Intersections of Fandom in the Age of Interactive Media: eSports Fandom as a Predictor of Traditional Sport Fandom

This study focuses on comparing the uses sought and gratifications obtained when consuming media related to eSports and traditional sports; in doing so, relevant areas of overlap and distinction are ascertained. In all, more than 1,300 American eSports participants were queried as to their interest in both eSports and traditional sports fan/followership. Results revealed that eSports participants sought out media for both eSports and traditional sports for similar motivations, specifically social sport, fanship, and Schwabism. However, it is the magnitude of the motives that truly set eSports fans apart, with participants showing far more dedication and desire to engage with eSport content than in any other realm of the traditional sporting arena

From pride to smugness and the nationalism between : Olympic media consumption effects on nationalism across the globe

To measure relationships between Olympic media viewing and nation-based attitudes, 6 nations (Australia, Bulgaria, China, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and the United States) were surveyed in the 5 days immediately after the 2012 London Olympics. A total of 1,025 respondents answered questions pertaining to four measures of nationalism: patriotism, nationalism, internationalism, and smugness. The amount of Olympic viewing resulted in significantly higher scores for patriotism, nationalism, and smugness, but not internationalism. In addition, differences by nation are reported, revealing considerable differences in nationalism measures among the 6 nations studied; for instance, the United States was the lowest of the 6 nations regarding internationalism yet highest of the 6 nations regarding smugness. Conclusions related to theory and the role of Olympic media content are offered

The convergence of situational crisis communication theory and social media: empirically testing the effectiveness of sports fan-enacted crisis communication

This dissertation examines the effects of fan-enacted crisis communication in response to a variety of crises facing a sports organization. Using Timothy Coombs' (2007) Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), this study seeks to determine how an ever-growing online environment has changed the role of an organization's stakeholders by giving them more power to comment during times of crisis. Employing a 3 (crisis response strategy, [attack the accuser; ingratiation; apology]) X 2 (crisis type, [environmental/individual crises; organizational mismanagement]) X 3 (fan association, [identified, rival, neutral]) factorial design, the process of fan-enacted crisis communication during an ongoing sports-related crisis is examined. Several dependent variables were included in the study to measure participants' attitude and behavioral intentions toward the organization such as organizational reputation, crisis responsibility, positive word-of-mouth, and potential fan-enacted crisis communication behavior. This study revealed many interesting findings regarding online crisis communication. For instance, results showed that the type of crisis strategy did not impact any of the four dependent variables. Individual crises resulted in a statistically significant lower organizational reputation score than a crisis in the organizational mismanagement cluster. Participants also attributed a larger amount of crisis responsibility to organizations that were faced with an organizational crisis. However, the type of crisis did not impact positive word-of-mouth or potential fan-enacted crisis communication behavior. The fan association variable also led to interesting results. This study showed that the organizational reputation scores of an organization would suffer most among its fans, whereas those who were rivals of or neutral towards the organization would not be as affected. Fan association did not impact the level of crisis responsibility attributed to an organization. Lastly, a participant's willingness to engage in either positive word-of-mouth or potential fan-enacted crisis communication behaviors was in accordance to his/her fan association. Therefore, participants were most likely to engage in these behaviors on behalf of their preferred team and least likely to engage in these practices on behalf of their rival team. By testing this developing form of crisis communication, this study explores how traditional crisis communication models have evolved as a result of social media, while revealing insights about the cognitive tendencies of the modern sports fan. The theoretical and practical implications of this experiment are discussed in the final chapter. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Off the field: an empirical examination of the impact of athlete transgressions and response strategy on the image repair and crisis communication process

This dissertation was designed to investigate to what extent that an athlete's transgression can damage not only the athlete's image, but the image of the team that depends on that athlete's image to maintain its positive image. Using Benoit's Image Repair Theory, this study explored to what extent the type of transgression faced by an athlete and his/her response to the transgression affect the image of that athlete. This study also examined to what extent the type of transgression faced by an athlete, the response of the team that athlete represents to the transgression, and the team's history of dealing with athlete transgression affects a team's image using Coombs' Situational Crisis Communication Theory. Using two experiments, the researcher empirically examined the effects of transgression type, crisis history and response strategy on athlete and team image, team responsibility, and the behavioral intentions impacted by image, while controlling for participant's prior knowledge of the cases used in the experiment, and the participant's degree of moral judgment. Specifically, the first experiment examined the effects of the type of transgression (criminal vs. non-criminal) and the athlete's response to the transgression (mortification vs. attacking the accuser vs. bolstering) on the athlete's image and the amount of negative word-of-mouth generated about the athlete. The second experiment examined the effects of the type of transgression (internal vs. external), the team's history of athlete transgressions (positive vs. negative) and the team's response to the transgression (apology vs. scapegoating vs. justification) on the amount of responsibility placed on the team for the athlete's transgression, the team's reputation, the amount of negative word-of-mouth and supportive behavior generated towards the team. For Experiment I, results showed that regardless of the type of transgression, an athlete will repair his/her image better if they use the mortification strategy rather than the attacking the accuser or bolstering strategy. However, there is evidence that the preferred strategy used to improve an athlete's image can depend on the type of transgression the athlete faces. Results also showed that the more negative the athlete's image is perceived, the more negative WOM generated about that athlete. For Experiment II, results were similar to previous studies using Coombs' SCCT theory. More responsibility was attributed to a team when the athlete in question is facing a transgression that occurred during play or team activities rather than facing a transgression external to the team. Also, more responsibility was attributed to a team when it has a history of athletes facing transgressions, and the more responsibility attributed to the team, the more negatively the team is perceived by stakeholders. Results did not support the recommendations provided by Coombs for choosing SCCT strategies, but they did support the links between reputation and behavior: the more positive the team's reputation, the less negative WOM generated about the team, and the more positive the team's reputation, the more stakeholders are willing to support the team. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries