Performance Expectancy of Officiating Technology in Spectator-Based Sport Events: Scale Development and Validation

Abstract

In an effort to decrease the number of missed calls and to improve officiating during sport events, various sports leagues have implemented media technology (e.g., Video Assistant Referee, Hawk-Eye). More importantly, the use of officiating technology has significantly influenced spectatorship in various ways (e.g., perception of and attitude toward the technology). Although officiating technology is an impressive tool for communicating final decisions to spectators, few scholars have examined how spectators perceive the use of officiating technology, and no psychometric measurement scale exists that measures this perception. To fill this void, we developed and validated the Performance Expectancy of Officiating Technology (PEOT) scale to measure the perceptions of spectators, one of the most important stakeholder groups in the industry. We identified four sub-dimensions of PEOT: fair judgment, enjoyability, efficient game operation, and convenience of review; a multi-dimensional framework that provides a psychometrically sound approach to assessment. The results reveal that PEOT had a positive and direct impact on attitude toward and intention to watch sport events. In addition, attitude partially mediated the relationship between performance expectancy and intention to watch sport events. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.