The effect of perceived CSR on team identification and team loyalty in professional football in Korea

Abstract

This study aimed to examine how the perceived fit of a professional football team's CSR activities (fan-team's CSR and team-team's CSR) influences team identification and team loyalty. Participants were 208 spectators attending a professional football match in South Korea. For the study, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation model (SEM) were conducted to analyse the data. Findings showed that the perceived fit between the fans and the team's CSR significantly affected team identification, but the perceived fit between the team and the team's CSR had no significant effect on team identification. Team identification positively influenced team loyalty. In addition, the study found that team identification was an important mediating variable between the perceived fit of the fan-team's CSR activities and team loyalty. Lastly, contributions and limitations are presented.