Team Representation: Scale Development and Validation

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to develop a valid and reliable measure of team representation, which refers to the extent to which the residents of a community perceive a local sports team to be representative of the community. Through our literature review, focus groups, and surveys, we identified four key dimensions that serve as formative indicators of team representation (i.e., normative, descriptive, symbolic, and substantive representation) and developed scale items measuring those dimensions. The results of exploratory factor analysis and partial least squares structural equation modeling confirmed the validity of our scale items and reflective–formative measurement model. As the first study to develop and validate scale items measuring specific dimensions of team representation, the current research provides significant contributions to the literature. Our scale items also enable sports teams to assess their representative status in their local communities and develop effective strategies to improve their representation.