The effect of sport teams" warmth and competence on sport fans" cognitive and emotional approach behaviors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the main and interaction effects of sport teams’ warmth and competence on team identification and team-related elation. To achieve this purpose, a 2(warmth: high vs. low) × 2(competence: high vs. low) factorial design was utilized with 4 scenarios that represent 4 experimental conditions. Two-way ANOVAs and a simple effect test(n=412) were conducted to test the main and interaction effects of sport teams’ warmth and competence on team identification and team-related elation. The results of this study are as follows. First, sport teams’ warmth and competence had positive effects on team identification, and there was an interaction effect between the two independent variables. Second, sport teams’ warmth and competence had positive effects on team-related elation, but there was no interaction effect between the two independent variables. The study provides the first empirical evidence of the effects of sport fans’ warmth and competence on sport fans’ cognitive and emotional approach behaviors. In order to maximize team identification and team-related elation, sport marketers need to develop specific image strategies for building their teams’ warmth and competence that affect such cognitive and emotional approach behaviors.