Daniel Lock

In the Absence of Achievement: The Formation of New Team Identification

Abstract Motives to attend sport and form identification with sporting teams attract considerable attention in the literature. Previous research has determined that vicarious achievement is a key construct leading to attendance and identification. Conceptual and theoretical development has focused on established sport teams, and has not been inclusive of the formation of identification in a new team context. New sport teams do not have a history of achievement or well established traditions through which to attract fans, thus the constructs that influence the formation of identification with new sport teams may be conceivably different. In this study a mixed-method approach was used to explore key themes leading to the formation of new team identification with a new football team in Australia. Findings illustrated that vicarious achievement is less relevant in a new team, new league context. New team identification was characterized by a strong desire to support the sport of football in an Australian league. The home city of members and the match day occasion were also important themes in the formation of new team identification.

Enabling Inclusive Sport Participation: Effects of Disability and Support Needs on Constraints to Sport Participation

ABSTRACT Framed by a social approach to disability and leisure constraints theory, this paper presents the results of a national study examining the constraints to sport participation for people with disability. Responses were obtained from a multi-platform questionnaire survey capturing data on constraints to participation, dimensions of disability, and level of support needs. The Exploratory Factor Analysis identified five structural together with intrapersonal and interpersonal constraint factors. While intrapersonal and interpersonal considerations were found to constrain sport participation and nonparticipation, the five structural factors had the most significant constraining impact on sport participation. The findings showed that disability type and level of support needs explain significant variations in constraints to participation and nonparticipation. When the 2-Way MANOVA included type of disability and level of support needs as contingent independent variables, the level of support needs was the most significant indicator of the likelihood of having constraints to participation or nonparticipation.

Identity crisis: a theoretical analysis of ‘team identification’ research

ABSTRACT Research question Existing team identification research uses various definitions, conceptualisations, and theoretical frameworks. In this paper, we provide a theoretical analysis of previous research using the two dominant theoretical approaches: identity theory and the social identity approach. Our primary purpose is to provide a theoretical framework for the on-going study of ‘team’ identification in sport management research. Findings Scholars have used identity theory (role) and the social identity approach (group) in their quest to understand team identification, however, limited attention has been paid to the differences between the two frameworks. We focus on two aspects of role and group identification that epitomise divergence in terms of analytical focus and explanations for behaviour: the basis for identification and salience. Implications The manuscript concludes with three recommendations for future research. First, with the aim of making future research more specific, we recommend the use of fan (spectator) identification in studies using identity theory and team identification (organisation/brand) in studies exploring the influence of group identity. Second, we outline definitions for role (fan) and group (team) identification in sport research. Finally, we reflect on the measurement of team identification.

Fan perspectives of change in the A‐League

Football in Australia has undergone pronounced changes since 2003. Significant changes to national league competition structure have been made in an attempt to separate the sport from its socio‐historical links with expressive ethnicity. This study employs a qualitative methodology to analyse members of foundation A‐League club Sydney FC to examine two specific research interests. Firstly, the study examines the extent fans perceive the A‐League to represent a change from the NSL. Secondly, in a league that appears to have shed ethnic linkages, how do individuals identify as fans with a specific A‐League club?

A social identity analysis of technological innovation in an action sport: judging elite half-pipe snowboarding

ABSTRACT Research question: We explore how facets of the group identity shared by elite half-pipe snowboarding (EHPS) constituents (i.e. judges, athletes, and coaches) shape attitudes towards a proposed technological innovation to the existing judging process. Research methods: Forty-nine EHPS constituents (coaches, athletes, and judges) completed an open-ended questionnaire and email protocol. The sample included participants from 19 countries in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America; all of which participated, coached, or judged in Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS) or Olympic EHPS competitions. Results and discussion: Participants valued the freedom, individuality, and performance progression the current subjective judging protocol endorses. However, performance progression and changes to the half-pipe have created an increasingly difficult judging task. Participant attitudes towards the proposed innovation varied based on whether it was used to compute athlete final scores or to assist judges with their decision-making. Positive attitudes stemmed from the technological innovation providing support to judges, while retaining the flexibility of the existing performance assessment process. Negative attitudes emerged due to perceptions the innovation would inhibit athlete freedom, creativity, and individuality. Implications: Sport managers need to pay close attention to the identity shared by constituents prior to implementing innovation processes. Doing so provides a basis to apply new technological innovations in alignment with the values and beliefs of importance to constituents.

The Janus face of diversity in Australian sport

In this essay, Janus is used as a metaphor for examining the nature of cultural diversity in Australian sport. It does so by firstly presenting a historical context for sport in Australia and the relative lack of cultural diversity found in sport. Within a country dominated by the running codes of football and cricket, the position of soccer in Australia was somewhat unique as it became a bastion for many non-Anglo migrant groups. However, in the 1980s and 1990s soccers lack of organizational success at the state and national level was negatively ascribed to the tensions between the ethnically affiliated clubs, the same clubs that were ironically the stalwarts driving the growing popularity of the sport. We examine the initiatives used to restructure the game in Australia to make football more appealing to mainstream (i.e. non-ethnically aligned) spectators. The contemporary situation is explored through secondary documentation and the results of a survey of 3,056 spectators undertaken during the first season of the new A-League are presented. The essay concludes with a discussion about the relative success of the restructure in terms of changing the face of Australian soccer.

Using New Media to Engage Consumers at the Football World Cup

For one month, every four years, the FIFA World Cup draws global attention to 32 national teams competing to win the Jules Rimet Trophy. In 2006, the World Cup final attracted a global audience of more than 715 million people; in 2010, expansive television rights deals led to the broadcast of the tournament to 204 countries. The magnitude of the World Cup in terms of global interest and viewership provides clear evidence of consumer interest. However, engaging consumers — as new-media technologies evolve — represents an increasingly complex challenge for FIFA, event organizers, host cities, partners and sponsors. As such, understanding the process of consumer engagement as distinct from other established marketing constructs provides an important basis to introduce strategies to allow audiences to interact with and create content before, during and after the tournament.

‘You belonged to something’: exploring how fundraising teams add to the social leverage of events

ABSTRACT Research question: Participatory sport event managers and marketers encourage individuals to register and complete events as members of teams that raise funds for a specific charitable cause. The prevalence of fundraising teams presents an opportunity to investigate how these subgroups can deliver social impacts that are complementary to those sought by event organisers. Accordingly, the purpose of the current research is to examine how successful teams contribute to the social interactions and event experience of members. Research methods: We purposively sampled two highly successful fundraising teams that participated in a running and swimming event. Qualitative data were collected via post-event focus groups and 14 interviews with members of Mands’ Mob (Run Melbourne) and the Yarra Babes (MS 24-Hour Mega Swim) who raised funds for two charities: Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation and Multiple Sclerosis Australia. Results and Findings: Five themes were uncovered: (1) team leader communication, (2) team catch-ups, (3) theming, (4) humanising the cause, and (5) bonding at the event. These themes demonstrate that fundraising teams bolster the experience throughout, assist with training, and facilitate social interaction throughout the event among team members. Implications: The themes demonstrate how successful fundraising teams create social impacts that might be leveraged by organisers. There is scope to broaden efforts to complement the work of team leaders in order to inspire participants through personal narratives and distinguish teams through a visual identity and image.