How participation motivation affects the psychological and subjective Well-Being of korean golfers

Abstract

Participation motivation and well-being play important roles in sport consumption behavior. This study aims to examine the relationships between participation motivation and well-being among golfers in Korea. A questionnaire survey was conducted amongst 485 golf participants at various places such as golf practice range, private sport club, and golf courses in South Korea. The questionnaire consists of the four sections asking demographics and golf-related experience, participation motivation, subjective well-being (SWB), and psychological well-being (PWB), respectively. The data were examined by using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and linear regression analysis with SPSS 20.0. The results indicate that the majority of the respondents show a positive and favorable motivation, and also show fairly high levels of the PWB and the SWB. Golf participation motivation has a significant influence on both PWB and SWB. The Self-Determination Theory was employed for a theoretical framework and the Sport Motivation Scale to measure intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and amotivation. The results are as follows; firstly, among the three intrinsic motivation factors, ‘intrinsic motivation to know’ is significantly related to well-being. The PWB and the SWB are significantly positively affected by ‘intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation’ and ‘intrinsic motivation toward accomplishments’. Secondly, as for extrinsic motivation composed of three sub-dimensions of extrinsic, ‘external regulation’ has a significant positive effect on the SWB, while ‘introjected regulation’ does not significantly influence the SWB. Amotivation was expected to negatively affect the SWB. However, the results show that there is no significant relation between amotivation and SWB. Over all, both the PWB and the SWB of golf participants are significantly influenced by participation motivation. The findings are expected to help sport marketers understanding how to motivate individuals to actively participate in golf and develop effective strategies to attract potential individuals interested in playing golf.