Establishing a Typology of Social Media Uses in the Sport Industry

Abstract

This study developed a typology of social media uses in the sport industry utilizing multidimensional scaling. Study progression followed three phases beginning with a qualitative analysis of sport social media consumers. The second phase examined responses collected through online surveys made available through social networking sites. The results suggest that social media uses in sport fluctuate along two separate but related dimensions: high and low activity and interactivity. During the final phase, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed to determine elements that lead to the development of these dimensions. Based on the EFA results and established dimensions, social media uses fall categorically into four distinct domains: cooperation community, competition community, proactive community, and passive community. This study makes a significant contribution to the literature by empirically validating a framework upon which social media consumption can more accurately be measured.