Does International Sporting Boycott Act as a Social Identity Threat? The Effects on the National Collective Self-Esteem of Pakistani Cricket Fans

Abstract

The present study theoretically advances the social identity threat construct, with the terrorist attacks of March 4, 2009, in the backdrop, by providing a compelling evidence on how international sporting isolation acts as a social identity threat due to emphatic consequences on spectator’s team identification and national collective self-esteem (CSE). Moreover, the study adheres to the rejection identification model, which accentuates profound identity by the socially devalued in-group members for preservation of self-esteem in instance of negative portrayal by an out-group. A total of 210 respondents were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions. The results show that national team identification produced positive change in the CSE in threat condition making respondents assert significance to their group membership, self-concept, and private CSE. The two experimental conditions in this research delineate two diverse perspectives regarding identity level while adding useful contributions to the literature.

Keywords

social identity threat collective self-esteem spectator sports identification terrorist attack cricket Pakistan

Introduction

It was the morning of Tuesday, March 4, 2009. There was a bilateral cricket series going on between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. As players traveled in the form of a large convoy toward Pakistan’s historical Qaddafi Cricket Stadium, Lahore, to play the third day of the second test match, an incident occurred which for a very long time had and might continue haunting Pakistan’s status as an international sporting venue. A group of 12 masked terrorists, hiding on the same route, attacked Sri Lankan cricket team bus, causing minor to severe injuries to six members of Sri Lankan national cricket team. Eight casualties occurred, including six policemen who were escorting the team and two civilians who came in the line of fire between security forces and the terrorists. The ongoing cricket test match was called off and the tour was immediately canceled. The Sri Lankan cricket team was evacuated from the spot and they returned to Colombo on the very next day. The security lapse was vehemently criticized by match officials who were traveling with the bus and the media sources, both international and local. This resulted in relinquishing of Pakistan’s rights to host the Cricket World Cup 2011, alongside India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Consequently, Pakistan played its home matches in Sri Lanka as an alternative venue as no team was ready to play matches against Pakistan in her home soil due to abysmal security concerns.

The events of the March 4, 2009, closed doors on Pakistan to host international cricket or any other major sporting events. More importantly, it devoid enthusiastic Pakistani cricket fans to patronize their national cricket team in live action. As international cricket teams decline to play in Pakistan, UAE arranged an alternative venue to play Pakistan’s “home matches.” Cricket being the most popular and dominant sport in the entire Indian subcontinent, hosting major events of such sport elevate the reported happiness level of people of that country. For example, significant positive short-term feel good effect was found in the European nations where football is a dominant sport (Kavetsos & Szymanski, 2010). The “feel good” factor yielded as a result of hosting mega events is because it serves as a major tool in consolidating national identities (Brown et al., 2019; Jackson & Haigh, 2008), by exhibiting cultural rituals which creates a sense of national cohesion (Lechner, 2007). It is also believed that hosting major sport events can serve as an effective means to elevate the country’s standing in the world (Jinxia, 2011). The host country is able to attract large number of tourists, both during and after the event due to marketing promotions of the event which can have a positive multiplier effect on the economy (Kartakoullis et al., 2003). On the contrary, there could be adverse consequences for those countries which are confronting an international sporting proscription to host the most beloved sports in that country (Yousaf, 2019).

This study revisits the concept of social identity threat encountered by sport fans, by postulating that social identity of a fan may be threatened when an international sport boycott occurs due to imminent security concerns and host nation is devoid of hosting mega sports events like the quadrennial International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup, or a common event of cricket bilateral series. The extant literature on after effects of staging elite sporting events on host nation reveal that they revitalize patriotic sentiments (Grix & Kramareva, 2017), foster sense of unison and national cohesion among the people of the country by boosting national identity (Leng et al., 2014), and invigorate the confidence of people on the future of their nation (Jinxia, 2011). This happens because hosting mega events provides the residents of a country with a nationally shared narrative, accentuating collective cultural identities and consolidating national spirit and national pride (Hong, 2011; Thomas & Antony, 2015). There is no noteworthy study which investigates international sporting isolation of the most beloved sports of a country, in the context of social identity threat. This study strives to fill this gap by studying the case of Pakistan in relation to international sporting exclusion.

Hosting of Mega Sports Events and Its Impact on Nations

The East India Company marines introduced cricket to the Indian subcontinent. In the 19th century, Bombay Parsis and Bengalis started playing the gentlemanly pastime paving ways for other communities to gradually follow the suit (Majumdar, 2001). After the partition of British India and creation of Pakistan in 1947, Pakistan was accepted into test fold in the July of 1952 after which Pakistan played its first match against India in Delhi in October 1952 followed by the first home 5-day in Dhaka also against India in January 1955 (ICC, n.d.). Complemented with celebrity spectators and corporate sponsors, international cricket in the South Asian nations is an attractive multi-million-dollar media event. The ever-growing magnanimity of cricket culture in postcolonial nation like Pakistan is not only the result of imperial roots but also owing to high responsiveness of the local population (Wagg, 2005). Cricket in Pakistan and India has transformed from merely a sport into a social practice with the embedded motives for power struggles and nations’ image (James, 1963/2005; Ratna, 2014). For Pakistani fans, it is not only a love for the sport or winning but it is an expression of a postcolonial separate identity and self-rule (Fletcher, 2011).

Cricket is historically considered a sign of cultural imperialism which traveled with the British Empire as evident by major cricket playing countries, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, West Indies, and Zimbabwe, which were all once British colonies (Mustafa, 2013). Cricket is one of the ways through which imperial links were concocted and perpetuated between England and the regions it colonized (Sandiford, 1994). In fact, participating in the game of Cricket was considered as a process of imperial assimilation and beating England at the sports it had invented was considered as an avenue to exhibit their distinctive identities to that of imperial Metropole (Corrigan, 2001). The kind of togetherness and solidarity infused by the game of Cricket in Pakistan may seem odd conceding that game had imperialist roots, but Noman (1998) implied that cricket was actively promoted as a game of elites in Pakistan, which inspired social mobility among masses to adopt the game as a viable option to move to the upper echelons of the society when they cannot attain the same through other means. This social mobility resulted in cricket becoming a sport of the masses. Post-independence, for a very long time period, sports remained the mean through which Pakistan existed as a nation on the global stage and cricket been the most popular source of public joy prevailed as a pivotal part of the nation-building process in Pakistan.

Davis and Upson (2004) state sport events in general are a binding force for a nation. Especially, the most popular sports in the country and when the national team is playing, it is a unifying force in the society as it nurtures the integration of varying classes and social groups within (Müller et al., 2008; Niemann & Brand, 2008). Sporting success of a national team is considered as a “public good” where consumers equally consume the goods irrespective of the differences (Dietl et al., 2009). Sports events are a major source of developing international communication with other nations, inculcating national pride (Van Hilvoorde et al., 2010) and building national identity (Hong, 2011). For example, the 2008 Beijing games articulated sense of union and national cohesion among Chinese people. The 2008 Beijing games enlivened the confidence of the Chinese people in their culture and the future of their nation, as these games were perceived as a spectacular public demonstration of national pride on a scale unprecedented in Chinese history. Moreover, the resulting infrastructural developments continue to have a broader social, economic, and political implications for the Chinese people as they served as a reminder of shaping their emerging national identity (Jinxia, 2011).

The 2014 Sochi Olympics rekindled patriotic sentiments among Russians and asserted nationalistic identity of the Soviet era (Grix & Kramareva, 2017). Due to annexation of Crimea, there was a prevalence of war-like rhetoric in the media between the West and the Russia. Therefore, Russia promoted Sochi Olympics as a way to consolidate national identity of domestic audience by providing them with a Russian national narrative (Grix, 2016). It is believed that the Sochi Olympics achieved its targets as it led majority of the Russians to believe that there is an ascent in international prestige of Russia as well as rise in patriotic sentiments (Russian Public Opinion Research Center, 2015). The Singapore youth Olympic Games 2010 enhanced the level of national pride among the Singapore citizens as it provided the residents with a nationally shared narrative which strengthens the national unity and elevated their sense of belongingness toward their country (Leng et al., 2014). Hosting of major international sporting events like the 1986 and 1997 Asian Games, the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and co-hosting of the 2002 Football World Cup alongside Japan is believed to play a crucial role in building up the morale of South Korean public and promoting nationalism, emphasizing collective cultural identities, and reinforcing the sense of national identity and national pride (Hong, 2011; Koh, 2005; Whang, 2006). The 2012 London Olympics provided opportunity for British citizens to construct a coherent sense of national identity and rejuvenate the national spirit by integrating the conflicting narratives of multiculturalism in modern day Britain (Thomas & Antony, 2015).

Thus, it can be inferred from the preceding discussion that hosting major sporting events is regarded as a way to nation-building process and to boost national identity. Hosting sport events become part of a nation’s narrative and its history as they present a platform to demonstrate a country’s capabilities and unique culture to the whole world.

Hosting Mega Events as a Place Branding Tool

Major sporting events, of any kind including the Copa América, the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, and the ICC Cricket World Cup, where countries are represented through participation of their national teams become highly significant for the respective nationals to the extent that such events directly impact the individual and collective behaviors (Sullivan, 2015; Unanue et al., 2020). Hosting mega sport events has also been acknowledged as a powerful promotional tool in place branding (e.g., Bridgewater, 2010; Kavaratzis & Ashworth, 2005; Yousaf, 2019). For instance, South Africa encounters the challenges of being linked with stereotypical African continent associations with country brand such as famine, corruption, poverty, civil war, and disease, among others (Knott et al., 2010). However, Knott et al. (2015) determined that hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup provided South Africa to establish a more authentic brand image by greater knowledge and deeper understanding of brand South Africa acquired through experiences and engagement of visitors with local citizens. The communal sense of achievement and shared national cohesion among local citizens not only enhanced the event visitors experience, but also channelized new brand image of an urban development focused country with an abundant supply of competent and skillful work force.

In the similar vein, Wales, which sits in the shadow of England, and therefore, much of its identity is created with reference to England, is able to promote its own distinct Welsh identity through hosting two of the major sporting events, that is, the 1999 Rugby World Cup and the 2010 Ryder Cup (Harris, 2015). The staging of these sporting events allowed Wales to regenerate its national identity and raise its international profile by representing Wales as a nation distinguishable from neighboring England. Likewise, Lee et al. (2005) and Kim and Morrison (2005) determined that hosting the 2002 FIFA World Cup enhanced the national image of South Korea, elevated its global profile, and made it a preferred destination choice for the tourists and businesses, while the 2000 Sydney Olympics increased cognizance of brand Australia to be 10 years ahead to what it would have been had Olympics not been staged in Sydney (Australian Tourist Commission, 2001). Similarly, the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany helped balance the image of Germany. Germany has an unbalanced country image. On the contrary, it is associated with a strong reputation of being a manufacturer of top-quality brands, but then it is not associated with warmth, hospitality, and merrymaking (Anholt, 2006). The 2006 FIFA World Cup softened and boosted the image of Germany as a cosmopolitan, hospitable, and welcoming country (Florek & Insch, 2011).

Thus, hosting sports mega events provide nations with a great branding opportunity to gain international prominence (Berkowitz et al., 2007). This can be the opposite for those countries which are ostracized to host international sporting events due to inability to provide security and protection to visiting teams. The effects of such untoward contextual factors have largely been ignored by the past researches of sports management studies whose focus included studying the relationship between team identification, sports fandom, and fans’ aggression (Toder-Alon et al., 2019; Wann et al., 2003, 2015)

On the contrary, it is also argued that hosting of major sporting events may have adverse ramifications on the formation of coherent national identity of the hosting country, especially democratically weak and authoritarian regimes, that is, Zimbabwe (Van der Merwe & Van Der Westhuizen, 2007) or ethnically diverse nation with coexistence of competing national identities, that is, Spain (Hargreaves, 2000). When Zimbabwe cohosted the Cricket World Cup of 2003 alongside South Africa and Kenya, England and Australia refused to play in Zimbabwe on account of human rights violations of President Mugabe’s government and called for further sanctions on government. The rest of the participating nations went ahead with their matches in accordance with their schedule. This provided President Mugabe’s government to showcase successful conduction of the world cup matches to resurrect their waning political stature and gain political legitimacy around the globe. Zimbabwe resorted to the boycott calls by England and Australia by framing it as an imperialist political discourse by the two countries. This notion was further asserted by reinforcing the colonial image of cricket and thus Zimbabwe was devoid of a sport which is meant for White people only. Van der Merwe and Van Der Westhuizen (2007) concluded that hosting of the Cricket World Cup by Zimbabwe further intensified the racial and ethnic divisions in the country by providing the opportunity to an authoritarian regime to legitimize itself and thus further strengthening it. On the contrary, the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, the capital of the Catalan government, polarized the nationalistic sentiments between two competing identities, that is, Spanish national identity and Catalonian regional identity. Catalonia is an autonomous community in Spain, politically designated as a “nationality,” and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics reinforced the regional divisions within the country and thus influencing the dynamics of national integration (Hargreaves & Ferrando, 1997).

It is imperative to find out the consequences on the nation’s morale when it is renounced to host major sporting events, particularly of that sport which is the most popular one in the country (Yousaf, 2019). Cricket for decades has served as a major binding force for Pakistani nation. No other element unifies Pakistan as much as the game of cricket (Corrigan, 2001). Therefore, hosting major cricketing events such as the world cup, champions’ trophy, or an international cricket league or minor cricketing events such as bilateral series or a tri-nation series would strengthen Pakistan’s national cohesion and boost nation’s pride. It is pivotal to notice that Pakistan held its first edition of international domestic cricket league “Pakistan Super League” in the UAE as the international players of different franchisee teams declined to play in Pakistan. Although there is a large contingency of Pakistani diasporas in the UAE, but it still could not create the atmosphere, which could have been facilitated, had it held in Pakistan. As a result, Pakistanis resorted to watching their local team’s star studded with local and international players, on their television sets instead of cheering and supporting them in the stadium. This ensued in highest ever TRP’s of a sporting event in Pakistan’s television history, as more than half of the television watching public tuned in to watch Pakistan Super League matches (News Media Live, 2012).

Another interesting dimension to the present study is that after the drought of 6 years, the Zimbabwean cricket team visited Pakistan for a brief tour from May 19 to May 31, 2015. The international governing body of cricket, ICC, as well as Federation of International Cricketer’s Association (FICA), expressed serious concerns over this tour and warned Zimbabwean players about the risks being unmanageable (ESPNcricinfo, 2015a). Although the series met with the humungous public response, it suffered a serious setback when all pre-tour speculations about security concerns were validated after a suicide attack just outside the stadium where the match was being played between Pakistan and Zimbabwe, causing casualties to two people and injuring several (ESPNcricinfo, 2015b). Therefore, this brief tour could not compel the major cricket teams such as Australia, India, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and the West Indies (top 8 test sides along with Pakistan) to play in Pakistan again for the next few years.

National Team Identification and Social Identity Threat

The extent to which an individual feel psychologically associated with one’s national sports team is called as team identification (Wann & Branscombe, 1993). Enthusiastic fans of the national team derive their sense of self-identity through their support for the team (Prayag et al., 2019; Wann et al., 2000). When the social identity of a fan is endangered, that is, the national team loses, fans recourse to self-enhancement strategies to preserve positive social identity (Phua, 2010). Thus, national team’s success or failure often forms the basis of self-evaluations of the fans (End, 2001). One of such self-serving attribution is BIRGing, that is, basking in reflected glory, leading fans to associate with the accomplishment of their national team as their own success (Aronson, 2007). In association with social identity theory, sport fans bolster their self-esteem and augment their self-concept by identifying with national team’s success (Prayag et al., 2019). In doing so, they bask in the glory, not earned by them and decrease the psychological distance from themselves to the triumphant team (Bernache-Assollant et al., 2007). Opposite to this is indulgence in CORFing, that is, cutting off reflected failure by disassociating themselves with the failure of their national team as they do not want their reputation to be sullied by the failures (Cialdinin et al., 2010). In relation to social identity theory, after experiencing a defeat of the national team, sport fans counter threat to their self-esteem by concealing their association with the defeated team. In this way they increase the psychological distance from the losing team to sustain their self-esteem at the prevailing levels (Lanter & Blackburn, 2015).

Social identity theory and social categorization theory postulate that people have an innate need to classify them and others in meaningful social categories to interpret the relative social status of their groups, institutions, or cultures (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). People also have tendency to enhance their social identity in a manner that they tend to maximize the differences between the two groups by appraising the in-group members more favorably and the out-group members lesser favorably (Kramer, 1991). Contrary to this, the cultural knowledge and social cues which suggest the lower status of one’s social group may lead to social identity threat (Steele et al., 2002). Social identity threat is a threat to that aspect of the self, inferred from the membership of a negatively perceived social group. This is because people indulge in intergroup comparisons, which may lead to negative comparison outcomes, undermining the positive evaluations of their group. As a result, people cope up with such social identity threat by resorting to identity management strategies to assert positive self-view or alter negative comparison outcomes (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). One such reaction is disassociating with the negatively perceived group to reinstate their sense of self-esteem and thereby improving individual status while group’s status remain unaltered (Haslam, 2001). Another self-enhancing strategy is to engage in direct competition with out-group members by giving preferential treatment to in-group members and seek positive distinctiveness with out-group members in those situations where in-group transcendence is most likely to occur. They are also likely to improve the status of in-group by inverting the positions of both the groups on salient dimensions (Kessler & Mummendey, 2002). In social psychology literature, the former strategy is termed as individual mobility, whereas the latter one is called as social competition (Martiny et al., 2011).

Nation being one of the largest collective groups, one belongs to is ascertained as a significant source of prestige and self-esteem, which also raises an important concern considering the attitudinal disposition of people ascribing to the nation as a major source group. Davis and Upson (2004) in their study on high-spirited cricket fans, living in Chicago and belonging to Pakistan and India who had gathered to watch the live telecast of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, stated that enthusiasm of fans had surpassed into violence claiming a few lives because of their perceived contribution to nationalism, spectatorship, and fandom. Thus, social categorization allows people to orchestrate their social environment and define themselves and others (Hogg & Terry, 2000). According to Yousaf and Li (2015), social identity threat is most likely prevalent among the citizens of those countries which are perceived negatively around the globe. This has an important implication for those nations which are encountering a reputation crisis because larger collectives are a source for individuals to ascertain their sense of sense-worth referred to as a collective identity or a social identity (Breckler & Greenwald, 1986). When a collective identity of an individual is triggered, the dominant attributes of self-concept of an individual become close to those which are prevalent among other members of in-group. Similarly, when a situation poses a threat to social identity, the essence of the association, an individual possesses, with in-group is challenged, which can emanate lower self-esteem or even in some cases negative self-esteem attached with in-group (Ethier & Deaux, 1994). Steele et al. (2002) termed the same phenomenon as stereotypical threat, when individuals are prone to internalize the negative attributes ascribed to their group, as a part of their own-self. Thus, members of socially devalued groups are more susceptible to incorporate within the negative association with their group membership (Katz et al., 2002).

The stereotypic threat, as discussed previously, is not the only outcome of a social identity threat. As Branscombe et al. (1999) confer the notion of the rejection identification model, which accentuates that when an in-group is recognized negatively by an out-group, the members of a socially devalued group preserve their self-esteem by identifying with their group even more profoundly. Bourguignon et al. (2006) elucidate that owing to discriminatory perceptions held by out-group members, feelings of solidarity exist between members of socially devalued group. This leads them to identify with their group much more resolutely and they are lesser likely to incorporate within the negative perceptions associated with their group as an attribute of their own self. The two contrasting views can be comprehended by Ethier and Deaux’s (1994) explanation that the degree of significance people attaches to their group membership has a pivotal role to play in the formation of collective identities and resulting self-esteems. With weaker group identification, people are more likely to resort to lower levels of self-esteem as their need to maintain coherent identity is feeble. If an essence of group membership holds more meaning and value for individuals, then the need for stability of identity will be stronger, ensuring higher levels of self-esteem.

In the cricket world, there are only eight countries considered as major cricket playing nations (based on ICC’s test rankings). Among these, Pakistan is the only country for which visiting teams are extremely hesitant in playing international cricket. Considering this international cricket isolation, along with relinquishing the rights to host major cricket tournaments, Pakistani cricket enthusiasts might feel a heightened sense of guilt as no team is ready to play at their homeland due to precarious security situation and thus providing a context which furnishes a serious social identity threat. Moreover, the plausible response to this threat by cricket fans is either a recourse to stereotypic threat (Steele et al., 2002) by reporting lower levels of collective self-esteem (CSE) and national cricket team identification or vice versa in case they embrace rejection identification model (Branscombe et al., 1999). On the basis of the preceding discussion, following hypotheses are derived:

Hypothesis 1: The extent to which cricket fans identify with national cricket team positively predicts national CSE.

Hypothesis 2a: There are significant differences in national team’s identification and national CSE between cricket fans in threat condition and in the normal condition.

Hypothesis 2b: The relationship between cricket fans national team’s identification and national CSE is stronger in the threat conditions than in normal conditions.

Method

Participants

A total of 210 master students, 109 males and 101 females with median age of 23 having moderate to keen interest in watching International Cricket, from a large public university in Southern-Punjab, Pakistan, participated in the study in exchange for a course credit. The participants were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions. A total of 110 (52%) respondents encountered threat condition and 100 (48%) respondents did not face threat condition at all.

Procedure

The respondents were assigned randomly to one of the two observational settings. Participants in the experimental condition were brought to the laboratory for a 45-min session. This included a set of instructions regarding that they would be shown a short 18-min documentary which will be followed by a set of questions. The documentary covered the news clippings of the incident of the March 9, 2009, by the national and the international media around the world. It also showed excerpts from the interviews of match referee, umpires, and Sri Lankan players who narrowly escaped the attack. The reaction of prominent cricket personalities to the terrorist attack was also shown. The documentary concluded with the news of boycotts from international teams citing the reasons for the cancelation of their preplanned tours owing to lack of security measures. This also included relinquishing the rights to host 2011 cricket world cup as teams were not prepared to play in Pakistan due to security threats. Immediately after watching this documentary, participants were asked to report their identification level with their national cricket team along with national CSE levels. The participants in the control condition were also brought to the laboratory for a short 20-min session, but they were not shown documentary and were simply instructed to fill their responses toward national cricket team identification and national CSE.

Research Design

The research design constitutes of two continuous variables: the level of identification with the national cricket team and the reported level of national CSE. And one experimentally manipulated variable (presence of social identity threat vs. absence of social identity threat). In the threat condition, participants were shown a short documentary involving the news clippings of international and national media and reactions of international cricketing personalities directly or indirectly influenced by the terrorist attack of March 4, 2009, on the Sri Lankan Cricket team.

Measures

National team identification

National team identification was gauged by employing Wann and Branscombe’s (1993) sports spectator identification scale. The scale constitutes of seven statements which were modified to reflect the psychological association of a common cricket fan to his or her national cricket team, for instance, how important is being a fan of the Pakistani Cricket Team to you? All the statements were measured on a 7-item Likert-type scale where 1 equates strongly disagree and 7 corresponds to strongly agree.

CSE

The CSE was measured using Luhtanen and Crocker (1992) CSE scale. The CSE scale is further subdivided into four dimensions, namely private CSE, the personal assessment of how good one’s social group is (I feel myself as a valuable member of Pakistani nation), public CSE which is the opinion held by other group members toward one’s group (Most people consider my nation to be more ineffective than other nations), membership CSE, an individual’s appraisal of being a valuable member of a group contributing to the overall goodwill of the group (I often regret that I belong to Pakistan) and identity which means the importance one attribute with group membership to one’s self-concept (The nation I belong to is an important reflection of who I am). The CSE scale has been employed to measure CSE associated with social groups such as gender and religious denominations (Rieks, 2005), race (Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992), and nations (Liu & Dresler-Hawke, 2006; Yousaf & Li, 2015). Therefore, the original questionnaire was rephrased in a way which pertain nations as social groups (Yousaf & Li, 2015). All items on CSE scale were measured on a 7-item Likert-type scale with 7 expressing the highest level of agreement.

Data Analyses

Preliminary analysis was conducted by calculating descriptive statistics for the sample participants as well as the continuous variables in both the conditions. Next, composite reliability, discriminant validity, and convergent validity of the data were estimated by calculating average variance extracted, average shared variance (ASV), maximum shared variance (MSV), and standardized regression weights. Finally, simple regression analysis, multivariate analysis, and independent sample t tests were run to test hypotheses.

Results

Normality, Reliability, and Validity

Absolute skewness and kurtosis values for each item in the survey were calculated to measure data normality. All identified values ranged from +1 to −1, implying that the data distribution was normal (Hair et al., 2010). The data were tested to check for reliability and validity concerns. The confirmatory factor analysis was run by employing AMOS 22 on all the 23 items of the questionnaire. The questionnaire items with considerably lower standardized regression weights, a minimum cut-off criteria of 0.50, were screened out from the data and were not included in the further analysis. As a result, only single item from variable measuring national team identification was removed from further analysis, that is, “How much do you dislike Pakistani Cricket Team greatest rivals, that is, Indian Cricket Team?” According to Bagozzi and Yi (1988), data possess sufficient reliability if composite reliability parameter is greater than 0.60. The measurement model, using maximum likelihood estimation method, produced a good fit overall: χ² = 465.498, χ²/df = 2.351, comparative fit index (CFI) = .955, and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .050. Moreover, Hair et al. (2010) determined that measurement model bears satisfactory discriminant validity, if average variance extracted is greater than 0.50 and holds reasonable convergent validity, if MSV is greater than ASV and values of composite reliability are greater than 0.70 and Cronbach’s alpha values are close to .80 (Nunnally, 1978). The values exhibited in Table 1 assure that there were no reliability and validity concerns in the measurement model.

Table 1.

Reliability and Validity Statistics for the Data.

	Factors	CA	CR	AVE	MSV	ASV	Standard regression weights
1	Spectator team identification	0.878	0.913	0.606	0.197	0.085	—
A	How important to you is it that the Pakistani Cricket team wins?						.706
B	How strongly do you see yourself as a fan of the Pakistani Cricket Team?						.913
C	How strongly do your friends see you as a fan of the Pakistani Cricket Team?						.827
D	When Pakistani Cricket Team is playing, how closely do you follow the team via ANY of the following: in person or on television, on the radio, or television news or a newspaper?						.839
E	How important is being a fan of the Pakistani Cricket Team to you?						747
F	How often do YOU display the Pakistani Cricket Team’s name or insignia at your place of work, where you live, and your face book profile or on your clothing, e.g., wear Pakistani cricket team shirt?						.751
2	Private CSE	0.806	0.898	0.689	0.376	0.190	—
A	I feel myself as a valuable member of Pakistani nation						.896
B	I feel that I don’t have much to offer to Pakistan						.840
C	I contribute to the betterment of Pakistan						.791
D	I often feel I’m a useless member of Pakistani nation^a						.843
3	Membership CSE	0.847	0.920	0.743	0.376	0.186	—
A	I often regret that I belong to Pakistan^a						.880
B	In general, I’m glad to be a part of Pakistani nation						.915
C	Overall, I often feel that the nation of which I am a member is not worthwhile						.744
D	I feel good about being a Pakistani						.910
4	Public CSE	0.924	0.895	0.682	0.059	0.026	—
A	Overall, my nation is considered good by others						.851
B	Most people consider my nation to be more ineffective than other nations^a						.858
C	In general, people from other countries respect the nation that I am a member of						.721
D	In general, people from foreign countries think that the nation I am a member of is unworthy						.882
5	Importance to identity	0.804	0.912	0.724	0.180	0.085	—
A	Overall, my nation has very little to do with how I feel about myself^a						.709
B	The nation I belong to is an important reflection of who I am						.844
C	I think, the nation I belong to is very important in determining what kind of person I am						.955
D	In general, belonging to this nation is an important part of my self-image						.885

Note. CA = Cronbach’s alpha; CR = composite reliability; AVE = average variance extracted; MSV = maximum shared variance; ASV = average shared variance.

Reverse coded statements.

Testing Hypotheses

A simple regression analysis was run to test Hypothesis 1. The results are displayed in Table 2. Hypothesis 1 was confirmed as national team identification produced statistically significant positive change in the CSE of fans, R² = .7692, F(4, 171) = 142.49, p < .000. Overall, all the constructs of CSE, that is, identity (β = 0.233, p < .001), membership CSE (β = 0.172, p < .001), private CSE (β = 0.238, p < .005), and public CSE (β = 0.193, p < .01) exhibited.

Table 2.

Regression Analysis of National Team Identification of Collective Self-Esteem.

National team identification	Standardized coefficients	SE	t statistics	p value
Importance to identity	0.233	0.064	3.65	.000
Membership CSE	0.172	0.048	3.61	.000
Private CSE	0.238	0.068	3.51	.001
Public CSE	0.193	0.06	2.48	.008

Note. Number of observations = 210, F(4, 171) = 142.49. Prob > F = 0.0000. R² = .7.692, adj R² = .7638, root MSE = 0.5984. CSE = collective self-esteem.

For testing Hypothesis 2a, an independent sample t test was run to check for the differences in the threat versus no threat group as demonstrated in Table 3. The national team identification factor was found to behave differently in both the groups as statistically significant differences were found between both the groups (t = 2.710, p < .05). The mean values in Table 4 suggest that respondents in the threat condition identified more with their national cricket team (M = 3.894; SD = 1.251) as compared with the respondents in the no threat condition (M = 3.449; SD = 1.128). Of all the four CSE dimensions, importance to identity (t = 3.102, p < .005) and private CSE (t = 2.764, p < .05) were found to be statistically significantly different in both the threat versus no threat conditions. The respondents in the threat condition were found to have higher importance to identity (M = 4.282; SD = 1.353) as compared with no threat condition (M = 3.740; SD = 1.176). Similarly, private CSE value was significantly higher among respondents manipulated through threat condition (M = 4.098; SD = 1.309) as compared with respondents not exposed to any threat (M = 3.620; SD = 1.194). Thus, threat condition made respondents assert more significance to their group membership, that is, nation, to their self-concept in terms of identity and private CSE and Hypothesis 2a was partially accepted.

Table 3.

Independent Sample t Test.

Factors	t value	p value	Mean difference	Standard error difference
National team identification	2.710	p < .005	.445	.164
Importance to identity	3.102	p < .005	.542	.175
Membership CSE	1.541	p > .05	.358	.232
Private CSE	2.764	p < .05	.478	.173
Public CSE	1.423	p > .05	.265	.186

Note. CSE = collective self-esteem.

Table 4.

Descriptive Statistics.

Factors	Condition	n	M	SD
National team identification	Threat	110	3.894	1.251
National team identification	No Threat	100	3.449	1.128
Importance to identity	Threat	110	4.282	1.353
Importance to identity	No Threat	100	3.740	1.176
Membership CSE	Threat	110	4.393	1.755
Membership CSE	No Threat	100	4.035	1.613
Private CSE	Threat	110	4.098	1.309
Private CSE	No Threat	100	3.620	1.194
Public CSE	Threat	110	3.702	1.250
Public CSE	No Threat	100	3.438	1.378

Note. CSE = collective self-esteem.

Next, the multivariate analysis of variance was run to test Hypothesis 2b. We checked for main effects and interaction effects to find out whether the threat condition strengthens the relationship between national team identification and national CSE vis à vis normal condition. Box’s test of equality of covariance matrices was rejected (p = .564, Box’s M = 405.304) manifesting that covariance matrices are equal, and data are multivariate normally distributed. Wilks’ lambda was found to be significant at p < .05, partial eta squared value of 0.138 explicating that the effect size of the interaction between threat condition and national team identification produced 13.8% proportion of total variance in the dependent variable national CSE. This could be largely ascribed to the direct effects of threat conditioning where respondents were shown clippings from international broadcasting regarding the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan. The reports repeatedly raised questions over the unsatisfactory security measures in Pakistan and ineptness of the administration to cease unlawful activities on Pakistani soil.

While checking for the interaction effects on the individual constructs of national CSE, it was revealed that only identity and public CSE were found to be statistically significant in a way that threat condition strengthens the positive relationship between national team identification and importance to identity (p < .05, effect size = 0.230) and public CSE (p < .05, effect size = 0.189) as exhibited in Table 5 and taking into account that the beta coefficients of statistically significant variables involved were calculated using hierarchical regression analysis (identity, β = 0.209, p < .05 and public CSE, β = 0.249, p < .05); interaction effects graphs were plotted as manifested in Figures 1 and 2. The regression coefficients confirmed the results obtained in the multivariate analysis of variance and endorsed two dimensions of national CSE (i.e., identity and public CSE) being strongly enhanced by national team identification in the threat condition as compared with the normal condition. Thus, Hypothesis 2b was only partially confirmed.

Table 5.

Multivariate Analysis of Variance.

		F	df	p value	Effect size
Main effect of presence of social identity threat on national collective self-esteem	Importance to identity	2.059	1	.008	0.112
	Membership CSE	1.942	1	.326	0.087
	Private CSE	0.181	1	.497	0.054
	Public CSE	2.473	1	.044	0.139
Main effect of national team identification on national collective self-esteem	Importance to identity	7.221	29	.001	0.539
	Membership CSE	12.976	29	.000	0.245
	Private CSE	7.465	29	.000	0.345
	Public CSE	8.140	29	.000	0.545
Interaction effect of presence of social identity threat and national team identification	Importance to identity	2.509	19	.038	0.230
	Membership CSE	1.304	19	.188	0.098
	Private CSE	0.695	19	.420	0.074
	Public CSE	1.987	19	.021	0.189

Note. CSE = collective self-esteem.

Figure 1.

Social identity threat strengthens the positive relationship between national team identification and importance to identity.

Figure 2.

Social identity threat strengthens the positive relationship between national team identification and public CSE.

Discussion

The focus of literature of sports management studies remained limited to studying the relationship between team identification, sports fandom, and fans’ aggression (Toder-Alon et al., 2019; Wann et al., 2015) without encompassing the influence of any adverse contextual factors such as presence of threat conditions. The present study postulates that international cricket isolation may elicit identity threat to the cricket enthusiastic nation of Pakistan. To test our stipulation, an experimental group was shown a short 18-min documentary comprising news clippings of local and international media channels on the events of March 4, 2009. The documentary also consists of commentary from international cricket players and standpoint of political and strategic experts invited by mainstream international news channels. The respondents, who were randomly assigned to this experiment, were then asked questions related to reporting their national cricket team identification and CSE associated with their nation. Another group of respondents randomly assigned to control condition, which does not involve watching the documentary, was asked the same. The results reveal that respondents in the threat condition reported significantly higher levels of spectator team identification, private CSE, membership esteem, and importance to identity, while they reported significantly lower levels of public CSE as compared with respondents in the no threat condition.

The present study theoretically advances social identity threat construct by providing compelling evidence on how international sporting isolation acts as a social identity threat due to emphatic consequences on the spectator’s team identification and national CSE. The results reveal that the portrayal of Pakistan in the media as a dangerous and an unsafe place for international cricket, elicit negative emotional reactions among Pakistanis, and acts as a social identity threat because when other countries refuse to visit Pakistan, Pakistanis feel left out and abandoned. This is transcribed to prevalence of relatively lower public CSE in the experimental group due to perception of the seemingly negative impression held by people of other countries toward Pakistan. However, these negative emotional reactions do not translate to other facets of CSE in the experimental group, but in contrast leads to elevated feelings of individual’s perception of how good one’s nation is (private self-esteem), individual’s assessment of being a valuable member of one’s nation adding to the overall goodwill of the country (membership esteem), and significance they relate with being a member of a Pakistani nation as a significant part of their self-concept (importance to identity).

The plausible explanation for these findings is the context of the study itself. Cricket is a passion in Pakistan and an extremely loved sport. The otherwise multifarious society of Pakistan, divided by ethnic and regional divisions, is unified by cricket. The sentiments elicited by the game of cricket are unparalleled. In fact, the game has been regarded as one of the three instrumental aspects throughout the history of Pakistan to unite the divided social space in the society. The other two being Islam and war (Corrigan, 2001). The two of the most widely celebrated events in the postindependence Pakistan are both related to Cricket, that is, the Cricket world cup victory in 1992 in Melbourne, Australia, and the last ball victory against the archrivals India in 1986 in Sharjah (Noman, 1998). Thus, cricket has been a pivotal element of nation building in Pakistan. This can be explained with reference to findings of Ethier and Deaux (1994). The strong identification of Pakistanis with their national cricket team implies that if identity associated with their knowledge of being a fan of the Pakistani national cricket team is threatened, then the need to preserve stability of the identity will also be stronger. The extraordinary importance attached to cricket in Pakistani society suggests that when fans of national cricket team confront threats to their identity, they resurrect the relationship between group identification and CSE by strongly identifying with their national cricket team and upholding even higher CSEs and, therefore, pertain to rejection identification model (Bourguignon et al., 2006; Branscombe et al., 1999).

The higher values of CSE and spectator team identification reported by members of the experimental group as compared with the controlled group establish the same, that members of the negatively perceived group identify with their group even more, when they perceive that their group is being discriminated against by the members of the out-group. Thus, we can stipulate, in case, Pakistanis had not identified strongly with cricket, the need to maintain cohesion with their existing identity would have also been weaker, and they would have recourse to stereotypic threat (Steele et al., 2002) by internalizing the stigmatization of their nation as a characteristic of their own self and hence carrying lower CSE.

This explains the pervasive consequences of the terrorist attack on Cricket as it holds the capacity to instill terror by deeply hurting the Pakistani nation and damaging their national morale as they did not only encounter global humiliation for failing to protect the visiting team but were also ostracized from international cricket committee as a viable country to host cricket tournaments. Moreover, with the recent wave of terrorist attacks at educational institutes of Pakistan as well as religious places like mosques, confirm the same that most likely targets of terrorism are those entities which hold high sentimental values for Pakistanis. In addition to this, the repercussions of social identity threat associated with the international sporting isolation of the most beloved sports in the country are not only for internal audiences, but it has far-reaching consequences on national image of a country on the external audiences. As evident from the literature, staging of major sport events in a country allows visitors of other countries as well as international media to get a profound understanding of the host country by engaging with local citizens (Bridgewater, 2010; Knott et al., 2015; Unanue et al., 2020). This is particularly relevant for countries like Pakistan which are negatively perceived around the world and hence offer a few possibilities for the world audience to gain a better understanding of them as no major sporting event, especially related to cricket can be held there owing to grave security concerns of visiting teams.

The results of the present study poise an interesting comparison with the previous study by Yousaf and Li (2015) in context of country’s reputation who also referred to continuous presence of social identity threat for countries like Pakistan suffering with sustained reputation crisis at global stage. In similar lieu, Ethier and Deaux (1994) attributed the presence of social identity threat to the environment, which implies that Pakistani public is continuously facing social identity threat from environmental stimuli (Yousaf, 2019). The plausible explanation could be Pakistani media’s sensationalization of the stories in temptation to increase ratings by broadcasting graphically distressing images of terrorist attacks. Moreover, Pakistani media are also accused of harming national solidarity by blatantly criticizing the civil and military institutions and, therefore, adversely affecting the internal national integrity and cohesion at this critical juncture when the country is encountered with massive security threats (Pakistan Media Commission Review, 2013). It is believed by a majority of Pakistanis that the media is spreading despondency and hopelessness in the nation which is already stressed due to political conflicts and economic instability (The Express Tribune Survey, 2012). It can be inferred that no threat condition in the present study is somewhat a threat condition due to the ubiquitous presence of aforementioned social identity threat cues and symbols available to a common Pakistani via mass media and social media. The experimental manipulation condition created in this study further exaggerated the threat and consequently further escalated the results. This also explains the inferences of Yousaf and Li (2015) about the absence of the rejection identification phenomenon in their study. They asserted that Pakistani public is encountering stereotypic threat by internalizing the negative reputation of Pakistan as a dominant characteristic of their own self. The very low public CSE value for a threat condition in the present study affirms the same. But contrary to their findings, it is also established that the values for private CSE and the importance to identity are significantly higher in the threat condition as compared with no threat condition.

After 10 years and 9 months, with Sri Lankan team landing in Pakistan, test cricket formally returned to Pakistan though the government had been testing the situation by holding T20 internationals and ODIs since 2015 (Lavalette, 2019). For the past decade after the 2009 Lahore terror attacks, Pakistan utilized the neutral venue facilities such as in the UAE and the United Kingdom and played 13 series (Sharma, 2019). The Sri Lankan team and the three umpires did not only receive the “head of state” level security but were declared as state guests by the Government of Pakistan. The stadium had many empty seats owing to multiple strict security checks to reach the venue. One fan, while speaking to the associated press, said,

I didn’t mind that I waited for around four hours [to get in] when I compare it with Pakistan’s 10 years of isolation from hosting a test match, I will definitely come tomorrow, too, no matter how long I have to wait in queue. (Bagchi, 2019)

Conclusion

Our results indicate that a sport can not only be categorized only as a game but has implications rooted in the cultures of nations having strong national identity and self-esteem. Over the decades, cricket in Pakistan has progressed from a gentleman’s game into a social practice with the goals surpassing from merely winning against the opposite team into mega motive of maintaining the superior national image. In pursuit of the self-esteem, cricket fans in Pakistan or the in-group members experience a strong national team identification and self-esteem under threat conditions. The results confirm cricket fans who strongly identify with national cricket team positively predict national CSE. Despite the unprecedented decision of banning International Cricket in Pakistan and cancelation of the hosting rights of the then upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup, the spirit of cricket fandom in Pakistan did not subside. The results of our study demarcate the differences in the threat versus no threat group. The threat condition made respondents assert more significance to their group membership, that is, nation, to their self-concept in terms of identity and private collective esteem. The representation of Pakistan as a no-go risky place in international media has created a deflection in the responses of the experimental group with results revealing relatively lower public CSE contrary to other facets of CSE in the experimental group. Our results provide interesting insights that members of the negatively perceived group identify with their group even more, when they perceive that their group is being discriminated against by the members of the out-group thus showing that threat condition strengthens the positive relationship between national team identification and importance to identity and public CSE.

Limitations and Future Research

The contributions of this study are qualified by certain limitations in the research design. First, the respondents in both the groups may be aware of the 2009 incident and thus might be already under some sort of influence about it. The respondent’s prior awareness of the incidents and their thoughts/opinions about it might have an effect on the long-term attitude change or identity threat. Second, the data were collected when one of the major cricketing global events, the t-20 world championship, was underway in the neighboring India. India is considered as Pakistan’s archrivals in the game of cricket due to a long history of political tensions and conflicts between the both countries as they have already fought three wars. Therefore, the cricket euphoria in the country was high which could have exaggerated the values of certain parameters adopted in the study. Third, the sample was composed of students, which limit the generalizability of the results and necessitate the replication of the study in the nonstudent samples. To the authors’ defense, it can be argued that Pakistan is a young nation with the median age being 22 and more than 100 million people, which makes more than half of the nation, being aged under 30 (Nizami, 2010). Therefore, it can be argued that the results predominantly exhibit the prevailing sentiment of the nation. But since the respondents were recruited from a large public sector university and were more educated than an average young Pakistani, extrapolating results to a different stratum of the society may be restricted.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Salman Yousaf

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