scholarly journals Understanding Korean Immigrants and Major League Baseball Fandom

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-13
Author(s):  
Jiho Kim ◽  
Stepehn Hankil Shin

Currently, there are more than 40 million immigrants in the United States, and immigrant sports consumers have been considered a significant niche market in the sport industry. In particular, Major League Baseball (MLB) teams have realized that Korean immigrants, along with Japanese immigrants, are among the most attractive Asian immigrant MLB markets in the U.S., because of their large populations in the U.S. and the popularity of baseball in their native countries (Kim & Jeon, 2008). However, there has been limited research regarding Asian immigrants’ team identification with MLB teams. The theoretical framework of this study is drawn from acculturation theory (Berry, 1997) and social identity theory (Tajfel, 1982). Berry defines acculturation as “the general processes and outcomes (both cultural and psychological) of intercultural contact” (Berry, p. 8). Acculturation theory has been widely used to explain the adaptation patterns of immigrants to a new society. This theory further explains not only how immigrants evolve in new cultural contexts resulting from migration, but also how they retain their original cultural contexts and beliefs while in their new society (Berry, 1997). According to Berry (1980), there are four types of acculturation strategies: integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization. These four acculturation strategies differ according to immigrants’ efforts to adapt to new cultural contexts as well as the extent of their relationships with their new as well as with their old societies. Social identity theory (Tajfel, 1982) is a useful theoretical framework for team identification. Social identity is defined as “the part of the individual’s self-concept which derives from their knowledge of their membership in a social group together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership (p.2)”. Team identification research has been developed based on social identity theory and identity theory (Kwon, Trail, & James, 2007). Team identification is an extension of self-identity that results from a sports fan’s psychological connection to a team (Fink, Trail, & Anderson, 2002). The purpose of this study is to understand the Major League Baseball fandom of Korean immigrants by exploring factors associated with recent Korean immigrants’ team identification with MLB teams in the U.S.

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 350-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Reysen ◽  
Jamie S. Snider ◽  
Nyla R. Branscombe

We examined the effect of corporate renaming of a stadium on fans’ felt anger and perceived harm to the team’s distinctiveness by asking participants to imagine that their historic local sport venue was renamed (or not) after a large corporation or a wealthy individual. Participants reported more perceived harm to the team’s distinctiveness when a corporation (vs. individual) donated money to the team. Furthermore, participants who thought that the venue name had been changed (compared with no name change) expressed more anger and perceived the name change to be a threat to the team’s distinctiveness. A mediated moderation analysis showed that, compared with when the stadium name remained the same, highly identified fans believed the name change would harm the distinctiveness of the team, which resulted in greater felt anger. In line with social identity theory, the results show that anger is an emotional outcome of recently experienced distinctiveness threat.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Reichart Smith ◽  
Kenny D. Smith

This case study, using social-identity theory as a framework, examines how sport consumers and producers used different identifiers to engage in conversation during the final games of the 2012 College World Series of baseball. Five major hashtags were noted for each baseball team as primary identifiers; users fit in 3 main groups and subgroups. The analysis of tweets revealed 5 major themes around which the conversations primarily revolved. The study has implications for social-identity theory and team identification, as well as broader implications for audience fragmentation and notions of the community of sport.


2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet S. Fink ◽  
Heidi M. Parker ◽  
Martin Brett ◽  
Julie Higgins

In the current article, we extend the literature on fan identification and social identity theory by examining the effects of unscrupulous off-field behaviors of athletes. In doing so, we drew from both social identity theory and Heider’s balance theory to hypothesize a significant interaction between fan identification level and leadership response on fans’ subsequent levels of identification. An experimental study was performed and a 2 (high, low identification) × 2 (weak, strong leadership response) ANOVA was conducted with the pre to post difference score in team identification as the dependent variable. There was a significant interaction effect (F(2, 80)= 23.71,p< .001) which explained 23% of the variance in the difference between prepost test scores. The results provide evidence that unscrupulous acts by athletes off the field of play can impact levels of team identification, particularly for highly identified fans exposed to a weak leadership response. The results are discussed relative to appropriate theory. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are also forwarded.


2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian C. Banfield ◽  
Craig W. Blatz ◽  
Katherine B. Starzyk ◽  
Michael A. Ross

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayoub Bouguettaya

In this paper, the interaction between relevant group membership (i.e. gender) and context on leader perceptions was analysed within the paradigm of social identity theory. It was hypothesised that sharing group membership with a leader would result in to more positive ratings of a leader, while context would change how leaders were viewed depending on how much they embodied group values in relation to other leaders. The issue of contention to be contrasted between leaders was gender inequality. This context effect pattern was predicted to be different for males than females; males were believed to rate a leader more positively when the leader expressed a contextually more dismissive view, while females were predicted to rate a leader better when the leader expressed a contextually more proactive view. The hypotheses about the main effects of gender and context were supported; however, the results for the interaction were mixed in support. Gender and context did significantly interact, but it was not always in the directions predicted. Further research into this interaction is needed.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeeshan Ahmed Bhatti ◽  
Ghulam Ali Arain ◽  
Hina Mahboob Yasin ◽  
Muhammad Asif Khan ◽  
Muhammad Shakaib Akram

PurposeDrawing on social identity theory and prosocial behaviour research, this study explores how people's integration of their offline and online social activities through Facebook cultivates their Facebook citizenship behaviour (FCB). It also offers further insight into the underlying mechanism of offline and online social activity integration - FCB relation by investigating people's social identification with their offline and online social groups as possible mediators.Design/methodology/approachBased on social identity theory (SIT) literature, community citizenship behaviour and offline-online social activity integration through Facebook, we developed a conceptual model, which was empirically tested using data from 308 Facebook usersFindingsThe results confirm that the participants' offline-online social activity integration via Facebook is positively linked to their FCB. Further, the integration of offline and online social activity through Facebook positively affects how a person identifies with their offline and online social groups, which in turn causes them to display FCB. In addition, offline/online social identification mediates the integration – FCB relation.Practical implicationsIn practice, it is interesting to see people's tendency towards altruistic behaviours within groups they like to associate themselves with. Those who share their Facebook network with their offline friends can use such network to seek help and support.Originality/valueFrom a theoretical perspective, unlike past research, this study examines how individuals' offline-online social activity integration via Facebook helps them associate with groups. In addition, this study investigates social identification from an offline and online perspective.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torsten Schmidts ◽  
Deborah Shepherd

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use social identity theory to explore factors that contribute to the development of family social capital. Effects are investigated both for the family and the business. Design/methodology/approach – A single in-depth case study focussing on the family unit was coducted within a fourth-generation family business involved in the arts retailing. Findings – The findings suggest that social identity theory is a useful lens to explore the development of family social capital. The six themes identified highlight that there is a normative and an affective dimension, leading to family members’ desire to uphold the status of the business. Evidence suggests that the normative factors may be both positively and negatively related to the development of family social capital, due to their potentially restrictive nature. Originality/value – The paper’s findings imply that social identity can contribute to understanding family dynamics. Evidence highlights various factors for family members that are not involved in the family business to uphold its status. This is attributed to the emotional significance of the business to the family’s identity. Furthermore, this paper suggests that the strong focus on norms and values, which developed gradually, may have adverse effects on the identification with the business and the willingness to uphold its status. Propositions are offered to provide guidance for future research to investigate this controversial evidence regarding the impact of value orientation on family social capital.


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