26:T42d,

Sport organizations often use cause-related marketing (CRM) initiatives to enhance their image. However, CRM initiatives often fall short of intended objectives. Utilizing signaling theory, this study examines how a CRM initiative may influence college students’ attitudes toward the athletic department. Respondents were shown a social media message promoting a mental health-related CRM initiative sponsored by an intercollegiate athletic department, and respondents’ attitudes toward the athletic department were compared pre- and postviewing the message. A repeated-measures analysis of covariance design was utilized to examine if message presentation and/or respondent gender affected the change in attitudes toward the athletic department. Results indicate that CRM initiatives positively impact attitudes toward athletic departments, and female respondents showed a more significant attitude change than male respondents. Findings suggest there is value in athletic departments engaging in CRM initiatives, especially when targeting female consumers.

27:T46e,

In this study, the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions was applied to the spectator sport context. We examined the upward spiral process of positive emotions toward human flourishing, defined as long-term positive functioning in both personal and social life. Three-wave (t₁, t₂, t₃) panel data were collected from 326 baseball fans over two seasons. The results revealed that positive emotions (t₁) induced by sport spectatorship were sequentially related to flourishing (t₃) first through broadening cognitive (fan learning) and behavioral (fan rituals) repertoires (t₁) and then through experiencing social fan well-being (t₂) as an enduring social resource. Moreover, the effect of psychological fan well-being (t₂), another enduring resource in this study, on flourishing (t₃) was contingent on the quality of sport teams (t₃). Our theoretical explanations and results provide clarity to guide future research on a bottom-up approach to enhancing future flourishing through spectator sport consumption.

28:T44c,

Despite extensive research on corporate social responsibility (CSR), the effects of message framing within sport CSR remain unexplored. This study bridges this gap by examining how message framing impacts donation behavior through emotions, using advanced biometric facial expression analysis. Results indicate that negatively framed messages, which evoke sadness, lead to higher donation amounts than that of positive emotions. Additionally, perceived CSR motives and team identification moderated these effects. CSR motives perceived as public-serving were more effective, especially when they evoked sadness. In contrast, when CSR motives were perceived as self-serving, a significant positive relationship between negative emotions and donation was found only among individuals with high team identification. By understanding the emotional mechanisms at play and considering factors such as perceived CSR motives and team identification, charitable organizations can design more effective fundraising campaigns that resonate with donors and inspire greater generosity within sport context.

29:T4af,

This study explores the antecedents of fans’ social media engagement with their favorite football team, focusing on sport involvement, team identification, and subjective perceptions of performance through the lens of the Consumers’ Online Brand-Related Activities (COBRAs) framework. Data was collected from 609 football (i.e., soccer) followers of a sport Facebook page. The structural equation model analysis results showed that sport involvement predicts team identification, and that team identification leads to subjective perceptions of performance. Team identification was related to all social media engagement dimensions (i.e., consumption, contribution, and creation), whereas involvement was associated only with consumption and subjective pe