Exploring the Link between Exposure to Athlete Advocacy and Public Issue Involvement: An Analysis of Japanese Athlete Racial Advocacy

Abstract

The advocacy of celebrity athletes plays an important role in motivating people to engage in racial issues. However, little empirical research has explored the types of issue involvement that are motivated by athlete racial advocacy. This study investigates the relationship between exposure to athlete racial advocacy and issue involvement in the Japanese context. Data were collected from 2,700 Japanese respondents using an internet-based survey in January 2021. The results show that exposure to athlete racial advocacy is positively associated with the following types of public issue involvement: ‘awareness,’ ‘concern,’ ‘knowledge,’ and ‘information-seeking.’ However, the exposure has no significant effect on ‘talk frequency.’ The results suggest that athlete advocacy can motivate limited types of public involvement in racial issues. Our findings help athlete advocates, sport actors, and non-profit marketers to develop strategies on ways to respond to advocacy and facilitate further social change.

Keywords:

• Athlete advocacy
• social influence
• public issue involvement
• racial advocacy
• black lives matter

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest has to be reported.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP 21K11402 and JST SPRING Grant Number JPMJSP2128.

Notes on contributors

Waku Ogiso

Waku Ogiso (M.S., Waseda University) is a Ph.D. student in the Graduate School of Sport Sciences at Waseda University. His research interests include sport management and interpersonal communication, focusing on the relationship between sport and social issues.

Hiroaki Funahashi

Hiroaki Funahashi (Ph.D., Waseda University) is an associate professor in the School of Health and Sport Sciences at Chukyo University. His research interests include sport management, sport economics, sport policy, and sport business management.

Yoshiyuki Mano

Yoshiyuki Mano (Ph.D., Waseda University) is a professor in the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Waseda University, Japan. His research interests include sport policy, facility management, and business management in sport.