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Abstract

This study aimed to identify the effect of trust in and contents of sports-related policies during COVID-19 on public policy satisfaction and examine the relationship between policy satisfaction and sports participation intention. People living in Korea were selected as the study population using convenience sampling, and 441 responses were collected using an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0. The results indicated that policy trust had a positive effect on policy satisfaction in the order of consistency, expertise, and existing policy performance. In addition, social equity, market responsiveness, and policy effectiveness, which are sub-factors of policy content, had a positive effect on policy satisfaction. Furthermore, sports policy satisfaction had a negative effect on sports participation intention. This study suggests that the government should equally consider policy trust and content when establishing sports-related policies and strive to establish policies based on the positive functions of sports.

Plain Language Summary

What is the effect of the COVID-19 policy on the intention to participate in sports?

Our study began with the question of "How closely the government's sports-related policies during COVID-19 affect infection prevention?" Despite the fact that positive outcomes of physical development, emotional stability, and social harmony can be achieved through sports, we attempt to verify whether policies that restrict sports participation are effective. To this end, the relationship between sports policy, policy satisfaction, and intention to participate in sports was investigated. Data on the period of COVID-19 were collected and analyzed. As a result, first, the government should consider policy consistency, expertise, and existing policy performance complexly in the policy-making process. Second, it is necessary to construct a policy that considers social equity, market responsiveness, and policy effectiveness in implementing sports-related policies. Third, the government should come up with a sports-related policy that can elicit public understanding and empathy, not a rather rigid policy that restricts the use of sports facilities. As such, this study provides meaningful implications for the government's effective sports-related policy establishment by verifying the effect of sports-related policy trust and content on satisfaction, and further clarifying the relationship between policy satisfaction and sports participation intention.

Keywords

COVID-19 sports policy policy satisfaction participation intention public health

Introduction

Significance of This Study

While the fear and panic of the coronavirus has subsided, just a year ago, the spread of COVID-19 forced countries around the world to tighten social distancing policies, including closing borders and restricting travel (Bates et al., 2020), which affected people’s lives in a variety of ways. People’s physical and mental health deteriorated as they spent more time at home and became less physically active (Begović, 2020). Physical activity is essential in maintaining personal health and preventing disease (Matias et al., 2020). According to the Global Action Plan on physical activity released by the WHO in 2019, adults aged 18–64 years need at least 150 minutes of physical activity every week for good health (World Health Organization, 2019) In Korea, the term “COVID Blue” has been used to describe depression caused by COVID-19, which has become a social problem (Choi, 2020). Rapid changes in daily life and limited physical activity negatively affected physical and mental health (Rajkumar, 2020).

Encouraging participation in sports is one of the most effective ways to increase physical activity (C. G. Lee et al., 2023; Pepe & Gandee, 1992; Stevenson, 2002). Despite physical and mental health improvements through sports participation due to COVID-19, physical activity of all ages was restricted as facilities such as indoor and outdoor sports and gyms are closed in many countries (Shahidi et al., 2020). The Korean government strictly controls participation in sports activities for many people. In particular, Korea implemented a distancing policy based on the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and prohibited or allowed restricted sports activities. During the third stage of social distancing, when more than 1,000 people were infected per day in Korea, the number of people in indoor sports and facility use time was limited (Korea Disease Control Agency, 2020). During the fourth stage, when 2,000 people per day were infected, restrictions stated that treadmill speed in gyms should be less than 6 km/h, and group excise (GX) exercise should maintain a music speed of 100-120 BPM (Korea Disease Control Agency, 2020). These policies aimed to reduce high-intensity aerobic exercise and convert it to low-intensity exercise to regulate behavior with high saliva discharge (C. J. Lee, 2021).

In addition, indoor sports such as badminton, basketball, and table tennis were limited to one person per 8m² and could only be operated within 2 hours (Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2021). The operation of indoor sports facilities was limited to 9 p.m., and sports events involving more than 300 people were prohibited (Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2021). In addition, to watch a Korean professional baseball game, all spectators must wear a mask, no food or drink was allowed inside the ballpark, and if the body temperature exceeds 37.5°C, entry was prohibited (Korea Baseball Organization, 2020).

However, direct or indirect participants in sports may question how closely these policies relate to COVID-19 prevention (World Health Organization, 2021). This question will deepen as COVID-19 prolongs, and it is contrary to previous studies that participation in sports activities generally helps improve health (Matias et al., 2020). It should be pointed out again whether the policy of restricting participation in sports rather degrades the public’s immunity and causes social problems such as COVID-19 Blue. Moreover, as mentioned above, a number of scholars have suggested consistent research results that sports participation has a positive effect on mental and social development, not just on individual physical development (P. Chen et al., 2020). The government’s sports-related restriction policies should be reviewed. Because COVID-19 was a social problem, the government should establish effective sports-related policies and gain public support.

It is necessary to identify the effect of trust in and the contents of the government’s sports-related policies on policy satisfaction and investigate the relationship between policy satisfaction and sports participation intention. Owing to the positive functions of sports, restriction policies cannot be perceived as an effective alternative. This study is expected to provide basic information for a more efficient policy establishment. Moreover, as governments prepare for the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, the results of this study will have meaningful implications for policymaking around the world. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between sports-related policies conducted by the government, policy satisfaction, and sports participation intention during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose of This Study

This study aimed to identify the effect of trust in and contents of sports-related policies during the COVID-19 pandemic on public policy satisfaction and examined the relationship between policy satisfaction and sports participation intention. This study is expected to provide academic and practical implications for effective sports-related policies.

Research Hypotheses

The Relationship Between Sports Policy Trust and Policy Satisfaction

Research on trust has been conducted in various fields, such as psychology, sociology, economics, and politics, with concepts varying between fields. Trust is generally defined as an individual’s confidence in the intentions and motives of the other party (Lewicki et al., 1998). Within a community, trust is defined as the expectation that other members of that community will conduct regular, honest, and concerted behavior based on universal norms (Fukuyama, 1995). Policy trust can be defined as the belief that the government’s policy activities are formulated and implemented in accordance with the value standards and expectations of the general public who are the beneficiaries (Shin & Choi, 2009). As such, trust in sports policy can be interpreted as a belief that government-executed sports-related policies were devised and implemented in response to the expectations of the people.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, policies in the sports field mostly focused on restrictions on use. As the risk of infection is high due to the nature of sports with a large number of participants, stricter control implemented compared to other fields (Seong, 2020). During this process, the livelihoods of operators of sports facilities were threatened and users demanded participation in sports. Rather, based on research from the government’s previous report that participating in sports activities increases immunity (Korea Institution of Sports Science, 2021b), some people had strong distrust of government policy. As the policies established by the government during the COVID-19 pandemic generally limited individual daily life, public trust in these policies should be highly important. It has been proven by many scholars that trust during the COVID-19 period is a leading factor that significantly affects satisfaction and individual decision-making (Andronie et al., 2021; Nica et al., 2022; Watson & Popescu, 2021). Previous studies have found that neuromanagement has a significant impact on decision-making in the process of developing new technologies to control COVID-19.

To this end, the concept of policy trust can be measured separately and used as basic information for the next policy establishment by identifying the relationship between policy satisfaction. In this regard, Mun and Choi (2016) classified three constituent concepts of policy trust into policy expertise, policy consistency, and existing policy performance and verified the impact on policy satisfaction in a study to investigate the relationship between real estate policy trust and policy satisfaction. Policy expertise refers to the theoretical and practical expertise of related policies, policy consistency refers to the consistency of various policies implemented to prevent infection after the outbreak of COVID-19, and existing policy outcomes refer to the outcomes of related policies promoted by the current government. The results of the study suggested that the presented expertise, consistency, and existing policy outcomes had a positive effect on policy satisfaction. Therefore, the following research hypotheses were established based on these theoretical grounds and previous research results:

H1. During the COVID-19 pandemic, expertise in sports policy had a positive effect on policy satisfaction.

H2. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the consistency of sports policies had a positive effect on policy satisfaction.

H3. During the COVID-19 pandemic, existing policy performance related to sports policies had a positive effect on policy satisfaction.

The Relationship Between Sports Policy Content and Policy Satisfaction

Korea’s COVID-19 countermeasure, Distancing policy, was divided into four stages under the leadership of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The third stage of distancing, when more than 1,000 per day were infected, limited the number of indoor sports personnel and facility hours. The fourth stage, when 2,000 people per day were infected, limited treadmill speed in gyms to less than 6 km/h and GX exercise music speed to 100 to 120 BPM (C. G. Lee et al., 2023). In addition, the number of spectators for professional sports matches was limited. A vaccine pass system was introduced, which restricted the use of facilities based on vaccination regardless of the number of confirmed cases. However, restrictive policies implemented by the government were applied differently depending on the region and sports.

Distancing policies were updated every 2 weeks and changed flexibly based on the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients. Therefore, it can be assumed that policy contents influenced public policy satisfaction. Mun and Choi (2016) have suggested market responsiveness, policy effectiveness, and social equity as the constituent concepts of policy contents. Applying them to sports policy, market responsiveness indicates whether distancing policies were properly announced at the necessary time, policy effectiveness reflects whether the policy had a positive effect on the prevention of COVID-19, and social equity represents the equal application of policies to all sports and lack of bias toward specific classes. This research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, but in general, content composition, characteristics, and programs for a specific object could have significant effects on user satisfaction have been verified by a number of scholars (Andaç et al., 2016; Baek, 2018). These following research hypotheses were proposed:

H4. During the COVID-19 pandemic, market responsiveness to sports policies had a positive effect on policy satisfaction.

H5. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the effectiveness of sports policies had a positive effect on policy satisfaction.

H6. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social equity in sports policies had a positive effect on policy satisfaction.

Relationship Between Sports Policy Satisfaction and Sports Participation Intention

COVID-19 policies aimed to minimize the prevention of viral infection. While these policies created many inconveniences in daily life, the government was forced to implement policies that prioritize the safety of the nation and society over individual concerns. According to the expectation theory proposed by Oliver (1980), satisfaction appears when the performance of a product purchased by a consumer exceeds expectations, such as in the business environment. Therefore, policy satisfaction is expected to form when the effect of infection prevention measures is higher than individual expectations, generally resulting in public cooperation with the policy.

However, it can be assumed that there is a close correlation between sports policies and sports facility users’ intention to participate, as sports-related policies generally restrict facility use. Sports with a large number of participants contradict distancing policies, causing the government to enforce stricter restrictions. The relationship between satisfaction and behavioral intention has been studied in various fields (Engel et al., 1973; Oliver, 1981), revealing a positive correlation. Relatively recent studies conducted during the COVID-19 period also proved that satisfaction is a leading factor in intention (Anshari et al., 2021; Dewi et al., 2020; Liu et al., 2020). Therefore, the following hypothesis was proposed:

H7. During the COVID-19 pandemic, satisfaction with sports policies had a positive effect on the intention to participate in sports.

Methods

Ethical Statements

This study was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Review Board.

Participants

An unspecified number of people living in Korea were selected as the study population using the non-probability convenience sampling method. The participants completed an online questionnaire distributed between November and December 2021 using NAVER (NAVER Corp., Seongnam, Republic of Korea), a portal site with the largest number of users in Korea. This study did not consider the personal characteristics of the respondents and focused on the relationship between sports-related policies and sports participation intentions during COVID-19 (Table 1). Prior to participation, the respondents were provided with information regarding existing sports-related COVID-19 policies. Only respondents who fully understood the purpose of this study were included. A total of 450 responses were collected, with 441 responses used for analysis, excluding 9 responses that were judged as insincere.

Table 1.

Participant Characteristics.

Variable	Category	N	Percentage
Gender	Male	243	55.1
Gender	Female	198	44.9
Age	Under 20s	164	37.2
	30s	71	16.1
	40s	85	19.3
	Over 50s	121	27.4
Participation in sports (per week)	Less than one day	123	27.9
	One day—Less than 3 days	173	39.2
	More than 3 days—Less than 5 days	96	21.8
	More than 5 days	49	11.1
Preference for sports	Indoor sports	202	45.8
Preference for sports	Outdoor sports	239	54.2
Total		441	100.0

Measurement

The questionnaire consisted of 29 questions rated on a five-point Likert scale and divided into four categories: (a) A toral of 10 questions on sports policy trust, including 3 questions on policy expertise, 3 questions on policy consistency, and 4 questions on existing policy performance (Mun & Choi, 2016; Shin & Choi, 2009), (b) 11 questions on policy contents, including 3 questions on market responsiveness, 4 questions on policy effectiveness, and 4 questions on social equity (Mun & Choi, 2016; Y. K. Park, 2006), (c) 4 questions on policy satisfaction (E. Kim & Yoon, 2021; Shin & Choi, 2009), and (d) 4 questions on sports participation intention (D. K. Kim & Ko, 2020). All questionnaire items used in this study were modified and supplemented according to the purpose of this study based on previous studies. In addition, five questions on the general characteristics of the study participants, including gender, age, amount of sports participation, preferred sports, and vaccination status, were added.

Data Analysis

Frequency, exploratory factor, reliability, descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regression analyses were performed using SPSS 23.0, with statistical significance set at .05.

Results

Scale Validity and Reliability

In order to secure the validity of the questionnaire used in this study, content validity verification was conducted with experts in related fields. Then, convergent validity and discriminant validity were verified through confirmatory factor analysis. In conducting the confirmatory factor analysis, multi-dimensional factors such as sports policy trust and sports policy contents were classified, and single-dimensional factors (sports policy satisfaction, sports participation intention) were combined. As shown in Table 2 to 4, the model fit indices was satisfied based on the criteria (CFI > .90, IFI > .90 TLI > .90, RMSEA < .10) suggested by R. B. Kline (1998).

Table 2.

CFA Results of Sports Policy Trust.

Question							β		SE		t
In the COVID-19 era, sports-related policymakers seem to have expertise in sports.							.892		—		—
In the COVID-19 era, sports-related policies seem to have accurately diagnosed and judged the sports market.							.882		0.038		25.555
In the COVID-19 era, sports-related policies contain professional content according to the sports field							.873		0.038		25.277
Policy expertise (AVE = 0.799, CR = 0.922, Cronbach’s α = .914)
In the COVID-19 era, the direction of sports-related policies was consistent with the direction of the COVID-19 quarantine policy.							.845		—		—
In the COVID-19 era, the policy stance related to sports is consistent.							.825		0.053		19.032
In the COVID-19 era, sports-related policies are relatively appropriate.							.781		0.055		17.910
Policy consistency (AVE = 0.709, CR = 0.880, Cronbach’s α = .853)
Sports-related policies before the COVID-19 era were effective in promoting national health.							.797		—		—
Before the Corona era, sports-related policies were policies for the people.							.822		0.056		19.051
Sports-related policies before the COVID-19 era contributed to the growth of the sports market.							.888		0.054		20.943
Prior to the Lona era, sports-related policies achieved results in increasing the participation of the people in sports.							.843		0.056		19.694
Policy performance (AVE = 0.736, CR = 0.918, Cronbach’s α = .903)
Model Fit	x ²	df	p	Q	NFI	TLI		CFI		RMSEA
Model Fit	84.039	31	.000	2.711	0.973	0.975		0.982		0.062

Table 3.

CFA Results of Sports Policy Contents.

Question							β		SE		t
In the COVID-19 era, sports-related policies were properly announced at a necessary time.							.867		—		—
In the COVID-19 era, sports-related policies were announced to be appropriate for the current COVID-19 pandemic situation.							.924		0.042		26.858
In the COVID-19 era, sports-related policies comprehensively considered sports institutions and sports participants.							.856		0.046		23.643
Market responsiveness (AVE = 0.808, CR = 0.927, Cronbach’s α = .911)
In the COVID-19 era, the policy to limit the number of users played a positive role in preventing COVID-19.							.836		—		—
In the COVID-19 era, the usage time limit policy had a positive effect on the prevention of COVID-19.							.890		0.043		24.784
In the COVID-19 era, the policy of restricting outdoor sports activities positively affected the prevention of COVID-19.							.844		0.044		18.955
In the COVID-19 era, the policy of closing indoor sports facilities played a positive role in preventing COVID-19.							.828		0.052		14.333
Policy effectiveness (AVE = 0.707, CR = 0.906, Cronbach’s α = .912)
In the COVID-19 era, sports-related policies were considerate of sports participants.							.882		—		—
In the COVID-19 era, sports-related policies considered sports institution workers.							.895		0.048		23.551
In the COVID-19 era, sports-related policies were applied equally for each event.							752		0.046		21.677
In the COVID-19 era, sports-related policies were not concentrated on specific classes.							.622		0.048		21.005
Social equity (AVE = .631, CR = .870, Cronbach’s α = .872)
Model Fit	x ²	df	p	Q	NFI	TLI		CFI		RMSEA
Model Fit	122.569	39	.000	3.143	0.968	0.969		0.978		0.070

Table 4.

CFA Results of Sports Policy Satisfaction and Sports Participation Intention.

Question						β	SE	t
In the COVID-19 era, I am satisfied with the current government’s fair (compared to other fields) sports-related policies.						.898	—	—
In the COVID-19 era, I am satisfied with the current government’s responsible sports-related policies.						.918	0.035	30.732
In the COVID-19 era, I am satisfied with the current government’s consistent sports-related policies.						.913	0.035	30.532
In the COVID-19 era, I am generally satisfied with the current government’s sports-related policies.						.925	0.033	31.312
Sports policy satisfaction (AVE = 0.863, CR = 0.962, Cronbach’s α = .952)
I will participate in sports from now on regardless of the surrounding situation.						.731	—	—
I am willing to participate in sports in the future.						.916	0.060	19.951
I have a plan to participate in sports in the future.						.971	0.059	21.101
I will try to participate in sports from now on.						.884	0.059	19.167
Sports participation intention (AVE = 0.835, CR = 0.953, Cronbach’s α = .927)
Model Fit	x ²	df	p	Q	NFI	TLI	CFI	RMSEA
Model Fit	43.485	18	.000	2.416	0.988	0.993	0.993	0.057

First, for convergence validity verification, all path coefficients exceeded the standard value of .707 suggested by H. H. Kwon et al. (2007), and the average variance extraction value (AVE) for each factor also exceeded the standard value of .50. Next, to verify the discriminant validity, the mean variance extraction value of the constituent concept proposed by Fornell and Larcker (1981) and the square value of the correlation coefficient were compared. As a result of the analysis, the smallest value among the values was .60, and the largest value among the correlation square values was .50, so the discrimination validity between the constituent concepts was secured. In addition, in the average variance extraction index (AVE) value and conceptual reliability (CR), AVE of all constituent concepts was between .631 and .863 and conceptual reliability was between .870 and .962, so each variable secured intensive validity by satisfying the values (construct reliability is .7 or higher and AVE is .5 or higher) suggested by Fornell and Larcker (1981). Last, as a result of checking the square value of the correlation coefficient between the constituent concepts to verify the discriminant validity, the AVE value of all factors was larger than the square value of the correlation coefficient, so the discriminant validity between the constituent concepts used in the study was secured.

The reliability of the research tools was tested using Cronbach’s α values: policy expertise (.914), policy consistency (.853), existing policy performance (.903), market responsiveness (.911), policy effectiveness (.912), social equity (.872), policy satisfaction (.952), and intention to participate in sports (.927), demonstrating overall confidence (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994).

Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis

The normality of the data was verified using descriptive statistics. The criteria for obtaining normality when verifying univariate normal distribution are skewness (sk) of ±3 and kurtosis (ku) of ±8 (T. J. Kline, 2005). In addition, the results of the correlation analysis presented in Table 5 indicated that there were no multicollinearity problems, as the correlation between variables was less than .80 in all cases (Berry & Feldman, 1985; Vatcheva et al., 2016).

Table 5.

Descriptive Statistical and Correlation Analysis.

Category	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Policy expertise	1
Policy consistency	.617**	1
Existing policy performance	.473**	.481**	1
Market responsiveness	.603**	.696**	.483**	1
Policy effectiveness	.520**	.622**	.393**	.734**	1
Social equity	.535**	.672**	.333**	.666**	.649**	1
Policy satisfaction	.603**	.708**	.446**	.751**	.695**	.787**	1
Sports participation intention	−.052	−.067	.084	−.105*	−.098*	−.106*	−.116*	1
M	2.73	2.88	3.19	2.71	2.79	2.56	2.55	3.94
SD	.87	.79	.81	.84	.92	.85	.83	.73
Skewness	−.035	.048	−.488	.054	.112	.210	.191	−.551
Kurtosis	.094	−.035	.241	−.233	−.365	−.299	−.171	.162

p < .05. **p < .01.

Verification of Multiple Regression Hypotheses

Multiple regression analysis was conducted to verify the research hypothesis established to achieve the purpose of this study. Normality was confirmed through the P-P diagram of the data, and linearity and homogeneity of variance were also confirmed as a result of checking the scatter plot of the data. Therefore, it was found that the basic assumption for performing multiple regression analysis was satisfied.

Hypothesis Verification

The Effect of Sports Policy Trust on Satisfaction

As shown in Table 6, all three sub-factors of policy trust had a positive effect on policy satisfaction (F = 178.719, p < .000): policy consistency (β = .519, p < .000), policy expertise (β = .245, p < .000), and existing policy performance (β = .080, p = .034). As a result of verifying distributed expansion factor (VIF), there was no problem with multicollinearity based on the criteria (10 or lower) proposed by Neter et al. (1989). In addition, sports policy trust accounted for 54.8% of the total variance of satisfaction.

Table 6.

The Effect of Sports Policy Trust on Sports Policy Satisfaction.

Variable	Factor	B	S.E	β	t	p	Tolerances	VIF
Policy satisfaction	Constant	0.084	0.122		0.692	.489
	Policy expertise	0.234	0.040	.245	5.807	.000***	0.579	1.727
	Policy consistency	0.544	0.044	.519	12.261	.000***	0.574	1.727
	Existing policy performance	0.083	0.039	.080	2.128	.034*	0.719	1.392
Adjusted R² = 0.548, p < .000, F = 178.719.

p < .05. ***p < .001.

The Effect of Sports Policy Contents on Sports Policy Satisfaction

As shown in Table 7, all three sub-factors of policy contents had a positive effect on policy satisfaction (F = 376.987, p < .000): social equity (β = .474, p < .000), market responsiveness (β = .329, p < .000), and policy effectiveness (β = .146, p < .000). As a result of verifying distributed expansion factor (VIF), there was no problem with multicollinearity based on the criteria (10 or lower) proposed by Neter et al. (1989). In addition, sports policy contents accounted for 71.9% of the total variance of satisfaction.

Table 7.

The Effect of Sports Policy Contents on Sports Policy Satisfaction.

Variable	Factor	B	S.E	β	t	p	Tolerances	VIF
Policy satisfaction	Constant	0.116	0.076		1.519	.129
	Market responsiveness	0.325	0.040	.329	8.220	.000***	0.399	2.507
	Policy effectiveness	0.131	0.035	.146	3.721	.000***	0.415	2.410
	Social equity	0.465	0.035	.474	13.283	.000***	0.501	1.995
Adjusted R² = 0.719, p < .000, F = 376.987.

***

p < .001.

The Effect of Sports Policy Satisfaction on Intention to Participate in Sports

The regression equation was found to be statistically significant (F = 5.949, p = .15). As shown in Table 8, sports policy satisfaction had a negative effect on sports participation intention (β = −.116, p = .15). As a result of verifying distributed expansion factor (VIF), there was no problem with multicollinearity based on the criteria (10 or lower) proposed by Neter et al. (1989). In addition, sports policy satisfaction accounted for 11.6% of the total variance of intention to participate in sports.

Table 8.

The Effect of Sports Policy Satisfaction on Sports Participation Intention.

Variable	Factor	B	S.E	β	t	p	Tolerances	VIF
Sports participation intention	Constant	4.209	0.112		37.500	.000
Sports participation intention	Policy satisfaction	−0.102	0.042	−.116	−2.439	.015*	1.000	1.000
Adjusted R² = 0.116, p < .05, F = 5.949.

p < .05.

Discussion

This study aimed to identify the effect of trust in and contents of sports policy on policy satisfaction and investigate the relationship between policy satisfaction and sports participation intention.

Sports Policy Trust and Satisfaction

The results indicated that policy trust had a positive effect on policy satisfaction in the order of the three sub-factors: policy consistency, policy expertise, and existing policy performance. This was likely because sports policy varied depending on the number of COVID-19 confirmed patients. Korea implemented a social distancing policy based on the number of confirmed cases. The policy ranged from restricting the number of users in sports facilities to strict measures, such as shortening facility use time or facility closure (Korea Disease Control Agency, 2020). It can be assumed that the government’s consistent message enhanced understanding of the policy, had a significant effect on the formation of a cooperative attitude, and had a positive effect on policy satisfaction. In addition, this study found that expertise had a significant effect on policy satisfaction, which may be a result of evenly reflecting different characteristics, such as sports events, usage patterns, and exercise places, in implementing sports-related policies. Consideration of the characteristics of sports and public opinions leads to implementation of policies with expertise, which is likely to have a positive effect on public policy satisfaction. Furthermore, this study found that existing policy performance had a significant effect on policy satisfaction, which was likely because the government’s newly announced policies were generally well presented compared to previous policies.

As such, this study provides somewhat different implications from previous studies conducted. In the relationship between policy trust and satisfaction, the expertise of policy was generally cited as a factor that took precedence over consistency (J. W. Park et al., 2020). This is because the public’s expectation that performance will also vary depending on the expertise of the policy worked (Jeong & Yang, 2021). However, in this study, consistency on policy was derived as the most influential factor, which is inferred because expertise was also lost as consistent policies were not implemented during the COVID-19. Looking at the results of the correlation analysis of this study, it can be seen that the correlation coefficient between policy expertise and consistency was relatively high at .617. Therefore, during a pandemic period such as COVID-19, policy implementation focusing on consistency rather than expertise in policy is required.

However, according to Trust in Government and “Policy Effective Agenda of the Government at glance report” released by the OECD in 2013, the higher the Trust in Government policy, the lower the public’s satisfaction with policy performance. In particular, as negative factors have a stronger influence on government trust than positive factors (Kampen et al., 2006), it is worth noting that policy trust may also decline sharply if satisfaction with the policy decreases.

As all three sub-factors of policy trust were derived as prerequisites for policy satisfaction, the government should consider policy consistency, expertise, and existing policy performance in the process of policy establishment. Specific and detailed manuals should be created by the government in the process of establishing social distancing policies. The manuals currently utilized in Korea are divided into four stages, which could lead to questions regarding their consistency. A detailed manual would have the advantage of visually reveal that policies were expanded, demonstrating their consistency. In addition, detailed manuals are expected to enhance expertise, as they can present customized policies for various sports fields. In particular, although the stages were classified based on the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients, the performance of manual operation would likely improve if various factors, such as mortality and vaccination, are considered. Furthermore, presenting existing performance and evidence would increase public satisfaction with policy implementation.

Sports Policy Contents and Satisfaction

This study found that social equity, market responsiveness, and policy effectiveness, which are sub-factors of policy contents, had positive effects on policy satisfaction. Most of Korea’s sports-related policies focus on restricting facility use, which directly affects the daily lives of facility operators and users. Social equity reflects equal implementation of policies across sports and people. As COVID-19 policies directly affected people’s daily life, social equity had the greatest influence on policy satisfaction among the three sub-factors of policy contents. Market responsiveness concerns the timely implementation of policies and consideration of all participants. Therefore, as the public’s interest and participation in sports are high, rapid policy establishment had a positive effect on policy satisfaction. The Korean government was able to lower the risk of COVID-19 infection using policies restricting the use of sports facilities; however, the positive functions of sports were compromised, sparking controversy over the effectiveness of the policy (Korea Institution of Sports Science, 2021a). Although policies were gradually relaxed, the public called for a more efficient policy approach that minimizes social damage and lowers the risk of infection. In this process, social equity, market responsiveness, and policy effectiveness were evaluated as major factors in policy evaluation (S. M. Kwon, 2020). In addition, it has been found that the policy contents including them in other fields have a close influence on policy satisfaction, supporting the results of this study (W. Chen et al., 2021; D. H. Kim, 2018).

Therefore, sports-related policies should consider social equity, market responsiveness, and policy effectiveness. In particular, COVID-19 policies were variably applied to industries, with ambiguous standards and lack of detailed manuals, raising public concerns regarding social equity. Although the Korean government implemented a vaccine pass policy for sports facility use, the issue of equity was raised, as the pass system was not applied for religious organizations, such as churches, where many people gather. A more specific and detailed manual would be effective in responding quickly to the market environment. The Korean government eased restriction policies; however, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases soared following this. Moreover, the emergence of mutant strains requires a review of the effectiveness of existing policies. As proposed in Hypotheses 1 and 2, a subdivided manual is expected to increase market responsiveness by improving policy consistency and expertise. On the other hand, as social equity and market responsiveness have a greater effect on policy satisfaction than policy effectiveness, the public appears to consider the implementation process more important than the expected performance of the policy.

Sports Policy Satisfaction and Participation Intention

This study revealed that sports policy satisfaction had a negative effect on sports participation intention, which contradicted the results of previous studies. In general, high satisfaction with policy was expected to have a positive effect on participation intention (S. Park & Hwang, 2009) but this study produced contradictory results to previous studies that had a negative effect. Higher satisfaction with the government’s sports policy resulted in more favorable public attitudes toward related policies, which caused intention to comply with the guidelines and lower intention to participate in sports due to restrictions. This result could be consistent with the arguments of previous studies that the higher the satisfaction with the current situation, the lower the intention to switch to another environment (J. Kim, 2021). Conversely, low satisfaction with government policies led to decreased public ability of policy implementation, resulting in increased intention to participate in sports associated with the tendency to pursue daily life prior to COVID-19. The results supported this assumption, indicating that the average value of policy satisfaction (M = 2.55) was the lowest among the eight variables used in the study, while the intention to participate in sports (M = 3.94) was derived. However, since it would be limited to generalize the results of this study, it should be necessary to re-verify the related contents through follow-up studies.

Therefore, the government should create a sports-related policy that elicits public understanding and empathy rather than a rigid policy that restricts the use of sports facilities. As sports have been shown to have a positive effect on social, physical, and psychological development, sports participation should be approached not as an individual issue but a social concern related to public health. In the end, rather than a one-sided quarantine policy, a quarantine policy accompanied by social consensus and response will be essential. The concept of satisfaction might be very subjective and can be perceived differently by people even with the same policy, so careful strategies will be needed. To overcome a national disaster like COVID-19, healthcare policies like vaccination must be accompanied by the subjective satisfaction of the people with the policies. Therefore, the government should increase satisfaction with sports-related policies and intention to participate in sports.

Limitations and Conclusion

This study aimed to identify the effects of trust in and contents of in sports policy on policy satisfaction and investigate the relationship between policy satisfaction and sports participation intention. Policy trust was found to have a positive effect on policy satisfaction in the order of consistency, expertise, and existing policy performance. In addition, social equity, market responsiveness, and policy effectiveness had a positive effect on policy satisfaction. Furthermore, sports policy satisfaction had a negative effect on sports participation intention.

This study provides meaningful implications for the effective establishment of sports policies. However, this study had some limitations. First, this study focused on clarifying the fragmentary relationship between sports policy and sports participation intention.

People experienced a lot of confusion and difficulties now due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. As such, the government’s quarantine policy is a factor that directly affects the daily lives of the public, and effective policy establishment and implementation are required. It is urgent to supplement policies to play a positive role in overcoming the pandemic, not just forcing the ban on sports participation. Therefore, the results of this study could be fundamental data for establishing effective prevention policies through sports, and provide academic implications for the composition of an academic system in related fields. In addition, it could be expected to contribute to the creation of a healthy social culture by diagnosing the government’s policy and suggesting new directions.

However, as behavioral intentions, such as sports participation intention, act in combination with various factors, future research should examine diverse perspectives using additional variables. Second, this study did not consider the personal characteristics of the participants. As research results may vary depending on personal characteristics, such as gender, age, preference for events, and vaccination status, future studies should analyze the effect of these variables. Third, as this study focused on the sports field, the results of this study cannot be generalized to the entire government policy. Fourth, in this study, the relationship between sports policy and sports participation intention was identified, but since it may vary depending on an individual’s socioeconomic status, health status, and physical facilities, further research should be required to consider it. Last, while various policies related to COVID-19 had been implemented and people are coming out of the threat of the virus, various policies for people’s health after the end of the coronavirus are also important, so people’s trust and satisfaction with the policies may vary over time. Therefore, in future studies, detailed research design by period will be essential.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

The authors express their sincere gratitude to all the participants.

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 iDs

Dong-Kyu Kim

Sung-Un Park

Data Availability Statement

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Relationship Between Sports Policy,Policy Satisfaction,and Participation Intention During COVID-19 in Korea

Abstract

Plain Language Summary

Keywords

Introduction

Significance of This Study

Purpose of This Study

Research Hypotheses

The Relationship Between Sports Policy Trust and Policy Satisfaction

The Relationship Between Sports Policy Content and Policy Satisfaction

Relationship Between Sports Policy Satisfaction and Sports Participation Intention

Methods

Ethical Statements

Participants

Measurement

Data Analysis

Results

Scale Validity and Reliability

Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis

Verification of Multiple Regression Hypotheses

Hypothesis Verification

The Effect of Sports Policy Trust on Satisfaction

The Effect of Sports Policy Contents on Sports Policy Satisfaction

The Effect of Sports Policy Satisfaction on Intention to Participate in Sports

Discussion

Sports Policy Trust and Satisfaction

Sports Policy Contents and Satisfaction

Sports Policy Satisfaction and Participation Intention

Limitations and Conclusion

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

Funding

ORCID iDs

Data Availability Statement

References