The effect of sport team reputation on team attachment and community attachment: a comparison of fans, local residents, and sponsors

ABSTRACT

The main purpose of this study was to examine the effect of sport team reputation on team attachment and community attachment by comparing fans, local residents, and sponsors. The team targeted for this research was Victorina Himeji, which was the first professional female volleyball club in Japan. This study consisted of separate surveys for fans, local residents, and sponsors. The results demonstrated that: (a) the measurement scale of sport team reputation could be applied to the three stakeholders; (b) the three stakeholders significantly differed in assessing sport team reputation, team attachment, and community attachment; and (c) the multigroup structural equation modelling revealed that the effect of sport team reputation on team attachment was stronger for fans and sponsors than for local residents, although all paths had positive influences. The present study advanced reputation research in sport by demonstrating the relationships among sport team reputation, team attachment, and community attachment across the three stakeholders.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Spectator-based Sports Team Reputation Scale (SSTR) could be applied to the three stakeholders as a general sport team reputation.

• The three stakeholders significantly differed in assessing sport team reputation, team attachment, and community attachment.

• Sport team reputation influenced community attachment through team attachment for each stakeholder.

• The path coefficient of the relationship between sport team reputation and team attachment differed between fans and local residents, and local residents and sponsors.

KEYWORDS:

• Professional sport team
• Stakeholder
• Reputation
• Team attachment
• Community attachment

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the staff of Vitorina Himeji for their help with data collection. I am also grateful to the referees for their useful comments and suggestions. The research was supported by the Sasakawa Sports Research Grant 2019 from Sasakawa Sports Foundation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

The research was supported by the Sasakawa Sports Research Grant 2019 from Sasakawa Sports Foundation;Sasakawa Sports Foundation [190A1–040];