Abstract
Sport spectatorship has been viewed as a relatively passive leisure activity, but it has the potential to provide a multitude of well-being benefits to individuals. To bridge the gap between sport spectatorship and human flourishing, defined as a state of positive functioning in both individual and social life, the authors focused on the role of context-specific fan well-being and conducted a 2-year predictive study using three-wave panel data (n = 417) in professional baseball. The results showed the effects of team identification and fan engagement behavior at Time 1 on future flourishing at Time 3 was fully mediated by context-specific fan well-being at Time 2. Moreover, the effect of team identification (t1) on flourishing (t3) was sequentially mediated first through fan engagement behavior (t1) and then through fan well-being (t2). The findings reinforce the importance of sport-specific fan well-being for leading fans to flourish in daily life.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 180-195 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Journal of Sport Management |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 11 Feb 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 31 May 2025 |
Funding
This study was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Grant No. 20K11371
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Japan Society for the Promotion of Science | 20K11371 |
Keywords
- context-specific well-being
- fan engagement
- mental health
- team identification
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Decision Sciences
- Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
- Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
- Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
Access to Document
- Sport Fans and Flourishing (accepted author manuscript)
Accepted author manuscript version reprinted, by permission, from Journal of Sport Management, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2024-0189. © Human Kinetics, Inc.