represents, this motive has also been termed community
support (Funk et al. 2003), national pride (Funk et al. 2001), and university pride
(Ridinger and Funk 2006). Since the 9-motive scale was developed for studying
professional football teams, each team has a deep relationship with a city, and the
term support of the city was used.
Family Bonding
Family bonding refers to a situation where the opportunity to spend time with other
family members in the stadium motivates individuals to attend a game (Gantz and
Wenner 1991; Wann 1995). Previous studies noted that female spectators are particu-
larly motivated by family bonding (Wann 1995; Ridinger and Funk 2006; Wang and
Matsuoka 2013a, b). There are also cultural differences, as shown by the observation
that Japanese spectators are more motivated by family bonding than are spectators in
the United States (James et al. 2009). Such differences are particularly valuable for
sport managers and marketers who aim their product at a global market.
4.5 Motives and Other Variables
4.5.1 Motives and Team Attachment/Identification/

Commitment/Loyalty
Funk and James (2001) developed the psychological continuum model (PCM) to
describe an individual’s psychological change from an aware spectator to a fan with
an enthusiastic allegiance. Awareness, attraction, attachment, and allegiance were
included in the model. However, as in the previous studies, attachment and
allegiance were the most discussed (Alexandris and Tsiotsou 2011; Kwon and
Armstrong 2004; Funk and James 2006). Attachment describes a stable psychologi-
cal connection to a sport or team. Based on the perceived importance associated
with the sport or team, to some extent attachment also reflects the level of associa-
tion. A spectator who has moderate or high level of team identification has an
attachment to the team. Allegiance refers to the loyal or committed fans who have
strong psychological connections to a sport or team, and whose attitudes towards
the team remain unchanged regardless of the performance of the team.
Fink et al. (2002) explored the relationship between team identification and sport
spectators’ motives. The results showed that vicarious achievement, aesthetics,
drama, and social interaction could explain 72.6 % of the variance in team
identification.
Ridinger and Funk (2006) noted that university pride, excitement, team interest,
escape, sport interest and vicarious achievement could explain 62 % of the variance
in commitment for the men’s team; while university pride, family/friend, team inter-
est, support sport, escape, socialization, sport interest and vicarious achievement
could explain 60 % of the variance in commitment for women’s team.
According to Neale and Funk (2006) 52.5 % of the variance in attitudinal loyalty
could be explained by player interest, vicarious achievement, excitement, and team
interest.
Funk et al. (2009) found that performance, esteem, excitement and diversion
could explain 75 % of the variance in team commitment.
4.5.2 Motives and Attendance
Zhang et al. (2001) conducted three Multiple Regression Analyses to examine the
relationship between the Scale of Attendance Motivation factors and game atten-
dance level. The results showed that achievement seeking and salubrious effects
explained 17.1 % of the variance in game attendance for the current season and
21.9 % of the variance in game attendance intention for the coming next season. In
addition, achievement seeking, salubrious effects, and stress & entertainment could
explain 17.1 % of the variance in game attendance intention for the remainder of the
present season.
Mahony et al. (2002) noted that 15 % of the variance in frequency of attendance
could be explained by team attachment, community pride, drama, player attach-
ment, and vicarious achievement.
Ridinger and Funk (2006) noted that 18 % of the variance in men’s team atten-
dance could be explained by university pride excitement, team interest and escape;
while university pride, team interest, role model and vicarious achievement could
explain 14 % of the variance in women’s team attendance.
From the study of Funk et al. (2009), 30 % of the variance in game attendance
could be explained by performance, esteem and excitement.
4.5.3 Summary
Taking the studies covered as a whole, motives were able to explain 52.5–75 % of
the variance in team attachment, team commitment, or team identification; while
less than 30 % of the variance in attendance could be explained by motives. To some
extent, the figures mentioned above were consistent with Kim et al. (2013) findings.
These authors noted that identification could strengthen the association between
motives and the intention to attend. Further, identification could explain approxi-
mately 30 % of the variance in attendance intention, while vicarious achievement
and aesthetics could only explain 14–20 % of the variance.
Further, vicarious achievement was a very important predictor both for team
attachment and for team attendance. Wann and Branscombe (1990) noted that both
die-hard and fair weather fans were influenced by to some degree the outcome of the
game. They engaged in the phenomenon of ‘Basking in Reflected Glory’ and
‘Cutting Off Reflected Failure’. Therefore, if the team keeps winning, the team’s
spectators apparently feel a sense of personal achievement, which further, strength-
ens the connections with the team and leads to the attendance of more games.
Finally, sport interest was another important predictor for team attachment. The
more individuals like the sport, the more they feel attached to the team.
4.6 Motives and Other Issues
James and Ross (2004) examined sport consumer motives among three nonrevenue
collegiate sport in the USA: baseball, softball and wrestling. The results indicated
that there are significant differences across sport on the following motives: skill,
drama, team effort, vicarious achievement, family bonding, team affiliation, and
empathy. In addition, people who attend nonrevenue sport tend to be motivated by
sport related motives, such as entertainment, skill, drama, and team effort. James
et al. (2009) compared motives of professional baseball spectators between the
United States and Japan. The results indicated that motives associated with the core
product (aesthetics, drama) again were the most important motives for spectators in
the United States; while the opportunity to socialize with family and friends were
more important for Japanese Spectators. Wann et al. (2008) explored a motivational
profile for sport fans of different sport. The results showed that different kinds of
sport spectators valued each motive differently. To some extent, this finding was
consistent with James and Ross’s (2004) study.
Kim et al. (2009), Andrew et al. (2009) explored the relationship between mixed
martial arts fans’ motives and media consumption behavior. The regression analyses
indicated that sport interest, drama, and adoration had significant impact on Korean
spectators’ media consumption, while sport interest, fighter interest, and drama
influenced American spectators more. Further, male spectators were more influenced
by drama, aesthetics, knowledge, and violence; female spectators were more

influenced by drama, aesthetics, and knowledge.
Kwon and Trail (2001) compared sport fan motives between American students
and International students; Won and Kitamura (2006, 2007) compared sport con-
sumer motivations between South Korea and Japan; Kim et al. (2009) explored the
differences on spectator motives and media consumption behavior between
American and South Korean mixed martial arts fans; Wang and Matuoska (2013a)
examined the motives of Chinese and Japanese spectators. Overall, the results of the
above studies confirmed the importance of cultural differences in the determination
of motivational factors underlying sport attendance.
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Chapter 5
Sport Spectators’ Decision Making:
Attendance and Constraints
Rei Yamashita and Munehiko Harada
Abstract Twenty years have passed since the first professional sport league which
represents the home town was established in Japan. After the sport marketing
demand increased rapidly, much research was focused on sport marketing. Many
variables were introduced to explain spectator attendance, but unfortunately only a
few were hypothesized to describe why spectators may cease to attend games. Much
research has focused on leisure field constraints; this chapter reviews the few leisure
constraints articles that have been applied in a few sport marketing fields. Late in
the chapter, the recent research that focuses both on attendance and constraints in
the sport marketing realm is reviewed. At the end, suggestions for future research
related to spectator constraints are presented.
Keywords Decision making • Attendance • Constraint
5.1 Introduction
Twenty years have passed since the first Japanese professional sport league was
established. During these years, many professional sport leagues have been estab-
lished and professional sport leagues are flourishing. Watching games with friends
or family at a stadium or on television has become a favorite leisure time activity.
Much published research has focused on sport spectators areas of investigation
include spectator motivation to attend, brand equity, how strongly a spectator identifies
with a team, customer satisfaction, and more (Yoshida 2011).
R. Yamashita (*)
e-mail: rei-yamashita@akane.waseda.jp
M. Harada

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3_5
62 R. Yamashita and M. Harada
5.2 Decision Making in Consumer Behavior
The act of selecting, for example about what to buy or when to make a purchase, is
one of the fundamental and necessary activities for every individual. Research into
the decision-making process is, therefore, central to improving our understanding of
human society and economic activities (Tanaka 2012). Tanaka (2012) has said that
the process of consumer decision making can be divided into six phases, which are
described below in Fig. 5.1.
It has been said that there are three factors which influence a consumer’s decision
making behavior, aside from the influence of marketing (Blackwell et al. 2001).
They are (a) personal differences, (b) environmental influence, and (c) psychological
process. The first factor, “personal differences,” includes demographics, psychograph-
ics, and personal values or personality. The second factor, “environmental influence”,
includes influence exerted by culture, social stratum, and family, relatives, and other
individuals. The third and final factor is the “psychological process.” Pre-existing
information, learning from experience and attitude, and behavior modification are
contained in this factor.
Fig. 5.1 Consumer behavior

decision making process
(Adapted from Tanaka 2012
p. 54)
5 Sport Spectators’ Decision Making: Attendance and Constraints 63
Crompton and McKay (1997) have suggested that it is challenging for sport
marketing professionals and researchers who focus on the spectator sport scene to
identify the key elements of the decision-making process that influence behaviors.
According to Mullin et al. (2007), the model displayed below (Fig. 5.2) represents
the decision-making process for sport involvement. In the first step, “needs recogni-
tion,” the consumer perceives their needs. It is often said that needs are aroused
when a consumer recognizes a discrepancy between desire and ability to fulfill that
desire. For example, an individual may want to go to watch the soccer games at the
Needs recognition
Awareness of information
search
Evaluation of choices
Purchase Decision
Sport Experience
Marginal
Satisfaction: repetition dissatisfaction;
consideration of other
products or activities
Evaluation of experience
Dissatisfaction, dropout
Fig. 5.2 Decision making process for sport involvement (Adapted from Mullin et al. 2007 p. 87)
stadium, but perhaps he or she has never been to that stadium, or does not know
how to buy the tickets. When such a discrepancy is perceived, to overcome it the
consumer must take an action. The next step, “information search”, occurs when a
consumer seeks information on the Internet or from other sources. For example, the
consumer may look up what kinds of soccer teams exist in Japan, which team is
ranking high in the league, where and when the next games will be held, and so on.
There are two ways to access the information: the internal search and the external
search. The internal search relies on the consumer’s experience and knowledge. The
external search is utilized when the consumer’s pre-existing information is inaccu-
rate and/or inadequate. When the consumer gains some information, “evaluation of
choices” will be the next step as the consumer evaluates the alternatives; for example,
“was the service given at the venue satisfied to you”, or “did you experience diffi-
culties making your purchase?” At this stage, the most important element is the
estimation of service quality. Since service has the unique characteristic of being
invisible, service providers must aim for favorable evaluations of their services. The
next step is the “purchase decision”, when the consumer buys a ticket for the soccer
games. Now this individual is ready to go to the stadium and “experience sport.”
After watching the game or engaging in other activities at the stadium, customers
“evaluate the experience.” It is crucial that the consumer feels satisfied after experi-
encing the game, because this will lead the consumer to repeat the action. Consumers
have three choices during this evaluation. If they are satisfied, they are more likely
to re-purchase the ticket again. If they are dissatisfied, they may never return.
Finally, if they are slight satisfied or slightly dissatisfied, they may search for more
information or may re-evaluate their choices. In general, when spectators are satisfied
after watching a game, they will attend another game, and if they are dissatisfied,
they will not be likely to attend a game again. However, if a spectator’s team identi-
fication is strong, it does not matter whether they were satisfied or not; they will
attend another game (Fujimoto et al. 1996; Matsuoka et al. 2003). This indicates
that to increase the probability that spectators will repeatedly attend their games, a
team must improve customer satisfaction, and also strengthen their customers’
identification with or loyalty towards the team.
5.3 What Is Attendance?
Attendance is one of the major topics in sport marketing, because the revenue from
ticket sales is the fundamental income for the team and also for the league. We
define attending the game, as “what makes people come to the stadium.”
Zhang et al. (1995) focused on what affects the spectator decision to attend
professional sport games in the United States and suggested that it is necessary for
teams to identify the variables that might affect the decision to attend. To assist in
this process they developed the Spectator Decision Making Inventory (SDMI) scale.
The SDMI was intended to provide researchers and sport marketing organizations
with (a) a valid and reliable instrument with which to measure variables affecting
spectator decision making, (b) increased predictability of spectator decision-making
factor effects on game attendance, (c) differentiation of spectator decision making
with respect to the socio-demographic backgrounds of spectators, and (d) implica-
tions for the selection of marketing objectives and marketing strategies. The 4
factors introduced in this research were “game promotion (GP),” “home team
(HT),” “opposing team (OT),” and “schedule convenience (SC).” After developing
the scale, these 4 factors were used to examine the relationship between the
social-demographic variables. Age was significantly negatively correlated with GP,
OT and SC. Also there was no significant difference due to either genders or to
ethnicity.
After this fundamental study, SDMI was applied to measure the dimensions of
market demand associated with Major League Baseball Spring Training. The scale
was called the SDMI-ST (Braunstein et al. 2005). Forty-two items measuring six
factors (Game Attractiveness, Game Promotion, Economic Consideration, Schedule
Convenience, Nostalgic Sentiment, and Love (of) Baseball) were included in this
scale.
Won and Kitamura (2006) suggested that determining what factors affect spectators’
consumptive behavior is an important issue for spectator sport marketers, because,
as mentioned above, the revenue from game attendance is an important income
source for professional sport. In the same research, they defined five perspectives
that explain the factors that influence game attendance: (a) sport game attractiveness
factors such as league standing, record breaking, team quality, and star players,
(b) environmental factors such as stadium facilities, convenience of schedule, and
weather, (c) emotional or internal factors such as identification with the team and
motivational factors, (d) economic factors such as ticket price, and (e) demographics
such as gender, ethnic background, and marital status.
Shank (2005) categorized the factors influencing spectator attendance that should
be understood by all sport marketers in order to achieve the most effective market
strategies. Ten factors were introduced. The first was the fan motivation factor,
which was suggested to be a fundamental motive that represents the most basic
needs of the fan. The second was game attractiveness, which is similar to Won and
Kitamura’s (2006) hypothesis. Economic and demographic factors were similar to
those found in Won and Kitamura (2006). Competitive factors, mainly televised
games, could be the greatest threat to attendance since several Fizel and Bennett
(1989) have reported that broadcasting games negatively influences game atten-
dance. Moreover, stadium factors and sportscape factors both related to the physical
stadium characteristics and intangibles related to stadium atmosphere were also
recognized as attendance factors. Wakefield and Sloan (1995) reported that more
favorable fan attitudes towards a stadium correlate with higher attendance. This
implies that the stadium atmosphere is a critical issue influencing game attendance.
Other factors were “value of sport to the community,” “sport involvement,” and “fan
identification” with a team.
5.4 What Are Constraints?
In terms of effects on attendance, constraints can be described as “factors that prevent

people from coming to the stadium.” Jackson (1991), one of the most well-known
researchers into leisure constraints, defined constraints as factors perceived or expe-
rienced by individuals that limit the formation of leisure preferences and inhibit or
prohibit participation in leisure activities. A single model which illustrates the
relationship between preference, constraints, and participation, is shown below in
Fig. 5.3. This idea was first introduced in the leisure literature with the word “barrier”
(Searle and Jackson 1985). The idea of “barriers” or “constraints” was introduced
because this concept contributes significantly to improving our understanding of
outdoors recreation participation and non-participation. There are two reasons why
it is important to study constraints. First, to understand choices and behavior, we
must investigate all the positive and negative factors that influence those choices.
Second, implications from constraints research have generated new insights into
aspects of motivation, satisfaction, and the factors which influence preferences.
In the mid 1980s many leisure researchers started to write papers about leisure
constraints. Francken and van Raaij (1981) separated constraints into two types,
internal and external, and this has been the most commonly used conceptual distinc-
tion. Boothby et al. (1981) divided constraints into personal and social, while
Howard and Crompton (1984) suggested motivational and physical constraints.
Jackson (1988) indicated that these three conceptual distinctions overlap and that is
why different leisure constraint researchers have classified constraints in different
ways. Crawford and Godbey (1987) suggested that there was no non- theoretical
framework by which to characterize leisure preference and participation using
barriers or constraints; therefore, they conceptualized three constraints, intraper-
sonal, interpersonal, and structural constraints, upon the use of family leisure time.
Intrapersonal constraints were described as individual psychological states and
attributes which interact with, rather than intervene between leisure preferences and
participation. For example, stress, depression, and anxiety are included in these
constraints. Interpersonal constraints are depicted as the results of interpersonal
interaction or the relationship between individual characteristics; for example, is
there (or is there not) someone with whom one can participate in an activity?
Fig. 5.3 A simple model of preferences, constraints and participation (Adapted from Jackson
2005 p. 4)
Structural constraints are commonly conceptualized as factors that intervene

between leisure preference and participation. Structural constraint examples are
family life cycle, financial resources, climate, work schedule, available time, and so
on. However, Crawford et al. (1991) suggested that in the previous research, these
three constraint categories were disconnected, and did not posit that people might
negotiate these constraints and participate in an activity in the future; also, the
antecedent research focused on constraints that could account for non-participation.
Therefore they introduced the model which is illustrated in Fig. 5.4.
After these models were constructed, many researchers focused on developing
scales to measure the constraints on participation in leisure activities shown in
Table 5.1 (McGuire 1984; Henderson et al. 1988; Backman 1991; Jackson 1993;
Raymore et al. 1993; Jackson and Henderson 1995; Alexandris and Carroll
1997a, b).
Fig. 5.4 A hierarchical model of leisure constraints (Adapted from Jackson 2005 p. 6)
Table 5.1 Constraint factors introduced in leisure literature

Constraint factors
McGuire (1984) External resource Time Approval
Abilities Physical we-being
Henderson et al. Time Money Facilities
(1988) Family concerns Unawareness Interest
Decision-making Body image Skills
Social inappropriate
Backman (1991) Individual Social Pricing/distribution
Transportation Promotion
Jackson (1993) Social isolation Access Personal
Costs Time commitments Facilities
Raymore et al. Intrapersonal Interpersonal Structural
(1993)
Jackson and Social & geographical Transportation& Lack of skills
Henderson (1995) isolation costs
Facilities Family & work
commitments
Alexandris and Individual/psychological Lack of knowledge Facilities/services
Carroll (1997a, b) Accessibility/financial Lack of interest Lack of partners
Time
After the scales were developed, it was revealed that demographic variables were
significantly related to the perception of constraints (Alexandris and Carroll 1997a, b).
For example, Jackson and Henderson (1995) found that women are overall more
constrained than men. Also, Alexandris and Carroll (1997a, b) noted that there are
significant differences in perception of constraints by different age groups; older
age groups perceived “lack of transport” as a constraint (Searle and Jackson 1985),
while younger groups did not. Finally, Alexandris and Carroll (1997a, b) suggested
that constraints significantly decrease with increased frequency of sport participation
and concurrent sport attendance.
Much spectator sport research has focused on spectator motives and attendance,
but only a few researchers have paid attention to spectator constraints or barriers
(Trail et al. 2008). Kim and Trail (2010) implied that there are two reasons to
research constraints on sport spectators. The first is to understand the individual
reasoning that explains the choices that are made and the behaviors that are exhibited.
The second is that knowledge of constraints is critical to teams with low numbers
of spectators. It is believed that these results will enable sport marketers and
researchers to understand why the sport spectators who used to come to the stadium
have stopped coming and hopefully allow a team or a league to discover how they
can reverse the low attendance figure.
No sport marketing or management literature has investigated constraints but
expressed them instead as “barriers”. For example, Hansen and Gauthier (1989)
found that severe weather can cause spectators to stay home. Baaden and Tiehen
(1990) revealed that alternative sport entertainment influenced spectator attendance.
Also, the game schedule can determine whether a spectator can attend a game
(Zhang et al. 1995; Hansen and Gauthier 1989). The environmental factors of a
stadium, for example inconvenient stadium location or poor seat location, also may
prevent a spectator from attending (Hansen and Gauthier 1989; Pan et al. 1997).
Lack of team success also negatively influences attendance (Baade and Tiehen
1990; Hansen and Gauthier 1989; Pan et al. 1997). Trail et al. (2008) decided to
create structural constraint, for example, when a local professional team game is
held on the same night as a regular season game, as a measure and determine whether
there was significant difference between males and females or between attendees
and non-attendees. They showed 15 structural constraint dimensions; there was no
significant difference between genders, nor between attendees and non-attendees.
Another study focused on National Hockey League (NHL) spectator perception of
constraints. The purpose of this study was to understand what constraints might
influence spectator attendance at NHL games, and to understand how spectators,
separated by ticket holder type, perceive constraints (Casper et al. 2009). Six factors
and twenty four items were introduced to form a constraints scale and there were
several differences between ticket holder types. The items used in these two research
projects are shown below in Table 5.2.
Table 5.2 Constraint factors introduced in spectator sport literature

Constraint factors
Trail et al. Cleanliness of Concessions Parking Restrooms
(2008) venue
Professional of Seating Leisure activities Other sport
Staff entertainment
Financial cost Weather Lack of success Social commitments
Stadium location Game on Work/school
Radio/TV commitments
Casper et al. Time Cost Facility cleanliness Facility access
(2009) Lack of social Lack of
interaction interest
5.5 Combination of Attendance and Constraints
Sport marketing researchers Funk and James (2001) introduced a theoretical framework
to explain sport spectator constraints using the Psychological Continuum Model
(PCM). This framework was gleaned from various consumer behavior research
disciplines to explain sport consumer behavior. The PCM framework involves four
hierarchical stages: awareness, attraction, attachment, and allegiance. Awareness is
defined as an individual’s first realization that a certain sport/team exists; at this
point the individual does not yet have a favorite. The attraction stage is when an
individual acknowledges having a favorite team or sport based upon various social-
psychological and demographic-based motives. The third step is attachment,
wherein an individual begins to create various degrees of association between him/
herself and the sport. Finally, the last stage is allegiance, when an individual
becomes a loyal fan of a sport team. Funk knows that human beings are complicated
and will not always follow these hierarchical steps. He indicated that some personal,
psychological, or environmental aspect may interfere with or prohibit sport
consumption activity; these aspects are constraints, which have been discussed.
Pritchard et al. (2009) suggested that both motives and constraints are important
when understanding how to build a sport consumer base and sustain its volume.
Funk (2008) also suggested that motivation research seeks to answer the question,
“Why do people buy?” On the other hand, constraint research focuses on “Why do
people stop buying?” Oliver (1999) noted that evidence describing how obstacles
influence intention to engage in sport consumption activities remains scarce.
Research focusing on constraints provides sport marketers with new insights that
enable them to encourage individuals to overcome constraints and become sport
consumers. This is called the “negotiation” in leisure studies. Funk helped sport
marketers to understand the marketing aspect. He suggested that sport marketing
could permit sport consumers to negotiate the constraints and could facilitate
the negotiation process as part of decision-making. First, the marketing mix must be
defined strategically. This allows the sport marketer to facilitate the negotiation of
constraints. By using the marketing mix, sport marketers can connect to the needs
and wants of current and potential customers and develop the marketing approach.
For example, when the spectator feels the venue is too crowded and does not want
to go there, the team might aim to create flexible ticket packages, or to increase the
number of media channels which will broadcast games and allow consumers to
access more games from their homes. Helping spectators or consumers to negotiate
constraints improves the service quality. For example, if the customers feel the
stadium access from the nearest bus station is unsatisfactory, the team could run a
bus for the spectators during the regular season no, means team should run the bus
for the spectators during the regular season time of period and thereby attempt to
decrease constraints or barriers to spectator attendance. If these service quality
elements fail to be delivered to the customers, spectator consumer satisfaction will
be directly influenced and attendance at the game decreased. In the marketing
research literature, it is revealed that when the delivery of service fails, it influences
individuals to discontinue participation (Keaveney 1995). The second action is to
select the key target markets. In leisure studies it is well known that individuals with
different demographic and psychographic profiles perceive different types of
constraints; the same could be said of sport spectators. For example, spectators who
infrequently come to the stadium might find that not knowing how to buy a ticket,
or not knowing much about a team, or not understanding the rules might prevent
them from coming to the venue. In contrast spectators who often come to the
stadium might feel few or no constraints in these regards compared to infrequent
attendees. Unfortunately, there is limited information regarding the relationship
between the type of constraints and the level of involvement. So, for future research,
the spectator’s team identification or team loyalty should be used as variables to
figure out the relationship between constraints. The final action is to study and
evaluate the market. In marketing research, there are two general categories of
perceived constraints; external and internal. External constraints are considered to
be lack of a partner, lack of accessibility, no money to participate, poor accessibility,
and so on. On the contrary, internal constraints are described as a lack of interest or
a lack of knowledge, which are related to an individual’s motivation to participate in
or watch the activity. Crawford et al. (1991) have found that extrinsic constraints are
the most powerful predictor of behavior, but according to Jackson et al. (1993),
external constraints may require less effort to negotiate. The constraint negotiation
process is a complex interrelationship between motivation, constraints, and negotiation.
In the future, if we wish to recognize the factors that influence a spectator to be a
frequent attendee at sport events, we must elucidate the relationship between customer
satisfaction and the variables which prevent them from frequent attendance.
5.6 Conclusion
In this chapter, we have presented an overview of the decision making process in

sport spectators. We have also explained the variables that are used to explain spectator
attendance at a venue. Many variables explain spectator attendance, for instance, the
game’s attractiveness, environmental factors, emotional or internal factors, economic

factors, and demographic variables. We have introduced the Spectator Decision
Making Inventory scale, which was developed for forecasting spectator attendance.
Zhang et al. (1995) found that there were significant differences due to age difference,
but no differences due to gender or ethnicity.
In the later part of this chapter, we focused on constraints; a constraint was
defined as “something that prevents people from coming to the stadium.” Most of
the studies focusing on constraints were introduced in the leisure studies literature.
Constraints became a main theme during the 1980s when the leisure constraints
theory was introduced by Crawford and Godbey (1987). They categorized con-
straints into three; intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural constraints, which
occur sequentially. After this theory was established, many researchers developed a
scale which was useful for evaluating leisure participants’ constraints. Some
researchers found that there were significant differences in demographic variables.
For example, women are, overall, more constrained than men, older groups perceived
“lack of transport” to be a constraint, and constraints significantly decrease with the
frequency of sport participation. As has been shown, leisure field research focusing
on constraints flourished, but sport marketing constraints research did not. Kim
and Trail (2010) suggested that there are two reasons to research constraints on
spectator sport. One is to understand the individual reasoning underlying choices
and behaviors. The second is to improve knowledge of constraints, which is critical
for teams whose events are poorly attended.
Few recent sport marketing field research studies focusing on both attendance
and constraints have been published, because it is believed that attendance and
constraints are associated. Funk (2008) hypothesizes that motivation and perceived
constraints can be thought of as two sides of the same developmental coin. To
deepen the understanding of the sport spectator, it is obvious that further research is
required into spectator constraints upon continuous attendance, the relationship
between socio-demographics and spectator satisfaction, and spectator identification
with their team. These findings might help teams or leagues facing serious problems,
for instance low attendance figures and concomitant low gate receipts. However,
I believe that studies focusing on constraints will lend a new perspective to our
understanding of sport spectators and will help sport to become a more attractive
leisure element.
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Chapter 6
Sport Sponsorship in the Global Marketplace
Yosuke Tsuji
Abstract The purpose of this chapter is to introduce readers to some of the trends
and strategies in the industry of global sport sponsorship. We are now living in an
age of globalization. This phenomenon has permeated our lives and has had an
enormous impact on them. Driven by economic and technological forces, these
changes have affected the sport world as well. Because of globalization, sport fans
now have access to international games through the Internet and satellite television.
Reflecting this, sport teams and leagues, in order to generate more revenue, have
started to place strategic importance on the global market. Globalization of sport
and the growth of an international audience have attracted numerous multinational
companies to sponsor sport teams and leagues. These companies, through the use of
advanced technology, have employed numerous strategies to engage international
fans. Some of the strategies described in this chapter include the use of foreign
signage, virtual technology, and social media.
Keywords Globalization • Sport marketing • Sport sponsorship • Social media •

Virtual advertising
6.1 Introduction
In the past several decades, the world has become increasingly closer. We now have
access to numerous products that are manufactured outside of our countries. For
instance, a German living in France may purchase a brand new laptop that is
designed in the US, assembled in China, and uses semiconductors from South
Korea. We are living in a world where travel time has been shortened due to advances
in transportation technology. Product availability has also been facilitated, and
national economies are agreeing on partnerships that facilitate greater mobility of
goods, services, money, and people. Accordingly, countries nowadays depend heavily
on world trade for global resources such as petroleum, minerals, wood, water, and
Y. Tsuji (*)
Department of Global Business, Rikkyo University, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: yo@rikkyo.ac.jp

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3_6
76 Y. Tsuji
food. Scholars have coined the term globalization to describe this phenomenon.
Globalization has been a popular topic among scholars as they have examined its
antecedents and consequences from various scholarly perspectives, including but
not limited to, those of sociology, economics, political science, business, and infor-
mation technology. Numerous definitions exist for globalization. Robertson (1992)
defines globalization as “the compression of the world and the intensification of
consciousness of the world as a whole” (p. 8). The most commonly used definition
of the process from an economic or a business perspective comes from the
International Monetary Fund, which defines globalization as “the process through
which an increasingly free flow of ideas, people, goods, services, and capital leads
to the integration of economies and societies” (International Monetary Fund 2006).
The sport world has experienced a similar phenomenon. For example, an individual
from the Netherlands living in Spain can watch a televised broadcast of a Serie A
game, part of the Italian soccer league competition, whose team’s players may come
from Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, France, Guinea, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands,
and Slovenia. These players could be wearing a pair of cleats that were designed in
Germany and manufactured in South East Asia.
Numerous forces represented by new technology, multinational corporations,
and international capital have ushered in the age of globalization (Harvey et al.
1996). According to Lizandra and Gladden (2005), the globalization of sport was
driven by factors similar to those that aided in the global distribution of consumer
and entertainment products. The initial impetus was the quest for new markets in
which to sell products. Realizing the potential to sell sport in other countries, US
professional leagues have expanded their market outlook. David Stern, the
commissioner of the NBA, understood that the US domestic market had matured, so
he decided to take the league overseas (Gloede and Smith-Muniz 1987). A second
factor involved the advent of new technology, which continues to grow and further
facilitate the global distribution of sport products. Technological advances such as
the Internet and satellite television allow a Manchester United (English premier
league) fan living in Indonesia to access games. In this way, sport leagues and teams
have been able to introduce their products to foreign countries. The globalization of
sport has also seen numerous companies sponsor sporting events to reach a wider
viewing audience. Sport, in general, is a universally appealing product; thus, it is
cost-effective to reach desired markets by marketing products through sport (Thoma
and Chalip 2003). The investments made by these corporations have also fueled the
growth of sport globalization.
As globalization continues to permeate our society and influence changes in our
lives, it is important for sport marketers understand the associated changes that
affect sport and corporate sponsorship. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to
discuss some of the trends in sport sponsorship as it pertains to the global sport
market. This chapter specifically focuses on three trends or strategies by which
marketers have leveraged their products onto global consumers. The first section
includes a case analysis of a sponsorship strategy in the US by Japanese companies.
The second section discusses the advantages of virtual advertising in a global
setting. The third section examines the role of new media (e.g., Facebook and
Twitter) in sponsorship.
6 Sport Sponsorship in the Global Marketplace 77
6.1.1 What Is Sponsorship?
Although sponsorship is considered to be a recent development, its history dates

back to Ancient Greece (Masterman 2007). During that period, people invested in
sport and art festivals to enhance their social standing (Sandler and Shani 1993).
Similarly, ancient Roman aristocrats sponsored the Gladiators for political purposes,
while wealthy business patrons sponsored chariot horse racing teams to demonstrate
their social status (Masterman 2007; Sandler and Shani 1993). However, it was not
until the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century that companies started
to seek commercial gain by associating their product with sport (Masterman 2007).
The most notable sponsorship was realized in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games
in which Coca-Cola first acquired the designation as the Games’ “official soft drink”
(Sandler and Shani 1993). From that point on, sponsorship grew to how we know it
today, as a marketing communication tool, mainly due to the following reasons:
advent of television, the prohibition of tobacco commercials on television (thus
ushering these companies into sport sponsorship), and global consumers’ interest in
sport.
The definition of sponsorship provided by (Meenaghan 1991) is “an investment, in
cash or in kind, in an activity, in return for access to the exploitable commercial
potential associated with that activity” (p. 36). This definition suggests that companies
aim to achieve corporate objectives through sponsorship. Some of these corporate
objectives include the creation of brand awareness, enhanced brand image, brand
positioning, fostering relationships with fans, and increased sales (Cornwell and Maignan
1998). Companies have primarily sponsored sport teams, leagues, and events, but
they have also sponsored arts, causes, entertainment, festivals, fairs, and membership
organizations (IEG 2014). Of the above, sport has been far and away the most
popular, attracting 70 % of the sponsorship investment. Sport is followed by enter-
tainment (10 %), causes (9 %), arts (4 %) and festivals (4 %) (IEG 2014).
The total global sponsorship spending surpassed US $55 billion worldwide in
2013, an increase of 3.9 % from 2012. IEG (2014) projects the global sponsorship
spending to grow by 4.1 % in 2014. By continents, companies in North America
spent the most with US $19.8 billion, followed by Europe (US $14.5 billion), Asia
(US $12.6 billion), and Central/South America (US $4 billion) (IEG 2014). With
this significant increase in global sport sponsorship investments, the strategic impor-
tance of this communication platform has grown for companies’ executives (Amis
and Cornwell 2005).
6.2 Trends in Global Sport Sponsorship
To ensure that the corporate objectives of the sponsoring companies are met,
companies employ numerous strategies in the global sport marketplace. Some of
the strategies and trends will be discussed in regard to global sport sponsorship.
78 Y. Tsuji
6.2.1 Foreign Language Ads: The Case of Japanese

Signage in US Ballparks
There has been an influx of Japanese baseball players in Major League Baseball
(MLB) after the success of Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo in 1995. The total number
of Japanese players who have ever played in MLB reached more than 50 after the
2013 season (Japaneseballplayers.com 2014). Following this increase, the popular-
ity of MLB soared in Japan. This is evident by the number of people tuning-in to
watch the sport, as well as in the increase in fees for the broadcasting rights. In
2003, more than 300 games were televised in Japan (Hong et al. 2005), drawing an
average of 1.5 million Japanese viewers during the regular season (Epstein 2004).
More recently, Japanese-born pitcher Yu Darvish’s MLB debut game obtained a
12.1 % rating, despite being broadcast in the morning (Ochiai 2012). In addition,
the Japanese advertising company Dentsu negotiated a 6-year, $475 million
broadcasting contract with MLB in 2012, an increase of US $200 million dollars
over a similar, earlier 6-year span (Epstein 2004; Sports Business Daily 2012).
Capitalizing on the sporting event’s ability to draw large audiences and its potential
to communicate to consumers (Andreff 2001; Wolfe et al. 1997/1998), Japanese
corporations purchased stadium signage in American ballparks. For instance,
Yomiuri Shimbun, the country’s leading newspaper, bought a space on the outfield
fence at Yankee Stadium. Nintendo, the company that owns the Seattle Mariners,
displayed its signage in Japanese at Safeco Field. In fact, Nintendo was one of eight
Japanese companies to purchase signage at Safeco Field in 2007 (Reed 2007). Other
companies such as, Dandy House and Casio have even purchased signage in ballparks
where Japanese baseball players do not appear on the rosters (Reed 2007).
Japanese companies have sought to purchase signage behind home plate, which
attracts the greatest attention from television viewers (Reed 2007). Of course, the
attractiveness of this location comes with a hefty price tag. The cost for such a
location can be $300,000 for half an inning at Fenway Park, while the cost at the
Rangers ballpark may range from $120,000 to $160,000 per half-inning (Reed
2007). However, Japanese companies only need the space for a few games (e.g., 3
games) when their home country heroes are playing. The price for a prime location
would be anywhere from $50,000 to $60,000 for a half inning at a ballpark such as
the Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals (Reed 2007).
The price is quite significant considering the minimal amount of time it actually
appears on television.
Some Japanese corporations advertising in MLB games use Japanese characters
on their signage to specifically target viewers in Japan (Rovell 2002; Reed 2007).
This type of signage may be an eye-catching experience for viewers in Japan, as
most viewers do not expect signage written in Japanese at foreign stadiums. Past studies
have found that this novel and visually prominent signage increases attention (Till
and Baack 2005). This is in accordance with the more general finding of Lynch and
Srull (1982) observed that novel stimuli garnered more attention, were processed
more often, and eventually recalled more often. Therefore, the corporate sponsors
of signage at these games likely elicit greater awareness levels of their product. In
addition, signage written in a foreign language may elicit different emotional
responses from viewers (e.g., anger, pride, respect, etc.). Although these unique
situations pose interesting marketing questions with respect to their effectiveness,
there is a relative paucity of original research on the subject. Understanding the
effectiveness of this type of media presentation will provide corporate sponsors,
MLB, and its teams with valuable information.
Studies of sponsorship effectiveness have mostly focused on consumer responses
to issues such as brand awareness, brand image, and purchase intentions (e.g.,
Cornwell et al. 2005). Brand awareness is important, as it is the first step in creating
subsequent brand attitudes (e.g., Aaker 1991; Keller 2008). In turn, brand attitude
and purchase intentions are important as they influence consumer behavior
(e.g., Keller 2008). A study by Tsuji et al. (2009c) focused on the effectiveness of
Japanese-language ads in US ballparks, specifically on viewers’ brand awareness
and the factors affecting it. Their study focused on the Japanese brand Dandy House,
which offers an exclusive day spa to men. The sample, which consisted of under-
graduate students attending a university in Japan, found that unaided brand recall
was 23.6 %, while aided brand recall was 21.3 %, and brand recognition was 41.6 %.
While a direct comparison is impossible, recall recognition rates were similar to
those of past studies (e.g., Turley and Shannon 2000). The study also found that the
likelihood of unaided recall was higher in males who were interested in baseball.
However, the likelihood of aided recall and recognition was lower in males who
watched the game simply for the quality of the games.
The study by Tsuji et al. (2009c) was exploratory in nature and focused only on
brand awareness. Future studies should be aimed at investigating brand awareness in
various sport and countries. Furthermore, more research is needed with respect to the
viewers’ attitude toward sponsorship signage and how it leads to attitudes toward
brands. As more players challenge sport leagues overseas, we will see corporations
following suit. Therefore, it is imperative that sport marketers understand the true
effects of such sponsorship, and it is likely that more emphasis will be placed on
sponsorship evaluation.
6.2.2 Virtual Advertising
The opportunity to watch televised sport has increased drastically during the past
few decades. According to Shank (2009), four major US television networks (NBC,
CBS, ABC, FOX) carry more than 2,000 h of sport programming annually, and over
86,000 h of sport on cable television. In addition, viewing of televised sport remains
strong. During Super Bowl XLVII, 108.41 million viewers watched the game in the
US, the third most watched game in the history of the NFL (Baker 2013). On a
global scale, more than 3.6 billion people tuned-in to the 2012 London Olympic
Games (IOC 2012), while 3.2 billion watched the 2010 FIFA World Cup broadcast
(FIFA 2011). In the US, there are various sport specific channels available to viewers
80 Y. Tsuji
in addition to the major network broadcasters. There are channels that particularly
focus on college sport (e.g., ESPN U, Fox College Sport), single sport (e.g., Fox
Soccer Plus, Golf Channel, Tennis Channel), and outdoor sport (e.g., Outdoor
Channel, Sportsman Channel). Furthermore, professional sport leagues, major
college conferences, and individual universities have started carrying their own
channels in the US (e.g., MLB Network, NBA TV, Big Ten Network, Pac-12
Network, Longhorn Network).
To capitalize on the viewing audience, companies have sponsored these sporting
events in hopes of reaching their target markets. In general, these companies have
used either television commercials or sponsorship signage. In return, sport properties
receive financial commitments from sponsors (Wolfe et al. 1997/1998). The media
completes the third part of this relationship by providing platforms for both the
sport properties to increase revenue and for the sponsors to expose their product to
the masses (Wolfe et al. 1997/1998). The media, meanwhile, uses sport to penetrate
markets and attract viewing audiences that advertisers wish to reach (Goff and
Ashwell 2005). In this manner, sport, media and sponsors are involved in a symbi-
otic relationship (Wolfe et al. 1997/1998).
However, with the advent of new technology, this relationship may be changing.
With the introduction of Digital Video Recorders (DVR), which were installed in
45 % of US homes by 2012 (Svensson 2012), viewers have the freedom to pause
programs and skip commercials. According to Forrester Research, DVR owners
watch 60 % of their recorded programs and skip 92 % of the commercials (Kridler
2005). While some predict the demise of DVRs (Vazquez 2013), this behavior still
poses a threat to the existing relationship between media, sport, and sponsors. To
circumvent this behavior, marketers have introduced a new technology called virtual
advertising (Friedman and Kerwin 2005). Virtual advertising is the super-imposition
of digitized images onto a television broadcast (Turner and Cusumano 2000). This
technology allows marketers to place a brand logo anywhere in the sport broadcast
(Burgi 1997; Méndez 1999; Turner and Cusumano 2000). Television viewers will
see the brand logos, while the actual event attendees are not exposed to them.
Therefore, this technology allows marketers to target viewers who fast-forward
through television commercials. Virtual advertising has appeared in selected college
football and basketball games, NFL games, MLB games, and World Baseball
Classic (WBC) games.
In sport, virtual advertising technology has been used for commercial and game
enhancement purposes. The objectives of virtual advertising are similar to those of
sponsorship: to reach target markets, increase brand awareness, image enhancement
and leverage products (Cianfrone et al. 2006). Although both virtual advertising and
sponsorship share similar objectives, virtual advertising offers advantages over
sponsorship signage. First, the technology allows marketers to change logos by
geographic location (Turner and Cusumano 2000). For example, viewers of WBC
were exposed to different brand logos depending on their geographic location (MLB
2009). In addition to the global feed, customized feeds were available for Asia,
Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Puerto Rico, and the US (MLB 2009). This
allowed advertisers to effectively reach their desired target market(s), and at the
same time allowed MLB to increase the number of partners aligned with the 2009
WBC (MLB 2009).
Another advantage of virtual advertising lies in its ability to place the brand logo
in a unique location. It can be placed on the actual playing field, in the stands, or on
the sidelines. Virtual technology also allows brand logos to appear next to the score
display, consistently displaying the brand logo on the television screen (Turner and
Cusumano 2000). Lastly, brand logos inserted with virtual technology can be ani-
mated. Marketers believe that the use of animation can cut through the clutter and
draw viewers’ attention. In past WBC events, brand logos have appeared behind
home plate through the use of animation effects.
These unique advantages have numerous implications for global sport market-
ing. However, few studies have looked at their effectiveness. Cianfrone et al. (2006)
focused on differences in awareness levels among the unique placement of virtual
advertising and television commercials. They found significant differences accord-
ing to the location of virtual advertisements. Additional differences were found
among virtual advertisements and television commercials. Bennett et al. (2006)
investigated viewers’ attitudes toward virtual advertising, and found that virtual
advertising was less informative, less entertaining, and less intrusive, but more cred-
ible than television commercials. Tsuji et al. (2009b) focused on the effects of ani-
mation on viewers’ brand awareness. Similarly, Tsuji et al. (2009a) explored the
effects of animation on attitudes toward virtual advertising. Although these experi-
ments did not reveal any effects of animation on awareness and attitudes (Tsuji et al.
2009a, b), these scholars did call for additional research in order to fully understand
the unique features of virtual advertising. As new technology is introduced, sport
marketers need to be cognizant of all the associated opportunities that such advances
may bring to the stakeholders. In addition, evaluating such new marketing tactics
will be of considerable value as sport marketing continues to grow.
6.2.3 Sport Sponsorship and Social Media
The use of social media has grown tremendously in the past few years, owing to
applications such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, and Youtube.
In 2013, eMarketer (2013) reported that approximately one in four people (or 1.73
billion people) around the world had used social media in their lifetime. They expect
that this number will grow to 2.55 billion users by 2017 (eMarketer 2013). In 2013,
Facebook had 1.155 billion monthly active users, while Google + had 327 million,
Twitter had 240 million, and Youtube had 1 billion monthly active users, respectively
(Smith 2013).
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, social media, sometimes referred
to as social networking service or new media, is the “forms of electronic communi-
cation (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users
create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other
content (as videos).” Boyd and Ellison (2008) define social media as “web-based
82 Y. Tsuji
services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within
a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a con-
nection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others
within the system” (p. 211). Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) take a more broader view
toward social media, and describe it as “a group of Internet-based applications that
build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow
the creation and exchange of User Generated Content” (p. 61). They include
collaborative projects (e.g., wikis), blogs, content communities (e.g., YouTube),
social networking sites (e.g., Facebook), virtual game worlds (e.g., World of
Warcraft), and virtual social worlds (e.g., Second Life) within social media. For this
chapter, foci are placed on content communities and social networking sites.
Athletes, teams, leagues, and sponsors have utilized social media services to
communicate with fans. Numerous teams have set up official accounts on social
media to disseminate relevant information, video, and statistics. At the same time,
fans have followed these official accounts and have communicated through these
platforms. This has facilitated a borderless communication among fans, athletes,
sport teams, leagues, and sponsors. For example, an NBA fan in Europe can now
interact with other fans in the US via Twitter. According to the 2013 Global Sports
Media Consumption Report (Harper 2013), the Internet has become the second
most popular method to consume sport, next to television. In addition, seven of
the ten international markets that Harper (2013) investigated saw an increase in the
number of people who consume sport via social media. Facebook ranked the highest
in terms of the most popular social media platform, followed by Youtube, Google+,
and Twitter.
An example of a team that has enjoyed success in social media in the global sport
marketplace is FC Barcelona of La Liga, the Spanish Soccer League. FC Barcelona
has more than 51 million “Likes” (or followers) on its official Facebook page as of
January 2014, with close to 5 million of them coming from Indonesia (Ozanian
2014). According to Starcount (2013a), FC Barcelona received the 2013 Social Star
Awards in the Sport Team category for its popularity on social media. Additionally,
the team added 13 million new Facebook fans in a year, with close to a million fans
talking about the team over the Internet daily (Starcount 2013a). Real Madrid, FC
Barcelona’s rival, comes in second with 48 million “Likes,” while Christiano
Ronaldo of Real Madrid leads all athletes with 70 million “Likes.” On Twitter,
Christiano Ronaldo has over 23 million followers; Ricardo Kaká (professional soc-
cer player) is second with over 17 million followers. FC Barcelona has benefited
from this popularity on social media. They have secured a sponsorship deal with
Intel, a technology company, for US $25 million over a 5-year period (Ozanian
2014). Furthermore, in the US, the San Francisco 49ers signed with Yahoo, which
will be named “the exclusive online sport content, social networking and photo and
video sharing partner” (Ozanian 2013). It is apparent that these major technology
and communications companies will become key players (or key sponsors) in
achieving a team’s business objectives in the future.
Likewise, sponsors have similarly enjoyed success with the prominent presence
of sport teams on social media. For example, Qatar Airlines added 18,500 fans on
Facebook and they soared to the top in Starcount’s “Airline Brand Chart” ranking
after their announcement of the a shirt sponsorship with FC Barcelona (Starcount
2013b). With respect to the number of posts on social media, the UEFA Euro 2012
garnered 6.5 million total tweets (267,200 tweets per minute) for the final match
where the Spaniards reigned supreme over the Italians (Hockenson 2013). Similarly,
the 2013 Boston Marathon, because of the terrorist attack, was the most tweeted
sport event in the US with 27.8 million (Rovell 2013), while Andy Murray’s victory
in Wimbledon was the most talked about story on Facebook in the UK (ESPN
2013). The 2012 London Olympic Games, which were dubbed the Socialympics,
saw more than 150 million tweets over the 16-day period (Fitzgerald 2012;
Meenaghan 2013). Capitalizing on this growth in social media, sport properties and
sponsors have strategically used this newer media as another communication
platform for strengthening and reinforcing relationships with fans and leveraging
sponsorship rights.
Both sport teams and sponsors benefit from social media, as they allow direct
access to fans’ conversations and the ability to build a sense of community around
the team. These services allow for a two-way interaction between fans and the teams
and/or sponsors, whereas heretofore it had always been a one-way communication
from the team and/or sponsors to the fans. Furthermore, the use of social media
comes at a relatively lower price than traditional advertising with the added poten-
tial of reaching global consumers. IEG reports that in 2012, 74 % of sponsors used
social media to leverage their relationship and social media was the fourth most
popular platform (IEG 2013a). In 2013, social media was the second most popular
platform (IEG 2013b).
Social media assist sport teams and sponsors to meet their respective marketing
objectives in the following ways (Dees 2011; IEG 2012):
• Create brand awareness
• Enhance brand image
• Target audiences with personalized content
• Build and extend brands by providing relevant information
• Serve as a promotional platform (for sales and merchandise)
• Invite fans for open discussions with sport teams and sponsors
More specifically, social media add value to sport teams and sponsors in numerous
ways. Social media allow teams and sponsors to deliver information to the fans
when, where, and how the fans want it (Ballouli and Hutchinson 2010). Additionally,
successful content is unique, relevant to the fans, and sharable on social media
(Andrews 2013). Shared content then becomes word-of-mouth advertising (Dees
2011). Unique, relevant, sharable content during the season could include the
following: Sport teams and sponsors might provide information about team practices
and player information leading up to the game. On gamedays before the kickoff,
teams and sponsors could offer fans a peek-behind-the-scenes in the locker room.
During the game, teams and sponsors could give relevant statistics regarding the
play on the field. Following the game, teams and sponsors could provide athletes’
post-game interview scenes. These experiences would enhance the game experience
84 Y. Tsuji
by engaging and entertaining the fans (Dees 2011). Additionally, teams and sponsors
could provide relevant information during the off-season, which would likely keep
the team and sponsors continuously on the fans’ minds.
Moreover, social media would allow teams and sponsors to mobilize followers
(Ballouli and Hutchinson 2010). Teams and sponsors could ask fans to be involved
with the team, follow certain sponsors, and be engaged with them by utilizing con-
tests, giveaways, sweepstakes, and rewards. At the same time, teams and sponsors
could collect feedback, conduct polls, and solicit responses to team-related (or
sponsor-related) activities (IEG 2012). Additionally, it would be ideal if teams and
sponsors were able to create synergy between the digital space and television. For
example, Shaquille O’Neal used Twitter to boost the television ratings for his show
(Ballouli and Hutchinson 2010). In this way, sport properties and sponsors could
benefit greatly from social media.
Other specific advice for sport properties and sponsors on social media usage are
as follows (Chipps 2012; IEG 2012, 2013c; Kaplan and Haenlein 2010):
Do:
• Be active and interesting
• Use images and videos, as they leave stronger impressions on the fans
• Encourage posting and sharing of comments among fans’ network
• Create, promote, and monitor hashtags that are short, relevant, and easily shar-
able comments
• Integrate sponsors into content that enhances fan experience
• Send the same messages across all channels to ensure consistency of messages
and reduce confusion
• Be prepared to answer fans’ comments and complaints
Don’t
• Be overly-professional in the tone of the messages
• Overload users with messages (place a limit on the number of messages)
• Keep commercialization to a minimum
Sport properties and sponsors should continuously measure the effectiveness of
social media activities. Monitoring effectiveness is essential in making adjustments
to marketing plans, comparing different markets, securing budgets, setting future
goals and plans, and following current trends (Trehan and Trehan 2008). One way
to measure social media marketing effectiveness is to look at its “reach.” Reach can
be defined as the number of unique persons to which a message can be delivered.
For social media applications, reach is the number of friends (Facebook, Google+)
and followers (Twitter). Another type of measurement involves looking at the volume
of reference in fans’ posts (Meenaghan et al. 2013). An additional measurement,
according to J. Umino (personal communication, August 26, 2013) would be to use
the following engagement metrics: applause, conversation, and amplification.
Applause refers to the rate that the fans approve, appreciate, or endorse the team’s
postings. On Facebook, this is the number of “Likes,” on Twitter, it is the number of
“Favorites” and in Google+, it is the number of “+1.” Conversation is the rate at

which the content sparks communication on social media. Followers can engage in
a conversation by commenting on the post, which shows their interest or attitude
toward the post. Further analysis can be conducted by looking at the degree and the
direction of such attitudes (Meenaghan et al. 2013). Lastly, amplification refers to
the number of shared or re-posted (retweeted in Twitter) contents on a fan’s extended
network. Sport teams and sponsors can use either one or a combination of the above
metrics to measure effectiveness on social media.
Social media can be a valuable asset to both sport teams and sponsors; however,
there are risks associated with its use. Teams and sponsors need to understand
the advantages and disadvantages of this new medium and each specific service. There
are numerous applications on the Internet with each service possessing its unique
target audience and features. Thus, sport marketers need to understand which applications
their target audiences most use and how to reach them effectively. Furthermore,
sport teams and their sponsors need to set clear goals for social media activities
that align with the overall marketing objectives and identify measurable scales to
quantify return on their investment. Of equal importance is the sport marketer’s
knowledge of the fans’ community. It is essential to understand that sport marketers
may lose control over the content that is discussed. Conversations may get out of
hand, and unintended content may lead to negative brand reputation. Even if it is
under control, fans will expect teams to respond to content. Thus, it will be extremely
difficult to shut down the account. Honest and credible content is imperative on
social media.
Social media is an increasingly inevitable part of the sport world. Fans will
continue to use social media and will likely demand more information. Sport teams
should welcome the changes, as they can generate additional revenue, collect
valuable information from the fans, and attract new sponsors. Sponsors also benefit
from increased interaction with the fans and the team. Sport teams and sponsors
need to be cognizant of the changes in the digital space and be proactive toward
relevant changes in technology.
6.3 Conclusion
There is no doubt that the globalization of sport will continue. More athletes will
cross borders, while more sport teams and leagues will play games overseas.
Accordingly, multinational companies will follow suit to capture the hearts of the
international audience. Sport marketers need to be aware of the shifts in the increas-
ingly international environment and be able to adapt to these changes. It appears
that the future success of sport marketing and sport sponsorship depends on how
sport organizations ride the wave of globalization. The trends and suggestions for
global sport sponsorship discussed in this chapter are not meant to be exhaustive by
any means. The chapter was focused mainly on larger sporting events and teams.
Readers should exercise caution when applying some of the concepts presented in
the chapter.
86 Y. Tsuji
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Chapter 7
Sport Fans and Their Behavior in Fan
Communities
Masayuki Yoshida, Brian Gordon, Jeffrey D. James, and Bob Heere
Abstract Understanding why sport fans socially interact with other fans, participate in
team-related discussions, recruit new members, and retain other fans in sport fan com-
munities is a key issue in sport marketing. This conceptual paper suggests that three
antecedents (brand equity, consumers’ perceptions of team sponsored fan appreciation
events, and perceived rituals and traditions) influence sport consumers’ identification
with the fan community that in turn affects four community-related behaviors (fan
community engagement, enhanced product use, member responsibility, and positive
word-of-mouth). Sport fans will form fan community identification either because of
formally organized elements (brand equity and brandfest activities) or because of less
formal elements (rituals and traditions). Furthermore, the potential effects of fan com-
munity identification on the four community-related behaviors are proposed. Describing
a model of fan community identification, the authors develop research propositions
regarding the antecedents and consequences of fan community identification.
Keywords Sport fan community • Fan community identification • Brand commu-

nity practices
7.1 Introduction
Sport fans are defined as “individuals who are interested in and follow a sport, team
and/or athlete” (Wann et al. 2001, p. 2). In recent years, a growing number of
researchers have focused on the communal aspect of sport fans and have attempted
M. Yoshida (*)
Department of Athletic Sport, Biwako Seikei Sport College, Shiga, Japan
e-mail: yoshida-m@bss.ac.jp
B. Gordon
Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse,
Wisconsin, WI, USA
J.D. James
Department of Sport Management, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
B. Heere
Department of Sport and Entertainment, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3_7
90 M. Yoshida et al.
to address the question of how to develop and manage sport fan communities (Grant
et al. 2011; Katz and Heere 2013; Woolf et al. 2013; Woisetschläger et al. 2008).
Both academicians and practitioners have recognized the powerful organizing
forces associated with interpersonal relationships in sport fan communities.
Empirical research has provided support for sport fans’ ability to engage, collaborate,
and build a strong relationship not only with the focal sport team, but also with other
fans (Katz and Heere 2013; Woisetschläger et al. 2008). In spectator sport, marketers
have acknowledged the importance of community-based relationship marketing.
Professional sport teams routinely organize fan communities where sport fans come
together, co-create social experiences, enhance their skills with customized
products, and build camaraderie and friendship with other fans (Grant et al. 2011;
Holt 1995; Oliver 1999). Sport fans are active participants and co-producers of
service experiences (Vargo and Lusch 2004).
Despite the advances that have been made regarding sport fan communities, at
least two important concerns with previous research limit our understanding. First,
although past research has provided three important markers of fan communities,
including shared consciousness, rituals and traditions, and a sense of moral respon-
sibility (Grant et al. 2011; Muñiz and O’Guinn 2001), unique behavioral outcomes
in fan communities still remain unclear. Specifically, the impact of these markers on
community-related behavioral outcomes (e.g., community engagement, enhanced
product use, social bonding, and positive word-of-mouth; Schau et al. 2009) has not
been well understood. Second, most research has been conducted with formally
organized elements (e.g., brand relationship quality, brand identification, brand
trust, and brand loyalty) (Algesheimer et al. 2005; Bagozzi and Dholakia 2006;
Füller et al. 2008) in company-initiated settings (e.g., car clubs). Our understanding
of the relationship between less formally organized elements (e.g., rituals and
traditions) and community-related behavioral consequences (e.g., community
engagement and social bonding) in consumer-initiated sport fan communities is still
limited. The relevant literature suggests that sport fans’ feelings of camaraderie and
friendship in consumer-initiated fan communities are less formal, but very powerful
(McAlexander et al. 2006; Muñiz and O’Guinn 2001).
The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical model that advances our
understanding of sport fans’ behaviors in fan communities. Specifically, as suggested
by social identity theory (Ashforth and Mael 1989; Tajfel and Turner 1985) and the
idea of brand community practices (Schau et al. 2009), the authors attempt to
develop research propositions regarding the relationships between perceptual,
attitudinal, and behavioral constructs in sport fan communities.
7.2 Literature Review
The following section first provides a review of the literature on the definition and
scope of sport fan communities. Then, the authors draw from the literature on existing
models of consumer-fan community connection. Following the literature review,
several research propositions are derived.
7 Sport Fans and Their Behavior in Fan Communities 91
7.2.1 Defining a Sport Fan Community
A sport fan community is a specific form of brand community in the sport context. A
brand community is defined as a specialized, non-geographically bound community
based on the relationships among consumers of a brand (Muñiz and O’Guinn 2001;
Schouten and McAlexander 1995). Brand communities can exist anywhere in both
face-to-face (Algesheimer et al. 2005; McAlexander et al. 2002; Muñiz and O’Guinn
2001; Schau et al. 2009) and computer-mediated virtual environments (Carlson et al.
2008; Jang et al. 2008; Woisetschläger et al. 2008). In the contemporary marketplace,
one can witness brand communities in multiple product categories due to a rich variety
of self-expressive products, including cars (Algesheimer et al. 2005; Muñiz and
O’Guinn 2001), motorcycles (Bagozzi and Dholakia 2006; McAlexander et al.
2002), computers (Muñiz and O’Guinn 2001; Muñiz and Schau 2005), cellular
phones (Jang et al. 2008), watches (Rindfleisch et al. 2008), theme parks (Carlson
et al. 2008), university alumni (McAlexander et al. 2006), and spectator sport teams
(Grant et al. 2011; Heere et al. 2011; Katz and Heere 2013). Focusing on the
communal aspect of sport fans, Oliver (1999) considers the social bonding of a sport
fan community as a blend of personal identity with the cultural milieu surrounding
the focal sport team. Given this implication, a sport fan community can be defined as
specialized, non-geographically bound community based on sport fans’ personal
identity with the cultural milieu surrounding a specific sport team.
In terms of the typology of sport fan communities, Jang et al. (2008) suggest
there are two different types of fan communities: fan-initiated and team-initiated
communities. Fan-initiated communities are voluntarily built by the fans of sport
teams and provide beneficial information, including the strengths and weaknesses
of sport products, events, and experiences (Jang et al. 2008). Sport fans participate
in such communities primarily to achieve their individual and social purposes (i.e.,
information acquisition, entertainment, and social interaction) (Dholakia et al.
2004). On the other hand, team-initiated communities are intentionally created by
the company that manages the sport team, providing details on the products and
their usage in order to strengthen the relationship with the consumers (Jang et al.
2008). In sport fan communities, consumers build relationships with one another
through consumption (direct and indirect) of their favorite sport teams. This provides
an ideal study setting for investigating less formally organized brand communities.
However, such groups have not been well explored in the brand community
literature.
7.2.2 Conceptualization
Table 7.1 presents a summary review of the relevant literature. There is a commonly
acknowledged conceptualization of consumer-brand community connection. Based
on social identity theory (Ashforth and Mael 1989; Tajfel and Turner 1985), Muñiz
and O’Guinn (2001) consider the consumer-brand community connection as a
Table 7.1 A chronological review of the literature on brand community
92
Author Conceptualization Inquiry Antecedents Consequences Sport setting

Oliver (1999) Yes Conceptual Yes Yes Yes
(A blend of personal (Product superiority, (Co-creation based (Sport fans with high levels
identity with the cultural self-isolation, and on the symbiotic of group identification such as
milieu surrounding the village envelopment) relationship between Green Bay Packers fans who
focal brand) a brand and the wear “cheeseheads” in order
consumers) to support the team)
Muñiz and Yes Qualitative No No No
O’Guinn (2001) (Shared consciousness, (Ford Bronco, Macintosh,
rituals, traditions, and and Saab brand communities
moral responsibility) in the U.S.)
McAlexander Yes Mixed methods Yes No No
et al. (2002) (BC integration model: (Pre- and post- event (Jeep and Harley-Davidson
owner-to-product, comparisons were brand communities in the
−brand, −company, and conducted) U.S.)
-owner relationships)
Algesheimer Yes Quantitative Yes Yes No
et al. (2005) (Community (Brand relationship (Community (Car clubs in Germany)
identification) quality) engagement and
normative community
pressure)
Bagozzi and Yes Quantitative Yes Yes No
Dholakia (2006) (Social identification (Attitude, positive and (Desire to participate (Harley-Davidson’s Harley
with BC: cognitive, negative emotions, in the BC, social Owners Groups (HOGs) in the
affective, and subjective norms, intention, group U.S.)
evaluative) perceived behavioral behavior, brand
control) identification, brand
behavior)
M. Yoshida et al.
7
Woisetschläger Yes Quantitative No Yes Yes

et al. (2008) (Community (Consumer (A virtual brand community,
identification) participation) “virtual football stadium,”
provided by a naming rights
sponsor of the biggest football
stadium in Germany)
Carlson et al. Yes Quantitative Yes Yes No
(2008)
(Psychological sense of (Brand identification (Brand commitment) (Online brand discussion
brand community) and group groups supported by Yahoo.
identification) com (Study 1) and U.S.-based
theme park (Study 2) in the
U.S.)
Füller et al. Yes Quantitative Yes Yes No
(2008)
(Community (Brand passion, (Brand trust) (Volkswagen Golf GTI
identification) extraversion, and meeting in Austria)
openness)
Sport Fans and Their Behavior in Fan Communities
Jang et al. Yes Quantitative Yes Yes No

(2008)
(Community (Information quality, (Brand loyalty) (Online brand communities
commitment) system quality, organized by firms such as
interaction, and reward) mobile phones, automobiles,
and electronics)
Schau et al. Yes Qualitative No Yes No
(2009)
(continued)
93
Table 7.1 (continued)
94

(Badging: defined as a (Community (Nine brand communities:
sense of membership engagement, brand Internet device, personal
and identity that arises use, social digital assistant, car, GPS
from BC practices) networking, and device, beverage, camera,
impression musical group, cosmeceutical,
management) and television program)
Grant et al. Yes Qualitative Yes No Yes
(2011)
(The concept of “we”: (Group experience, (Newly established
Consciousness of kind) history and heritage, professional sports teams in
ritual/traditions and New Zealand)
physical facility)
Katz and Heere Yes Qualitative Yes Yes Yes
(2013)
(Group identity with the (Social interactions (Social network) (Tailgating groups of a new
overall brand between highly college sport team)
community) committed leaders and
other followers at
brandfests)
M. Yoshida et al.
shared consciousness that refers to the intrinsic connection that brand community
members feel toward one another and the collective sense of difference from others
that are not in the community. Social identity theory describes how individuals
derive positive psychological benefits from membership in groups such as sport fan
communities. Keller (2001) contends that “identification with a brand community
may help customers feel a kinship with other people associated with the brand”
(p. 19). Other researchers have reached a similar conclusion that a consumer’s emo-
tional and social bonds with a brand community can be conceptualized as brand
community identification (Algesheimer et al. 2005; Füller et al. 2008; Rindfleisch
et al. 2008; Woisetschläger et al. 2008). Given this perspective, the relationship
between a sport fan and a fan community can be conceptualized as an individual’s
identification (perceived connectedness) with the fan community of his or her
favorite sport team.
7.2.3 Antecedents and Consequences in Brand

Community Research
In the study of marketing, researchers have been increasingly interested in the ante-
cedents and consequences of brand community identification (see Table 7.1). In
terms of antecedents, researchers to date have reported that brand community iden-
tification is significantly impacted by consumer attitudes toward the focal brand
(e.g., brand relationship quality, brand identification, and brand passion)
(Algesheimer et al. 2005; Carlson et al. 2008; Füller et al. 2008), consumer charac-
teristics (e.g., extraversion, openness, materialism, and social insecurity) (Füller
et al. 2008; Rindfleisch et al. 2008), and consumers’ identification with the peer
group (Carlson et al. 2008). In the sport management literature, empirical research
shows that an individual’s identification with a fan community is significantly
impacted by sport fans’ group experiences (Grant et al. 2011), rituals and traditions
(Grant et al. 2011), physical facility (Grant et al. 2011), and the social interactions
between highly committed leaders and other followers at brandfests (Katz and
Heere 2013). Brandfests have been described as brand-centered, corporate-spon-
sored event where a significant number of brand users and potential users celebrate
and engage in brand consumption and social interactions with other consumers
(McAlexander et al. 2002).
Various consequences have also been identified. Prior research demonstrates that
brand community identification leads to a number of consumer attitudes and
behaviors, including both brand- and community-related outcomes. Brand-related
outcomes such as brand commitment (Carlson et al. 2008), brand loyalty (Jang et al.
2008), brand trust (Füller et al. 2008), and consumer-brand identification (Bagozzi
and Dholakia 2006) have been viewed as significant consequences. Community-
related outcomes include normative community pressure (Algesheimer et al. 2005),
community engagement (Algesheimer et al. 2005), and consumer participation in
the brand community (Bagozzi and Dholakia 2006; Füller et al. 2008). In the sport
context, researchers also contend that there are several important outcome variables,
including consumer participation in the fan community (Woisetschläger et al. 2008),
social networking between fan community members (Katz and Heere 2013), and
co-creation based on the symbiotic relationship between a sport team and the fans
(Oliver 1999). From a theoretical standpoint, Schau et al. (2009) provide a richer
understanding of community-related outcomes by identifying four important brand
community practices: community engagement, enhanced product use, member
responsibility, and positive word-of-mouth. These practices are thought to play key
roles in encouraging the social, co-creative, and engaging behaviors of sport fan
community members.
7.3 Research Propositions
7.3.1 A Model of Fan Community Identification
Figure 7.1 is an illustration of the proposed fan community identification model that
underlies this conceptual paper. Fan community identification is defined as the
intrinsic connection that fan community members feel toward one another and the
collective sense of difference from others not in the fan community (Keller 2001,
2003; Muñiz and O’Guinn 2001). Three antecedents, including formally organized
(brand equity and brandfest perceptions) and less formally organized (perceived
rituals and traditions) factors, are expected to influence fan community identification.
The framework also includes four fan community-related behavioral outcomes: fan
word-of-mouth (Schau et al. 2009). In the following section, the authors develop
research propositions within this framework. First, research propositions regarding
the antecedents of fan community identification are presented. Then, research propo-
sitions on the consequences of fan community identification (i.e., fan community-
related behaviors) are derived. This conceptual paper highlights the importance of
extending the literature by (1) including both formally and less formally organized
antecedents in a single framework, (2) linking these antecedents to fan community
identification and fan community-related behaviors (fan community engagement,
enhanced product use, member responsibility, and positive word-of-mouth).
7.3.2 Antecedents of Fan Community Identification
Brand equity is the value added to a product (good or service) by the brand name
(Farquhar 1989). In consumer behavior research, brand value is primarily cognitive
and is derived by assessing the impact of brand knowledge on a consumer’s response
to the marketing of the brand (Aaker 1991; Keller 1993). As suggested by Keller’s
(2003) brand equity pyramid model, consumers’ behavioral and social engagement
Formally organized Behaviors in fan

elements communities
Fan community
engagement
Brand equity
Enhanced
product use
Brandfest Fan community
perceptions identification
Member
responsibility
Perceived
rituals and
traditions Positive
word-of-mouth
Less formally organized
elements
Antecedents Mediator Consequences

(Perceptual) (Attitudinal) (Behavioral)
Fig. 7.1 A model of fan community identification: explaining fan community-related behaviors
is beyond cognitive brand equity. Brand equity enhances consumers’ attitudinal and
behavioral responses to brand communities (Keller 2003). In relation to attitudinal
constructs, high levels of brand equity are likely to engender high levels of brand
community identification (Algesheimer et al. 2005; Carlson et al. 2008; Füller et al.
2008). In the sport marketing context, Oliver (1999) also suggests that superior
product quality, an important element of brand equity, is a significant predictor of a
sport fan’s communal connection to the fan community. Based on the preceding, the
following proposition is proposed:
P1: Sport fans’ evaluations of a sport team’s brand equity will lead to greater levels
of fan community identification.
In the context of spectator sport, brandfest perceptions refer to sport consumers’
awareness of team-centered, corporate-sponsored community events that promote
consumer experiences through the consumption of team-related social activities
(e.g., fan appreciation day). In relation to consumer attitudes, a consumer’s brandfest
participation increases their overall feelings of integration in the fan community
(McAlexander et al. 2002). When individuals recognize that a sport team cares
about its consumers and chooses to avoid pushing sales through hard-sell techniques,
brandfests can effectively influence the image of the team, management staff, and
other fans, thereby creating a sense of gratitude and goodwill (McAlexander et al. 2002).
Such perceptions lead to consumers’ positive relationships not only with the sport
team, event, and product, but also with other fans (McAlexander et al. 2002). Based
on the above discussion, the authors propose:
P2: Sport fans’ brandfest perceptions will lead to greater levels of fan community
identification.
Much of the previous research has been conducted in company-initiated settings
(Algesheimer et al. 2005; Dholakia et al. 2004; Füller et al. 2008; McAlexander
et al. 2002; Woisetschläger et al. 2008) and failed to relate consumer-initiated
elements (e.g., rituals and traditions) to consumers’ attitudinal and behavioral
consequences. The authors bridge this gap by developing the proposed theoretical
framework in a consumer-initiated sport setting. In this paper, rituals and traditions
are viewed from the sport consumer’s perspective and are defined as consumers’
perceptions of the extent to which fan community members have ritual customs,
stories, tradition, and community experiences in order to set up visible public
definitions and certain communal norms and values of the fan community (Muñiz
and O’Guinn 2001). Specifically, rituals have been found to regulate social conflict
(Levy and Zaltman 1975), provide a social coding of experiences (Firth 1973), and
bind a group of people with a common set of symbolic statements and practices
(Rook 1985). In the sport context, Grant et al. (2011) suggest that rituals and
traditions perpetuate a sport fan community’s history, culture, and consciousness
among the fans of the team. Based on these thoughts, it seems logical that consumers’
perceptions of the rituals and traditions of a sport fan community contribute to their
social cohesion and identification with the brand community. These views lead to
the following proposition:
P3: Sport fans’ evaluations of rituals and traditions will lead to greater levels of fan
community identification.
7.3.3 Consequences of Fan Community Identification
In this conceptual paper, the authors rely on the work of Schau et al. (2009) to link
fan community identification to four behavioral consequences: fan community
engagement, enhanced product use, member responsibility, and positive word-of-mouth.
Fan community engagement refers to consumers’ escalating engagement with a fan
community that includes socially-committed behaviors such as self-expression,
story-telling, and fan community participation (Schau et al. 2009). In sport fan com-
munities, the key levels of fan community engagement include (1) staking a social
space, (2) participating in seminal events, (3) badging the milestones for symbolic
representation, and (4) documenting personal stories in a narrative format (Schau
et al. 2009). Enhanced product use is defined as consumers’ improved use of team-related
products (i.e., both tangible goods and intangible services) in sport fan communi-
ties. Such behaviors include (1) grooming (e.g., specific routines when attending
sporting events), (2) customizing (e.g., designing spectator products in order to

fit one’s self-concept), and (3) commoditizing (e.g., the extensive use of spectator
products to guide other fans). Member responsibility refers to a felt sense of duty
and obligation to a fan community as a whole and to its individual members in order
to create, enhance, and sustain the ties among the fan community members. The key
components of member responsibility are welcoming, empathizing, and governing
(Schau et al. 2009). Finally, the construct of positive word-of-mouth is defined as
consumers’ external, outward focus on creating favorable impressions of a sport
team, enthusiastic fans, and the fan community in the social universe beyond the fan
community (Schau et al. 2009).
Theoretically, previous research provides some support for the development of
fan community-related behaviors. From one perspective, a consumer’s identification
with other fans strengthens his or her engagement in the fan community (Algesheimer
et al. 2005; Woisetschläger et al. 2008). Other researchers provide a theoretical
basis for the impact of fan community identification on a number of community-
related behaviors such as integrating and retaining other fans, participating in team-
related discussions, assisting other fans, and providing feedback to the team for
improving event experiences (Füller et al. 2008; Katz and Heere 2013; Muñiz and
O’Guinn 2001; Schau et al. 2009). Based on this discussion, the authors expect that
fan community identification plays a key role in achieving sport consumers’ fan
word-of-mouth. Therefore, the authors propose:
P4: Sport fans’ identification with the fan community will lead to greater levels of
fan community engagement.
enhanced product use.
member responsibility.
positive word-of-mouth.
7.4 Conclusion
Sport fan communities arise in numerous settings when sport consumers participate
in face-to-face, virtual, consumer-initiated, or team-initiated fan communities. In
this paper, the authors synthesized the recent conceptual development of brand
community in marketing (Muñiz and O’Guinn 2001; Schau et al. 2009) and the
defining attributes of sport fans’ community-related behaviors (fan community
engagement, enhanced product use, member responsibility, and positive word-of-
mouth). Incorporating the theoretically relevant element grounded in sport phenomena
will advance our understanding of fan communities in spectator sport. Furthermore,
the authors derive some research propositions regarding the impact of fan community
identification on the four engaging outcomes that have rarely been investigated (see
Table 7.1). The proposed framework is a useful model for understanding how sport
fans’ community-related behaviors are activated through their identification with
the fan community. The current paper extends previous research by proposing that
fan community identification will lead to greater fan community-related behaviors.
There is substantial evidence that fan community identification is an important
construct influencing both brand- and community-related consequences. However,
much of this work has focused on formally organized elements (e.g., consumer
attitudes toward the brand) and consumer characteristics (e.g., personality and value
perceptions). Given the limitations of previous research, this conceptual paper is
one of the first attempts to develop research propositions on the relationship between
less formally organized elements (e.g., rituals and traditions) and fan community
identification in a face-to-face sport fan community setting. As noted by Muñiz and
O’Guinn (2001), consumers’ communal feelings in a strong fan community may be
considerably more subtle, less formally organized, but nonetheless very powerful
and socially embedded. A better understanding of how community-related anteced-
ents in a less formally organized fan community contribute to the development of
fan community identification fills the void that exists in the current literature. Future
research should address the need for community-based relationship marketing in a
consumer-initiated sport fan community and empirically examine how fan
community-related behaviors are strengthened by predictor variables such as fan
community identification, brand equity, brandfests, rituals and traditions.
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Chapter 8
Negative Information in Sport: Minimizing
Crisis Damage
Shintaro Sato
Abstract Consumers are often exposed to negative information pertaining to sport

organizations and athletes such as product failures and scandals. Based on an inten-
sive literature review based mainly on the disciplines of marketing, management,
and public relations, this chapter provides information that will contribute to a better
understanding of crisis management in sport settings. Specifically, I will cover the
types of negative outcomes that sport crises can produce, examine the unique
characteristics of sport crises, and suggest methods for crisis management actions
that sport marketers might utilize to alleviate potential damage. Sport crises elicit
negative consumer evaluations from both affective (i.e., negative attitude toward
sport entities) and cognitive (i.e., negative reputation of sport entities) perspectives.
These negative outcomes usually lead to undesirable behavioral outcomes (i.e.,
negative word-of-mouth). A unique characteristic of sport crises involves perfor-
mance relatedness, which refers to the extent to which the target crisis affects the
sport entities’ performance in their particular sport. For example, if an athlete
engages in the use of performance-enhancing drugs, it is considered a performance
related crisis. On the other hand, if he or she becomes involved in off-field violence,
it is regarded as a non-performance related crisis. Lastly, crisis damage minimization
strategies are introduced. I discuss pre-crisis damage alleviation (i.e., insurance-like
protection) and post-crisis damage alleviation (i.e., crisis response strategies).
Future research directions will also be discussed.
Keywords Negative publicity • Corporate social responsibility • Corporate ability

• Scandal • Response strategy • Sport crisis management
S. Sato (*)
Department of Tourism, Recreation, and Sport Management College of Health and Human
Performance, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
e-mail: satoshintaro@hhp.ufl.edu

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3_8
104 S. Sato
8.1 Introduction
Recall recent examples of negative information in sport that were elicited by crises;
Penn State’s reputation collapse, Tiger Woods’ infidelity, Michael Vick’s dog fights,
and Lance Armstrong’s blood doping and use of steroids. We all know that negative
information in sport has a massive impact in our society. Negative information, rela-
tive to positive or neutral information, captures much greater consumer attention
(Herr et al. 1991). Not surprisingly, negative information hurts evaluation of the target
object (Fong and Wyer 2012; Tybout et al. 1981) and firms’ performances (Basuroy
et al. 2003; Huang and Chen 2006). Several studies have shown that the effects of
negative information can spill over to associated products/brands and even competi-
tors (Rohem and Tybout 2006; Till and Shimp 1998). When Tiger Woods’ infidelity
was exposed, an overall US$12 billion loss accrued to his shareholders (Goldiner
2009). This information also impacted the stakeholders’ stock value due to the nega-
tive consumer reaction (Knittel and Stango 2009). As a result, some sponsors were
worried about potential damage spill-over from the crisis and decided to dissociate
themselves from Tiger Woods by breaking sponsorship agreements (Miller and
Laczniak 2011). Thus, when negative information involving sport teams and athletes
is made public, it negatively impacts the evaluation of the involved team as well as a
wide variety of stakeholders. Managing negative information to protect sport entities
as well as stakeholders is, therefore, an essential task for the success of businesses.
Many research questions in the area of sport crisis management remain unan-
swered. In this chapter, I examine the framework of sport crisis management. I will
place an emphasis on understanding possible negative outcomes that are elicited
by sport crises and suggest ways of minimizing sport crisis damage. Succeeding
sections introduce unique characteristics of crises in the sport context and are aimed
at developing a better understanding of the various types of sport crises. I will then
introduce pre- and post-crisis strategies. Pre-crisis strategies mainly involve
building positive corporate ability (CA) and corporate social responsibility (CSR)
associations with sport consumers. These positive associations are expected to
create a shield to minimize damage from future crises. For post-crisis strategies,
by effectively communicating with sport consumers, corporations can minimize the
damage as long as the appropriate response strategies are utilized. I will utilize empiri-
cal findings to detail how two damage minimization strategies can best be applied.
In summary, this chapter contributes to the literature in sport crisis management and
highlights some questions that sport management scholars need to address.
8.2 Negative Impact of Sport Crises
What kind of negative outcomes do sport crises produce? This chapter introduces
perspectives on three types of undesirable situations that scholars need to be aware
of in the sport management realm: affective, cognitive and behavioral negative outcomes.
Many scholars have attempted to understand the affective outcomes that crises have
8 Negative Information in Sport: Minimizing Crisis Damage 105
produced. The most common dependent variable that researchers have examined is
attitude toward scandalized objects (Feinberg 2009; Funk and Pritchard 2006;
Miller and Lacziniak 2011; Sato et al. 2013). It is not surprising that scandalized
objects are disliked by consumers due to the involvement of crises, but in the
meantime, it is noteworthy that even related stakeholders such as sponsoring
companies, as well as their products, and even their competitors can receive a nega-
tive affective impact from such crises (Fong and Wyer 2012; Roehm and Tybout
2006). For example, Roehm and Tybout (2006) found that crisis induced negative
impacts toward a particular sport brand (i.e., Nike) can transfer to a related brand
(i.e., Reebok) when consumers feel the two brands are in a similar product category.
Managing crises is critical for not only the sport entities involved, but also for a
wide variety of stakeholders. In the cognitive area, scandalized objects often receive
a negative impact as well. In the field of crisis management, sustaining a good
reputation when crises occur is the most common dependent variable that researchers
have examined (Claeys et al. 2010; Coombs 2004; Coombs and Holladay 2002;
Schwarz 2012; Utz et al. 2013). Reputation has often been dealt with as a cognitive
psychological component (Coombs 2007b; Zhou and Whitla 2012). As is true in
many human situations, negative information remains in consumers’ minds longer
than does positive information; negative information is more likely to be stored in
long-term memory (Kensinger and Corkin 2003). Moreover, negative information
has high diagnosticity (Ahluwalia et al. 2001; Herr et al. 1991), which contributes
to damaging cognitive evaluations. Therefore, researchers in crisis management
may want to pay special attention to the relationship between negative information
and cognitive evaluations of scandalized objects. Lastly, in the behavioral realm,
the aforementioned affective and cognitive negative outcomes eventually create a
situation where consumers engage in undesirable behavior. Coombs and Holladay
(1996) contend that both affective and cognitive psychological components lead to
negative behavior. One of the negative behavioral outcomes in crisis management
settings is negative word-of-mouth (WOM) (Coombs 2007a; Gregoire and Fisher
2007; Sato et al. 2013). WOM is an influential information channel for consumers
(Silverman 1997). The powerfulness of WOM communication is growing at a rapid
pace due to a rapid expansion of e-WOM messaging (Godes and Mayzlin 2004). To
systematically accumulate information on the impact of sport crises, understanding
and utilizing the concepts introduced above will be necessary for further development
in the area of sport crisis management.
8.3 Identifying Sport Crisis Type
Coombs and Holladay (2002) emphasize that identifying the crisis type is the first
and most important step for minimizing the damage. Coombs and Holladay’s work
is influential in this area, and is often referred to (e.g., Coombs 2007a; Claeys et al.
2010; Kim et al. 2009). Their work focuses on three crisis clusters: those involving
a victim, those involving an accident, and those that are preventable. Crises in the
106 S. Sato
victim cluster elicit consumer perceptions such that both scandalized objects
and stakeholders are victimized. Involvement in the accident cluster occurs when
scandalized objects mistakenly become involved in crises. Finally, consumers
evaluate scandalized objects harshly when they engage in preventable crises because
the consumers feel that the preventable crises could have been avoided due to the
scandalized objects’ high ability level. The above categorizations are, however,
based on the individual’s perceived reputation and the responsibility of the scandalized
objects. These are highly outcome-focused variables. In this sense, systematically
identifying the detailed characteristics of each crisis has not been achieved. To
develop effective crisis management strategies, better understanding of the specific
characteristics of each case, and how the case relates to the general precepts of sport
crisis management, should prove useful.
As previously mentioned, in the sport management setting, careful, systematic
categorization and accumulation of sport crises has yet to be accomplished. Fink
et al. (2009) studied the influence of athletes’ off-field negative behavior on sport
consumers’ identification with the college team that the scandalized athletes belonged
to. Off-field negative behavior includes such things as the use of performance
enhancing drugs, being involved with dog fights, and committing off-field violence.
Funk and Pritchard (2006) evaluated sport consumers’ attitude change when they
were exposed to negative information, but they did not specify the types of negative
events that the sport teams were involved with. Wilson et al. (2010) did provide a
framework for understanding sport crises. Their framework incorporated two
factors, intentionality and controllability, and categorized sport crises into four
different types: transgression, accident, faux pas, and terrorism. Although their
study provides an important advance and contributes to the sport crisis management
literature, their framework is not able to incorporate all the unique characteristics of sport
crises. Thus, the possibility of systematic data accumulation remains unfulfilled.
One of the important sport crisis characteristics that scholars need to identify was
introduced in the work of Sato et al. (2013). These authors suggested that, in the
athletic context, performance relatedness is a useful variable. They utilized the
concept of performance relatedness to assess consumer attitudes toward scandalized
athletes. The results suggest that if an athlete’s scandal directly influences on-field
performance, such as the use of performance enhancing drugs, it generates a greater
degree of negative consumer reaction than if the crisis does not directly relate to
on-field performance. Future sport crisis management studies should take performance
relatedness into consideration in order to develop a better understanding of sport
specific crisis management strategies.
8.4 Marketing Actions for Minimizing Crisis Damage
To minimize the damage elicited by crises, there are two possible ways to reduce the
effect of negative information. First, sport entities should build prior positive asso-
ciations with sport consumers before the crises occur. Examples of such strategies
Crisis damage minimization framework

Post damage Crisis
minimization damage
Pre damage Crisis
minimization damage No post damage
Crisis
Sport minimization damage
entities
No pre damage Crisis Post damage Crisis
minimization damage minimization damage
No post damage
minimization Crisis
Prior positive associations
e.g., CA association damage
Response strategies
CSR association e.g., Rebuild strategy
Bolstering strategy
Fig. 8.1 The crisis damage minimization framework
involve maximizing corporate ability (CA) and engaging in corporate social respon-
sibility (CSR). Post-scandal responses have been discussed in relation to situational
crisis communication theory (SCCT) (Coombs 2002). This formulation, which
included empirical data, showed that effectively responding to consumer concerns
immediately after the occurrence of a crises can alleviate the damage. A crisis
damage minimization framework is depicted in Fig. 8.1. This framework illustrates
the two main strategies for counteracting sport crises: building positive prior
relationships and utilizing effective post-response strategies. The size of the clouds
in the figure refers to the level of seriousness.
8.4.1 Doing Good as a Shield for Negative Information
To minimize the damage elicited by crises, sport marketers can develop positive
relationships with their consumers prior to crisis occurrence. Consumers often make
associations with firms based on two dimensions referred to earlier, CA and CSR
(Brown and Dacin 1997; Kim 2013). The first dimension, termed CA, describes the
consumers’ base association with the corporate capability of delivering excellent
products and services. The second dimension, termed CSR, refers to the consumers’
association with a corporation’s good image which was previously created by
activities such as philanthropy. Prior positive associations can weaken the effect of
negative information (Coombs 2007a; Godfrey et al. 2009; Kim 2013). As an example,
suppose the Miami Heat had a positive CA association shield. Then, even if the
Miami Heat’s coach were involved in a sex scandal, sport consumers might well
keep attending the team’s basketball games as long as the Heat provided excellent
performances for spectators. Damage reduction could also be viewed from the CSR
association perspective. Hypothetically speaking, say Mizuno becomes involved in
a crisis; if Mizuno has a history of actively engaging in socially responsible activities,
consumers may think the cause of the crisis is not severe due to the prior positive
108 S. Sato
image of Mizuno. This shield, which serves to minimize crisis damage, has been
called insurance-like protection. The hypothesis underlying this concept has been
consistently supported (Ducassy 2013; Eisingerich et al. 2010; Jo and Na 2012).
Although social concerns and CSR have been widely investigated in the sport
management realm (Babiak et al. 2012; Babiak and Wolfe 2006; Inoue et al. 2011;
Zeigler 2007), scholars would do well to further examine the effectiveness of social
marketing in the sport crisis management context.
8.4.2 Response Strategies for Damage Alleviation
In addition to pre-crisis damage minimization, sport entities must also deal with
impacts after crises occur to further alleviate the damage. Coombs and Holladay
(2002) proposed various response strategies that practitioners might utilize. The
most effective strategy depends upon the particular situation. In the deny strategy,
an emphasis is placed on claiming that the scandalized object was not responsible
for causing the crisis. The diminish strategy is useful when marketers want to
decrease the seriousness of a crisis. In the rebuild strategy, an apology is made and
compensation provided in order to maintain positive relationships with the consumers.
Finally, the bolstering strategy can be utilized as a supplement to other strategies.
It involves emphasizing past blameless behavior and anything else that will win
stakeholders over.
Although a number of studies have been conducted outside of our discipline with
regard to crisis response strategies (Benoit 1997; Coombs and Holladay 2008; Liu
et al. 2011; Schultz et al. 2011), in the sport management realm, there is minimal
research examining the effectiveness of response strategies. In one case, Fink et al.
(2009) examined fans’ reactions toward a sport team when the one of the team’s
athletes was involved in a crisis. They found that high identification fans prefer the
team to clearly dissociate the responsibility of the individual athlete from the team
whereas low identification fans were less concerned about particular response
strategies. As I have mentioned before, despite the frequent occurrence of sport
scandals, we still lack the knowledge that would allow us to respond to sport crises
in a systematic, effective way.
8.5 Conclusion and Future Research Opportunities
Crisis management in the sport management realm is still at an infant stage. In this
chapter, I summarized potential negative outcomes that sport crises can generate
and described the unique characteristics of sport crises. I also put forth a crisis
management minimization framework to understand the ways of alleviating crisis
damage. Incorporating the ideas and findings introduced above, several future
research opportunities are identified below.
It is critical that sport organizations as well as athletes engage in developing

positive associations with sport consumers. For instance, several scholars in the
sport management realm advocate the importance of CSR (such as philanthropy) as
important strategies for developing advantageous strategic management approaches
(Inoue 2011; Babiak et al. 2012). In addition to the usefulness of CSR in marketing,
the positive association with sport consumers can produce a “doing good” shield
which will contribute to crisis damage minimization. The effect of “doing good”
shields should be examined in different, relevant settings. Athlete scandals and sport
negative publicity, for example, have not been adequately examined from the CSR
perspective. Empirical studies on this topic are needed.
With regard to crisis response strategies, the available literature mostly involves
methods for determining the best response strategy (Coombs and Holladay 2008).
However, as Kim et al. (2009) insist, this view is limited in the sense that practitio-
ners may need to combine multiple response strategies at any given time. Therefore,
scholars should strive to establish the effectiveness of multiple response strategies.
In addition, it is also important to determine the most effective order of response
strategies. I propose the utilization of two-sided message response strategies
(e.g., Ein-Gar et al. 2012; Rucker et al. 2008) as well as message framing (e.g., Kim
and Cameron 2011; Shiv et al. 2004) for future research that is addressed at answering
the above questions. Furthermore, corporate-oriented research needs to be extended.
Kim et al. (2009) documented that denial strategies are not effective, but unfortu-
nately corporations still utilize this outmoded technique. Corporate decision making
strategies in response to sport and other crises need to be examined. Empirically
generated data should be produced, and from it comprehensive response trees
created for each of the major crisis categories.
As a final note, although crisis damage minimization is emphasized in this chapter,
we should not forget that the best scenario for the sport industry would be to have
no sport entities involved in crises. Scandal prevention should receive attention as a
future research topic. Factors driving sport entities to engage in misbehavior, and
preventative measures that preclude such misbehavior, should be investigated. By
accumulating and applying such knowledge, effective crisis prevention programs
that sport organizations, team owners, sport equipment oriented corporations can
use will be developed.
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Part II
Sports Economics and Policy
Chapter 9
A Panel Analysis of the Relationship Between
Club Performance and Wages
Takayuki Fukuhara and Munehiko Harada
Abstract In this study we examine the relationship between club performance and
wage in Japanese professional football (J-LEAGUE) clubs. The teams in this league
are more concerned about winning than they are about immediate financial success.
This is due to the system of promotion and relegation in Japanese professional foot-
ball. If a team from a higher league has a very bad record, it will be relegated to a
lower league, while a team from a lower league with a very good record will be
promoted to a higher league. Relegation to the lower league leads to a decrease in
ticket revenue, sponsorship revenue, and long-term profits. The literature shows that
club performance and wages are correlated. In this chapter, we examine the relation-
ship between club performance and wages in J-LEAGUE clubs by analyzing data
from 2005 to 2010 and estimating the order of the 2011 J-League season.
We utilize a fixed effect model and a two-way fixed effect model because there
are differences among clubs in regional areas and fan characteristics. The results
show that wages and game attendance have a significant influence on club perfor-
mance, with differences exhibited for higher and lower league games. Our estima-
tion predicts the order of half of the clubs. We also show that for efficiently managed,
clubs such as Kashiwa Reysol, Vegalta Sendai, Tokushima Vortis, Tokyo Verdy, and
Consadole Sapporo, their actual ranks are higher than predicted. This implies that
these clubs have proved to be effective investments.
Keywords Performance • Wage • Panel analysis • J-League
T. Fukuhara (*)
Art and Sports Business Course, Hokkaido University
of Education Iwamizawa Capus, Hokkaido, Japan
e-mail: fukuhara.takayuki@i.hokkyodai.ac.jp
M. Harada

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3_9
116 T. Fukuhara and M. Harada
9.1 Introduction
On-field success for professional football1 clubs does not necessarily mean financial
success. To be considered successful, a club needs to perform well against other
clubs and win many of their games. One of the primary causes of the strong empha-
sis on winning games is the on-field is the promotion and relegation system. A lower
league club that performs well will be moved to a higher league, while a higher
league club that performs poorly will be relegated to a lower league.
Being relegated to a lower league means reduced club income. Thus, in order to
avoid relegation, teams invest in player salaries. Top clubs invest heavily in excel-
lent players in order to obtain the right to participate in international competitions,
such as Europe’s UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. Garcia-del-
Barrio and Szymanski (2006) compare the optimal winning percentage in a model
of profit function when a club aims to maximize profit and the optimal winning
percentage in a model of profit function when the club aims to maximize winning
percentage (subject to the constraint of zero profit). Their model analysis shows that
the optimal winning percentage of the model that maximizes the winning percent-
age is always higher. They use econometric analysis to test the model on clubs in the
Premier League in England and La Liga in Spain clubs. Their results show that
profit function of the maximizing winning percentage has higher explanatory power.
There are many international studies that evaluate the relationship between
player wages and performance. According to Deloitte (2011), there is a positive
relationship between the total annual wage and performance for the 2009–2010
season for clubs in the Premier and Championship leagues, which are England’s top
and second division football leagues. Szymanski (1998) obtains similar results
when exploring factors behind the success of Manchester United Football Club.2
Kuper and Szymanski (2009) use single regression analysis to verify the rela-
tionship between performance and player wages in 40 England football clubs using
time series data from 1978 to 1979 season to 1997–1998 season and a single season
data of 1997–1998.
The study’s multiple correlation coefficients are 0.92 in time series data and are
0.89 in a single season data. These result shows that the relationship between per-
formance and player’s wages is more enhanced the long term than a single season.
Uchida and Hirata (2008) analyze the relationship between player wages and
performance in the short term and long term in the J-League first division (J1) by
single regression analysis. They define the short term as a season in 2006 and the
long term as the period 1997–2006. Their short-term multiple correlation coeffi-
cient is 0.3 and their long-term multiple correlation coefficient is 0.56. They show
that the relationship between performance and player wages is enhanced over
the long term compared to the short term. As described, the purpose of the profes-
sional soccer club is to maximize performance rather than to maximize profit. In
1
“Football” is commonly known as “soccer” in many countries to avoid confusion with the game
of “rugby or American football.”
2
Manchester United Football Club is one of the most successful clubs in the world. It belongs to
Premier League in England and has won 12 times in Premier League.
9 A Panel Analysis of the Relationship Between Club Performance and Wages 117
this regard, Uchida and Hirata (2008) show that wages are one of the factors that
determine performance.
However, research results in Japan from the viewpoint of sport economics are
poor and it has not been ascertained how to avoid relegation, or what annual wages
are required to win.
This study has two purposes. The first is to clarify the relationship between
player wages and performance taking into account time effects and fixed effects in
the J-League. The second is to verify the explanatory power of the estimated equa-
tion we obtained.
9.2 Method
9.2.1 Analysis Subject
In this study, we attempt to clarify the relationship between wages and performance of
38 J-league club members during 2005–2010. In order to avoid estimation problems
caused by shortness of time–series data, we exclude five clubs (Fagiano Okayama,
Gainare Tottori, Giravanz Kitakyushu, Kataller Toyama, and Tochigi SC) which
joined the J-League from 2009. For the remaining 33 clubs, the available sample con-
sists of 191 seasons. For example, Kashiwa Reysol has time series data for 6 seasons
(2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 season). But Roasso Kumamoto has only
time series data for 3 seasons (2008, 2009 and 2010 season). This is because Roasso
Kumamoto only began participating in the J-League in 2008.
9.2.2 Data
Data were obtained from the J-League’s official website and comprise average spec-
tators and the performance of each club for each season. For wages, we obtained
data from J-league clubs’ individual information disclosure material for each year.
For data on spectator frequency, the number of accompanying persons, male–female
ratios were used for each year of the study. We obtained data of per capita prefec-
tural income of residents from an annual economic review of the 2010 edition. We
obtained city population data from the websites of each city with a home stadium.
9.2.3 Methods
In this study, we introduce variables, such as characteristics of spectators and the

local community of the each club’s home town, in order to analyze the impact of
social support on performance, as we attempt to verify the relationship between
wages and performance of clubs.
The dependent variable is the club’s performance for the season. Independent
variables are the results of the last season, wages of the current season, wages of the
last season, spectator frequency, companion numbers, male–female ratios, per cap-
ita prefectural income, and city population. We performed a panel analysis using
these variables.
Based on the model of Garcia-del-Barrio and Szymanski (2006) and Szymanski
and Smith (1997), we define the following Eq. (9.1) as a two-way fixed effects
model for the relationship between players’ wages and performance.
 L − Pit + 1 W 
In  t  = a + b1 In  it  + mi + q t + e it (9.1)
 Pit   Wt 

 L − Pit + 1 
where L is the number of clubs participating in the J-League,  t  repre-
 Pit 
sents the log odds of the league position, and Wit is the wage expenditure of club i
in season t. Wt gives the average wage expenditure in season t. P is the league
position.
mi indicates club i’s fixed effect and θ t indicates the time effect of season t. This
is assumed to depend on a club specific fixed effect, which may reflect the history
of the club, time effect, and relative wage achieved in the season.
The empirical analogue of Eq. (9.1) is
2
 L − Pit + 1 W  W  W 
In  t  = a + b1 In  it  + b 2 In  it  + b3 In  it −1 
 Pit   Wt   Wt   Wt −1 
2
W 
+ b 4 In  it −1  + b 5lnclubit
 Wt −1 
+ b6 Inlocalit + mi + q t + e it (9.2)

The odds transformation works particularly well because its implication is that
league positions rise when the club’s wage is above the league average and fall
when the club’s wage is below the league average.
Previous studies assumed that there was a linear relationship between a club’s
performance and its wages. In this study, because there may be a non-linear rela-
tionship between the club’s performance and wages, we introduce a square term for
the variable of the wages.3
3
Deloitte (2011) illustrates the relationship between club rank (horizontal axis) and total wage
(vertical axis) using data from the 2009–2010 season of England’s Premier and Championship
leagues. The approximate curve of the total wage and rank becomes a quadratic curve in either
division. This indicates that higher wages are required for rank increases.
In addition, we introduce wages of the last season to assess whether they affect
the ranking of the current season. Furthermore, because we assume that the perfor-
mance of the club is related to the competency of its supervision, we introduce the
labor costs of managers and players.
We estimate two types of models: a two-way effects model and a fixed effects
model. After conducting tests of the estimation equations, we select the most appro-
priate model.
9.3 Results
9.3.1 Estimation Results
We report our results in Table 9.1. We utilized two versions of the model, the fixed
effects estimator (Garcia-del-Barrio and Szymanski 2006) and the two-way
effects estimator (Pollard 1986). On the basis of the estimation results, we per-
formed two tests for the formulation of the model. First, the F-test assesses
whether the pooling estimate model or the fixed effects model is appropriate.
Second, the Hausman test assesses whether the random effects model or the fixed
effects model is appropriate.
Table 9.1 League position and wage

(Garcia-del-Barrio and Szymanski (Pollard 1986)
2006) fixed effects two-way fixed effects
LogRank(−1) −0.131(−0.98) −0.120(−0.90)
Relative wage 0.245(0.50)
Relative wage(square) −0.462*(−1.96) −0.405*(−1.72)
Relative wage(−1) (square) 0.256(1.14) 0.299(1.29)
Spectator per game 1.621***(3.74) 1.797***(6.19)
Average age −1.594(−0.74)
Watching Frequency −0.509(−1.32) −0.498(−1.32)
prefectural income per capita −3.284**(−2.45)
Hausman test 58.826
<7>
AIC 2.007 2.029
Durbin-Watson Stat 2.432 2.326
Adj R2 0.854 0.852
No obs. 111 111
Note 1: *p < .1, **p < .05, ***p < .01
Note 2: Parentheses in the parameter indicates the t-value
The results of the F-test show that the F value of estimation model
(Garcia-del-Barrio and Szymanski 2006) is large. We adopted the fixed effects
model because the test reject the null hypothesis that the pooling estimate model is
correct at the 1 % significance level. In addition, the results of the Hausman test
provide a P-value of the statistic of 0 %. The result of Hausman test shows that fixed
effects model is more desirable than random effects model.
Thus, from the results of the Hausman test and F-test, the most desirable model
is the fixed effects model.
Since the problem of non-uniform dispersion is present in general in the
panel data, bias remains in the estimated parameters without a robust estimation
of estimation error (Kitamura 2005). Therefore, we modify the standard error
by modifying the simultaneous correlation error in the estimation results in
this study.
In response to the test results for the formulation of the estimation model (Garcia-
del-Barrio and Szymanski 2006), we discuss the significance of the parameters of it.
From the estimation results using all variables, we sequentially remove the insig-
nificant variables from the estimated results of estimation model (Garcia-del-Barrio
and Szymanski 2006). Only the variable of average age was removed. The t-value
of prefectural income per capita, per game admission, and the number of the square
of the relative wage are significant. However, the t-value of the log rank of the previ-
ous season, relative wage, the square of the previous relative wage, and spectator
frequency are not significant.
Estimation model (Pollard 1986) assumes both a time effect and a fixed effect.
We performed the Redundant tests to select the desirable model. We used three
models. These models were (1) a model that has fixed effects, (2) a model that has
time effects and (3) a model that has fixed effects and time effects.
The results of the Redundant test in estimation model (Pollard 1986) show that
the null hypotheses of the following three models are rejected at the 1 %, 5 %, and
1 % significance levels, respectively:
( 1) excluding the fixed effects of the cross-section
(2) excluding the fixed effect of time
(3) excluding the fixed effect of time and the cross-section.
Therefore, we created: (1) a fixed effects model, (2) a time fixed effects model,
and (3) a two-way fixed effects model. We then conducted a comparison of the value
of Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) for each model.
We selected the two-way fixed effects model because its AIC was the small-
est. As a result, the t-value of the square of the relative wage and spectators per
game are significant, but the t-value of the log rank of the previous season, the
square of the previous relative wage, average age, and spectator frequency are
not significant.
In estimation models (Garcia-del-Barrio and Szymanski 2006) and (Pollard
1986), we find that the coefficient of per game average attendance and the square of
the relative wage are significant and these variables are stable. In addition, estima-
tion model (Garcia-del-Barrio and Szymanski 2006) is lower when comparing
AIC. Thus, we use estimation model (Garcia-del-Barrio and Szymanski 2006) to

interpret the estimation results.
9.3.2 Interpretation of the Estimation Results
As a result of the Hausman test, we selected the fixed effects model for the estima-
tion model (Garcia-del-Barrio and Szymanski 2006). This implies that there are
individual effects that impact on the club’s rank and these are fixed effects. It means
that the club’s fixed effect is larger and that the club has enjoyed a better perfor-
mance with the same wages. Those clubs likely have a better team management
through the employment of excellent supervisors of inexpensive players.
In addition, increases in per game attendance and wages significantly increase
the ranking of the club. Spectators provide social support for the players. Schwartz
and Barsky (1977) find that spectators directly affect the performance of teams by
cheering them on. Pollard (1986) refers to indirect effects in that the pressure of
spectators makes referees more likely to make favorable decisions for the home
team, although such decisions are likely unconscious. Thus, social support from
spectators increases the performance of clubs.
We interpret as follows the estimation results that per capita prefectural income
significantly negatively affects performance of clubs. Tickets for soccer games at
stadiums are inferior goods, in that demand for tickets is reduced as income
increases. Inferior goods are goods that decrease in demand when consumer income
rises (or rises in demand when consumer income decreases.) On the other hand,
normal goods are those for which consumers’ demand increases when their income
increases.
Likewise, a decrease in income increases numbers of stadium spectators and
raises the performance of clubs through the increase of social support for the play-
ers. Some empirical studies conclude that watching sport games at stadiums or are-
nas are inferior goods. For example, Welki and Zlatoper (1994) analyze demand for
watching National Football League games and Borland and Lye (1992) analyze
demand for watching Australian Football League games. They conclude that
demand for sporting events declines as income increases because wealthier specta-
tors can consume a wider variety of entertainment. They also reveal that city popu-
lation is not a significant variable. This result differs from that of Szymanski and
Kuper (2009), who mention size of the population size as one of the factors of the
strength of a national team. However, we do not consider that population size of the
home town will affect the strength of the club. This is because the strength of a
national team is proportional to the population but the club can secure excellent
players from all over the country.
2.5
Fixed Effect
2
1.5
0.5
kofu
tosu
chiba
gifu
mito
oita
ehime
iwata
kobe
kyoto
cosaka
ftokyo
omiya
sendai
gosaka
kusatu
nagoya
syonan
urawa
yokohamafm
fukuoka
niigata
sapporo
tokyov
shimizu
hiroshima
kashima
kashiwa
yamagata
kumamoto
tokushima
kawasakif
yokohamafc
-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
Fig. 9.1 Fixed effect of each club
9.3.3 Fixed Effects
Figure 9.1 shows the fixed effects of estimation model (Garcia-del-Barrio and
Szymanski 2006). It indicates that fixed effects are advantageous to rank when
they are large. For example, clubs have large positive fixed effects in the follow-
ing examples: (1) When there is traditionally strong development of good play-
ers, there is less need for clubs to acquire players from other clubs. (2) Lower
wage players can be acquired from other clubs and encouraged to play an active
part in the club, and (3) Clubs that hire excellent directors achieve good results.
However, clubs in big cities, such as ordinance-designated cities, have negative
fixed effects in many cases. This implies that because big city clubs are richer
than small city clubs, the rich club pays higher wages relative to the quality of the
players and supervisors.
9.3.4 Management Efficiency
Table 9.2 shows a comparison of the final ranking of the actual and estimated order.
We estimated the ranking by using data from the 2010 season. We excluded Gainare
Tottori, Fagiano Okayama, Giravanz Kitakyushu, Kataller Toyama, and Tochigi SC
in order to avoid the estimation problems described in Sect. 2.1. Therefore, we use
the actual ranking of these clubs.
Table 9.2 Estimate rank and actual rank

Estimated Estimated (Estimated
Division Rank Club rank of club rank rank)-(rank)
J1 1 kashiwa kashima 2.308 14
J1 2 nagoya kawasaki 4.497 4
J1 3 g.osaka urawa 6.034 2
J1 4 sendai shimizu 6.575 12
J1 5 yokohama.f.m g.osaka 7.444 2
J1 6 kashima nagoya 7.772 −5
J1 7 hiroshima yokohama.f.m 11.705 1
J1 8 iwata hiroshima 15.784 1
J1 9 kobe iwata 17.200 1
J1 10 shimizu kobe 17.704 −6
J1 11 kawasaki niigata 18.538 −9
J1 12 c.osaka yamagata 19.408 1
J1 13 omiya c.osaka 20.430 1
J1 14 niigata omiya 23.128 −3
J1 15 urawa kashiwa 23.842 −12
J1 16 kofu sendai 25.040 1
J1 17 fukuoka kofu 26.305 1
J1 18 yamagata fukuoka 33.269 −6
J2 1 FC.tokyo FC.tokyo 12.094 0
J2 2 tosu mito 18.036 8
J2 3 sapporo kyoto. 23.605 9
J2 4 tokushima syonan 23.641 16
J2 5 tokyo.v chiba 24.637 13
J2 6 chiba oita 25.039 −1
J2 7 kyoto. kitakyusyu 26 −4
J2 8 kitakyusyu kusatsu 27.729 −1
J2 9 kusatsu tochigi 28 −1
J2 10 tochigi tosu 30.071 −1
J2 11 kumamoto okayama 31 6
J2 12 oita sapporo 31.117 −6
J2 13 okayama yokohama.fc 31.345 −2
J2 14 syonan gifu 31.446 −10
J2 15 ehime ehime 33.260 0
J2 16 toyama toyama 34 0
J2 17 mito kumamoto 34.143 −15
J2 18 yokohama.fc tokyo.v 34.159 −5
J2 19 tottori tottori 37 0
J2 20 gifu tokushima 37.296 −6
We are able to estimate the order of about half the clubs of the J-league’s J1 and
second division (J2). We are thus able to demonstrate the utility of estimation model
(Garcia-del-Barrio and Szymanski 2006). On the other hand, we are not able to cor-
rectly estimate the rank of the remaining clubs.
We conjecture that the willingness of clubs to obtain rankings will be affected by
the following factors:
(a) Some clubs pay transfer fees for players and staff wages. Because transfer fees
are contractual penalties for players leaving other clubs, and are paid to the
club that the player is transferred from, the transfer fee amount does not
directly affect the performance of the club. In fact, wages affect the perfor-
mance of the club.
(b) There is a possibility that the costs associated with training are included in the
wages of players and staff. Even though the training department does not
directly affect performance, it is necessary to analyze the costs associated with
the training department.
Furthermore, the standard deviation of the difference between the actual order
and the predicted order estimated for J1 and J2 are 7.25 and 6.24, respectively.
For J2, this means that the difference in performance is not greater than the
difference between players’ wages, which makes rank prediction difficult. There
were no relegations to the lower league in J2 in the period covered by this study.
Therefore, there is a possibility that clubs cannot be promoted if they hit a los-
ing streak.
Figure 9.2 shows the results of Table 9.2 in graph form. When the estimated and
actual orders of a club are equal, then the club is located somewhere along the 45°
40
tokushima tottori
35
tokyov kumamoto toyama
fukuoka ehime gifu, 31.446
sapporo okayama yokohamafc
30 tosu
tochigi
kusatsu
kofu kitakyusyu
estimated rank
25 sendai chiba oita

kashiwa kyoto syonan
omiya
20 c.osaka
yamagata
niigata mito
kobe
iwata
hiroshima
15
yokohama.fm fc tokyo
10
nagoya
g.osaka
shimizu urawa
5 kawasaki
kashima
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
rank
Fig. 9.2 Management efficiency (2011 season)

line in the graph. In the same way, a club that is located in the region above the 45°
line has an actual order that is higher than its estimated rank, which means that
efficient investments were made.
Figure 9.2 shows that Consadole Sapporo, Kashiwa Reysol, Tokushima Vortis,
Tokyo Verdy, and Vegalta Sendai are efficiently managed clubs. On the other hand,
Kawasaki Frontale, Mito Hollyhock, Syonan Bellmale, and Urawa Reds are ineffi-
ciently managed clubs.
9.4 Conclusion
In this study, we revealed the relationship between players’ wages and ranks of
clubs that belong to Japan’s football J-League by focusing on time effects and fixed
effects. We verified the usefulness of our estimation equation by comparing the
ranking of the clubs’ actual order with their estimated rank.
Previous studies on professional football, both in Japan and internationally,
showed that player wages are a factor in determining club performance, with the
relationship between wages and performance being stronger in the long term.
However, these studies did not perform verification for the effect on individual
clubs. Therefore, in this study, we did so by performing a panel analysis that tar-
geted clubs belonging to the J-League season between 2005 and 2009.
Our results reveal that the coefficient of per game attendance and the number of
the square of the wage significantly affect club ranking.
From the results of the panel analysis, we revealed the presence of time effects
that change over time and fixed effects as an individual effect of each club.
Furthermore, the estimated order of each club in 2011, obtained from the estima-
tion equation, was compared with the actual ranking. We were able to estimate rela-
tively accurate rankings of about half the clubs in the sample.
This study had some limitations. Our analysis using panel data covered five sea-
sons at most; however, since the data for variables were for only four seasons in the
estimation equation, we performed panel analysis over four seasons in practice.
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Chapter 10
Socio-psychological Factors Associated
with the Public’s Willingness to Pay for Elite
Sport Policy
Hiroaki Funahashi and Yoshiyuki Mano
Abstract This chapter presents the initial results of an application of the contin-
gent valuation method on elite sport policy and investigates the relationship between
the willingness to pay for the elite sport policy and the socio-psychological factors
focusing on the notion of public acceptance. Respondents, drawn from a Japanese
Internet research service company, were asked for their willingness to pay (WTP)
for elite sport policy. The current national policy aims to have Japan ranked in the
top-five in total number of gold medals in the summer Olympics and in the top-ten
in the winter. Annual mean WTP and median WTP were estimated as 1,449 JPY and
292 JPY through a log logit model. Statistical analysis of WTP determinants indi-
cated specific key socio-psychological factors that were important for the promo-
tion of elite sport policy with the goal of obtaining public acceptance. These were:
social benefits perception, personal benefits perception, risk perception, trust, and
athlete role model influence.
Keywords Elite sport policy • Contingent valuation method • Willingness to pay •

Public acceptance • Socio-psychological factors
10.1 Introduction
Elite sport has been reframed over time from a private issue to a public concern
(van Bootenburg 2013). In general, for most nations, the budget for elite sport
largely composed of a government sport-related budget. These public investments
are usually justified on the basis that elite sport success has a wide range of
H. Funahashi (*)
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: hiro0721funa@gmail.com
Y. Mano

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3_10
128 H. Funahashi and Y. Mano
social-psychological benefits for the population (Grix and Carmichael 2012;

Forrest and Simmons 2003; Goodwin and Grix 2011; Mitchell et al. 2012). This
storyline is, not surprisingly, reflected on many official documents. For instance,
“a sustainable improvement in success in international competition, particularly
in the sport which matter most to the public, primarily because of the ‘feelgood’
factor associating with winning” (Department for Culture, Media and Sport/
Strategy Unit 2002). Similarly, in the Basic Act on Sport of Japan (Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2011), it is officially stated
that “the outstanding performance of Japanese athletes at international sport
events gives hope and dreams to many people and increases interest in sport”.
Green (2006) argued that ‘alternative voices’ who would criticize the spending of
large amounts of public money for a handful of Olympic medals are somehow
convinced by this evidence-free dressed-up storyline. Noting that nations will be
required to invest even more to maintain their competitive level in international
sporting events (De Bosscher et al. 2008) exploring the outcome of athletic suc-
cess that is the result of the public investment in elite sport policy has become a
priority research topic for sport management.
To addressing this issue, recent studies on sport management have applied the
concept of consumer surplus to the social utility derived from elite success and have
utilized a contingent valuation method (CVM) to estimate the monetary value of the
athletic success (e.g. Wicker et al. 2012a, b; Funahashi and Mano 2013). These
studies has contributed policy makers to justify taxpayers’ and sport-loving peoples’
(who purchase the government-controlled lottery) expenditure on elite sport
programmes. Additionally, other studies have revealed that sport consumption
capital and certain intangible factors have positive relationships with the willing-
ness to pay (WTP) for success. However, this research has not lead to suggestions
on how to increase the public’s understanding and supportive attitude on elite sport
policy. Building legitimacy and support for any public policy or programme is
crucial at this time (Sam 2011). Even in Australia, where Olympic sport has received
significant public support, an official report entitled ‘The Future of Sport in
Australia’ questioned the role of elite sport and recommended a rethinking of the
high priority given elite sport expenditures:
If more money is to be injected into the system then we must give serious consideration to
where that money is spent. If we are truly interested in a preventative health agenda through
sport, then much of it may be better spent on lifetime participants than almost all on a small
group of elite athletes who will perform at that level for just a few years (Independent Sport
Panel 2009: p. 7).
It is likely that in almost all countries there will be an increased need for policy
makers to justify the value of elite sport in evidence based arguments. Thus, the
aim of the present CVM research is to analyse which socio-psychological factors
associate with the WTP for elite sport policy (which aims for success) by adopting
the notion of public acceptance. The outcome of this study could help policy mak-
ers gain the understanding and support of the public for an investment in elite
sport policy.
10 Socio-psychological Factors Associated with the Public’s Willingness… 129
10.2 Literature Review
CVM is a research method to determine people’s preferences and attitudes towards

public goods (Mitchell and Carson 1989). Public goods are goods which lack rivalry
in their consumption and are also non-excludable, and thus a market does not exist
for it. Therefore, for the valuation of non-market goods, WTP under a certain hypo-
thetical change of climate or condition needs to be determined. CVM is described
as a stated preferences approach and it is able to evaluate goods for which revealed
preferences methods such as the hedonic approach or travel cost method cannot
applied. This provides an advantage, and CVM has been widely used to provide a
monetary valuation for a variety of environmental settings and infrastructures for
which such quantification was previously thought to be very difficult.
The CVM method has already been widely applied in the sport sector. For
instance, the monetary value of professional sport clubs (Johnson et al. 2001;
Castellanos et al. 2011; Ishizaka and Mano 2010), sport recreation programme
(Johnson et al. 2007), sporting events (Walton et al. 2008; Atkinson et al. 2008;
Vekeman et al. 2013), non-profit sport club (Wicker 2011), sport facilities (Johnson
et al. 2000, 2012), and elite sport area (Humphreys et al. 2011; Wicker et al. 2012a, b;
Funahashi and Mano 2013) have been estimated through CVM Such a wide
flexability and adaptability indicate the method’s usefulness..
Since CVM studies can evaluate public goods, they have been utilized to study
elite sport success, positive outcomes such as national pride (Allison and Monnington
2002; Van Hilvoorde et al. 2010) and national identity (Hong 2011). In this line of
research, WTP denotes the amount of money which one would be willing to pay in
order to enhance elite sport success. It is termed a compensating surplus when
described on a monetary scale (Fig. 10.1).
The horizontal axis of Fig. 10.1 shows the level of elite sport success, and the
vertical axis depicts personal income. The curve U0 is a utility indifference curve:
on this line all individuals get the same utility. The current level of athletic success
Income
M
A B utility indifference curve
CS
F U1
U0
0 Q0 Q1 Elite sport success
(current) (improved)
Fig. 10.1 CVM and compensating surplus

is denoted as Q0, and individual income as M. Thus, the current status can be showed
as point A. If it is assumed that elite sport success is improved to Q1, then in that case
income will not change so the status will move to point B and the utility will grow
due to the improved success. Basically, all individuals prefer B to A because of the
higher utility. In this occasion, the maximum amount of money an individual will be
willing to pay, even though he/she reduces their income level, will be described by
line CS. This CS line is expressed as WTP, and it is the monetary value of elite sport
success. In other words, it is the part of one’s income invested to enhance the level
of current utility. If we replace Q1 as a policy objective or goal, it can create the pos-
sibility of a policy evaluation based on cost-benefit analysis (Wicker et al. 2012b;
Funahashi and Mano 2013).
Concerning the factors associated with the WTP for elite sport success, the
necessity of a theoretical approach has been noted (Wicker et al. 2012a). Wicker
et al. (2012a, b) used the theory of consumption capital (see Stingler and Becker
1977) and successfully explained what factors influence the WTP for elite sport suc-
cess. However, these models included several limitations due to the relatively low
explanatory value of the WTP, and more research is required in this area. Thus, the
current study is predicated on the idea that another theoretical approach must be
applied in order to better understand how to obtain the support of the public.
10.3 Theoretical Model
A theoretical model for the factors associated with the WTP for elite sport policy is
presented in this chapter. This model is derived from public attitude research in
many different study areas. Public attitude can be defined as the public acceptance
or rejection of a policy and programme. Obviously, gaining public acceptance of a
policy is considered important for the practical reason that adopted policy cannot be
implemented effectively and efficiently without public consent (King et al. 1998).
Therefore, determination of public attitude is an essential issue for implementing
public policy (Chen et al. 2002).
Recently, governments have been directly intervening in elite sport policies.
Their interventions are designed to improve the international competitiveness of
their sport organisations and associations by providing financial assistance in the
form of taxation or the profits from lotteries (Green and Houlihan 2005; Bloyce and
Smith 2011). Therefore, since elite sport policy is a public funded service, policy
makers should be held accountable for their use of public money and should make
their use of this resource quite clear to the general public. Such is the case in Japan.
The recent re-emergence of Japan as a strong sport nation on the international stage
is the outcome of a refocusing on elite sport by the government (Yamamoto 2008).
In a recent report from the responsible ministry, it was officially stated that it is
essential for the government to secure stable revenue sources for elite sport with the
understanding of the whole society (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science
and Technology in Japan 2012).
Research intended to establish the determinants of public acceptance have

been conducted in many areas where there is an interaction between technological
advance and social acceptance. Examples of where this interaction has occurred
include nuclear power plants, genetic modification, and organ transplant. A sys-
tematic review of research involving this interaction indicates that risk, trust, per-
ceived benefit, knowledge, and individual differences are the top 5 utilized
determinants that influence public acceptance in areas involving technological
research (Gupta et al. 2012). In general, a person who perceives low risks from
technological advance, has a high trust of the involved parties, perceives high
benefits, and is knowledgable about the technological issue tends to be accept
policies advancing or supporting the technology. Although elite sport has a totally
different nature from the above interactions, it inherently has not only positive
externality (e.g. national identity, social integration) but also negative externality
(e.g. doping, physical abuse). These issues have been discussed in terms of sport
economics (Bourg and Gouguet 2010; Downward et al. 2011), and thus one can
say that there is a potential common ground between theories that evaluate public
acceptance of elite sport and those that evaluate public acceptance of technologi-
cal advance. The factors of the current model are ascribed to 6 socio-psychologi-
cal variables: Social benefits, personal benefits, risks, trust, knowledge, and the
athlete as a role model.
First, perceived social and personal benefits from elite sport success, namely the
outcomes of the elite sport system, should be relevant to WTP. In the consensus
building for public policy, in contrast to the decisions involved with private issues,
not only the personal benefit which can be obtained through the implementation of
the policy but also public benefits exist as a determining factors. Previous work has
revealed that socially intangible factors such as the importance of success for the
country (Wicker et al. 2012a) and importance of success for the prestige of the nation
(Humphreys et al. 2011) are positively related to WTP for athletic success. Similarly,
personal benefits, such as personal importance of success (Wicker et al. 2012a) and
feelings of happiness and feeling proud from success (Wicker et al. 2012b). Hence,
people who enjoy a variety of social and personal benefits from elite success will
show a higher WTP.
Secondly, negative aspects associated with elite sport development should be
negatively relevant to WTP. The agricultural economic literature holds that risk per-
ception is a key determinant for the WTP (Pinto-Prades et al. 2008; Kimenju and
Groote 2008). Also, some descriptive research has argued that this darker aspect of
elite sport, mainly doping, ruins the image and value of sport (Kayser et al. 2007;
Petróczi 2007) and leads to a negative public attitude (Uvacsek et al. 2011).
Therefore, in line with these works, it is assumed that risk perception will have a
negative effect on the value of elite sport policy.
Third, knowledge of the elite sport programme should be relevant to WTP. Just
as for sport spectators, who show an increased positive attitude toward a sport when
they are more familiar with the players and rules, studies utilizing the consumption
capital theory (Stingler and Becker 1977) have revealed that a high level of
consumption capital might be a driver of the value of success (Wicker et al. 2012a, b).
Consequently, increased consumption of elite sport, namely familiarity with elite

sport policy, might positively relate to utility from success. Therefore, people who
have higher level of knowledge of elite sport programmes are assumed to exhibit a
higher WTP.
Fourth, trust of the elite sport policy actors (ministries and organisations who
participate in policy creation, implementation, and evaluation) should be relevant to
WTP. In scientific technology policy and risk management in ecology, social trust
is seen as a crucial issue (Cvetkovich and Löfstedt 1999; Johnson 1999). This is
because the social trust has been considered to have a strong effect on perceived
benefits and risks produced by a policy, and eventually determines the acceptance
and rejection of a policy (Nakaya 2012). A study in agricultural economics reported
that people who trusted the government were about 20 % more likely to pay
(Kimenju and Groote 2008). Consequently, it is assumed that trust of elite sport
actors will positively influence WTP.
Fifth, in conjunction with the trust of elite sport actors, elite athletes’ influence
as role models should be relevant to WTP. This is because the elite athletes are the
very people who are publicly supported, and peoples’ utility will change according
to their performance or general behaviour. In fact, public perception of national elite
athletes as role models in terms of fairness was positively associated with the value
of Olympic success (Wicker et al. 2012b). Thus, people who regard the Japanese
elite athlete as a role model are assumed to show a higher WTP.
10.4 Method
10.4.1 Participants and Procedures
The present study used a sample comprised of 1,050 male and female adults over
20 years of age. The survey utilized an internet-based cross-sectional survey, which
was conducted via the Japanese Internet Research Service Company. This research
service organization lists more than 1 million voluntary registered subjects across
Japan as well as their detailed socio-demographic attributes. The company can
access data from the targeted group on the basis of the study’s requirements.
Potential respondents are randomly selected from the database and invited to par-
ticipate in the survey via email. The email invitations include the URL for access to
the survey. Potential respondents login using their own ID and password to answer
the questionnaire voluntarily. From the potential respondents a group will be again
be randomly selected to meet stratification requirements. In this study the respon-
dents were stratified by gender and age (20–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, and ≥60 years)
to be equivalent to those on the Population Census of Japan. To avoid sample selec-
tion bias (Carson 2000), the survey was named “Questionnaire about Life”. A total
of 772 valid responses were obtained.
10.4.2 Measures
Willingness to pay. The dependent variable used to measure the public’s attitude
toward elite sport success was the WTP. It was assessed by a hypothetical scenario
using the CVM questionnaire of Funahashi and Mano (2013). The question used
was: “Hypothetically, assume that the government collects a tax for elite sport
development purposes for 10 years. This tax will be used for achieving the policy
goal stated in the Sport Basic Plan, namely 5th in total number of gold medals for
the Summer Olympics and 10th in the Winter Olympics. Would you be willing to pay
[BID VALUE] JPY every year?” This question involved a double-bounded dichoto-
mous choice which conforms to the recommendation of economic experts (Arrow
et al. 1993). A dichotomous choice question was chosen because such questions are
easier to answer and free from the strategic bias problem (Castellanos et al. 2011).
In double bounded dichotomous choice questions, the respondent is presented with
two consecutive bids. The second bid depends on the response to the first. If the
respondent expresses a willingness to pay the first bid, the second bid is set higher,
and if not, the second bid is set lower. The first bid’s value was established as 200,
500, 1,000, 2,000, and 5,000 JPY based on a preliminarily survey of 149 under-
graduate students. The bids were distributed in five different stratified samples.
Socio-psychological factors. By utilizing public acceptance research from differ-
ent fields (i.e. technology, nuclear energy) and elite sport literatures (Houlihan and
Green 2008; Park et al. 2012; Volkwein 1995; Grix and Carmichael 2012), we
established the following 6 constructs of socio-psychological independent vari-
ables: Perceived social benefits of elite sport success with 5 items (BENEFS), per-
ceived personal benefits of elite sport success with 4 items (BENEFP), perceived
risk associated with the elite sport development with 5 items (RISK), social trust of
elite sport policy actors with 4 items (TRUST), level of knowledge of elite sport
programme with 3 items (KNOW), and athletes role model scale with 5 items
(ROLEM). In Table 10.1, the constructs and their items are mentioned, together with
relevant reference materials. All items were measured on 7-point Likert scales;
higher scores indicate higher values of the variables measured. The replies were
transformed into a discrete score (from −1 for “highly negative”, 0 for “neutral” and
1 for “highly positive”). The scores were then averaged to form an index for each
construction.
Demographic variables. The following demographic variables were obtained in
order to describe the characteristics of the respondents: sex (SEX: 1 = male,
0 = female), age (AGE), marital status (MARRIED: 1 = married, 0 = others), employ-
ment status (JOBfulltime: 1 = full-time, 0
= others), educational status (EDUuni:
1 = 4 years university degree and more, 0 = others), household numbers (HOUSEN),
and natural log of household income level (lnINC).
Table 10.1 Questionnaire items per socio-psychological scales and reference materials
Variables Items References
Social Benefitsa
BENEFS 1 Elite sport success stimulates Identification of social benefits:
economies discriptions from Grix and
BENEFS 2
Elite sport success demonstrates Carmichael (2012); Houlihan and
national pride internationally Green (2008)
BENEFS 3
Elite sport success makes Japan
be recognized by other countries
BENEFS 4
Elite sport success improves
image of Japan internationally
BENEFS 5
Elite sport success increases sport
participation rate
Personal Benefitsa
BENEFP1 Elite sport success makes me feel Identification of personal benefits:
pride evidences and discriptions from
BENEFP2 Elite sport success makes me feel Dozci (2012); Allison and
a feeling of happiness Mornington (2002); Hallman et al.
BENEFP3 Elite sport success makes me feel (2012); Castellanos et al. (2011);
national identity Kavetsos and Szymanski (2010)
BENEFP4 Elite sport success makes me feel
local unity
Risksa
RISK1 Promotion of elite sport policy Identification of risk: original ideas
inhibits the promotion of of authors and discriptions from
grass-roots sport Park et al. (2012); Volkwein (1995)
RISK2 Promotion of elite sport policy
fuels overemphasis of success
causes physical abuse and moral
harassment
causes educational problem of
athletes
causes unethical practices
(doping, fix-game, etc.)
Trustb
TRUST1 … in the Ministry of Education, Identification of actors: Discriptions
Culture, Sports, Science and from Yamamoto (2008)
Technology (MEXT)
TRUST2 … in the Japan Sport Council Form of questions: Visschers et al.
(JSC) (2011); Siegrist (2000)
TRUST3 … in the Japanese Olympic
Committee (JOC)
TRUST4 … in the National Governing
Bodies (NGBs)
(continued)
Table 10.1 (continued)
Variables Items References
Knowledgec
KNOW1 … of the Japan Institute of Sports Identification of elite sport
Science (JISS) programme: Descriptions from
KNOW2
… of the National Training MEXT (2012)
Center (NTC)
KNOW3
… of the Team ‘Nippon’ Multi
Support Project
Athlete role modela
ROLEM1 Japanese elite athlete leads by Role model scale of Rich (1997);
example Dix et al. (2010)
ROLEM2 Japanese elite athlete provides a
good model for me to follow
ROLEM3 Japanese elite athlete sets a
positive example for others to
follow
ROLEM4 Japanese elite athlete exhibits the
kind of work ethic and behavior
that I try to imitate
ROLEM5 Japanese elite athlete acts as a
role model for me
Note:
a
Seven possible answers were given: ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’
b
Seven possible answers were given: ‘no trust’ to ‘very high trust’
c
Seven possible answers were given: ‘know nothing’ to ‘know a lot’
10.4.3 CVM Valuation Approach
The CVM was utilized in this study. The utility function approach proposed by
Hanemann (1984), which is considered the most suitable method for double-
bounded dichotomous choice estimation, was applied. The first bid was set as Bi
and Biu represents the follow-up higher bid value, and Bil represents the follow-up
lower bid value. The probability for a respondent to answer “Yes” for both offered
bid questions equals the probability that his or her WTPi is higher than the highest
bid offer:
p yy ( Bi ,Biu ) = Prob {Biu ≤ WTPi } = 1 − G ( Biu ,q ) (10.1)

Similar to this, the likelihood if the respondent i answers “Yes” to Bi , but reject
Biu means the WTPi is between Bi and Biu :
p yn ( Bi ,Biu ) = Prob {Bi ≤ WTPi < Biu } = G ( Biu ,q ) − G ( Bi ,q ) (10.2)

The probability of a respondent answering “No” firstly but “Yes” to the follow-
ing bid indicates that the WTPi is between Bil and Bi :

( ) { }
p ny Bi , Bil = Prob Bil ≤ WTPi < Bi = G ( Bi , q ) − G Bil , q ( ) (10.3)
Lastly, the probability of receiving two “No” answers is equivalent to the prob-
ability that the WTPi is sitting below the lowest bid offered:

( ) { }
p nn Bi , Bil = Prob WTPi < Bil = G Bil , q ( ) (10.4)
G ( B,q ) denotes a cumulative distribution function and q a set of unknown param-

eters which are hypothesized to determine an individual’s response to a stated bid.
The log likelihood function of N individuals parameterised by q using Eqs. (10.1)
through (10.4) (Hanemann et al. 1991) is:
ln LD (q ) = ∑  nn
( i )i i (
i i i )
N  d yy ln π yy B , B u + d yn ln B , B u + d ny ln π ny B , B l
 i i i ( )
 (10.5)

i =1  + di ln π

nn
(
Bi , Bi)
l

where diyy is 1 if the ith response is yes to both initial bid and follow-up higher bid,
and 0 otherwise. The same applies to diyn , diny , dinn . Under the assumption of a logistic
distribution, the mean and median WTP were both estimated through a log-logit
model.
10.4.4 Factors Influence WTP
The probability of a person i accept or reject a hypothetical bid level B for a double
bounded model is expressed in a logistic form and can be described with social-
psychological factors and demographics as:

(
p y ( B ) = 1 − G ( B, q ) = 1−1 / 1 + e
a + bbid lnB + ∑bk Sk + ∑bn Dn
) (10.6)
where q ≡ (a ,b ) , a is a constant, b B is a parameter of ln B , b k is a parameter of

socio-psychological characteristics of the individual represented as Sk , and b n is a
parameter of demographic character of the individual represented as Dn . The above
mentioned socio-psychological and demographics variables are included in the
model. The proper log-likelihood function for the double-bounded model can be
constructed in analogy to Eq. (10.5).
10.5 Results
10.5.1 Descriptive Analysis
The summary statistics from the survey are presented in Table 10.2. The majority of
survey respondents were male (52.7 %), in their 50’s and over (47.5 %), and earned
an annual household income of 4–8 million JPY (45.6 %). The average age was
47.5 years. Ages ranged from 20 to 83 years. About two-thirds were married
(69.9 %). Slightly less than half had completed a 4 year university degree (44.9 %).
About 47 % of the respondents worked full time.
Chi-square and t-tests were applied to detect biased distributions. The respon-
dents were randomly selected, and stratified for gender and age, which has
Table 10.2 Samples’ characteristics

General
Sample Japanese
Variables Description n % % χ2 test
Gender
*
Male 407 52.7 48.4 5.769
Female 365 47.3 51.6
Age
*
20–29 104 13.5 15.9 8.592
30–39 149 19.3 19.0
40–49 152 19.7 16.3
50 and over 327 47.5 48.8
Average age 47.5 50.5 −5.992a ***
Marital status
**
Married 540 69.9 64.5 10.008
Others 232 30.1 35.5
Employmental status
***
Full-time 363 47.0 56.0 26.286
Others 409 53.0 44.0
Educational status
***
4 years University 347 44.9 15.5 571.750
degree and more
Others 425 55.1 80.3
Annual household income
Less than 4 million JPY 273 35.4 45.1 48.658
***
4–8 million JPY 352 45.6 34.1
More than 8 million JPY 147 19.0 20.8
Note:
Reference data on gender, age, marital status, employment status from the 2005 Population Census
of Japan; reference data on educational status from the 2000 Population Census of Japan; reference
data on annual household income from the 2010 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions
a
t-value
*** ** *
, , indicate statistically significant at the 99.9 %, 99 % and 95 % confidence levels, respectively
intended to be representative of the general Japanese population. However, even

with this procedure, the chi-square and t-tests indicated that our results might not
be completely representative. Therefore, caution should be applied when general-
ising these results.
Most of the respondents agreed (74.8 %) that elite sport success stimulates the
economy (Table 10.3). The average score for this perception was calculated at 0.37
(from −1 for “strongly disagree” to 1 for “strongly agree”). Similarly, most respon-
dents agreed that elite sport success demonstrates national pride to other nations
(average score 0.33) and increases the recognition of Japan by other countries
(0.46). It also improves image of Japan internationally (0.44) and increases sport
participation rate (0.46). Averaging the score for the five questions on potential
social benefits provided a perception index BENEFS of 0.44.
Similarly, respondents agreed that elite sport success makes them feel proud
(average score 0.48), induces a feeling of happiness (0.45), increases the feeling of
national identity (0.43) and creates a feeling of local unity (0.41). Averaging the
score for the four questions on potential personal benefits provided a perception
index BENEFP of 0.41.
Some respondents, however, had concerns about the potential risks. 14.2 %
of the respondents agreed that promotion of elite sport interferes with the pro-
motion of grass-root sport (score = −0.23), fuels an overemphasis on success
(0.01), causes physical abuse and moral harassment (−0.07), causes educational
problem for athletes (0.01), and may lead to unethical practices (−0.09).
Averaging the five scores led to a slightly negative index of social risk percep-
tion (RISK = −0.08).
Respondents’ opinion about the social trust on the key Japanese elite sport
policy players, namely the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology (MEXT) (score = −0.12), the Japan Sport Council (JSC) (0.10), the
Japanese Olympic Committee (−0.09) and National Governing Bodies (NGBs)
(−0.13), lead to a moderately negative index of a social trust perception
(TRUST = −0.11).
Most of the respondents had a low level of knowledge regarding elite sport
policy. More than 70 % had a low level of knowledge about the Japanese Institute
of Sports Science (JISS) (score = −0.53). Likewise, level of knowledge of the
National Training Centre (NTC) (score = −0.52) and the Team ‘Nippon’ Multi
Support Center (score = −0.73) showed quite low scores. Averaging the score for
the three questions led to an low index of knowledge about elite sport policy
(KNOW = −0.59).
About 40 % of those sampled agreed that Japanese elite athlete lead by example
(score = 0.07). Similarly, 30–50 % of the respondents agreed with the influence of
the Japanese elite athlete as a role model, someone who provides a good model for
others to follow (0.11); sets a positive example for others to follow (0.16); exhibits
the kind of work ethic and behaviour the I try to imitate (0.07); and acts as a role
model for me (0.04). This led to a slightly positive overall index of athlete role
model influence (ROLEM = 0.09)
Table 10.3 Socio-psychological characteristics
Percentage of respondents
Highly Highly
negative Neutral negative
Variables (−1) (−2/3) (−1/3) 0 (1/3) (2/3) (1) Mean S.D. α
Social Benefitsa 0.91
BENEFS1 1.2 1.7 7.3 15.0 36.8 26.0 12.0 0.37 0.41
BENEFS2 1.0 1.6 7.0 21.9 32.6 27.1 8.8 0.33 0.40
BENEFS3 0.6 1.0 4.0 12.4 31.9 35.6 14.4 0.46 0.38
BENEFS4 0.8 1.3 3.4 14.6 32.1 35.4 12.4 0.44 0.38
BENEFS5 0.8 1.0 3.2 13.5 31.3 35.6 14.5 0.46 0.38
Social benefits perception index (BENEFS) 0.41 0.33
Personal Benefitsa 0.93
BENEFP1 0.8 0.9 4.1 11.9 31.0 31.7 19.6 0.48 0.39
BENEFP2 0.8 1.0 3.8 15.7 29.4 33.0 16.3 0.45 0.39
BENEFP3 1.0 1.6 4.9 17.0 28.0 31.2 16.3 0.43 0.42
BENEFP4 1.3 1.7 4.7 18.0 29.1 28.6 16.6 0.41 0.42
Personal benefits perception index (BENEFP) 0.44 0.37
Risksa 0.87
RISK1 7.8 19.0 30.8 28.1 7.8 5.4 1.0 −0.23 0.43
RISK2 4.1 10.6 19.7 24.9 28.2 9.3 3.1 0.01 0.46
RISK3 6.1 13.6 19.6 31.5 18.3 8.3 2.7 −0.07 0.47
RISK4 3.8 10.1 18.3 31.5 23.4 8.8 4.1 0.01 0.46
RISK5 6.0 13.7 20.9 31.6 18.8 6.7 2.3 −0.09 0.46
Risks perception index (RISK) −0.08 0.37
Trustb 0.93
TRUST1 7.0 10.0 25.8 31.9 20.2 4.3 0.9 −0.12 0.42
TRUST2 5.8 10.4 19.8 39.2 20.9 3.4 0.5 −0.10 0.40
TRUST3 6.9 10.4 19.4 35.2 22.0 5.2 0.9 −0.09 0.43
TRUST4 7.3 10.0 22.3 38.1 19.3 2.3 0.8 −0.13 0.41
Social trust index −0.11 0.38
Knowledgec 0.89
KNOW1 39.0 18.5 17.7 15.7 6.5 1.9 0.6 −0.53 0.48
KNOW2 40.3 15.3 18.8 15.4 7.1 2.6 0.5 −0.52 0.49
KNOW3 56.7 17.2 16.6 7.1 1.3 0.8 0.3 −0.73 0.38
Knowledge index −0.59 0.41
Athlete Role Modela 0.95
ROLEM1 1.9 4.9 15.0 37.6 30.2 8.5 1.8 0.07 0.38
ROLEM2 1.7 3.6 12.2 36.9 34.3 9.7 1.6 0.11 0.36
ROLEM3 1.8 3.8 9.1 34.1 36.4 12.6 2.3 0.16 0.38
ROLEM4 2.2 5.7 13.0 40.8 26.8 9.7 1.8 0.07 0.39
ROLEM5 3.0 6.0 14.5 41.7 25.4 7.6 1.8 0.04 0.39
Athlete role model index (ROLEM) 0.09 0.34
Note:
a
−1=strongly disagree, 1=strongly agree
b
−1=no trust, 1=very high trust
c
−1=know nothing, 1=know a lot
Table 10.4 Parameter estimates for WTP model

Variable Coeff. t-stat. P-value
***
Constant 4.419 16.122 0.000
lnBid −0.778 −17.890 0.000 ***
Number of observations 772

Log-likelihood function −1055.882
Mean WTPa (JPY) 1,449
Median WTP (JPY) 292
Note:
a
Cut-off by the highest bidding value (10,000 JPY)
***
Indicates statistically significant at the 99.9 % confidence level
Table 10.5 Parameter estimates for WTP model with socio-psychological factors
Explanatory variable Coeff. t-stat. P-value
Constant −1.680 −0.847 0.397
lnBid −0.902 −18.086 0.000 ***
Socio-psychological BENEFS 1.391 3.775 0.000 ***
BENEFP 0.667 2.045 0.041 *
RISK −0.786 −3.806 0.000 ***
TRUST 0.479 2.738 0.006 **
KNOW 0.265 1.457 0.146

ROLEM 0.654 2.509 0.012 *
Socio-economical SEX 0.221 1.210 0.226

AGE 0.014 2.271 0.023 *
MARRIED −0.438 −2.110 0.035 *
JOBfulltime −0.102 −0.564 0.573

EDUuni 0.044 0.272 0.786
HOUSEN 0.035 0.519 0.604
lnINC 0.341 2.463 0.014 *
Statistics Number of observations 772

Log-likelihood function −965.491
Note:
*** ** *
, , indicate statistically significant at the 99.9 %, 99 % and 95 % confidence levels, respectively
10.5.2 WTP Results
To calculate the median and mean WTP, the logistic curve was fitted to the data, and
the coefficients of the Eq. (10.5) were estimated. The median WTP was calculated
as 292 JPY, and the mean WTP (cut-off by the highest bidding value) as 1,449 JPY
(Table 10.4).
To analyse the association between WTP and socio-psychological factors derived
from public acceptance studies, the parameters of the model (Eq. (10.6)) were esti-
mated (Table 10.5). The empirical results showed that BENEFS, BENEFP, TRUST
and ROLEM were positively associated with the WTP level. In contrast RISK was
identified to be a negative factor for accepting a higher bid. Conversely, KNOW was
clearly not significant.
Of the demographic variables, AGE and lnINC showed a significant positive
effect, while MARRIED showed a negative effect.
10.6 Discussion and Implications
The present study provided evidence on which socio-psychological factors are asso-
ciated with the WTP for elite sport success in Japan. Factors influence the present
value of the benefits constructible from the expansion of elite sport policy. This
policy aims to boost Japan’s olympic performance such that they rank in the top-five
for the total number of gold medals for the summer games and in the top-ten for the
winter games. The involved factors were evaluated utilizing the idea of public
acceptance.
The mean WTP estimated from this data was about the same as for a previous
survey obtained in Japan immediately prior to the London 2012 Olympics (Mean
WTP = 1,547 JPY) (Funahashi and Mano 2013). This agreement indicates a decent
level of temporal reliability of the CVM design; temporal reliability is sometimes
seen as a limitation of the technique (Humphreys et al. 2011; Wicker et al. 2012a).
However, shifting the view to the median WTP, the value of this study (292 JPY)
was slightly lower than literature values (Median WTP = 405). One possible expla-
nation for the difference is that there is a distinction between the data treatment
“protest answers”. A protest answer is a zero value given by the respondent that
indicates no acceptance of the hypothesis scenario. In this study, in contrast to that
of Funahashi and Mano (2013), protest answers were be included in the WTP analy-
sis, ergo the median WTP of this research showed a decreased value.
One of the most important findings of this study is that socio-psychological fac-
tors are important variables and can be profitable be utilized to explain the value of
elite sport policy in Japan in monetary units. In particular, high recognition of the
social benefits from athletic success in international competition and low perception
about the negative aspect of elite sport let to an overall positive influence on WTP. In
terms of the perceived social benefits, even if the variety of social benefits described
in the literature is conflated as an index, this finding is in accordance with previous
evidence which has clarified that the social benefit of elite sport success (i.e. an
increased reputation of the nation) had a positive influence on WTP (Wicker et al.
2012b). With respect to the negative aspect, this article showed that risk of elite
sport policy negatively influenced the value of elite sport policy. Previous studies
have also noted that, for instance, doping corrupts the image, value, and public’s
supportive attitude toward sport (Kayser et al. 2007; Petróczi 2007; Uvacsek et al.
2011). In a similar way, other negative dimensions might also depreciate the value
of elite sport. On the other hand, perceived personal benefits from international
sport success were found to be important determinants of the value of elite sport
policy. Thus, the current study documented the importance of personal intangible
effects of the public good, such as feeling proud and happy as well as increasing the
overall quality of life (Atkinson et al. 2008; Wicket et al. 2012b; Castellanos et al.
2011; Johnson et al. 2012; Johnson and Whitehead 2000).
In addition to this, people who have a strong sense of trust toward the politically
powerful elite sport ministries and organizations, and who regard Japanese elite
athletes as role models, have a definite effect on the WTP. Such trust leads to an
increased support by taxpayers for providing government support to elite athletes.
A similar situation exists in the area of technological advance. People who trust the
government show a higher level of support for controversial technological advances,
such as genetically modified food products (Kimenju and Groote 2008).
In regard to the influence of the athlete as a role model, the result of this research
is in accordance with German work which indicates that elite athletes are fair play-
ers; this contributes a positive association to the WTP (Wicker et al. 2012b).
Therefore, one could argue that strengthening the social credibility of all those
involved in elite sport development, including elite athletes, is required for an effec-
tive expansion of elite sport policy which is understood and supported by the public.
On the other hand, it can be said that knowledge on elite sport policy had little to do
with WTP. The main reason for this is the public’s low level of knowledge of the
elite sport programme. In many studies, the knowledge scale is treated as a determi-
nant of perceived benefits and risks. In some cases it has been noted that consump-
tion capital, which is a measure of a person’s lifetime consumption of goods, is a
driver of the value of elite success (Wicker et al. 2012a, b). These latter results
indicate that knowledge of elite sport policy must have an indirect connection with
the WTP for athletic success.
Demographic factors were also found to be associated with the value of elite
sport success. Respondents with a high household income expressed a higher WTP
than did low-income groups. This result is in accordance with many previous sport
management studies (Atkinson et al. 2008; Wicker et al. 2012a, b; Humphreys et al.
2011; Walton et al. 2008; Castellanos et al. 2011) and is in accordance with eco-
nomic theory. A negative effect of marital status on WTP was identified in this
study. This might be because single adults have more discretionary income.
Similarly, as age increases, discretionary income usually increases.
In summary, the present study clarifies the socio-psychological factors which are
associated with the public’s willingness to pay for elite sport policy using the idea
of public acceptance. The results indicate that certain key socio-psychological fac-
tors can be addressed in order to increase the elite sport budget via a consensus-
building effort among the population. However, this survey has limitations. First,
the survey used a Web-based sample. Even though the study used stratified sam-
pling by gender and age group in order to have a distribution that was homogeneous
with the Population Census, there is a possibility that the sampling still had a certain
bias in other socio-economic factors. Second, establishing a causal relationship
between factors used in the present research and the WTP was not possible in this
cross-sectional study. Future research would be profitably directed toward exploring
the causal nature of these associations. Third, a problem with the CV approach is
that the values are derived from adult-based studies and thus a value for children
cannot be obtained. Obviously, the outcome of elite sport success has a positive
effect on kids; future research should investigate this likelihood.
The findings of the present study provide a set of practical implications for policy
makers to be aware of if they wish to realise an expansion of the elite sport budget
and promote elite sport policy in a way that increases public acceptance. Firstly, as
social and personal benefits perception were found to be a key factors for the value
of elite sport policy, it is important that people have the opportunity to enhance
those benefits that accrue to athletic success, namely to facilitate external economic
gains that follow elite sport success. Secondly, it is important to avoid focusing only
on the positive side. Measures must be taken to reduce the negative perceptions of
elite sport. Such negative perceptions could be lessened by strong anti-doping and
anti-violence policies. Thirdly public trust needs to be enhanced relative to the polit-
ically powerful elite sport ministries and organizations. Further, developing athletes
who act as positive role models might be a key driver in order to build legitimacy for
using public money on elite sport. In elite sport context, it is particularly important
for elite athletes to be aware of their social responsibility and act accordingly. In this
regard, former IOC president Jacques Rogge stated:
You have learnt what it means to be a true champion, not simply a winner. You have shown
us that a new generation is ready to embrace and share Olympic values. (Singapore 2010
Closing Ceremony Speech by IOC President, Jacques Rogge)
In addition to the abovementioned policy implications, it is suggested that, as a

scholarly proposal, the mechanism for promoting public acceptance of elite sport
policy might be a double-layered structure; public acceptance of elite sport policy is
determined by the perceived (social and personal) benefits and risks, in turn, these
factors are determined by trust of the powerful elite sport policy ministries and
organizations as well as the quality of and the athlete’s role model behavior . Future
research should clarify the relationship among these socio-psychological factors.
Moreover, as social trust of the relevant organizations and ministries and athlete role
model indices were found to be important drivers, researchers need to discern how
these factors enter public consciousnesses are they are constructed and how they can
be altered.
10.7 Conclusion
This article has presented the initial results of an application of the CVM to elite
sport policy and investigated the relationship between the willingness to pay for
elite sport policy and the socio-psychological factors most important for the notion
of public acceptance. Acceptance was particularly high for unmarried older people
with a high income, high social benefits perception from the elite sport success, high
personal benefits perception from success, low risk perception associated with elite
sport development, high social trust of Japanese elite sport policy organizations and
ministries, and people who regarded Japanese elite athletes as positive role models.
Future research should particularly explore the mechanism of how these factors are
associated with the willingness to pay for elite sport policy.
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Part III
Sports Humanities
Chapter 11
The Success of Health Tourism in Thailand:
A Big Demand for Asian Healing Arts
Kohei Kogiso
Abstract In this chapter, I focus on the relationship between Thai Massage and
health tourism in Thailand and examine how the Thai government promotes Thai
Massage as a health tourism resource. In recent years, attention to health tourism
has been increasing, especially in Asian countries, where tourists often enjoy a
variety of traditional medical practices or therapies. Such ‘healing arts’ as Tai Chi,
Zen meditation, and Yoga are popular. Thai Massage has also joined the group of
traditional medicines, and attracts many tourists as a ‘spiritual’ practice based on
Buddhist philosophy. The main destination for such Asian health tourism is the spa;
traditional healing arts are often mentioned in health promotion programs. The
‘modern spa’ is a health resort that is different from modern medical facilities.
The inclusion of traditional healing arts is an important component of the ‘modern
spa’. This article discusses the historical process and socio-cultural context of how
Thai Massage has come to be a core activity of health tourism in Thailand.
Keywords Thai Massage • Healing arts • Health tourism • Spa
11.1 Introduction
Asian countries, especially Bali, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, are
major destinations for international health tourism (Laing and Weiler 2008). Among
the various types of health tourism in these countries, medical tourism is generally
quite well-known and widely utilized. This derives mainly from the fact that
medical costs in these countries are relatively low compared to those of developed
countries where medical technology is advanced and treatment is speedy but costly.
In addition, these Asian countries possess not only medical facilities but also a
considerable number of spas. Interestingly, in these spas a variety of techniques to
K. Kogiso (*)
e-mail: kogisok@aoni.waseda.jp

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3_11
150 K. Kogiso
treat the body, such as Chinese Tai Chi, Indian Yoga, Thai Massage, and Zen
meditation, are practiced as “healing arts.” In support of the traditional healing arts
is the so-called ethno scientific theory of the body, which has attracted much attention
from tourists. These visitors enjoy learning about the culture underlying the tradi-
tional healing arts. There have been relatively few cultural studies that deal with the
relationship between health tourism and the culture of traditional healing arts.
In this chapter, I focus on the relationship between Thai Massage and health
tourism in Thailand and examine how the Thai government promotes Thai Massage
as a health tourism resource. Since 2000, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)
has focused on the expansion of the tourism market using the theme of wellness.
“Wellness” was taken as one of six themes in the ‘Seven Amazing Wonders
campaign’. Other themes were ‘Thainess’, ‘Treasure’, Beach’, ‘Nature’, Trendy’
and ‘Festival’. Health tourism delivers the promise of wellness in a particularly
charming manner. In health tourism, which the TAT promotes, tourists can get
‘relaxed’ and ‘rejuvenated’ by ‘meditation that brings quietness of mind in nature’
and ‘healing culture transmitted through Thai practices’. For the last 14 years, TAT
has been focusing on the development of health tourism in cooperation with the
Ministry of Public Health. As I discuss later, Thai massage is regarded as key to
the development of health tourism. This article discusses the historical processes
and the socio-cultural context under which Thai Massage has come to be a core
activity of health tourism in Thailand.
11.2 Health Tourism in Thailand
11.2.1 Realm of Health Tourism in This Study
I begin by considering the differences between health tourism and other similar
types of tourism. There are several terms that mean traveling for health such as
‘health spa tourism’, ‘wellness tourism’, ‘spa tourism’, and ‘sport health tourism’
[see Fig. 11.1]. Many studies have tried to define these designations. Muller and
Kaufmann (2001) defined health tourism, following Kaspar (1996), as ‘the sum of
all the relationships and phenomena resulting from a change in location and
residence by people in order to promote, stabilize, and as appropriate, restore physical,
mental and social well-being while using health services and for whom the place
where they are staying is neither their principal nor permanent place of residence or
work’. Mueller and Kaufmann do argue that wellness tourism is simply a subset of
health tourism.
What about sport health tourism? Harada and Kimura (2009) define sport health
tourism as ‘a reasonably paced leisure tourism activity that stresses harmony in the
form of enjoyable, healthy activities involving sports, fitness, healthy food, a pleasing
natural environment, and the possibility for beauty treatments which reflect well-
being.’(translation from Japanese).composed basic tourism characters which are
11 The Success of Health Tourism in Thailand: A Big Demand for Asian Healing Arts 151
Fig. 11.1 Spectrum of health tourism (Source: Smith and Puczkó 2009)
pre-established harmony and to return, and also the system and the idea to make
healthy people more healthy through the enjoyable tourism experience combined
activities such as sport, fitness, food, nature experience and beauty treatments that
reflect well-being’. The above authors consider sport tourism and health tourism to
be closely related.
One reason for the wide range of interpretations of the exact meaning of health
tourism is because the concept of health or wellness means different things in
different countries and cultures (Smith and Puczkó 2009). Thus, for a long, long
time every country and culture has had its own way or technique of promoting
health. Western countries and East Asian countries both have a tradition of the spa.
Asian countries also have a number of traditional medical and body techniques such
as Yoga, Zen Meditation, Tai Chi and massage. When you visit certain countries,
you are able to enjoy their unique style of health tourism.
Currently, however, the various health programs have become integrated with the
modern spa in recent years. For example, when you go to the ‘Chiva – Som Spa’ in Thailand,
you are able to enjoy various styles of massage as well as health foods, activities like
Yoga, Tai Chi, meditation, aqua boxing, and aerobics (http://www.chivasom.com).
Laing and Weiler (2008) noted that ‘rather than just being places for hedonic
gratification or leisure, spas are increasingly taking on the role of “health centres”
or “health resort”’. If you would like to best learn about health tourism today, the
152 K. Kogiso
spa is the best example. Therefore, this article will focus mainly on the spa as a
particularly informative way to approach health tourism.
11.2.2 Health Tourism in Thailand
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand (MTST) recently defined health
tourism as: ‘to travel to cultural and natural place to learn the way of life and take a
rest in order to archive promotion of health and restoration of health’ (MTST 2010).
Furthermore, MTST divides heath tourism into two categories, ‘health promotion
tourism’ and ‘health healing tourism’. The latter involves a stay in a hospital or
health resort for the purpose of recovery and treatment of illness or injury. Rather, it
might be more appropriately referred to as ‘medical tourism’. On the other hand,
health tourism aims to instruct visitors on the specifics of how to live and rest while
staying in an authentic cultural milieu situated in a rich natural environment.
According to material offered by MTST, a tourist can take part in the following
programs during their sojourn in health promotion tourism: Massage, sauna, herb
massage, aroma therapy. hydro therapy, hot-spring bath, Rusie Dat Ton, Buddhism
meditation, and diet therapy. The Thai Government apparently assumes that
almost all spas facilities offer such programs. The next section deals with what a spa
actually is.
11.3 Asian Style Spa as a Modern Spa
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a place named ‘spa’ first appeared in
the sixteenth century. It was located in what is the Liege prefecture in Belgium
today, and flourished with natural hot springs that had a therapeutic effect. In the
seventeenth century, the term spa came to be used as a word that meant ‘good health’
or ‘natural hot spring’. Thus, the English word spa had begun to be used as a term
that meant ‘a watering place’ and was not limited by only being linked to the names
of particular places.
For a long time, people in the Hellenistic culture, which includes Europe and the
Middle East of today, as well as people in Japan, had ‘watering places’ where
disease was treated by taking advantage of the therapeutic effects of mineral springs.
While different regions built resorts according to the prevailing cultural style, the
general approach of creating health centers based on ‘watering places’ could be
encountered all over the world. For example, in England and France in the eighteenth
century, gorgeous hotels, gardens, restaurants, music salons, dance halls and casinos
were built around ‘watering places’. These health resorts also functioned as places
for social interactions among the gentry. Such social meeting places were termed
‘water place’ in the English language of the time.
At least until the eighteenth century, spa was a term that referred to watering
place. Spa was thus deeply connected with the element of water, especially natural
hot springs. However, modern spas do not necessarily have a hot spring, although
this statement applies more to Asian countries like Thailand––and excludes Japan—
than others. Today’s emphasis tends to be focused more on relaxation, health, and
beauty treatments as well as the spiritual aspects. To achieve this, today’s spas offer
exercises such as Yoga, Tai chi and Thai Massage. The International Spa Association
defines spas as places ‘devoted to overall well-being through a variety of profes-
sional services that encourage the renewal of mind, body and spirit’. Today’s spa
offers more broadly-ranging therapeutic services than ever; this seems to have
become a global standard of the spa.
The modern spa now has a large market. According to a report in The Global Spa
Economy 2007 (Global Spa Summit 2008) the total size of the global spa economy
in that year was $254.7 billion (Table 11.1). A revenue of this magnitude helps one
realize the importance of health tourism and also highlights the strong relationship
between spas and health tourism. Table 11.2 shows a comparison of spas and other
global industries. The market value of spas is small compared to that of the golf
industry and the sports industry, but is larger than the combined market value of the
motion picture industry and the cruise industry.
We see from Table 11.3 that there are now 71,673 spas in the world and that
about 90 % of them are in Europe, Asian-Pacific and North America. Table 11.4
Table 11.1 Size of the Size of the global spa industry, 2007 (US$ billions)
global spa industry, 2007 Core spa industries $60.31
(Global Spa Summit 2008)
Spa facility operations $46.81
Spa capital investments $12.99
Spa education $0.31
Spa consulting $0.07
Spa media, associations, & events $0.13
Spa-branded products n.a.
Spa-enabled industries $194.35
Spa-related hospitality & tourism $106.05
Spa-related real estate $88.30
Total spa economy $254.66
Table 11.2 Comparison of spas with other global industries (Global Spa Summit 2008)
Comparison of spas with other global industries (US$ billions)
Core spa industries $60
Commercial sports industry $150
Golf industry (golf facility operations) $80
Motion picture industry (box office sales) $27
Cruise industry $21
154 K. Kogiso
Table 11.3 Global spa facilities by region, 2007 (Global Spa Summit 2008)
Global spa facilities by region, 2007
Estimated total Estimated total spa Estimated total
number of spas revenues (US$ billions) spa employment
Europe 22,607 $18.4 441,727
Asia-Pacific 21,566 $11.4 363,648
North America 20,662 $13.5 307,229
Middle East- 1,014 $0.7 20,938
North Africa
Latin 5,435 $2.5 82,694
America-
Caribbean
Africa 389 $0.3 7,273
Total 71,673 $46.8 1,223,509
Table 11.4 Spa facilities in Asia-Pacific, 2007 (Global Spa Summit)

Spa facilities in Asia-Pacific, 2007
Estimated total Estimated total spa Estimated total
number of spas revenues (US$ spa employment
billions)
Day/Club/Salon spas 10,805 $5.57 162,733
Hotel/Resort spas 2,944 $3.04 80,162
Destination spas/Health 82 $0.28 3,937
resort
Medical spas 939 $1.05 12,430
Other spas 6,796 $1.44 104,387
Total 21,566 $11.39 363,648
shows spa facilities in the Asia-pacific region. A feature of the Asian-Pacific region
is that spa facilities classified as ‘other spas’ are remarkably numerous. The 2008
Global Spa Summit report notes that ‘While the Asian spa industry is considered
to be “new” based on its modern/Western conceptualization, the region has a
remarkable number of culturally-based healing and wellness therapies that have
evolved over thousands of years. Facilities and practitioners that offer these tradi-
tional services are beginning to see the value of adding spa services and amenities and
aligning themselves with the spa industry. The category for “other” spas of the
Asian-Pacific region reflects an attempt to capture this trend by quantifying the
number of traditional practitioners that have crossed into the more modern spa
market’. Other spas include ‘Japanese onsens, Indian Ayurveda centers, Thai and
Chinese massage practitioners, and other culturally-rooted wellness traditions that
have morphed into the spa sphere (ibid)’.
Laing and Weiler (2008) list four principle reasons why Asia is well-positioned
to be a global leader in health and wellness tourism. Asia has: (1) healing arts based
on Eastern religions, (2) “eco-friendly” products and services, such as herbs, plants,
and flowers, particularly as used in spas, (3) natural and cultural landscapes which
seem exotic to Western consumers, and (4) inexpensive and high quality service.
In conclusion, the spa concept, which is considered to have Western cultural
origins, has spread to Asia, Africa and Middle East. In Asia specifically, variations
have evolved by introducing traditional therapies. We now may say that the modern
spa involves a global culture and has become a place where manifold traditional
healing arts and practices for improving health are found.
In Thailand, the emphasis on spa and Thai Massage was a key factor in the estab-
lishment of the ‘Thai style spa’. As we have seen, it seems to have been a successful
factor in the introduction of Thai Massage into spa. This is all the more remarkable
when one considers that for a long period that began in the early twentieth century,
Thai Massage was marginalized and excluded from the official medical system. In
the next section I discuss how Thai Massage gained such a prominent position in the
Thai health tourism industry.
11.4 The Revival of Thai Massage
11.4.1 From Marginal to Central
In the Siamese1 court from at least the seventeenth to the end of the nineteenth cen-
tury, there were physicians who gave Thai Massages to royal families, and who
were called ‘Moo Nuat (masseur)’. There were also people who utilized their Thai
Massage skills as a profession (Iida 2006; Kogiso 2012). During that period Thai
Massage was certainly an official medicine or therapy in Thailand. That position
changed when western modern medicine, with modern science as its base, was
introduced to Thailand. Due to the influence of modern medicine, traditional and
indigenous medicines were abandoned in many countries starting in the early twen-
tieth century. In fact, ‘The practice of the Art of Healing Act B.E. 2479 (1936)’ was
enacted in Thailand. This act stated that traditional medicine practitioners were
defined as those who practiced medicine based on their observations and experi-
ences that were passed on by word and in traditional textbooks but were not based
on scientific grounds.
However when it came to the second half of the twentieth century, the situation
changed radically. In 1978, WHO (World Health Organization provided direction
and support for ‘primary health care’ to member countries in the declaration of
Alma-Ata. The influence of this declaration on traditional medicine and its practi-
tioners cannot be overemphasized. The declaration declared that countries should
use the skills of traditional medicine practitioners if necessary to deliver adequate
primary health care. The Thai Government then decided to re-introduce traditional
1
Old name of Thailand was ‘Siam’.
156 K. Kogiso
medicine to the public health care system. As a result, Thai Massage was resurrected
as an aspect of ‘Thai Traditional Medicine’.
11.4.2 The Revival of Thai Massage
In 1985, “The Thai Massage Revival Project” was launched as an attempt to systematize
the earlier knowledge of Thai Massage (Banpasirichote 1989). The Institute of Thai
Traditional Medicine was established under the Ministry of Public Health in 1993
to develop various aspects of Thai Traditional Medicine (Chokevivat and Chuthaputti
2005). This governmental institute has mainly supported the institutionalization of
Thai Massage and of the Thai Massage therapist by promoting and spreading
authentic ‘Thai Massage’(Iida 2006).
These institutions systematized Thai Massage and created an official “Thai
Massage” image. After this initial developmental period, Nuat began to be referred
to as “Nuat Thai” or “Thai Massage”. This term was used to distinguish therapeutic
massages from sexual massages. This indicates that “Nuat” was reformed into an
aspect of Thai culture that represents Thainess. This was a determining factor that
formed the proper institutional setting and enabled “Thai Massage” to become a
tourism resource.
Through the revival of Thai Massage by the Thai Government, Thai massage was
guaranteed legitimacy as an aspect of traditional Thai culture and also legitimacy as
a therapy. This guarantee of the Thai Government enabled Thai Massage to be
included as a form of spa therapy (Fig. 11.2).
11.5 Development of Thai Style Spa and ‘Thainess’
11.5.1 Spa Tourism Within Health Tourism in Thailand
As we have seen, spas form an integral part of health tourism. Since the first spa in
Thailand opened on Samui Island in 1992, the spa industry has developed smoothly
and swiftly (Jacka 2011), reaching an average annual growth rate of 25 % between
2002 and 2009. In 2004, the Thai government planned to make Thailand an interna-
tional hub for the spa industry, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Public Health
and the TAT. The Bangkok Post mentioned that:
To achieve this goal, the government has introduced a five-year plan from 2004-2008 to
turn Thailand into a medical services hub for Asia. The plan focuses on developing medical
services, health promotion services – with an emphasis on spa and traditional massage ser-
vice, and health tourism. (Bangkok Post Oct 2, 2004)
The popularity of Thai massage can be seen in the comment of a Taiwanese

travel agent in the Bangkok Post of September 13, 1999. The agent said: “There is
Fig. 11.2 Thai Massage (TAT 2008)
a big demand for spas among Taiwanese,” and “many groups are going there
[Thailand] just for that. Thai traditional massage is very popular. In fact, we even
want Thai traditional masseurs to come to Taiwan to teach the art there.”
We can see from the above quote that Thai Massage plays an important role in
Thai Style Spas. Why then has the spa industry developed specifically in Thailand?
What do tourists seek from spas? In the next section, this paper examines the
affinity of Thainess and the Thai tourist image of the spa (Fig. 11.3).
11.5.2 Thai Spa Style and Thai Massage
As we have seen (Sect. 3) the advantage of Asian Style Spas is to have healing arts
based on Eastern religions. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is well aware
of their advantages and utilizes them fully. The TAT describes Thai Massage as a
traditional healing art based on the Buddhist philosophy. ‘The most famous and
popular spa therapy is traditional Thai massage. Also known as ‘massage for
healing’, it is an age-old healing art that originated as a spiritual practice taken from
the teachings of the Lord Buddha (TAT e-Magazines 2007)’. After Thai Massage,
158 K. Kogiso
Fig. 11.3 A post card of ‘Thai Spa’ (Author’s collection)
the spirit of the Thai people is emphasized. This spirit is often described ‘Thainess2’.
‘While Thai spas have many unique aspects, perhaps the most unique and appealing
aspect of Thai spa treatments is the charming natural warmth, gentle touch and
graceful hospitality of the Thai people who administer the treatment. The most
striking aspect of Thai spas, and a characteristic that visitors cannot find in any other
country, is the famous Thai smile and the cheerful friendliness that is intrinsic to
the Thai culture. The warmth of the Thai touch adds that extra dimension to the Thai
spa experience, and makes it stand out from others in the region (ibid)’. The existence
of Thai Massage differentiates the Thai Spa from other spas. The bottom line is that
spas in Thailand are clearly satisfying the demands of tourists.
The Thai government has tried to ‘brand’ the image of the Thai Style Spa. The
Ministry of Public Health produced an act that addressed the establishment of spas.
If spa managers are able to get approval from the government, they can then place a
government endorsement mark in front of their spa (Fig. 11.4).
2
‘Thainess’ is an ambiguous word. It is used synonymously with Thai identities. However, it
should be noted that it has been built on the relationship between Thailand and the West. Harrison
and Jackson (2010).
Fig. 11.4 Endorsement mark from the Ministry of Public Health in Thailand
11.6 Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be noted that if health tourism and spa tourism are to succeed
in Asia they must involve some aspect of Asian traditional medicine. In Thailand,
Thai Massage has played this role. However, Thai Massage was not initially available
to attract vacationers interested in health tourism. For a long period Thai Massage
was derided as a therapy that was not based on sound science. The declaration of
Alma-Ata in 1978 completely changed the situation. Thai Massage then began to be
seen as a medical resource for primary health care. The Thai Government subse-
quently institutionalized Thai Massage as a part of ‘Thai Traditional Medicine’. As
a consequence, Thai Massage came to have enhanced medical and economic value.
As an overall conclusion, I would like to emphasize the role of the government
in the process of developing a new culture or trend for tourism. In particular, health
tourism needs the support of the government because it is a domain directly related
to the healing arts. The government needs to prepare laws to maintain standards
and provide tourist safety. Thailand has already addressed such quality concerns by
setting standards and creating regulations to govern the spa industry.
Thai Massage received avid support from the government, and this paved the
way for the success of health tourism in Thailand. In the future I would like to focus
on how the spa industry and the conventional medical industry will relate to each
other in the heath tourism arena. There is already an interesting, integrated establishment
160 K. Kogiso
called the ‘hotel-spital’(Cohen 2008). The hotel-spital provides the services of

both a hotel and a hospital. If a spa and a hotel-spital were to be combined,, it would
create a huge health care complex that could provide a valuable array of services,
the likes of which we have never seen before.
References
Banpasirichote C (1989) The indigenization of development process in Thailand: a case study of

the traditional medical revivalist movement (Thai Massage). Ontario, University of Waterloo.
PhD thesis
Chokevivat V, Chuthaputti A (2005) The role of Thai traditional medicine in health promotion. In:
Conference paper for 6GCHP Bangkok, Thailand 2005
Cohen E (2008) Medical tourism in Thailand. AV-GSB e-J 1(1):24–37
Global Spa Summit (2008) The Global spa economy 2007 prepared by SRI International
Harada M, Kimura K (2009) Sport health tourism. Taishuukan, Tokyo (In Japanese)
Harrison RV, Jackson PA (eds) (2010) The ambiguous allure of the west: trace of the colonial in
Thailand. Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong
Iida J (2006) Ethnography of Thai Massage: body and practice in the creation process of “Thai
traditional medicine”. Akashishoten, Tokyo (In Japanese)
Jacka A (2011) Spa industry in Thailand. Shohou 594:23–26
Kaspar C (1996) Gesundheitstourismus im trend. Jahrbuch der Schweizer Tourismuswirtschaft
1995/96:53–61. St Gallen Institut für Tourismus und Verkehrswirtschaft
Kogiso K (2012) Thai Massage and health tourism in Thailand: tourism acculturation process of
“Thai Massage”. Int J Sport Health Sci 10:65–70
Laing J, Weiler B (2008) Mind, body and spirit: health and wellness tourism in Asia. In: Cochrane
J (ed) Asian tourism: growth and change. Elsevier, Amsterdam
Muller H, Kaufman EL (2001) Wellness tourism: market analysis of a special health tourism seg-
ment and implications for the hotel industry. J Vacat Market 7(1):5–17
Newspaper. “Bangkok Post” (Oct 2, 2004), Bangkok
Smith M, Puczkó L (2009) Health and wellness tourism. Elsevier, Oxford
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand (2010) Ekasaan prakoop kaanseunaa: thong thiao
thai khwaam teek taang thii saang khaa
Tourism Authority of Thailand TATe-magazine. (2007) http://www.tatnews.org/emagazine/5599.
asp. Accessed 26 Feb 2012
Chapter 12
A History of the National Traditional Games
of Ethnic Minorities of China (1953–2011)
Chiachi Cheng
Abstract The National Ethnic Games of China, initially launched in 1953, have
evolved into an influential, traditional national sporting event with its own unique
characteristics. In this paper, I discuss the development of the Traditional Games
from 1953 to 2011. During this period there were two unique types of events:
competitions and exhibitions. In the 9th game there were 16 competitive events
and three categories of exhibitions. The initial description of the game’s spirit
referred to equality, unity, struggle and advance. These descriptors convey the desired
outcome for the participation of ethnic minorities in sport: The development of
superior athletes and the establishment of unified, harmonious national society.
Keywords Traditional Games • Ethnic Minorities of China
12.1 Introduction
In order to protect and promote the various ethnic sports culture in China, the
National Ethnic Games (The Games) were launched in 1953; these games have
been held nine times from 1953 to 2011 (Table 12.1). The initial description of The
Games’ spirits referred to equality, unity, struggle and advance. These descriptors
convey the desired outcome for the participation of ethnic minorities in sport. The
development of superior athletes and the establishment of unified, harmonious
national society.1
Sport plays a significant role in virtually every country of the world. Traditional
ethnic sport is not only a sport, but also serves as a cultural tool of the Chinese uni-
versal ideological state apparatus. While several Western scholars have made great
contributions to the study of sports and ideology,2 such research still rare in China.
1
Committee of the 9th Game (2011a). The 9th Game Guidebook. China, Guizhou.
2
Caldwell, G. (1982). International sport and national identity. International Social Science
Journal. 34(2), 173–183.
C. Cheng (*)
e-mail: chen50no1@gmail.com

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3_12
162 C. Cheng
Table 12.1 List of the National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities

Members of Competitive Exhibition
Order Year Main Host athletics sports sports
1st 1953 Tientsin (ཙ⍕) 395 5 414
2nd 1982 Hohhot (બ઼⎙⢩) 593 2 68
3rd 1986 Ürümchi (⛿冟ᵘ啺) 777 7 115
4th 1991 Namzning (ইሗ) 1,500 9 120
5th 1995 Kunming (ᰶ᰾) 3,300 11 129
6th 1999 Lhasa/Beijing (᣹㯙/ेӜ) 1,000 14 157
7th 2003 Yinchuan (䢰ᐍ) 4,900 14 126
8th 2007 Guangzhou (ᔓᐎ) 6,000 15 150
9th 2011 Guiyang (䋤䲭) 6,700 16 186
The Games were launched in 1953; these games have been held nine times from 1953 to 2011. List
of cities that have hosted previous National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities of the People’s
Republic of China
Note. From The 9th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities of the People’s Republic of
China Official Website. Retrieved October 8, 2011, from http://sports.gog.com.cn/minyh/lijhg/
index.shtm
In this chapter I describe the development of The Games from 1953 to 2011. I hope
to increase an awareness of the nature and importance of these games. The sources
utilized in the research for this chapter involved newspapers as well as guidebooks
for The Games and miscellaneous reports from 1953 to 2011.
12.2 The History of the Games
12.2.1 The 1st Games in Tientsin (1953)
The first Games were held in Tientsin and took place from November 12th–18th of
the year of 1953, in Tientsin (Fig. 12.1). This game was called as ‘The National
Ethnic Sports Performance and Athletics Games’, which was the first ethnic sport
event in China. The 5-day event has attracted 395 athletes from China’s 133 ethnic
minority groups for a total of 483 title events and demonstrations.4
Nevertheless, from 1966 to 1976, due to the Cultural Revolution, the development
of ethnic sports was forbidden from 1966 until 1976. In 1980 the, State Commission
of Sports decided that ethnic sports were important, and the Chinese sponsored an
3
Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Islamic, Tibetan, Miao, Uygur, Kasakh, Tajik, Tatar, Dai, Korean and
Naxi.
4
Chang, R. H. (1953, November 9). Ethnical sports performance and athletic competition take
place at Tientsin. People News, p. 1.
12 A History of the National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities of China… 163
Fig. 12.1 The open

ceremony of the first Games
(November, 13th, 1953. The
people news). Some
government officials were
present in the open ceremony
of the first Games
‘ethnic sports investigation conference’.5 This was followed, after a hiatus of

29 years, by the second games which were held in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, in 1982.
12.2.2 The 2nd Games in Hohhot (1982)
The 2nd games were held from the 10th to the 19th of September, 1982 in Hohhot
(Fig. 12.2). This 9-day event attracted 863 athletes from China’s 55 ethnic minority
groups and included a total of 4 competitions and 68 demonstrations.
The purpose of the 2nd Chinese National Ethnic Games was to promote
traditional culture, create a national unity, and protect ethnic sports. After the 2nd
games, the event was continued and has since been held every 4 years.6
5
October, 27th, 1953. The people news.
6
September, 11th, 1982. The people news.
164 C. Cheng
Fig. 12.2 The open

ceremony of the 2nd Games
(September, 11th, 1982. The
people news). Flag being
raised during the opening
ceremony of the 2nd Games
12.2.3 The 3rd Games in Ürümchi (1986)
The 3rd games were held from the 10th–17th of August, 1986 in Ürümchi, the
capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Fig. 12.3). This 9-day event
attracted 777 athletes from China’s 55 ethnic minority groups and involved a total
of 7 competitions and 115 demonstrations. It was the first time that the event
involved the use a badge, a flag and an emblem.
The purpose of the 3rd Games was to put ethnic policies into practice, to develop
and improve the economic situation of ethnic minority groups, and to promote unity
and thus aid in the development of China into a superior nation.7
12.2.4 The 4th Games in Namzning
The 4th games were held from the 10th–17th of November, 1991 in Namzning, the
capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Fig. 12.4). The 8-day event attracted
777 athletes from China’s 55 ethnic minority groups and involved a total of 9
competitions and 120 demonstrations.
7
Committee of the 3rd Game (1986). The 3rd Game Guidebook. China, Ürümchi.
Fig. 12.3 The open ceremony of the 3rd Games. (committee of the 3rd Game (1986). The 3rd
Game Guidebook. China, Ürümchi). The gymnastics performance in the open ceremony of the 3rd
Games
Fig. 12.4 The open ceremony of the 4th Games (August, 5th, 1991. The people news). The
emblem had been using from the 4th Games. Athletics are marching into the arena with the big
emblem
166 C. Cheng
Fig. 12.5 The open ceremony of the 5th Games. The opening performance which was the symbol
of peace, prosperity and civilization
For these games the purpose was described as augmenting the development of
the sports of minority ethnic groups, the creation of equality and unity in ethnic
relationships, and the establishment of a prosperous society.8 Beginning with the 4th
National Ethnic Games, Taiwan was a participant. The Taiwan delegation was
classified as the Gaoshan (儈ኡ) group.9
12.2.5 The 5th Games in Kunming
The 5th games took place from the 5th–12th of November, 1995 in Kunming, the
capital of Yunnan Province (Fig. 12.5). This 8-day event attracted 2,500 athletes
from China’s 55 ethnic minority groups and included a total of 11 competitions
and 129 demonstrations. This games’ purpose was described as developing ethnic
sport, increasing the ethnic people’s health, strengthening the concept of national
unity, inspiring the ethnic spirit, and serving to further the cause of socialism and
civilization.10
8
August, 5th, 1991. The people news.
9
Committee of the 4th Game (1991). The 4th Game Report. China, Namzning.
10
Committee of the 5th Game (1995). The 5th Game Report. China, Kunming.
Fig. 12.6 The open ceremony of the 6th Games (Committee of the 6th Game (1999). The 6th
Game Report. China, Beijing)
12.2.6 The 6th Games in Lhasa and Beijing
The 6th game were held from the 21st–23rd of August, 1999 in Lhasa and from the
24th–30th of September, 1999 in Beijing (Fig. 12.6). The event attracted 6,000
athletes from China’s 55 ethnic minority groups and included a total of 13 competitions
and 129 demonstrations. The purpose listed for these games was to disseminate
national policy, educate people about the concept of the Chinese union, promote
patriotism, and increase the development of civilization.11
12.2.7 The 7th Games in Yinchuan
The 7th Games were held from the 6th–13th of September, 2003 in Yinchuan
(Fig. 12.7). The 7th Games attracted 5,865 athletes from China’s 55 ethnic minority
groups and included a total of 14 competitions and 126 demonstrations.
The purpose of the Games was described as developing ethnic minority groups’
sports, increasing the level of physical and mental health, and furthering the prog-
ress of society in general.12
12.2.8 The 8th Games in Guangzhou
The 8th Games were held from the 10th to the 18th of November, 2007 in Guangzhou
(Fig. 12.8). This event attracted more than 6,000 athletes from China’s 55 ethnic
minority groups and included a total of 15 title events and 150 demonstrations.
11
Committee of the 6th Game (1999). The 6th Game Report. China, Beijing.
12
Committee of the 7th Game (2003). The 7th Game Report. China, Yinchuan.
168 C. Cheng
Fig. 12.7 The open ceremony of the 7th Games (Committee of the 7th Game (2003). The 7th
Game Report. China, Yinchuan). The main idea opening performance of the 7th Games was to
showcase the achievements of Yinchuan
Fig. 12.8 The open ceremony of the 8th Games. (The 8th Games Official Website. Retrieved
October 8, 2011, from http://www.gd.xinhuanet.com/ztbd/myh8/). Every minority groups’ were
showcased their traditional dresses and cultures between open ceremony
Fig. 12.9 The open ceremony of the 9th Games (The 9th Games Official Website. Retrieved
October 8, 2011, from http://sports.people.com.cn/BIG5/15635473.html). Han People and 55
minority groups’ people are gathering in front of the arena. It’s the meaning of peace and unity
The main purpose listed for these Games was maintaining equality and unity
between the Han and ethnic minority groups as well as building prosperity and
creating a harmonious society.13
12.2.9 The 9th Games in Guiyang
The 9th games were held from the 10th to the 19th of September, 2011 in Guiyang
(Fig. 12.9). This 9-day event attracted more than 6,700 athletes from China’s 55
ethnic minority groups and included a total of 16 title events and 186
demonstrations.
The 9th Chinese National Ethnic Games showcased national unity and harmony
of the Chinese people with sports events and colorful performances that featured the
unique traditions of the 55 ethnic minority groups. By this time the games had come
to form a special and fairly fixed pattern involving the opening and closing ceremo-
nies, the events and contests, the performing programs, and a celebratory gala.14
13
Committee of the 8th Game (2007). The 8th Game Guidebook. China, Guangzhou.
14
Committee of the 9th Game (2011a). The 9th Game Guidebook. China, Guizhou.
170 C. Cheng
12.3 The Competitions of the Games
The Game had two types of events: competitions and exhibitions. Details of these
two types of events follow:
(1) Competitions:
The competitive sports are based on sports found in the ethnic founded from
every ethnic minority groups’ culture. The rules are referred to those of modern
sports. These new rules for the ethnic sports are summarized in Table 12.2. The
list of competitive sports events that took place for the 9th session of The Games
are summarized in Table 12.3.
(2) Exhibition sports.
The three categories of exhibition sports are: athletic, technical and comprehen-
sive. The purpose of exhibition sports are to preserve ethnic minority culture,
realize each ethnic group’s identity, and increase each group’s self-confidence
(Feng 2011).15 The introductions of three categories are summarized as
follows.16
Table 12.2 List of the competitive sports events that took place in each session
Order NumberCompetitive sports events
1st 5 weight-lifting, Boxing, Wrestling, Short weapon, Walk and Shoot
2nd 2 Wrestling, Archery
3rd 7 Wrestling, Archery, Equestrian, goat grabbing, Traditional Archery,
Firework-snatching, Swing
4th 9 Firework-snatching, Swing, Archery, Equestrian, Dragon Boat, Pearl Ball,
Cricket, Wrestling, Martial
5th 11 Firework-snatching, Pearl Ball, Cricket, Swing, Martial, Archery, Dragon
Boat, Equestrian, Wrestling, Shuttlecock, Spinning Top
6th 13 Firework-snatching, Pearl Ball, Cricket, Shuttlecock, Wrestling, Swing,
Martial, Archery, Dragon Boat, Equestrian, Spinning Top, Yajia, Cuqiu
7th 14 Firework-snatching, Pearl Ball, Cricket, Cuqiu, Wrestling, Swing,
Shuttlecock, Martial, Yajia, Dragon Boat, Archery, Spinning Top,
Equestrian, Stilt Racing
Shuttlecock, Martial, Yajia, Dragon Boat, Archery, Spinning Top, Stilt
Racing, Equestrian, Trio-board racing
Shuttlecock, Martial, Yajia, Dragon Boat, Archery, Spinning Top, Stilt
Racing, Equestrian, Trio-board racing, Bamboo Beam Boating
Note. From The 9th Games Official Website. Retrieved October 8, 2011, from http://sports.gog.
com.cn/minyh/xmzs/index.shtml&pressreleases
15
Interviewed to head-judgment of Exhibition sports Prof. Feng, ShengKang who is also a professor
in Guizhou Normal University, the date of the interview is on 12th, September, 2011 at Guizhou
Normal University.
16
Feng, S. K. (2011). Theories and methods of Guizhou Minority ethnical sports. China, Guizhou:
Guizhou Minzu. pp. 241–260.
Table 12.3 List of competitive sports in the 9th games

The first
Competitive record of the Similar events of
No. sports Game Spread Ethnics or Areas Olympic
1 Wrestling (᪄䐔) 1953/1st All of the Ethnics Wrestling
2 Equestrian (俜 1986/3rd Inner Mongolia, Xinjian, Biathlon- cross-
㺃) Tibe, Qinghai, Gansu, country skiing and
Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan rifle shooting.
3 Firework- Zhuang, Dong, Gelao Rugby
snatching (ᩦ㣡
⛞)
4 Swing (⿻ॳ) Chaoxian, Bai Gaoshani,
Naxi
5 Archery (ሴᕙ) Yi, Miao, Yao, Bouyei, Nu, Archery
Lisu, Jingpo, Derung
6 Martial (↖㺃) 1991/4th All of the ethnic minorities
Boxing
7 Cricket (ᵘ⨳) Hui Hockey, Ice hockey
8 Pearl Ball (⧽⨐ Man Basketball
⨳)
9 Dragon Boat (喽 Chuang, Miao, Dai, Bai, Rowing
㡏) Tujia
10 Spinning Top (䱰 1995/5th Yi, Chuang, Va, Yao, Miao Curling
㷪)
11 Shuttlecock (∭ Dong, Miao, Shui Volleyball
⨳)
12 Yajia (ᣬ࣐) 1999/6th Zang Tug of War
13 Cuqiu (䒤⨳) Man, Mongol, Hui Soccer
14 Stilt Racing (儈 2003/7th Miao, Tujia Track events
㞣ㄦ䙏)
15 Trio-board 2007/8th Zhuang Bobsleigh, Bobsled
racing (ᶯ䶻ㄦ
䙏)
16 Bamboo Beam 2011/9th Tujia Balance beam
Boating (⦘ㄩ
┲)
Note. From The 9th Games Official Website. Retrieved October 8, 2011, from http://sports.gog.
com.cn/minyh/xmzs/index.shtml&pressreleases
The English names of competitive sports were referred to CNTV Online NEWS and Beijing
Weekly News
(A) Categories
(a) Athletic: Have clear ethnic characteristics, are strongly contested, have
clear rules, and are easy to popularize. Both of the teams must comply with
the rules. A clear decision can be made relative to victory and defeat.
(b) Technical: There are two types in this category, Ethnic Dance and Collective
Martial. Ethnic Dance: The dance not only has elegant and synchronized
172 C. Cheng
movement and a fluency that involves music, but also has a visual appeal
as well. Collective Martial: Has 8–10 people in a team, displays their uni-
formity or their continuity of motion.
(c) Comprehensive: The performance is difficult as well as attractive and the
movement sare stable but fluid. Examples include: Climbing knife stairs
and lion dancing on a platform.
12.4 Conclusion
Over the past 50 years the Chinese National Ethnic Games have showcased the
unity and harmony of the Chinese people by showcasing sports events and colorful
performances which feature many unique traditions of the 55 ethnic minority
groups. The games have evolved into a special and fairly fixed pattern involving
opening and closing ceremonies, event contests and program performances, and
ending with a celebratory gala.
The Games have several purposed. One is to display the traditional characteris-
tics of minority ethnics in sports, and to thus avoid the disappearance of this aspect
of their traditional culture. Sports play a significant role in all countries. Traditional
ethnic sports are an important cultural tool of the Chinese Universal Ideological
State Apparatus. Several Western scholars have made great contributions to the
study of sport and ideology. However, such studies are still quite rare in China.
Harmony is an important aspect of the Chinese Communist Manifesto. The
Chinese Government specifically supports the promotion of unity and harmony
during the National Traditional Games. Thus, in the Chinese National Ethnic
Games, sports events and colorful performance events are used to showcase the
unity and harmony of the Chinese people. The main feature involves an endorse-
ment of the unique sports traditions of the 55 ethnic minority groups.
12.5 Future Research
This study is only a beginning. It would be valuable to have a much greater under-
standing of the National Traditional Games of China. In the future I will address
how regional, national, and world events have contributed to changes in the format
of The Games.
From 1st games to the 9th games, there have been a number of changes. For
example, the “ਬ㖺” (Lamb Tussling) competition only took place in the 3rd games.
After preliminary interviews, I found that there were two reasons to cancel events.
First, if the rules were unclear. Secondly, those events that was not popular for most
ethnic minorities (Feng 2011).
It was interesting to find that the firework-snatching players from the Guangdong
(ᔓᶡ) delegation wore Adidas uniform (Fig. 12.10). I doubt if they wore such
Fig. 12.10 Firework-snatching players of Guangdong (Author took this photo during firework-
snatching competition, on 13, September, 2011). The players wore Adidas uniform, but not tradi-
tional dresses
fashionable uniforms initially. It would be interesting to follow such developments

for this and other events. How did the various events change over the years and how
were the rules altered?
References
Caldwell G (1982) International sport and national identity. Int Soc Sci J 34(2):173–183
Chang RH (1953, November 9) Ethnical sports performance and athletic competition take place at
Tientsin. People News, p 1
Committee of the 3rd Game (1986) The 3rd game guidebook. Ürümchim, China
Committee of the 4th Game (1991) The 4th game report. Nanning, China
Committee of the 5th Game (1995) The 5th game report. Kunming, China
Committee of the 6th Game (1999) The 6th game report. Beijing, China
Committee of the 7th Game (2003) The 7th game report. Yinchuan, China
Committee of the 8th Game (2007) The 8th game guidebook. Guangzhou, China
Committee of the 9th Game (2011a) The 9th game guidebook. Guizhou, China
Committee of the 9th Game (2011b) The 9th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities of
the People’s Republic of China Official Website. [Official Website]. Retrieved from http://
sports.gog.com.cn/minyh/lijhg/index.shtm
Feng SK (2011) Theories and methods of Guizhou minority ethnical sports. Guizhou Minzu,
Guizhou, pp 241–260
The 8th Games Official Website. http://www.gd.xinhuanet.com/ztbd/myh8/
The people news. September, 11th, 1982
Chapter 13
Research on the Rules of Chinese
Korean Ssireum
Chang-ming Yang and Tsuneo Sougawa
Abstract China is a country that consists of 1 ethnic majority and 55 ethnic

minorities, among these ethnic minorities. Chinese Korean is an important one.
China’s Sixth National Population Census in 2010 shows that Chinese Korean has a
population of 1,830,929 in total, which is the 14th top in all ethnic minorities of
China. Each year Chinese Korean holds wrestling competitions on the Dragon Boat
Festival (on May 5th in lunar calendar) and the Mid-autumn Festival (on August
15th in lunar calendar).
Korean wrestling is a unique traditional sport invented by Korean people and its
wrestling rules experienced three big changes in history. The study in this article
aims to clarify the development context of the Korean wrestling rules and identify
its specific changes, then analyze the changing reasons and find out the influencing
factors, and finally give the advice on the future development of the rules. The
author has been to Yanji City, which is the capital of China’s Yanbian Korean
Autonomous Prefecture, and conducted a field research for three times to collect the
information on Chinese Korean wrestling in the following ways: face-to-face talk,
taking photos, shooting videos, searching the literature data and making historic
investigation, etc. This study bases on a historical and anthropological perspective
to read and make an analysis on the literature data and information relevant to the
rules of Chinese Korean wrestling.
Keywords Chinese Korean • Ssireum • Rule
C.-m. Yang (*)

e-mail: cmyang@akane.waseda.jp
T. Sougawa

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3_13
176 C.-m. Yang and T. Sougawa
13.1 Introduction
Chinese Koreans reside mainly in the three provinces: Jilin, Heilongjiang and
Liaoning. Among them, according to the sixth Chinese national census in 2010, the
ethnic Korean minority consists a population of 1,820,929; 0.1374 % of the 55 ethnic
minorities; decreased from the fifth Chinese national census and ranking 14th among
the minorities (Census of PRC 2010). There are more than one million ethnic Koreans
residing in the Jilin Province, mainly in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture.
Speaking in a traditional sense, the Chinese Korean ssireum [Chinese Pinyin: xi ri
mu] is a sport, which tests the strengths between ethnic Korean men, it is a traditional
Korean sport as well. Comparing between Chinese ethnic Korean wrestling and Korean
Peninsula wrestling, while both are very similar, each possess their own uniqueness.
“feet wrestling”[脚戏]—In regards to the origin of the name for Korean wres-
tling (Ssireum), a 1941 Korean governor-published book ‘Korea’s Folk
Entertainment’《朝鲜的乡土娱乐》 pointed out that the term Ssireum meant
wrestling. Which was also defined as “feet wrestling” [脚戏] in the ancient Korean
Peninsula, these two terms both describe the same sport. In the ancient Korean pen-
insula Gyeonggi, Chungbuk, Chungnam, Gyeonsangbuk and south Jeolla regions,
all were calling it foot wrestling; while Pyeongbuk, Hangyeong-do, Pyeongnam,
Yellow Sea and Gangwong regions use both terms interchangeably.
Korean wrestling’s name is in fact derived from the Chinese language, however
the oral phrase Ssireum actually came from its native ethnic language, as a pure and
literal meaning of Korean-wrestling, it describes a type of martial arts developed by
Koreans to battle wild beasts and other tribes (Sogawa 1995). The translation of
Ssireum, is derived from the direct pronunciation in the Korean language, but why
is it called Ssireum in Korean, further research is needed.
Whether it’s China or Korea, every year during the Dragon Boat Festival (May 5
of Lunar Calendar) and Chuseok Festival (August 15 Lunar Calendar), Koreans
hold Ssireum competitions. While in China, as policies open up after the Cultural
Revolution, in addition to Ssireum games held during traditional festivals, there
were annual Grand Ssireum assemblies in commemoration of the establishment of
Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture (around September 3rd every year).
China is a multi-ethnic country, and through the research on the rule changes of
the Chinese ethnic Korean Ssireum to observe the development of this sport,
analyzes future developmental of trends, and make recommendations for the future
growth of the Chinese ethnic Korean Ssireum.
13.2 C
hinese Ethnic Korean Minority’s Geographical
Location and Current Status
Ethnic Koreans reside in relatively wide geographical locations in China, especially

densely populated in Jilin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning Province and Inner Mongolian
Autonomous Region. The most concentrated population is in the Yanbian Korean
13 Research on the Rules of Chinese Korean Ssireum 177
Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province. The Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture

was formally established in September 3, 1952; and now has a history of 60 years.
The Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, China, is bordered
east with Russia, bordered south with Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea),
separated by only a river, to southeast is the narrow strait that separates North Korea
and Russia, and looking through the strait there is the vast Sea of Japan. Borderline
lengthens 755.2 km, with a total area of 42,700 km2, accounting for approximately
a quarter of Jilin Province. Yanji city is the capital of the prefecture (Yanji Municipal
Bureau of Statistics 2004 Yearbook (2005)).
13.3 B
irth and Changes of the Chinese Ethnic Korean
Ssireum Rules
13.3.1 Historical Background
Through a survey on the Korean Peninsula and investigation on the Chinese Yanbian
Korean Autonomous Prefecture, it is learned that until now, there are approximately
eight kinds of ssireum related sports, differences mainly involves the various
methods used to tie the wrestling belts (leg belts). However, much of materials were
lost due to information gaps as time goes by throughout the decades, therefore in
most cases the investigations were carried out through visits and information
collected from oral recounts. The Chinese ethnic Korean settlement location, the
ssireum widely passed down in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, is a
kind of ssireum utilizing leg belts and kneeling down as preparation stage, our
analysis start from here.
By visiting scholars in the Yanbian region and interviewing Korean ssireum
sport athletes, we learned ssireum’s earliest origins in history, generally thought to
be to be evolved from a game, therefore there were no standardized ruling or
organized format, at which the game can be played in the field, yard, or sand flat
ground.
In regard to the origin of the sport, the Korean Peninsula as well as the Chinese
academic world both recognize that the earliest record in existence are two wall
murals found Ji’an Cave, Jilin Province in China, painted during the Koguryo period
and named “Ssireum Illustration” in the Tomb of Wrestlers 1 (Gakjeochong) (Shao
and Liu 1986). In the depiction, there are two strong men, with their hair tied back,
naked and barefoot; dressed in a short hakama skirt, belt bundled, stand facing each
other, and assume the sumo wrestle position. Another mural discovered in the Tomb
of Wrestlers is also a depiction of ssireum wrestling during the Koguryo period
(Fig. 13.1), the mural was painted roughly around the mid-third century AD to the
fourth century in the Koguryo tombs. Two warriors can be seen fighting under the
branches of a large tree, both almost naked, sporting only shorts, established on the
right is an elderly man, white-haired and bearded, observing the two wrestlers.
Fig. 13.1 The Gakjeochong mural in Jilin Ji’an, painted in Goguryeo tombs demonstrating a ssi-
reum competition (World Ssireum Federation)
Fig. 13.2 “Ssireum
Wrestling” after the
eighteenth century (Sogawa
1995, p 65)
In regards to the Ssireum games development and expansion in the ethnic Korean
settlement in China, the first evidence discovered was a painting called “Ssireum
Wrestling” by an artist named Jinhong Dao in the eighteenth century (Fig. 13.2).
Since then it became difficult to find any more information or documentation concerning
ssireum wrestling.
In China’s Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture,1 sporting event records in

regards to ssireum first appeared after World War II, on August 16, 1949 edition of
Northeast Korean People’s Daily, the newspaper was modern day Yanbian Daily’s
predecessor. Founded in 1948, editions were published in Korean until 10 years
later; in 1958 it was officially inaugurated into Chinese language version, re-named
The Yanbian Daily.
It was written that day in the newspaper, that the first officially organized ssireum
competition since WWII that took place in Yanbian ethnic Korean region on August
15th to 17th, 1949, one of the post-war game competitions that had taken place in
Yanbian (Unknown China’s Republic Year 38, August 1). Among various game cate-
gories, through visiting the elderly who had watched that game, it is learned that the
competition teams were based on villages, rather than they are now intertwined with
festivals and spread throughout the region. The game was chosen on August 15th, a
date which also contains the meaning to memorialize the end of the war, thus it can be
said that the game was organized to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the war.
Regional sports competitions were also held in 1950, in which ssireum was
competed by individual athletes, in 1951 team ssireum competitions began.
Beginning in 1952, when the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture was
formally established, the ssireum game day would be held on September 3rd annu-
ally, aim to commemorate the establishment of Yanbian Korean Autonomous
Prefecture. And there after 1955, Prefecture-level Games would be held on August
15th, with the village-level ssireum games held on Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-
Autumn Festival.
“People’s Republic of China Regional Autonomy Rules” enacted in 1984, provides
power to ethnic minorities in China and enjoy regional autonomy. In accordance to
the ethnicities in the autonomous areas, there are three level of classifications:
autonomous region, autonomous prefecture, and autonomous county; Yanbian
ethnic Korean region is an autonomous prefecture. On December 20th, 1955,
Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture held its first People’s Congress 2nd
Meeting, this renamed Yanbian ethnic Korean Autonomous Region to Autonomous
Prefecture. The Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture will have jurisdiction over Yanji
(延吉市), Tumen (图们市), Dunhua (敦化市), Hunchun (珲春市), Longjing (龙井
市), Helong (和龙市), Wangqing (汪清市), and Antu (安图市). Yanji will be the
Prefecture’s capital (대한씨름협회 n.d.).
Autonomous Prefecture Games held can be traced back to 1962, this prefecture
wide games competition was intended to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the
autonomous prefecture’s establishment, this lasted from August 30th to September
4th, Ssireum was among the sports featured during this time. Before this, the auton-
omous prefecture had not held any major sport or culture events, this is because
since the beginning of 1959–1961, China experienced “Three years of hardship”
(Yanbian Daily 1962). These 3 years of hardship were due to the Great Leap Forward
The largest Korean settlements in China. Founded September 3, 1952.

1
The reason why the implementation of the regional autonomy policy is based on “Regional
Autonomy People’s Republic of China”.
Policy enacted by the government. The policy was aimed to shift heavy d evelopment
from agriculture to industrials, allowing China to become a major industrial country
as soon as possible, but to the newly founded republic that is not yet even 10 years
old, is unrealistic. Due to several years of unscientific regress, resulted in nation-
wide food shortage and famine. Between 1959 and 1961, there are approximately
36,020,000 people that died from famine (China Census Bureau, 1995, Beijing;
China Statistics Press, 1995, p 355, 384).
Yanbian Daily reported in details of the games on August 30, September 3rd, 4th
and the 6th respectively. On September 4th, Yanbian Daily published with “Festive
Yanji City” as its title, reported with a layout of full-page photos taken at the
Autonomous Prefecture Games festivities; of these photos, Ssireum was one of the
sports featured. On September 6th, the Yanbian Daily wrote the following on its
front page: “This Autonomous Prefecture Game started on August 30, lasted a total
of 6 days, in terms of size and number of participating athletes, is unprecedented.
Majority of the audience praised especially the traditional folk styled sports. On this
day, honorary guests and various senior officials came to congratulate our autono-
mous prefecture’s 10 year commemoration at the Game’s closing ceremony, they
together with over 30,000 spectators watched the wonderful and intense Ssireum
championship game, and photographed together with referees and elite athletes of
Ssireum and swing.” The report also described in detail the final Ssireum game, and
as it ended, the vice chairman of the Autonomous Prefecture Games announced the
successful end to the Games. Until now, the final Ssireum game is still arranged at
the opening or closing ceremony of Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture Games every
year, this demonstrates Ssireum’s significance in the ethnic Korean people’s minds.
Through interviews with the Yanbian State Sports Council officials, we learned
that in the earlier years of Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture Games, it was only held
every 5 years when there was also a commemoration celebration. Therefore, in the
following years of 1963–1967, there were no Autonomous Prefecture Games nor
Ssireum Competitions. Only in 1964, Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture’s capital
Yanji City, held a Jilin Province wrestling competition, though this was not an
ethnic Korean Ssireum competition, Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture’s athletes
were able to place 1st in 10 out of 16 categories, and of these ten 1st place winners,
five were ethnic Korean athletes.
During the decade of 1966–1976, Yanbian no longer held any sports games due
to the Cultural Revolution. During these 10 years, there were also no Ssireum
games. Only in 1975 at the end of the Cultural Revolution, China’s capital Beijing
held the Third National Game, which also included ethnic minority sports perfor-
mances. Therefore on September 14, 1975, the Yanbian Daily printed three reports
on China promoting minority sports, one of which was devoted to the Korean swing
and springboard sport, but did not mention Ssireum (Cultural Revolution, n.d.).
In 1978, from August 23rd to 26th, Yanbian held its first Autonomous Prefecture
Games since the end of the Cultural Revolution. On August 29th of 1978, the
Yanbian Daily reported the following: “prefecture-wide Ssireum games has been
held for the first time since the end of the Cultural Revolution, participating teams
include Yanji City, Yanji County, Helong, Antu, Wangqing, Hunchun, six counties
and 51 athletes in total”. The competition included Chinese styled wrestling and
ethnic Korean Ssireum; Chinese styled wrestling included weight classes of: 48 kg,
52 kg, 57 kg, 62 kg, 68 kg, 74 kg, 82 kg, and 90 kg. Ethnic Korean Ssireum weight
class included: 65 kg and below, 65–75 kg, and above 75 kg.
A truly organized and large scaled kind of Ssireum game in the Yanbian
Autonomous Prefecture was unfolded after 1949, especially in 1952 with the
establishment of Yanbian Prefecture (Janji City Census Report Year 2012 (2012)).
To commemorate the Yanbian Prefecture’s establishment, frequency of sports games
were increased, massive competitions were organized around the dates of August
15th – Victory Day and September 3rd – anniversary of the establishment of Yanbian
Autonomous Prefecture; both dates contained very strong political significance.
Yet the truly representative of the traditional Chinese festivals, those festivals in
which ethnic Koreans attach great importance to, such as Dragon Boat Festival and
Chuseok Festival, have not have any organized sporting event. These are only two
of many traditional Korean festivals, in ancient times, the people who lived the
Korean and Qing Dynasties would often hold ssireum games during these festivals. In
addition, through interviews, we learned that at that time, there were no comprehen-
sive rules or organizations for Ssireum, people just carry out Ssireum games accord-
ing to traditions left by the previous generation, game management is relatively
loose. Therefore, the situation of that time also helped to contribute to the birth of
official Ssireum rules.
13.3.2 Birth of Chinese Ethnic Korean Ssireum Rules
The Chinese ethnic Korean Ssireum rules were promoted after the Cultural
Revolution as part of policies implemented to support the ethnic minorities. In 1979,
the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture Sports Committee, Ssireum referees,
and Yanbian University athletes took counsel together on the rules of the game.
Before such event, there were not complete rule of references for Ssireum. In addi-
tion, according an interview with the Yanbian Sports Committee staff, the Chinese
ethnic Korean Ssireum rules borrowed from the Ssireum rules of the Korean
Peninsula. In 1995, the rules were modified, became almost the same as rules in
1979, however as time lapsed on, no records were preserved. At the time, ethnic
Korean communities throughout China did not have a unified Ssireum rule; therefore
such rule making standardized and unified the sport.
The Chinese ethnic Korean Ssireum rules were deeply influenced by history and
time. The current rules were created in 1979 after the Cultural Revolution, it repre-
sented that policies of ethnic minorities once again became important after the
destruction the Cultural Revolution had caused. Meanwhile, the Yanbian local
sports had re-started to develop, the Yanbian Prefecture Stadium commenced
construction in 1980, though the stadium’s plans were drawn before the Cultural
Revolution, it was affected and halted. Such a stadium can accommodate 48,000
people; at the time second largest in the nation, the largest in the Northeastern
region, finally was completed in September 1985 and put into use (Korean Ssireum
Association).
The game rules modifications in 1995 transpired after China and South Korea
established diplomatic relations in 1992, the rules were largely influenced by the
South Korean Ssireum regulations. In addition, in the late 1980s to early 1990s, sport
competitions expanded in the Yanbian region, between 1986 and 1998, Yanbian city
selected Ssireum athletes to participate in the 12th (1987), 13th (1992), and 14th
(1997) traditional sports tournament of the Yanbian Prefecture. More competitions
also contributed to the development and expansion of the ethnic Korean wrestling
regulation improvements (Census of PRC 2010).
The 2001 game rule modification aimed to apply Ssireum to become an official
national traditional ethnic minority game. Other than ssireum, swing (chinese
pinyin: Qiu Qian) and jumping board (Chinese pinyin: Tiao Ban) are also traditional
Korean sports, however these two sports are not related to this thesis, they are not
included in the research area, therefore no further explanations will be provided.
Ssireum, an important component of the ethnic Korean traditional sport has still not
joined the ranks of the Traditional Minority National Games, due to this, all levels
of the Yanbian Prefecture government worked hard to achieve, and finally in 2004
ethnic Korean wrestling became an official sport, and formally debuted during the
8th Traditional Minority National Games in 2007 (PRC Affairs).
13.3.3 Chinese and Korean Ssireum Rules in Contrast
Ground
1979 rules and 2001 rules, the venue of the central location of the circle diameter of
8 m, in 2001 the rules of the game more attention to the security of laps in the sand
thickness is 70 cm, set up a 1.5-m-wide protected area (Ssireum-jang, n.d.) (the
protection prevents a thletes from falling out of the wrestling ground and acciden-
tally injuring themselves), while in 1995 the rules in the sand thickness is 50 cm,
and no protected areas (Fig. 13.3) (Compilation of Committee Chronicles of Yanbian
Autonomous Prefecture 1996).
Fig. 13.3 Shape and dimensions of the Ssireum ring (Chinese Ethnic Korean Ssireum Rules 2001)
Fig. 13.4 Shape and dimensions of the Ssireum Belt (Chinese Ethnic Korean Ssireum Rules 2001)
Wrestling Belt
1979 Rules leg straps (or wrestling belt, because in 1979 the wrestling belt was
wrapped around the thigh, while the wrestling belt was simultaneously tied around
the waist as well as thigh) textile products already exist, the length according to
weight different players, so there is no uniform requirement. 1995 as specified in the
rules of a different color leg straps is 2.5 m long made of cotton. 2001 rules set forth
in the leg with a length of 3.2 m long red or blue cotton belt (Compilation of
Committee Chronicles of Yanji City 1986–2000 (2003)).
Here, you need to pay attention to it, in 1995 the corresponding rules of wrestling
with the name “leg straps”, the rules in 2001 to become “wrestle with”, this is
because wrestling belt usage has changed, so from the title make adjustments on
(Satba, n.d.). For the use of wrestling, in 1995 there is no rule in the narrative
detailed rules in 2001 (Fig. 13.4).
Clothing
1979 The rules allow athletes can wear sleeveless tops and trousers, not wear shoes,
the body does not allow metal and hard objects. 1995 rule allows athletes to play the
game you want to wear a vest on the wrestling mat game can wear wrestling shoes
or sneakers in the game are not allowed to wear shoes on the sand (Bokjang
(Uniform) n.d.). 2001 rules for the upper body naked, requirements do not allow
shoes, pets, nor accessories.
Competition Scoring (Table 13.1)
Athletes’ Rights
In the 1979 and 1995 rules, there were no specified rights conferred to athletes.
The 2001 rules described appeals and forfeits in a separate chapter.
Table 13.1 1979, 1995, 2001 competition weight class comparisons

Year 1979 1995 2001
Under 60 Kg 52 Kg Class under 52 Kg (Including 52 Kg)
Above 60–65 Kg 57 Kg Class under 62 Kg (Including 62 Kg)
Above 65–70 Kg 62 Kg Class under 74 Kg (Including 74 Kg)
Weight class Above 70–75 Kg 74 Kg Class under 87 Kg (Including 87 Kg)
Above 75 Kg 90 Kg Above 87 Kg
Note: Arranged & assorted from the Chinese Ethnic Korean Ssireum Rules
13.3.4 C
hinese Ethnic Korean Ssireum Technical Rule
Changes
The 1979 rules and 1995 rules dictate that both players each have their right knees
touch the ground, right hands on their other persons shoulder, with their left hands
over each other’s leg belts; preparing to start together, both athletes then get ready
prepare for action, the referee signals start.
The 2001 rules regulates that, both knees must kneel to the floor, with the athlete’s
right hand holding competitor player’s belt, his left hand holding the competitor
player’s leg belt, stand up after knees touch ground, wait for the referee to signal,
and finally start the game.
Comparing the three rules against each other, contents are largely the same, with
the 1995 and 2001 rules written more in detail than 1979s rules.
13.3.5 Factors Influencing Ssireum’s Changes
Self-Development
China’s ethnic Koreans are spread out in different regions throughout the country,
due to the historical development and cultural differences amongst the various
regions; especially during the Cultural Revolution, from a historical perspective, it
is immensely difficult to unify a single set of rules under the circumstances.
China’s sports development policy is predominately led by government depart-
ments, by updating ssireum’s game rules, is to both improve the quality of this
traditional game, but also help ethnic Korean traditions to achieve more in future.
Chinese ethnic Korean minority is a people that migrated from the Korean Peninsula
to China, although it is an autonomous region, but it is also influenced by other
ethnic cultures, which in turn objectively weakened Korean culture including
ssireum. In order to continue the cultural heritage of the ethnic Korean people, and
to showcase the ethnic Korean culture to more people, therefore, revisions to incomplete
rules of ssireum are needed.
Chinese ethnic Korean ssireum sport was influenced by Chinese-style wrestling,

in which it borrowed techniques from Chinese wrestling; thus Chinese ethnic
Korean ssireum wrestling ground also differs from the Korean Peninsula styled
ssireum wrestling ground.
I nfluence the Korean Ssireum Association Has on the Chinese

Ethnic Korean Ssireum
South Korea is a generally homogenous nation, and the Chinese ethnic Koreans
migrated from the Korean Peninsula; Koreans from both nations share similar life-
style and culture. With the Korean World Wrestling Association being the most
authoritative organization in Ssireum the sport in South Korea can be said is more
professional.
In 1992, People’s Republic of China and South Korea officially established
diplomatic relations, and with this establishment, the two nations increased
communication and exchange; as Chinese ethnic Koreans and South Koreans com-
munications increase, exchange of ideas in Ssireum also increased in popular ethnic
Korean culture (Jin 2003). Through author’s interview with a wrestling coach in a
Yanbian gymnastic academy, after the 1990s, in order to integrate Ssireum better
into the international sporting field, Chinese ethnic Korean Ssireum members
increased communication with Korean Ssireum, however due to the difference in
regulation and technical levels between the two nations, and the fact that South
Korea was more advanced in both regulation and skill level, with the emphasis on
personal safety and development in mind, therefore to further the Korean Ssireum’s
future and growth, Chinese ethnic Korean Ssireum decided to derive from the
Korean model, and thus revised the rules in 1995.
The 1995 rules determined that the wrestling circle’s diameter must be 9 m long,
however in 2001, the revised rules changed the circle diameter into 8 m, which is
now the same standards as those marked by the Korean Ssireum Association as well
as the World Ssireum League’s rules, now all possess the same wrestling circle size
and diameter.
In the 2001 revised rules, the sand arena’s height was measured 70 cm, and
protection zone widths 1.5 m, the same as deemed by Korean Ssireum Association
as well as international Ssireum community. The most important item – the wrestling
belt, changed from leg belt to a tie that wraps the waist as well as the leg, the
function of this item, which represents the traditional Korean sport, has changed,
and this change was borrowed from the Korean Ssireum model. Of course, the
change mentioned here describes the change function of the wrestling band, because
Chinese ethnic Korean and Korean peninsula is in fact one ethnicity, therefore the
wrestling band used by ssireum has existed since ancient times; in this paper, we did
not focus in depth of the origins of the wrestling band, but instead will research
further the origin of ethnic Korean styled ssireum. Seventeen changes were made as
the skill levels of athletes were raised, stemmed from increasing level of danger
present, to better protect the athlete, as well as increasing the aesthetic features of
the sport. In contrast, Korean Ssireum’s rules are considerably more detailed than
Chinese ethnic Korean Ssireum’s, this is mainly due to the gap on the prevalence
and popularity level of the sport.
After the rules were revised in 2001, the wooden sand altar’s height became
70 cm and protection area 1.5 m wide, for both Korean Ssireum Association and
World Ssireum Federation. Most importantly, the wrestling band changed from a
leg band to a wrestling band which wraps around both leg as well as waist. The
special item distinct for this era’s ethnic Korean wrestling changed, and this change
was inspired by Korean ssireum style. With this change, athletes performance
levels increased, dangerous levels during competition increased as well; and to
better protect the athletes as well as enhancing the visual aesthetics of the sport,
changes were made. In comparison, Korean ssireum rules were much more detailed
than Chinese ethnic Korean ssireum rules, this is mainly due to the fact that there is
still a gap between Korean and Chinese ethnic Korean ssireum’s overall level of
development and skill level.
13.4 C
urrent Status of the Chinese Ethnic Korean
Ssireum Development
Through the three field investigations in September & October 2012 and January
2013 in Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture, data was collected in regards to the cur-
rent development.
Even since Korean Ssireum officially entered the National Traditional Minority
Games in 2007 as a sport, it can be said that Ssireum has entered the height of its
history. Yanbian though considered peripheral region, the prefecture’s capital Yanji
City is abundant in tourism resources, and under the enthusiastic support of the local
government, traditional ethnic minority themed tourism became the region’s business
card, combining with Korean folk sports projects carried out, tourism steadily
increases, providing external conditions favorable to Ssireum and a fantastic
opportunity to grow.
Ssireum is a non-olympic game, and according to Chinese athletic classification
system, ethnic sport athletes are not regulated by this classification system. In China,
to have an athletic class signifies the athlete can easily enter university. Because some
Chinese universities have individual power to accept students, therefore according
to university’s own needs, will develop special enrollment rules, such as accepting
athletes who have competed internationally or nationally. But due to current
regulations, ethnic Korean ssireum athletes who reach a certain age and cannot
professionally compete anymore, this will create a problem for the athlete’s future.
One of which is the difficulty to continue his education, another is administrative
departments have not established any comprehensive social security systems.
Therefore many athletes who are near the age of professional retirement, will not
continue their gymnastic training. As a result, the later stages of this sport, athletes
shift their attention to their own future developments, and neglected training.
13.4.1 Insufficient Reserve Base
Since the beginning of 1991, total population of the ethnic Korean minority in Yanji
city has been decreasing, from 1991s 60.80 % decreased to 2011s 57.65 %, a
decrease of 2.25 %. This population decline inevitably affects the youth athlete’s
talent reserve pool.
13.4.2 Lack of Social Security System for Current Athletes
Since Ssireum is a non-Olympic sport, according to current Chinese athletes’

classification level policies, ethnic minority athletes are not subject to such classification
system. In addition, to receive a level on such system in China indicates successful
entrance to university, because some Chinese universities have independent rights
to accept students, therefore these universities will recruit students will special
circumstances according to the university’s need, such as accepting an athlete with
international or national record of accomplishment. However, due to the current
athlete management system, if ethnic Korean Ssireum athletes cannot continue to
practice the sport professionally, the athlete’s future outlook becomes problematic:
on one hand it becomes difficult to continue receiving education; on other hand the
government has yet to establish a functioning social security system, as more
athletes reach the age of retirement, they will not engage in additional physical
trainings, therefore the ending the participation of this sport, shifting their attention
to own future and thus neglecting their training.
13.4.3 Systematic Problem of Training and Management
While interviewing the staff of the Yanbian Sports Bureau, it is learned that
South Korea possesses a complete and mature training routine for their Ssireum
athletes, such routine is regulated and systematic; however in China, the Ssireum
athletes’ training are still mainly concentrated training, similar to tournament
management, which means, only when there is a tournament in plan, then there will
be a concentrated training, once tournament ends the training decreases, some even
dissolute the team until the next concentrated meet; such kind of training and
management limits the development of the sport greatly.
References
Bokjang (Uniform) (n.d.) 대한씨름협회. Retrieved November 17, 2013, from http://ssireum.
sports.or.kr/english/page.htm?mnu_siteid=eng&mnu_uid=299&
Compilation of Committee Chronicles of Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture (1996) Zhonghua Book
Company, Beijing, p 138
Compilation of Committee Chronicles of Yanji City 1986–2000 (2003) Zhonghua Book Company,
Beijing, p 741
Cultural Revolution (n.d.) Party history channel. Retrieved November 17, 2013, from http://dang-
shi.people.com.cn/n/2012/0912/c348858-18989113.html
Janji City Census Report Year 2012 (2012) Yanbian University Publishing House, Yanji, p 48
Jin Z (2003) Search on the Development of Chinese Korean Ssireum. University of Tsukuda
Sports Faculty, 1, 34
Satba (n.d.) 대한씨름협회. Retrieved November 17, 2013, from http://ssireum.sports.or.kr/eng-
lish/page.htm?mnu_siteid=eng&mnu_uid=298&
Shao W, Liu N (1986) Zhongguo gu dai ti yu = sports in ancient China (Di 1 ban. ed.). Zhongguo
tu shu qi kan zhong xin, Hong Kong, pp 79–80
Sogawa T (1995) Sumo no jinruigaku (Shohan. ed.). Taishukan Shoten, Tokyo, p 65
Ssireum-jang (n.d.) 대한씨름협회. Retrieved November 17, 2013, from http://ssireum.sports.
or.kr/english/page.htm?mnu_siteid=eng&mnu_uid=297&
Tabulation on the 2010 Population Census of the People’s Republic of China (n.d.) Census of The
People’s Republic of China. Retrieved November 17, 2013, from http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/
pcsj/rkpc/6rp/indexch.htm
Unknown (China’s Republic Year 38, August 1) Northeastern Ethnic Korean People’s Daily,
pp 1–4
Yanbian Daily (1962, September 6). 1279. Yanbian Daily, p 1
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Yanji Municipal Bureau of Statistics 2004 Yearbook (2005) Jilin Province People’s Publishing
House, Changchun, p 100
대한씨름협회 (n.d.) Contemporary Ssireum. Retrieved November 17, 2013, from http://ssireum.
sports.or.kr/english/page.htm?mnu_siteid=eng&mnu_uid=295&#contemporary
Chapter 14
An Analysis of the Organization, Management
and Policy of the Beijing Olympic Games
Shuying Yuan
Abstract The Olympic Games provide the host city with a wonderful opportunity
to showcase their glorious achievements. The planning period is valuable for the
establishment of a sound scheme of urban planning. This provides guidelines for
the city’s general development and is a good way to avoid the risks that accrue to
hosting the Olympic Games.
The experience of Beijing Olympic Games indicates that efficient organization
and management as well as a suitable policy and system are critical for the success
of a major sport event. This chapter is a summary of the organizational and manage-
ment policies relating to the Beijing Olympic Games. It is hoped that this summary
will be of great theoretical significance and practical value.
Keywords Beijing Olympic Games • Organization • Management • Policy
14.1 Introduction
In 1908, the Tianjin Youth Magazine posed three questions: (1) when would China
send an athlete to the Olympic Games; (2) when would China send a sports team to
the Olympic Games and (3) when would China host the Olympic Games? These
questions represented one aspect of the aspiration of China to integrate into the
world and inspired the Chinese people to start their pursuit of one of their dreams.
After 100 years, the Olympic Games finally came to Beijing. As the capital of
China, Beijing is the center of national politics and culture. It contains many
treasures of great significance to the 5,000 year history of China as well as the
history of the entire world’s civilization. On August 8, 2008, when Olympic flame
was lit in the Beijing National Stadium, the modern Olympic Movement finally
embraced China.
‘New Beijing, Great Olympics’ was the slogan proposed when Beijing bid for
the 29th Olympic Games. The ‘New’ concept gave more meaning and set higher
S. Yuan (*)
e-mail: ysyydynl@ruri.waseda.jp

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3_14
190 S. Yuan
requirements for the Beijing Olympic Games. After the Games, Beijing Organizing
Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) received a high evaluation from the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Sports Federations.
President Jacques Rogge praised the Beijing Olympic Games as bring “truly excep-
tional”. These accolades validate the success of the organization and management
work (The 29th Olympic Games Organizing Committee 2010). Therefore, summarizing
and studying the organizational experiences and policies of Beijing Olympic Games
has both theoretical importance and practical value.
14.2 The Organizational Features and Management System

of the Beijing Olympic Games
The BOCOG was established on December 13, 2001, and placed in charge of the
organization and operational work for the Beijing Olympic Games. The main tasks
were: determination of important matters including personnel appointment; arrange-
ments and supervision for the preparation work of different phases; relationship
coordination with IOC and other Coordinating Committees including submitting
preparation reports to the IOC; regular reports on work progress to the central
government.
The BOCOG utilized previous experience with such work in China to establish
five guiding principles: opening, innovation, economizing, cleaning and participation.
The main characteristics of the Beijing Olympic Games’ organizational work were:
(1) Taking full advantage of the top priority the Chinese government gave to
organizing the Beijing Olympic Games. (2) Utilizing the widespread support,
positive input, devotion and enthusiasm of the public for the Olympic Movement.
Public approval ratings of the games held firm at above 90 % during the entire
preparation period for the Beijing Olympic Games. (3) Being aware of the importance
of marketing, and to this end utilizing innovative systems and novel operational
techniques. (4) Taking into account the social and economic stimulation the games
would provide for Beijing and other involved cities.
According to the requirements of the IOC, for the olympic events and with reference
to general international standards, BOCOG built an events management system as
well as systems to establish responsibility and make evaluations. Work plans and
performance reports were made monthly, quarterly and yearly. Concurrently, an
approval process for task or program was created to avoid or reduce risks caused by
plan alterations. A Venue Management Department, responsible for documenting
the quality of the various stadiums, was established to analyze potential problems
and give advice. A Planning Department, in charge of collecting and organizing
performance reports of important procedures, would analyze and evaluate the
reports, give advice, and report to the IOC.
14 An Analysis of the Organization, Management and Policy… 191
14.3 Policy Guarantees of the Beijing Olympic Games
On July 13, 2001, Beijing won the bid for the 29th Olympic Games. In the same
year, the BOCOG was established and, in coordination with Beijing Municipal
Government, formulated the complex but necessary measures to ensure the success
of the Beijing Olympic Games.
14.3.1 Action Plan Policy
In August 2001, the BOCOG together with the Beijing Municipal Government
began compiling the Beijing Olympic Action Plan. This plan was announced to the
public on March 28, 2002, and over the course of 2 months elicited over 3,000
suggestions from both home and abroad. This led to a modified Beijing Olympic
Action Plan which was officially published on July 13, 2002. This Plan was composed
of an overall strategy, the construction of venues and relevant facilities, ecological
environmental and city infrastructure construction needs, social environment
construction plans and a strategy of guarantees. The overall tactic involved three
phases: an early preparation period (from December 2001 to June 2003), an overall
construction period (from July 2003 to June 2006), and an operation improvement
period (from July 2006 to 2008).
The Plan refined the contract bidding promise and included it in the overall strategy.
It also presented clear targets and specific requirements for various critical needs,
such as those of venues, environment, transportation and information. The publica-
tion of the Plan marked the time when Beijing entered a rapid development period
featuring the olympics.
14.3.2 Tax Support Policy
During the period from 2003 to 2008, in order to provide tax support to constructors
and participants of Olympic Games, the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration
of Taxation, and the General Administration of Customs introduced several prefer-
ential tax policies. On January 22, 2003, the State Administration of Taxation and
the General Administration of Customs issued a Notice on Taxation Policies
Concerning the 29th Olympic Games. They proposed duty-free measures for TV
broadcast rights income as well as Olympic Partner income (including money and
goods). On September 30, 2006, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration
of Taxation issued a Supplementary Notice on Taxation Policies Concerning the
29th Olympic Games. They proposed many duty-free measures related to the Beijing
Paralympics (Jianren Li 2009). These policies not only conformed to international
practice but also promoted smooth progress for the preparatory work of the Beijing
Olympic Games.
192 S. Yuan
Using the Notice about Taxation Policies for the 29th Olympic Games as an
example, I will briefly analyze the Beijing Olympic Games tax benefit policies.
“The main aim of the notice was to support the development of the olympic move-
ment so as to ensure success for the 29th Olympic Games”. There were two sub-
goals. A short-term sub-goal to successfully host the 29th Olympic Games
successfully and a second long-term sub-goal of supporting the development of the
olympic movement. The legislative attitude toward the short term goal was low-key
and pragmatic, while the attitude toward the long-term goal was much more
high-profile.
14.3.3 Environment Protection Policy
The Green Olympics was one of the three main concepts of the Beijing Olympic
Games. The green concept emphasized the principle of sustainable development,
which was interpreted to mean that all activities concerning the olympics should be
harmonious with nature. The Green Olympics concept combined facility construction
with protection of the natural Environmental concerns were mentioned in the
Candidature File for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games when it was noted that at
the time of the olympics, the environmental quality of Beijing will approach that of
cities in developed countries (Baoli Sun 2004).
In early 2004, the BOCOG issued the BOCOG Environmental Guidelines of
Environment Management System, in which the BOCOG promised that during the
preparation and holding of the Olympic Games, all the activities concerning
the Olympics would abide by the concept of sustainable development. The broad
influence of the Olympic Movement would be used to carry out public education
activities on environmental protection. After the Olympics, a rich legacy of environ-
ment protection would be left to benefit Beijing, China and the rest of the world.
In addition to Guidelines, the BOCOG issued a series of measures and policies
such as the Green Environmental Protection Guide, the Environmental Protection
Guide for Restaurants, and the Environmental Protection Guide for Transportation.
These guides required the above industries to meet Environmental Protection
Standards. Moreover, the BOCOG also developed a work program entitled Smoke-
Free Beijing Olympic Games, which was designed to realize the promise of a smoke-
free and green Olympic Games of the original bid. (Bid Committee for Beijing 2008
Olympic Games 2001).
14.3.4 Food Safety Policy
A food safety policy was instituted to safeguard the health of the players and spectators.
This included instituting a new standardizing and monitoring system for food
preparation. After winning the bid for the 2008 Olympic Games, the Chinese
government began to attach more importance to food safety. In 2004, the State
Council issued Decisions on Further Enhancement of Food Safety and the State
Council produced a Special Rectification Work Plan on Food Safety. On April 29,
2006, the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People’s Congress of China
passed a Quality and Safety Law of Agricultural Products to be valid on November
1. This law was aimed at guaranteeing the health of the public and assuring safe
agricultural practices (Jiewen Bai 2009).
Besides national policies, the governments of the host city and co-host cities also
passed detailed and forward-looking laws and regulations. In Beijing for example,
in 2003, the Beijing municipal government issued the Beijing Food Inspection
Provision which announced that the food market access system would be put into
practice. In September, 2005, the Beijing Food Safety Office issued the Executive
Summary of Food Safety for the period of the Beijing Olympic Games. This act
made detailed regulations regarding material supply, dynamic monitoring of food
supply factories, access conditions of food service and risk control measures which
varied according to the scale of the games, location of the venues and required
quantity. In November 2007, the Beijing People’s Congress passed the Beijing Food
Safety Regulations, to be valid on January 1, 2008. This was the first local law
concerning food safety in China. The series of food safety laws and regulations that
were passed for the Beijing Olympic Games built a protective net of food security
during Olympic Games, and gave the food safety system legal support as well as
putting into place sound practices.
14.4 Transportation Planning Experiences of Beijing

Olympic Games
After 7 years of effort, the transportation system in place for the Beijing Olympic
Games earned high praise from both international athletes and spectators. The
system was established according to the following principles: ‘Environment
Preferred, Transportation Reliable, Government Lead, Public Involved and Fairness
Showed’. These principles emanated from a cooperative effort that included the
Beijing Municipal Government, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Transport
and Environment Protection Department. The system was termed the Beijing Traffic
Guarantee Program and was design to ensure smooth traffic during Olympic Games
while minimizing the impact on residents’ daily trips and air quality from automo-
tive emissions (Shulin Wang 2008).
In addition to reducing the total number of vehicles, Beijing built a traffic contact
team in order to guarantee the provision of production materials and supplies critical
for life. The measures all worked in concert to ensure smooth traffic and good air
quality during the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympics.
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14.5 Human Resource Management of the Beijing Olympic

Games – Volunteers
In the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, volunteer representatives

walked onto the stage, accepting bouquets from the International Olympic
Committee. In this way, the IOC showed their appreciation towards the volunteers’
contributions and hard work. President Rogge said, ‘As we turn Olympic dreams
into reality, we must thank the self-giving volunteers, without whom none of this
would be possible.’ Therefore, a study on the human resource management of
volunteers of the Beijing Olympic Games will provide a valuable reference point
for the use of volunteers management in big events of the future.
The organization and management of volunteers for the Beijing Olympic Games
was headed by the BOCOG. Its title was the Beijing Olympic Games Volunteer
Work Coordination Group and Training Work Coordination Group and involved a
huge, complex network. Between July 1, 2008 and October 5, 1.7 million Olympic
volunteers’ worked hard enough to accumulate more than 0.2 billion hours. The
management of volunteer workers of the Beijing Olympic Games will be divided
into, and analyzed from, three aspects: recruitment, training and stimulation.
14.5.1 Recruitment
The goal of volunteer recruitment for Beijing Olympic Games was to: select suffi-
cient high-quality volunteers to provide an abundant human resource; build a volun-
teer resource and management system so as to provide a solid foundation for the
development of a professional, international volunteer team.
Recruitment Principles
(a) focus on the development of volunteering
(b) represent universality, representativeness and professionalism
(c) openness, competition and selecting the best
(d) people-oriented
(e) security
Guidelines
(a) focused and priority for the difficult
(b) efficient, convenient and overall consideration
(c) adapt to demand and scientific selection
Policy
1. Basic requirements
(a) attend the service voluntarily
(b) born prior to (and on) June 30, 1990 and healthy
(c) abide by China’s laws and regulations
(d) be able to participate in the pre-Games training and related activities
(e) be able to serve consecutively for more than 7 days during the Games
(f)native Chinese volunteers have basic foreign language communication ability
and foreign volunteers have basic Chinese communication ability
(g) professional knowledge and skills necessary for the service.
2. Rights and obligations
A. Rights
(a) to understand the policy of volunteer work
(b) to express the willing before being assigned to a post
(c) to have the basic work safeguard
(d) to maintain the legitimate rights
(e) to be entitled to participate in volunteer appraisal and citation
(f) to give suggestions toward voluntary work
(g) to quit the voluntary work
B. Obligations
(a) to abide by the Olympic Charter, Paralympics Charter and promote
Olympic Spirit
(b) to abide by BOCOG’s policies and regulations
(c) to carry out the commitment
(d) to complete the related trainings
(e) to be subject to the arrangements of BOCOG
(f) to be subject to BOCOG’s arrangement and perform the tasks seriously
(g) to be subject to the management of the team during the service.
3. Procedure
A. The main procedure includes: application, material review, interview, test,
position assignment, background check and acceptance notification.
B. BOCOG recruited volunteers several times and announced the first volunteer
team in August 2007. The entire recruitment phase was completed in May
2008.
14.5.2 Training
A high-quality team of volunteers was deemed essential to smooth operation the

games. Quality training was seen as necessary for the volunteers to adapt to their
work as well as to the environment.
196 S. Yuan
Training Contents
A. General Training: basic Olympic knowledge, brief introduction of Beijing

Olympic Games and Paralympics, Chinese history and traditional culture, his-
tory and cultural life of Beijing, knowledge and skills necessary for the disabled
service, etiquette norm, medical knowledge and first-aid skills.
B. Professional Training: professional knowledge and skills in certain voluntary
work.
C. Venue Training: venue functions, knowledge of sports held in the venue, inter-
nal facilities, organizational structure and rules and regulations.
D. Job Training: job responsibilities, specific tasks, procedures and operation
specification.
Training Method
The training of the Beijing olympic volunteers involved a comprehensive and sys-
tematic procedure, and thus multiple types of training were needed.
A. Long-distance Training: online training, media training and correspondence
training.
B. Face-to-face Training: according to the goal and actual condition, the training
content was divided into several courses based on colleges and professional
training organizations.
C. Practical Training: charitable activities, thematic activities and competitions.
14.5.3 Stimulation and Care
Sticking to the principle of ‘people-oriented’, Beijing Olympic volunteer work

regarded the participation of volunteers as a process of quality and ability improve-
ment. During the voluntary service, the volunteers’ lawful rights would be main-
tained, their wishes and work would be respected and there were many ways to
stimulate their initiative, and creation of a sense of achievement including spiritual
encouragement and material reward.
A. Work Security
(a) Accreditation card
(b) Uniform and equipment
(c) Meals during service hours
(d) Free public transportation in certain areas
(e) Personal accident insurance during work period.
B. Awards
(a) Volunteer service certificates and badges
(b) Honorary titles of Excellent Volunteers, teams and organizations
(c) Olympic souvenirs based on service hours and performance
(d) Commemorative facilities after the Olympic Games.
C. Reasonable Post Setting
According to international practice and actual condition of Beijing, BOCOG set
up positions reasonably and provided valuable work experiences for volunteers,
so that their missions and duties confirmed to their identities and backgrounds.
D. Training and Supervision of Management Staff
BOCOG attached great importance to the training and supervision of the man-
agement staff so that they would respect and encourage volunteers in their work.
14.6 Conclusion
The production and management of the Beijing Olympic Games illustrates that a
combination of outstanding organization, good management, effective policies, and
appropriate regulations and measures are important ingredients for the success of
big events. By making a great effort, Beijing left a beautiful and colorful memory
for the world while the Olympic Games left Beijing with a precious heritage which
will be appreciated and developed further by succeeding generations of Chinese
people.
References
Baoli Sun (2004) Analysis on the three concept of Beijing Olympic Games [J]. Soc Sci Beijing
1(28):07
Bid Committee for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (2001) Beijing Olympic Games candidature file
[M]. Olympic Publishing Company, 5:16
Jianren Li (2009) Preferential tax policy of Beijing Olympic Games. Sports Sci 30(5):16
Jiewen Bai (2009) Food safety policy of Beijing Olympic Games and the influence on animal
husbandry of China [J]. China Anim Health 3:145–146
Shulin Wang (2008) The application and evaluation of transportation demand management policy
in Beijing Olympic Games [J]. J Transp Syst Eng Inform Technol 8(6):123
The 29th Olympic Games Organizing Committee (2010) Beijing Olympic Games final report [M].
Beijing Sport University Press, Beijing
Index
A C
Affordable price, 34 China’s Yanbian Korean Autonomous
Anonymous interactions, 38–39 Prefecture
Aquatic programs, 37 formal establishment, 179
Asia, 159 Chinese and Japanese spectators, 58
Athletes’ awareness of the Chinese and Korean ssireum
environment, 13 contrast, 182–184
Athletic category, exhibition rules
sports, 170, 171 athletes’ rights, 183–184
Attachment, city, 55 clothing, 183
Attendance competition scoring, 183–184
constraints, 66 ground, 182
sport marketing, 64 wrestling belt, 183
Chinese ethnic Korean minority
current status, 176–177
B Chinese ethnic Korean ssireum
Basic Act on Sport, 128 changes, 184–186
Beijing, 167 considered peripheral region, 186
Beijing Olympic Games current athletes, 187
human resource management current status, 186–187
policy, 194–195 development, 186–187
recruitment guidelines, 194 Korean Ssireum Association, 185–186
stimulation and care, 196–197 management, 187
training, 195–196 self-development, 184–185
organizational features and management training, 187
system, 190, 197 Chinese Ethnic Korean Ssireum Rules
policy guarantees, 197 birth, 181–182
action plan policy, 191 Chinese Korean ssireum, 176
environment protection policy, 192 Chinese Super League (CSL), 52
food safety policy, 192–193 Citizen sport engagement, 31–32
tax support policy, 191–192 Club performance, 115–125
regulations and measures, 197 Club wage, 115–125
transportation planning, 193 Commemoration celebration, 180
Brand community, 91 Communicational opportunities, 44

DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55324-3
200 Index
Community sport clubs (CSC) F

access, 41 Fan community
convenient place, 41 engagement, 99
management, 41 identification, 96
Community sport facilities, 34 Financial and administrative
Competitive sports, 170 support, 43
Comprehensive category, exhibition sports, Financial resources, 42
170–172 Forging, 44
Comprehensive community sport clubs F-test, 120
(Sougougatachiiki supotsu kurabu,
CSC), 31
Constraints G
attendance, 66 Globalization, 75, 76, 85
Consumer’s decision making behavior, 62 Global Sports Alliance (GSA), 7, 8
Contingent valuation method (CVM), 128, Government agencies, 42–43
129, 133, 135–136, 141, 143 Ground golf, 40
Cooperative organization of CSC, 42 Guangzhou, 167
Cooperative relationships, 43 Guiyang, 169
Corporate ability (CA), 104, 106–107 Gymnastic programs, 40
Corporate social responsibility (CSR), 4, 5,
13, 104, 106–107
Crisis damage minimization framework, 107 H
Crisis response strategies, 108, 109 Harmonious national society, 161
CSR marketing, 5 Harmony, 172
Cultural Revolution, 162, 180 Hausman test, 120
Customer delight, 22–27 Healing arts, 159
Customer delight and satisfaction model, Health tourism, 150, 152
23–25 Hohhot, 163
D I
Decision-making process, 63 Independent variables, 118
Declaration of Alma-Ata, 155 Insurance-like protection, 108
Delight scene, 25, 27 Interdependence, cooperation, and
Demographic variables, 68 confrontation (ICC), 43
Dependent variable, 118 Intergenerational communication, 35
Interpersonal interaction quality, 36
Intimate with nature, 41
E
Elite athletes, 128, 132, 138, 142–144
Elite sport ministries and organizations, 143 J
Elite sport policy, 127–144 Japanese professional football (J-LEAGUE),
Elite sport success, 127–128, 138, 141–143 116–118, 124, 125
Emotional involvement, 10–13 Japan Olympic Committee (JOC), 6
Environmental attitudes, 7 Japan Triathlon Union (JTU), 6, 8
Environmental awareness, 6 J2-League, 53
Ethnic sports, 170
Ethnic sports investigation conference,
162–163 K
Exhibition sports Korean Ssireum Association, 185–186
athletic category, 170, 171 Korean wrestling rules, 175
technical category, 170–172 Kunming, 166
Index 201
L Situational crisis communication

La Liga, 116 theory (SCCT), 107
Leisure sport organizations, 33 Social media, 81–85
Social networks, 35
Spa, 151–153
N Spa therapy, 157
Namzning, 164 Specialization, 7–10
The National Ethnic Sports Performance Spectators
and Athletics Games, 162 Chinese and Japanese, 58
National unity, 163 emotion, 21, 27
Non-profit organizations, 34 personal identification, 53
Numerous sport programs, 38 Sport fan community, 91
Sport fans, 90
Sport health tourism, 150
O Sport marketing, 81, 85
Oliver, R.L., 22 attendance, 64
Outdoor recreational activities, 7, 8 Sports
environment, 31
and ideology, 161
P instructors, 44
Panel data, 120 resources, 34
Participants service, 36
evaluation, 35 sponsorship, 76–85
motivation, 44 Sport spectators
needs, 44 motives, 47–58
older, 33 Standard deviation, 124
satisfaction, 44 Strategic decisions, 43
Personal identification, spectator, 53
Pre-established harmony delight
experience, 27–28 T
Premier league, clubs, 116 Team attachment, 51, 55–56
Pro-environmental actions, 11 Team identification, 55–57
Pro-environmental behavior, 4, 6–14 Technical category, exhibition sports, 170–172
Promoting city’s development, 39 Thai health tourism industry, 155
Promotion of the health, 39 Thailand, 150, 155
Psychological continuum model (PCM), 69 Thai massage, 150, 155, 157, 159
Psychological effect, 27, 28 Thai Massage Revival Project, 156
Public goods, 129 Thainess, 156
Public sport facilities, 34 Thai Spa, 158
Thai Style Spas, 157
Tientsin, 162
Q Traditional healing arts, 155
Quality of the programs, 44 Traditional medicine practitioners, 155
Trail running, 8, 12, 13
Triathlons, 8–13
R
Revival of Thai massage, 156
Rust, R.T., 22 U
Unified, ethnic sports culture, 161
The United Nations Environment Program
S (UNEP), 6, 7
SCCT. See Situational crisis communication Urban-rural differences, 36
theory (SCCT) Ürümchi, 164
202 Index
V Wellness tourism, 150

Value of sports, 13 Willingness to pay (WTP), 127–144
Virtual advertising, 76, 79–81 Wrestling belts, various
methods, 177
W
Walking courses, 37 Y
Watching sport, 17, 20–28 Yinchuan, 167

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Kazuyuki Kanosue Editor in Chief

Kohei Kogiso • Daichi Oshimi

Sports Management and

ISBN 978-4-431-55323-6 ISBN 978-4-431-55324-3 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015938578

Springer Tokyo Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London

Printed on acid-free paper

Springer Japan KK is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

Program Leader Kazuyuki Kanosue

sports-related organizations or people effectively, how to stimulate the global or

Tokyo, Japan Kohei Kogiso

Part I Sports Management

Part II Sports Economics and Policy

10 Socio-psychological Factors Associated with

Part III Sports Humanities

Index ................................................................................................................. 199

Keywords Pro-environmental behavior • Sport participant • Specialization

© Springer Japan 2015 3

1.1.1 Global Environmental Issues

1.1.2 The Effect of Sports on the Global Environment

1.2 Sports and Global Environmental Issues

1.2.1 Sports Organizations and Global Environmental Issues

1.2.2 Sports Participants and Environmental Issues

One can begin to understanding the perspective of sports participants by substitut-

continuum of behavior from the general to the particular, reflected by equipment

1.3 Cases on Sports Participants and Environmental Issues

1.3.1 Case of Triathlon Participants

Table 1.1 Results of one-way ANOVA for the behavioral dimension

Table 1.2 Results of one-way ANOVA for the cognitive dimension

Table 1.3 Results of one-way ANOVA for the affective dimension

1.3.2 Case of Trail Running

Table 1.4 T-test for involvement (attraction) and pro-environmental behavior

Table 1.5 T-test for involvement (centrality) and pro-environmental behavior

Table 1.6 T-test for Involvement (self-expression) and pro-environmental behavior

The importance of sports organizations engaging in environmentally conscious

Babiak K, Wolf R (2009) Determinants of corporate social responsibility in professional sport:

Keywords Spectator emotion • Customer delight • Watching sport

© Springer Japan 2015 17

2.2 Fundamental Concepts for Emotion Study

2.2.1 Variety of Emotional Terminology

In psychology, a variety of terms is used to discuss emotion, such as the general

2.2.2 Classifications of Emotion

Table 2.1 Differences between emotion and mood

(angry, tense, etc...) (excitement, delight, etc...)

(sad, gloomy, etc...) (relaxed, calm, etc...)

by culture and environment, in adults the emotions encountered by researchers can be

2.2.3 Hierarchy of Emotion

Figure 2.2 shows a hierarchy of consumer emotions. In consumer behavior research,

Super ordinate Negative affect Positive affect

Basic Anger Fear Sadness Shame Contentment Happiness Love Pride

Angry Scared Depressed Embarrassed Contented Optimistic Sexy Pride

2.3 Emotion in Watching Sport

emotions. This information accrues in addition to whether a spectator’s supported

2.4 Customer Delight in Watching Sport

Fig. 2.3 The process of

2.4.1 Customer Delight and Satisfaction Model

Customer Customer .23

Satisfaction .71 Satisfaction

Visitors to wild life park Rural tourist at in northern Portugal

Customer .29 R2=.30 Customer .45 R2=.58

Satisfaction .36 Satisfaction .34

Orchestra audience Football spectators of their supported team won

2.4.2 The Experience of Delight While Watching Sport