The effects of perceived team performance and social responsibility on pride and word-of-mouth recommendation.

Chang, Mark Jaewon ; Kang, Joon-Ho ; Ko, Yong Jae 等

Introduction

Sport spectatorship is a very important leisure activity in today's society. From a sport marketing perspective, developing and maintaining a loyal fan base will remain a key factor for the long term success of sport teams. Specifically, scholars identified that offering high quality services leads to increased spectator attendance (Kim, Ko, & Park, 2013), which is a major revenue source for sport teams. Through their events, sport teams offer a variety of benefits to consumers. In particular, sport events provide emotional benefits to sport fans (Kang, Bagozzi, & Oh, 2011). Sport fans often feel pride in their favorite team when they acknowledge their team's achievements (Decrop & Derbaix, 2010). The team performance aspect is quite important because achieving and maintaining excellent performance in their games is the core service that sport teams provide to their fans (Kim et al., 2013; Ko, Zhang, Cattani, & Pastore, 2011). In the context of international sport events, national pride can be enhanced when teams and athletes representing a particular nation win rivalry matches (Denham, 2010). Additionally, recent research has found pride as an important variable that is directly related to fan's subjective well-being (Hallmann, Breuer, & Kuhnreich, 2013; Pawlowski, Downward, & Rasciute, 2014).

Scholars also found that organizations' active engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities enhances stakeholders' pride. In the marketing literature, CSR has been defined as a company's effort to carry out philanthropic activities (Pomering & Johnson, 2009). CSR has become an important issue in managing a company because consumers have begun to expect company participation in philanthropic activities (Carroll, 1979; Jones, 2010; Sen & Bhattacharya, 2001; Shen & Benson, 2014). Research has claimed that customers' perception of CSR can be beneficial because people prefer brands that participate in philanthropic activities (Brown & Dacin, 1997; Walsh & Bartikowski, 2013). More specifically, Du, Bhattacharya, and Sen (2010) suggested that customers' perception of CSR can be related to emotions such as pride and empathy.

However, systematic research has not been conducted that identifies causes and consequences of pride in the sport consumer context. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to develop and test a model that incorporates theoretical relationships between pride and its antecedents (i.e., team performance and CSR) and Word of Mouth (WOM) recommendation intention, a key consumer variable in the spectator sport context. The current study also examined the moderating role of team identification in these relationships. Validation of the theoretical research model will enhance our understanding of sport fan behavior and offer several meaningful managerial implications.

Theoretical Background

Thalberg (1977) argued that perceptions influence both individuals' emotions and behavior. In applying this theory, one can conjecture that fans' perceptions about their favorite sport team translate into felt emotions, which, in turn, make them act in certain ways. Thus, for this study, it was assumed that fans' perceptions about their favorite sport team can lead to feelings of pride in their team, and such feelings of pride can lead to their positive behavior such as WOM recommendations.

WOM recommendation has been recognized to be among the most effective marketing tools and communication medium (Trusov, Bucklin, & Pauwels, 2009). WOM recommendation is an important and typical behavior that can be found among loyal customers (Cunningham, 1961; Pritchard, Havitz, & Howard, 1999; Suh & Yi, 2006). Similarly, sport fans regularly watch sport events and frequently share their opinions and sport-related news via various communication channels such as social media. Thus, most sport teams try to encourage WOM recommendation among highly committed fans (Decrop & Derbaix, 2010; Heere & James, 2007; Kunkel, Hill, & Funk, 2013).

In the marketing literature, scholars found that WOM recommendation can enhanced by (a) service quality (Mazzarol, Sweeney, & Soutar, 2007; Walsh & Bartikowski, 2013), (b) corporate social responsibility (Becker-Olsen, Cudmore, & Hill, 2006; Pirsch, Gupta, & Grau, 2007), and (c) pride (Jones, 2010; Katzenbach, 2003; Soscia, 2007). In the sport management literature, to predict WOM recommendation Asada and Ko (2014) examined specific characteristics of a message sender (e.g., trustworthiness and expertise) as well as the content and way of delivering a message. Despite the demonstrable relationships among these various elements, little research has been done to examine the relationships among team performance, CSR, pride, and WOM in the spectator sport context.

Research Model and Hypotheses

A research model was developed to examine the theoretical relationships among fans' perceived team performance, CSR, pride and WOM, along with fans' identification as a moderator. Specific hypotheses are discussed in the following section.

Pride and Fans' Perceived Team Performance

In terms of defining "pride" for the purposes of this study, the authors turned to the psychology literature--because only a few sport studies have examined the importance of pride--and searched for overlapping keywords for defining pride. Historically, pride has received little research attention because the concept was often confused with the definition of hubris that exists in psychology (Lewis, 1995). Lewis, Haviland-Jones, and Barrett (2010) claimed that pride can be evoked when one compares or evaluates one's behavior in terms of some standard, rule, or goal, and finds that one has achieved success. According to this perspective, pride is a positive emotion resulting from achievement.

Tracy and Robins (2007) also support this dimension of pride, arguing that pride may enhance social status for people, who can then talk about their achievements. This aspect of pride is supported in several psychological studies (e.g., Ellsworth & Smith, 1998; Oveis, Horberg, & Keltner, 2010; Tracy, Shariff, & Cheng, 2010). A review of the psychology literature thus yields the idea that pride can be defined as a positive emotion that enhances individuals' social status because of their achievements. Additionally, Denham (2010) defined national pride as the feelings of higher status felt by the people of a nation when they watch their athletes or teams win gold medals. From this background, pride for the current study was defined as fans' feelings of possessing a higher status because of the achievements of their sport teams.

In the marketing literature, several studies have suggested that customers' pride can be enhanced when they perceive a brand as an excellent product/service (Katzenbach, 2003; Soscia, 2007). The relationship between the quality of products/services and pride has also been supported in organizational research (Jones, 2010; Tyler & Blader, 2003). These studies revealed that companies' achievements can positively influence employees' pride. These indications of excellence from industry are analogous to excellent performance in the context of sport teams because the result of the game is the main service provided by professional sports. It follows then, as Decrop and Derbaix (2010) claimed, that the pride of sport fans can be enhanced when they perceive their team performance as excellent. This finding, however, has limitations because it was only supported through qualitative study (i.e., interviews of soccer fans). Further examination of this phenomenon using a broader sample can enhance generalizability of the findings.

A plethora of research has suggested that customers are willing to share their good/bad experiences with others (Berger & Iyengar, 2013; Wien & Olsen, 2014). Similarly, organizational research has claimed that employees will say good things about and support their company when the company delivers high quality products/services (Gouthier & Rhein, 2011; Hartline & Jones, 1996; Maignan & Ferrell, 2004). Given this background, the following hypotheses were predicted:

H1: Fans' perceived team performance positively influences pride.

H2: Fans' perceived team performance positively influences WOM intention.

Perceived CSR

CSR has been adopted as an important domain in marketing studies along with customers' corporate ability perception (Brown & Dacin, 1997). In the early stages of discussing CSR, Carroll (1979, 1999) proposed a broad concept of CSR; a classical approach in terms of satisfying customer expectations via four types of corporate attitudes: (a) corporations should do business to enrich the society economically, (b) they are expected to obey rules in society, (c) they are also expected to be ethical, and (d) they need to be involved in philanthropic activities because as users of societal resources, they need to give something back. In recent years, the concept has been incorporated in a narrower sense into important marketing strategies, such as cause-related marketing (CRM; Kate & Nigel, 2014; Sheikh & Beise-Zee, 2011). The broad concept of CSR is still used in the marketing context, however, as an important indicator for consumer behavior (Brown & Dacin, 1997; Walsh & Bartikowski, 2013). Research has suggested that building positive CSR perceptions is quite important because a strong record of CSR may diminish skepticism towards a company (Pomering & Johnson, 2009). Given this background, this broad concept of CSR was adopted for the sport team management context of this paper.

In the sport literature as well, Sheth and Babiak (2009) claimed that philanthropic activities are considered one of most important responsibilities of a professional sport team. Thus, CSR transfers to the sport context as fans' perception about their teams' philanthropic efforts to improve communities and address societal problems. In the past decade, the theoretical and practical implications of CSR have been widely discussed in the sport management literature (Breitbarth & Harris, 2008; Casper, Pfahl, & McCullough, 2014; Sheth & Babiak, 2009; Walker & Kent, 2009). Research has indicated that sports have been acknowledged as an important medium having both societal and economic impact (Smith & Westerbeek, 2007). Casper et al. (2014) expanded the CSR concept in detail. They developed a model that explained that sport fans are aware of the necessity of environmental issues and providing educational messages can be helpful for encouraging their behavioral intentions.

Recent sport studies have also shown that CSR activities can enhance sport fans' attitudes, intent to revisit, and WOM in positive ways (Filo, Funk, O'Brien, Dwyer, & Fredline, 2008; Kim, Kwak, & Kim, 2010). Similar results regarding a positive relationship between CSR and WOM have been found in the marketing literature as well (Hartline & Jones, 1996; Mazzarol et al., 2007). Studies have claimed that customers will talk more about a certain brand when the brand is perceived as having a positive impact on society (e.g., participating in philanthropic activities).

Another interesting finding is that customers' perceptions about CSR can be related to their emotions, such as pride and empathy (Du et al., 2010). In the communication literature also, research suggests that affective responses influence consumers' cognitive responses like emotions (Batra & Ray, 1986). Similarly, Walker and Kent (2009) suggested a conceptual model, explaining that CSR can influence WOM intention positively. Consequently, advertising can include CSR messages in communication with such stakeholders as governments, partners, and customers (Zenisek, 1979). Thus, it can be argued that fans' positive perceptions of CSR can enhance pride. The following hypotheses were assumed:

H3: Perceived CSR positively influences pride.

H4: Perceived CSR positively influences WOM.

Word of Mouth (WOM)

Sport fans share stories and opinions about their teams; consequently, teams make an effort to build positive affiliations with fans (Decrop & Derbaix, 2010; Funk & Pastore, 2000; Hunt, Bristol & Bashaw, 1999; Kunkel et al., 2013). WOM, which can be described as a method of oral communication, is considered as one of the most powerful behaviors in consumer behavior research (Berger & Iyengar, 2013). Individuals often use social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) to share their experiences with others. Because one user can connect with many others, a personal individual opinion can become powerful and can spread widely and quickly (Berger & Iyengar, 2013; Toder-Alon, Brunel & Fournier, 2014). Thus, recent phenomena indicate that WOM has gone beyond the limits of person-to-person communication, rather becoming person-to-public communication. For the current study, WOM was defined as fans' intention to recommend and share sport team experiences with others (Decrop & Derbaix, 2010).

Pritchard and Burton (2014) argued that sport marketers should be aware that fans are very sensitive about ethical issues regarding their favorite sport team/athletes. As previously mentioned, sport fans can disseminate their favorite team's information easily via social media. Recent research has shown that sport fans often use social media as important communication channels (Asada & Ko, 2016; Brown & Billings, 2013; Deprez, Mechant & Hoebeke, 2013; Witkemper, Lim, & Waldburger, 2012).

Marketing research suggests that customers' WOM can be positively related to their perceptions about brand quality (Oliver, 1999; Wien & Olsen, 2014). Employees, as well, spread favorable information about their company when they think their company's products are innovative and excellent (Harrison-Walker, 2001). In the sport context, however, the aforementioned qualitative study by Decrop and Derbaix (2010) claimed that pride is a mediator in the relationship between perceived team performance and WOM. They described fans' pride as a crucial indicator of sport fan behavior. In order to obtain more robust support for the mediating effect of pride, statistical evidence is necessary.

In terms of the relationship between CSR and WOM, marketing research supports the idea that CSR initiatives can be related to WOM (Maignan & Ferrell, 2004). Organizational research also suggests that employees spread good things about their company when the company participates in philanthropic activities (Gouthier & Rhein, 2011; Tyler & Blader, 2003). In the sport literature, research supports the idea that CSR can be positively related to WOM (Walker & Kent, 2009).

Regarding the relationship between CSR and WOM, the research also supports the idea that pride mediates WOM (Jones, 2010). Moreover, the results suggest that employees' pride, because of their company's philanthropic activities, could positively influence their WOM. Organizational research also supports the notion of a relationship between pride and WOM (Rafaeli & Worline, 2001; Tyler & Blader, 2003). From the perspective of consumer behavior, customers share their good experiences with others when they feel pride in certain products/services (Oliver, 1999; Soscia, 2007). Similarly, in the sport context, fans who feel pride from a certain team tend to share their experiences with others (Decrop & Derbaix, 2010). However, the relationship between pride and WOM, having been minimally investigated in the sport context, still needed to be investigated through a quantitative approach. Thus, the authors assumed the following hypothesis:

H5: Fans' pride positively influences WOM.

Team Identification

A fan's team identification is the psychological attachment between a fan and his or her favorite sport team. This construct has been studied extensively in the spectator sport context (Fink, Trail, & Anderson, 2002; Kwon, Trail, & James, 2007; Lock, Funk, Doyle, & McDonald, 2014). In organizational research, Tyler and Blader (2003) offered a "group engagement model," claiming that employees' feelings of pride could make them feel closer to their organization. The concept of company identification is analogous to team identification in the sport literature (Heere, Walker, Yoshida, Ko, Jordan & James, 2011; Kwon et al., 2007; Lock et al., 2014). The research has described team identification as fans' feelings of personal connection to their team, wherein they cheer the victories or criticize the failures. Thus, team identification is related to pride and to fans' perception of team performance. For the current study, team identification was defined as a psychological connection with a particular sport team.

For a certain variable to be used as a moderator, it has to be (a) a specific trait of fans, (b) eligible to be measured, and (c) important enough to merit scholarly attention (Wu & Zumbo, 2008). Additionally, Walker and Kent (2009) suggested that a team's efforts to promote social activities can influence fans' intention to disseminate their favorite sport team's information. Adopting their findings in this study, the relationship can be differentiated in terms of fans' team identification. The authors of the current study attempted to determine if team identification exhibits a moderating effect, and predicted the following hypothesis:

H6: Fans' identification plays an important moderating role in the relationships among fans' perceived team performance, CSR, pride, and WOM.

Method

Participants and Procedure

A pilot test was conducted prior to the study because pride scales had to be modified and adopted from the psychology and business literature. Additionally, scales of corporate ability, CSR, and WOM were modified from the business literature and used. A panel of experts reviewed the survey instrument to confirm the clarity and representativeness of the items before the pilot survey was carried out. Three professors and 10 graduate students from a major university in South Korea served on the panel. For the pilot study that was conducted to test the reliability of the scale items, the participants included 250 undergraduate students in sport management classes from the same university.

The final survey was administered just before the Korean professional baseball league season started. Baseball spectators were recruited for the current study as baseball is the most popular sport in South Korea (Kwak, 2016). The survey was announced through various social media (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) and baseball fan club websites. To encourage participation, a small incentive (i.e., a coupon for food and beverage worth $6 USD) was provided to all participants. All data were collected through Google Docs' survey service.

In all, 696 surveys were collected, and 540 complete cases were used for the data analysis. We included screening questions to distinguish professional baseball fans from non-fans. Screening questions included "Do you like professional baseball?" "Choose your favorite Korean baseball team," "Indicate the date of the last game you watched," and "Indicate whether your team won or not." The survey interview process was discontinued if they answered "No" to the first question or failed to answer the other three questions. Additionally, incomplete cases were eliminated. Participant demographics were as follows: 78.0% was male and 22.0% female; 2.6% of the respondents were between 10 and 19 years old, 59.1% between 20 and 29, 30.7% between 30 and 39, and 7.6% over 40. The respondents were all fans of one of the eight professional Korean baseball teams (ranging from 7.4% of participants, who were fans of one team, to 17.6%, which represented the highest percentage of participants devoted to the same team).

Measures

This study modified pre-existing fans' perceived team performance and CSR scales (Brown & Dacin, 1997). Based on the definition of pride, the authors modified items to reflect the concept (Decrop & Derbaix, 2010; Jones, 2010; Lewis, 1995; Tracy et al., 2010). The authors modified and adopted the following two items from an existing scale to measure WOM (Suh & Yi, 2006). The current study included team identification as a moderator. Identification items from previous studies were used to measure fan team identification (Kwon et al., 2007). All items were measured using a 7-point Likert-type scale. The questionnaire was translated into Korean and English by two bilingual professors.

To measure fans' perceived team performance, we included following items: (a) My team has done well in the past 3 years, (b) My team's record has been good for the past 3 years, and (c) My team's performance is good. To measure CSR, items included: (a) My team is doing good things for the community, (b) My team actively participates in societal activities, and (c) My team is involved in philanthropic activities. For pride, items included: (a) I feel a higher status when I tell others that I am a fan of my team, (b) Being a fan of this team makes me feel a higher status, and (c) I feel pride because I am a fan of this team. For WOM recommendation, items included: (a) I will say good things about this team to others, and (b) I will suggest this team's games to others. Please see Table 2 for details.

Analysis

The SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 20.0 (Arbuckle, 2011) were employed for the data analyses. For data analysis, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to test assumptions as well as the convergent and discriminant validity of the items. Second, structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted. The model fit was examined using standard fit criteria (Bentler & Dudgeon, 1996; Browne & Cudeck, 1992). Finally, a multi-group SEM analysis were employed, using team identification as a moderator in the relationships.

Results

Assumption Test

Before the main analyses, the data were examined to make sure they reasonably met the basic assumptions for structural equation modeling techniques. Linearity scatter plots revealed no abnormal data patterns in any of the randomly selected pairs of variables. The skewness (-1.33, .61) and kurtosis (-1.30, 2.82) ranges suggested a normal distribution of the data. In addition, tolerance (.23, .44) and VIF (2.28, 4.38) ranges indicated that multicollinearity assumptions were not violated (Kline, 2011).

Measurement Model

The measurement model resulted in an acceptable model fit ([chi square]/df = 250.825/80 = 3.14, p < .01; SRMR = .049; RMSEA = .063; NFI = .96; CFI = .97; TLI = .97). Table 1 provides the empirical evidence of the convergent validity, which showed that all factor loadings were greater than the suggested value of .70 (Kline, 2011). The critical ratios of all indicators were also greater than the suggested value of 1.96 at p < .05 (Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson, & Tatham, 2006). In terms of discriminant validity, correlations among pairs of constructs ranged from .10 for fans' perceived team performance and team identification to .72 for pride and WOM (see Table 2), which were not higher than the recommended value of .85 (Kline, 2011). Additionally, all average variances extracted (AVEs) were greater than the squared correlations (Fornell & Larcker, 1981), demonstrating that the constructs were sufficiently distinct from one another. In terms of reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from .84 for WOM to .95 for fans' perceived team performance. The AVE values ranged from .71 for team identification to .91 for fans' perceived team performance and demonstrated acceptable construct reliability (see Tables 2 and 3).

Structural Equation Model Test

The structural equation model achieved a good fit with the data ([chi square]/df = 84.917/38 = 2.235, p < .01; SRMR = .041; RMSEA = .048; NFI = .984; CFI = .991; TLI = .987). Significant standardized path coefficients confirmed positive relationships between fans' perceived team performance and pride (H1; [beta] = .123, p =.003), between CSR and pride (H3; [beta] = .463, p < .01), between CSR and WOM (H4; [beta] = .091, p =. 023), and between pride and WOM (H5; [beta] = .798, p < .01). Thus, the following hypotheses were significant: (1) Fans' perceived team performance is positively related to pride (H1); (2) perceived CSR is positively related to pride (H3); (3) perceived CSR is positively related to WOM (H4); and (4) fans' pride is positively related to WOM (H5).

Modification was required for the model because the result of the coefficient of the relationship between fans' perceived team performance and WOM failed to achieve significant path coefficient (H2; [beta] = -.081, p =.018). Thus, the relationship was eliminated and the indices examined for the modified model ([chi square]/df= 90.491/39 = 2.320, p < .01; SRMR = .043; RMSEA = .049; NFI = .983; CFI = .990; TLI = .986). The results of both the hypothesized and modified model demonstrated good fit, and the [chi square] difference results can be interpreted as stemming from the models' similarity to each other [[chi square].sub.difference](1) = 5.574, p < .05]. Overall, the authors suggested the modified model for its parsimony. Specifically, fans' perceived team performance can positively influence pride, CSR can positively influence both fans' pride and WOM, and fan's pride can positively influence WOM (see Figure 1). Thus, hypothesis 2, fans' perceived team performance is positively related to WOM (H2), was insignificant in the current study.

Multi-Group SEM

In order to test the moderating effect of team identification, the researchers conducted a multi-group analysis using AMOS. The data were categorized into two groups (i.e., high and low) to investigate the moderating effect of team identification, as suggested by Hair et al. (2006). Hence, a median split was used for this study, which allowed each group to have a similar sample size (Ping, 1996). Additionally, the number of respondents for team identification was a little higher than average, so adopting the median for segmentation gave a better estimate. The data were categorized into three groups: (a) low (n = 210, 38.9%), (b) middle (n = 171, 31.7%), and (c) high (n = 159, 29.4%). For comparison of groups based on their team identification level, only low and high groups were used for the multi-group SEM analysis.

The [chi square] statistics were insignificant ([chi square] [7] = 4.148, p = .763), demonstrating that the measurement structure was stable regardless of team identification difference. Table 5 summarizes the results of a series of [chi square] difference tests for evaluating measurement invariance.

The results indicated that a significant difference was found in the relationship between CSR and pride ([[chi square].sub.difference][1] = 12.234, p < .001). The results for the coefficients and p value displayed were as follows: low group [beta] = .479, p < .001; high group [beta] = .234, p = .009. Overall, H6 (Fans' identification moderates the relationships among fans' perceived team performance, CSR, pride, and WOM) was partially significant, which suggests that team identification was a moderator in the relationship between CSR and pride. In detail, fans with lower identification feel a stronger relationship between CSR and pride.

Discussion

The existing literature (e.g., Rime, 2009; Thalberg, 1977) supports the theoretical relationships between individuals' perceptions, emotions, and behaviors. Based on this theoretical premise, the authors of the current study examined fans' perceived team performance and CSR activities of sport teams as antecedents of their pride and WOM recommendation. The results of this consumer study which queried Korean baseball spectators indicate that fans' perceptions toward team performance and CSR are positively related to their pride, and fans' pride significantly influences their WOM intention. These results have several important theoretical and managerial implications.

Theoretical Implications

In the current study, WOM recommendation was included as an ultimate outcome variable. In the sport industry, numerous sport organizations are actively involved with WOM marketing to enhance communication effectiveness and increase fan bases (Asada & Ko, 2016). Although numerous scholars have suggested WOM recommendation is an important behavioral pattern (e.g., Bush, Bush, Clark, & Bush, 2005; Swanson, Gwinner, Larson, & Janda, 2003), they have rarely explored how spectator's pride impacts WOM behavior in the context of major spectator sport. Additionally, what make fans prideful has not been fully explored in the sport literature.

The overall results of the current study shed new light on the sport consumer behavior literature. Specifically, the results of the multi-group SEM analysis provide empirical evidence of the efficacy of the research model. The positive relationship between fans' perception of team performance (H1) and their pride supports the findings of Decrop and Derbaix's (2010) as well as others (Jones, 2010; Katzenbach, 2003; Soscia, 2007). However, the results indicate that fans' perceived team performance did not directly influence WOM recommendation intention. Pride had an important mediating effect (full mediation). That is, only when fans feel pride about their favorite team's performance, do they make positive WOM recommendations.

In the sport literature, CSR has been found to be an important strategy to increase spectators' trust toward a sport organization and their loyalty (Breitbarth & Harris, 2008; Ko, Rhee, Kim, & Kim, 2014; Walker & Kent, 2009). The current study offers additional insight about the role of CSR in sport fan behavior. In particular, we found that CSR not only impacts WOM recommendation, but also positively impacts fans' pride. Based on this result, we confirmed H3 (CSR and Pride) and H4 (CSR and WOM recommendation). As shown in the case of performance and WOM recommendation, pride had an important mediating effect (partial mediation) on the relationship between CSR and WOM recommendation. Interestingly, the path coefficient of CSR to pride is greater than the perception of team performance and pride. This implies that although team performance (and ranking) is a key driver of fan pride, sport consumers are also very responsive to a team's cause-related marketing efforts (e.g., CSR activities). Overall, pride plays an important mediating role in the relationship between (a) CSR and WOM recommendation, and (b) Team performance and WOM recommendation. Therefore, this study supports the previous argument that emotions are important determinants of sport fan behaviors (Kang et. al., 2011). This emotional aspect has not been fully examined in previous spectator behavior research, and therefore, this finding fills an important theoretical gap in the existing literature.

The SEM results indicate a significant positive relationship between pride and WOM (supporting H5). This result supports prior studies that suggest consumers' WOM intention can be enhanced when they feel pride about a certain brand (Oliver, 1999; Soscia, 2007). Several studies in organizational behavior also found that employees spread positive information about their company when they are prideful because of their company's achievements (Rafaeli & Worline, 2001; Tyler & Blader, 2003). Currently, only a few studies in the sport literature (e.g., Decrop and Derbaix, 2010) have examined this relationship. Overall, the current study explained the psychological mechanisms that helps predict sport spectators' WOM recommendation. Considering the importance of consumers' WOM in sport consumer behavior research, these results provide new insight in explaining and predicting sport fan behavior.

Lastly, we hypothesized that fan identification moderates the relationships among fans' perceived team performance, CSR, pride, and WOM. The result of the multi-group SEM indicates that team performance is an important predictor of pride among the low identification group, while CSR is an important predictor for both low and high identification groups. This implies that CSR is a very important strategic option that sport marketers and managers should strongly consider adopting.

Managerial Implications

First, the results of the current study demonstrate that the pride fans feel has two major sources: their perception about the team's superior performance and active CSR involvement. Thus, sport managers should consider balancing team performance and CSR activities because they both affect fans' perception, pride, and behavior. From a practical standpoint, we need to understand that perceived CSR is a more powerful predictor of pride than the perception of team performance.

Additionally, the results imply that CSR involvement can increase the recruitment of new fans by enhancing fans' positive WOM recommendation. The moderating effect of team identification also indicates that the CSR and pride link is stronger among general spectators (i.e., low identification group) than the high identification group. This result suggests that CSR activities should be deliberatively communicated with general spectators and potential customers, so they may become more prideful of the team, and share their positive emotions and experiences with others.

The results of this study empirically support our assumption that fans' pride is an important factor in explaining and predicting their WOM behavior. Currently, most professional teams post team-related news on social media, through which fans obtain information, interact with the team, and spread news to others. Properly managed social media content is very important because it is a popular communication channel, particularly among young fans who may be more likely to share interesting stories on social media than face to face (Berger & Iyengar, 2013). Thus, sport managers need to keep up to date with the most current social media platforms (e.g., posting of team CSR news).

Limitations and Future Research

Identifying the limitations of this study should help provide future research directions. First, the proposed model was developed to examine the impact of fans' perception of team performance and CSR on pride and WOM recommendation in the context of Korean professional baseball fans. Additional research is necessary to examine whether the proposed model is applicable to other types of sports (e.g., football and soccer), at different times (i.e., during the season or off-season), and in other cultural settings. Testing the expanded model in a different situation with a broader and wider sampling frame in various sport contexts may help improve the generalizability of the results.

Second, this model was tested using a delimited sample of Korean professional baseball fans, most of whom were male, so the findings cannot be generalized to other populations. Third, this model could be expanded to other communication platforms. Although sport teams have been communicating with their fans via social media, very few studies have investigated if social media is beneficial, especially in delivering CSR-related messages.

Overall, the authors believe this study will contribute to the body of knowledge regarding sport consumers' perceptions toward CSR/performance, emotion (pride), and behavior (WOM intention). We conclude that both on-field and off-field performance of sport teams significantly enhance fans' pride and WOM recommendation. Further empirical study can help us better understand issues related to pride and WOM recommendation among sport spectators.

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Mark Jaewon Chang, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology, Sport Studies, and Physical Education at the College at Brockport, State University of New York. His research interests include corporate social responsibility and emotions.

Joon-Ho Kang, PhD, is a professor of sport management in the Department of Kinesiology and the director of the Center for Sport Industry at Seoul National University. His research interests include sport marketing and sport development. Yong Jae Ko, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Tourism, Recreation & Sport Management at the University of Florida. His research interests include sport marketing and consumer behavior.

Daniel P. Connaughton, EdD, is the associate dean for faculty and staff affairs in the College of Health and Human Performance and a professor in the Department of Tourism, Recreation & Sport Management at the University of Florida. His research interests include the study of legal, policy, and risk management issues in sport.

Caption: Figure 1. The results of group difference test. Table 1 Coefficients of Mean, Median, Standard Error, Skewness, and Kurtosis Mean Median Standard Skewness Kurtosis Error TP 4.239 4.667 1.942 -.288 -1.265 (LOW) 4.022 4.333 1.924 -.109 -1.296 (high) 4.520 5.000 1.941 -.520 -1.109 CSR 4.030 4.000 1.313 -.107 -.020 (LOW) 3.675 4.000 1.327 .001 -.047 (high) 4.382 4.333 1.303 -.192 .102 PRIDE 5.254 5.333 1.455 -.750 .093 (LOW) 4.568 4.667 1.545 -.445 -.336 (HIGH) 6.073 6.333 1.035 -1.329 1.746 WOM 5.357 5.500 1.348 -.696 .145 (LOW) 4.676 5.000 1.438 -.301 -.369 (HIGH) 5.357 6.000 1.017 -1.306 2.815 TID 4.207 4.250 1.489 -.287 -.536 (LOW) 2.688 3.000 .892 -.542 -1.011 (HIGH) 5.900 5.750 .563 .612 -.737 Note. TP: Team Performance; TID = Team Identification; LOW = Low Team Identification Group; HIGH = High Team Identification Group Table 2 Factor Loadings, Alpha Coefficients, and AVEs Factor Item Team My team has done well in the past 3 years Performance My team's record has been good for the past 3 years My team's performance is good CSR My team is doing good thing for the community My team actively participates in societal activities My team is involved in philanthropic activities Pride I feel higher status when I tell others that I am a fan of my team Being a fan of this team makes me feel a higher status I feel pride because I am a fan of this team WOM I will say good things about this team to others I will suggest this team's games to others Team ID When the team wins a game, it feels like a personal success When someone supports the team, it feels like a personal support When someone criticizes my team, it feels like a personal insult When the team loses a game, it feels like a personal failure Factor [lambda] [alpha] AVE Team .96.98.85 .95 .91 Performance CSR .77.92.91 .90 .83 Pride .89.92.91 .93 .88 WOM .88.78 .82 .85 Team ID .75.80.81.79 .87 .71 Table 3 Means, Standard Deviations (SD), Average Variance Extracted (AVEs), Correlations, and Squared Correlations Matrix Measures Mean SD 1 2 Team Performance 4.24 1.94 .91 (a) .06 CSR 4.03 1.31 .25 ** .83 (a) Pride 5.25 1.46 .23 ** .47 ** WOM 5.36 1.35 .12 ** .42 ** Team Identification 4.20 1.49 .10 * .22 ** Measures 3 4 5 Team Performance .05 .01 .01 CSR .22 .15 .05 Pride .88 (a) .55 .20 WOM .72 ** .84 (a) .21 Team Identification .45 ** 0.46 .71 (a) Note. (a) = average variance extracted The figures below the AVE line represent correlations between the constructs. The figures above the AVE line represent squared correlations between the constructs. **p < .01; *p < .05 Table 4 Measurement Invariance and Standardized Total Effect for Team Identification Model Model fit indices M0 Unconstrained model [chi square](78) = 106.899, p =.017 RMSEA = .032, CFI = .991 M1 Measurement weight [chi square](85) = 111.243, p = .030 RMSEA = .029, CFI = .992 M2 Structural Weights [chi square](89) = 131.788, p = .002 RMSEA = .036, CFI = .986 M3 PTP Pride [chi square](79) = 108.429, p = .016 RMSEA = .032, CFI = .991 M4 CSR Pride [chi square](79) = 119.134, p = .002 RMSEA = .037, CFI = .987 M5 CSR WOM [chi square](79) = 108.146, p = .016 RMSEA = .032, CFI = .991 M6 PTP CSR [chi square](79) = 106.945, p = .020 RMSEA = .031, CFI = .991 M7 Pride WOM [chi square](78) = 106.899, p =.017 RMSEA = .032, CFI = .991 Model Invariance test M0 Unconstrained model M1 Measurement weight M1-M0: [chi square]d(7) = 4.344, p = .739 M2 Structural Weights M2-M0: [chi square]d(11) = 24.888, p = .009 M3 PTP Pride M3-M0: [chi square]d(1) = 1.53, p = .216 M4 CSR Pride M4-M0: [chi square]d (1) = 12.234, p < .001 M5 CSR WOM M5-M0: [chi square]d(1) = 1.246, p = .264 M6 PTP CSR M6-M0: [chi square]d(1) = 0.046, p = .831 M7 Pride WOM Note. The factor loadings of each indicator are equal across the groups.