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Satellite fans make up an important part of a sport team’s market, but little is known about how long-distance relationships are developed across different cultures. In this manuscript, we utilize the Consumer Culture Theory to examine how satellite fans develop fanship toward foreign professional sport teams. Drawing from 46 interviews with Chinese and American fans of European soccer teams, we developed four archetypal pathways through which fans form relationships with their beloved teams, reflected in the labels “Detached Admirer,” “Relational Networker,” “Industry Analyst,” and “Spiritual Follower.” The findings showed both cross-cultural and intracultural differences in the way satellite fans connect to their teams. In diverse ways, satellite fans construct their desired identities based on the meaning of their fandom, influenced by a variety of social-historical parameters. Accordingly, we bring theoretical innovation to sport fan behavior research and provide managerial actions for teams targeting the satellite fan base.

This research investigates the intricate dynamics between trait competitiveness and sport fan behavior, examining its relationships with situational and surface traits associated with sport consumption. By advancing our understanding of competitiveness as a key influencer in sport participation and entertainment seeking, the study contributes to our understanding of what drives sport fans. Utilizing Mowen’s 3M model and the Big Five personality traits, we explore the influence of traits on competitiveness, predicting its impact on participation and entertainment seeking and fan socializing and basking in reflected glory. The findings unveil the role of competitiveness in shaping behaviors, indicating that competitive individuals actively seek and enjoy competitive and entertaining situations. The research illuminates the paths by which personality traits affect sport consumption behaviors, providing theoretical insights into the complex dynamics of competitiveness in the realm of sport.

During the 2022 season, a documentary crew followed the teams and players in the Korean Baseball Organization, resulting in a 10-episode series Full Count that debuted the following year. The series was broadcast initially in South Korea; however, a later international release through a streaming platform allowed for increased worldwide exposure for the league, teams, players, and, perhaps somewhat uniquely, the culture and traditions in the home country. Therefore, even though the focus was baseball, this program provided a unique opportunity for the world to learn about the people and values of South Korea. Using constant comparative methodology, the following themes emerged: (a) emphasizing team over individual, (b) respecting elders, (c) overcoming adversity, and (d) playing with honor.

Recent changes to the National Collegiate Athletic Association policy on name, image, and/or likeness and transfer policies have transformed how college athletes may market themselves as human brands. Above all, branding success depends on consumer perceptions. Using a national survey of U.S. consumers and an experiment, we test how transfer behavior impacts consumer purchase intentions for a collegiate athlete’s brand. We find that transferring to a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I or Division II school decreases purchase intentions by lowering consumer identification with the athlete through perceived profit motive or perceived athlete quality, respectively. These findings contribute to branding theory and provide insight to players and schools, as they navigate the changing landscape of college athletics.

Modern sport management scholars have paired the fields of positive organizational behavior and human resource development with sport management to enhance the productivity of sport organizations through their employees. One area of study receiving increased attention is meaningful work, an emerging employee well-being metric whose definition is debated. The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which sport employees conceptualize meaningful work. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 32 sport employees. The following themes were identified: meaningful work is work that serves, meaning gained from sport organizations, and individual meaningful work experiences. Discussion offers valuable implications for practitioners of sport management, as well as the emerging scholarly field of human resource development in sport management, and the evolving discourse surrounding meaningful work.