Introduction
Sports have been a topic of various televised shows in Korea (Sa & Han, 2023). For instance, Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education (also known as Cool Kiz on The Block) was a program that aired from 2013 to 2016. The program aired competitions in various sports, from the so-called four most famous professional sports in Korea (baseball, soccer, basketball, and volleyball) to less-known sports, such as table tennis, bowling, badminton, judo, etc. After the program’s success, many television shows started to use sports to create television entertainment shows along with music, comedy, talk show, etc. As a result, terrestrial television channels and cable channels started to air sports entertainment (hereafter sportainment) shows that utilized sports varying from golf, baseball, soccer, etc. Recently, one of the sportainment shows,
Kick a Goal, aired on a terrestrial television channel in Korea, Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), is receiving profound attention from the public by marking the top viewer ratings among other sportainment shows aired in both terrestrial and cable channels. Kick a Goal is considered a somewhat different program than other sportainment shows as it utilizes women’s soccer. More specifically, the program recruited women from various fields, such as fashion models, comedians, wives of former soccer national representative team players, announcers, etc. Furthermore, the program started as a follow-up program of a Gentlemen’s League. This similar sportainment program formed a men’s soccer team with former national representative athletes and played soccer with various levels of teams, from amateur to professional teams. Yet, Kick a Goal is receiving its notion as changing how media views women in sportainment shows (Kim, 2022). For instance, Kim (2022) mentioned while women in traditional sportainment shows are viewed from men’s perspectives, such as focusing on the physical attractiveness of women, Kick a Goal tried to deter the traditional perspectives by using different camera works (e.g., viewing group shots of players instead of partially emphasizing player’s body), showing the dynamics of the players, and focusing on the bonding of the players. As a result, Kick a Goal is becoming one of the most viewed sportainment programs in Korea and is said to affect the women’s soccer club participation level by 400% compared to the time when the show was not aired (Choi & Kim, June 2022; Han, July 2022; Park, November 2021; Seo, September 2022). Moreover, one of the most famous soccer-related magazines in Korea wrote an interview article with the president of the Korea Women’s Football Federation and shared that they hope the Kick a Goal’s success will contribute to the development of women’s soccer in Korea (Cho, December 2021). While there may be many ways to measure the development of women’s soccer in Korea, this study focused on how the program affected the increment of women’s participation rate in playing soccer (or futsal).
Although various media deliver the significant impact of Kick a Goal on increasing the women’s participation rate in the soccer club, limited studies are available in academia using the specific context of a certain sportainment program on the impact of the program on increasing the actual sports participation rate; in this study, Kick a Goal. For instance, previous studies focused on analyzing the program’s content instead of the causal relationship between the program’s effect on the viewer’s various behaviors. Specifically, Kim (2022) shared how the Kick a Goal program is centered on the ‘group’ of women as a team and competing with each other, unlike previous sportainment programs focused on individual women’s growth in sports capacity. Their study focused on sharing the program’s impact on sharing a different discourse compared to the past, simply put, from the individual growth of women to form a solidarity of women as a group. Moreover, Lee (2021) shared how the rising popularity of the program reflects the desire of women in Korean society that they want to build commonality and participate in a fair competition in society, as reflected in a soccer game in Kick a Goal. Finally, although not solely focusing on the Kick a Goal, Jo et al. (2021) analyzed how issues related to women’s sports are formed and changed throughout time in media from 2001 to 2021. The study divided the timeline into four stages, 1st (2001-2005), 2nd (2006-2010), 3rd (2011-2015), and 4th (2016-2021). Their study found how media emphasized sharing news regarding a specific female athlete being nominated as an effective player from a certain organization (1st and 3rd period), mentioning female athletes’ physical attractiveness (2nd period), and the rising popularity of women’s sportainment shows (4th period).
Hence, while women’s sportainment show such as Kick a Goal has received academic attention, no studies have analyzed the causal relationship between the women’s sportainment program (Kick a Goal) and the increment in the soccer participation rate. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to test whether women’s fan identity towards a team(s) starring in a soccer sportainment show may affect their actual participation in soccer.
Literature Review
Conceptual Backgrounds
Social Identity Theory and Team Identification
In sports management academia, myriad studies analyze the psychological relationships among factors latent in consumer behavior. For instance, Wann and Branscombe’s (1993) team identification concept, which is grounded on Tajfel’s (1974) social identity theory, and theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) are two of the conceptual and theoretical backgrounds that are used to analyze the psychological process that consumers experience upon their decision to conduct actions related to their sports behaviors, such as being a fan of a certain team or purchasing merchandises related to professional teams, etc. More specifically, Tajfel’s (1974) social identity theory (SIT) explains that an individual’s sense of self is enhanced when they feel that they are part of a group that is valued and acknowledged (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Additionally, it is crucial to note that individuals tend to identify themselves with a group only if they think the group shares their self-concept, ultimately motivating them to become engaged members (Cornwell & Coote, 2005). In this sense, according to Wann et al. (2001), team identification (TI) is the extent to which an individual feels psychologically connected to a sports team or entity. The inception of TI, as described by Wann and James (2018), occurs when a person develops a cognition that they support and follow a team. Lock et al. (2011, 2014) found that various factors contribute to the development of TI, including the team’s location, history, athletes, and other constructs with which the fan identifies, such as the sport itself or their place of origin. Crisp et al. (2007) stated that individuals who strongly identify with a team might view their team’s success as their own and experience negative emotions associated with loss. Additionally, recent studies have pointed out that most studies utilizing the team identification concept are based on men’s sports teams (Delia, 2020). Hence, there need to be more studies that deal with the effect of consumer behavior being fans of women’s sports in academia.
Theory of Planned Behavior
Next, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is a well-studied model for predicting behavioral intentions, with a focus on the role of intention in determining behavior (Ajzen, 1985). TPB posits that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control influence behavioral intentions (Ajzen, 1985, 1991; Lam & Hsu, 2004). Attitude, in particular, is shaped by an individual’s beliefs and evaluations of the consequences of a behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). On the other hand, subjective norms refer to the social pressure individuals feel to engage in a particular behavior and their motivation to comply with referents’ beliefs and expectations (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). Finally, perceived behavioral control is the final determinant of behavioral intention, reflecting an individual’s belief in their ability to carry out a behavior given available resources and opportunities (Ajzen, 1991). When individuals have sufficient resources and opportunities, perceived behavioral control is highest (Madden et al., 1992). Fielding et al. (2008) note that TPB is one of the most widely utilized frameworks for predicting behavioral intentions. Myriad studies have used TPB theory to analyze the behavioral intention of consumers in a sports context (e.g., baseball fan’s spectator intention, Kim & Han, 2017; professional sports team merchandise purchase, Moyer et al., 2015; intention to purchase sports influencer marketed products, Lee, 2021). These studies utilized the predictor variables of TPB theory to analyze various consumer sports-related behavior intentions. They mostly found how positive identification with a certain sports team led to a positive intention to watch professional sports games and purchase team-related merchandise.
Use and Gratification Theory
With the aforementioned conceptual and theoretical backgrounds, previous studies mainly analyzed the relationship between one’s identification with a certain sports team and consumer behaviors. For instance, these studies focused on analyzing the consumers’ behaviors regarding the purchase or spectatorship of sports rather than their actual participation in sports. Yet, a recent study by Kim and colleagues (2022) formed a statistical model analyzing how sportainment viewers’ motivation and satisfaction towards a sportainment program leads to their future intention to participate in actual sports activities. Their study asked participants which sportainment program they watched, including Kick a Goal, and how many times they watched a sportainment program (from 1 to more than four times). This model is based on Katz et al. (1973)’s use and gratification theory (hereafter UG), which explains peoples’ action is based on their needs, ultimately leading to their action’s gratification. In Kim and colleagues’ study (2022), motivations for watching a sportainment program were classified into four categories: 1) seeking information, 2) social interaction, 3) entertainment pursuit, 4) time-consuming, and 5) vicarious satisfaction. Additionally, Kim and colleagues’ (2022) study utilized mean scores of five motivations to analyze the causal relationship between motivation and viewing satisfaction. Furthermore, previous studies mentioned the need for solidarity, in other words, forming an in-group of people who are similar to themselves, as one of the motives that many women watch Kick a Goal (Kim, 2022; Lee, 2021). Based on the results of the previous studies, this study utilized team identification as a motivator to watch a sportainment program, which shows similarity with social interaction motivation considering that this concept is based on the SIT, which emphasizes the importance of belonging to a certain group (Tajfel, 1974).
The Effect of Team Identification on Use and Gratification and Planned Behavior
According to previous studies (Kim & Han, 2017; Kim et al., 2022) study, statistical models analyzing the causal relationship between sports fans’ identification with a team or sportainment program to their intention and an actual visit to watch a game was established. Additionally, the myriad of studies showed what are the predictors of sports fans’ satisfaction, for instance, service quality (Lamberti et al., 2022), team identification (Chung et al., 2020; Prayag et al., 2020), etc., which ultimately leads to one’s intention to revisit the stadium (Chung et al., 2020; Prayag et al., 2020), as well as loyalty towards the team (Lamberti et al., 2022). Their studies analyzed and revealed in common that the more sports fans identify themselves with the team, the more they are satisfied with their experience of being involved with their team. This satisfaction then ultimately leads to a higher intention to visit the game (Chung et al., 2020), form loyalty (Lamberti et al., 2022), and become attached to the sporting event (Prayag et al., 2020). Hence, based on the theories (SIT, TI, TPB, and UG) and two statistical models established by both Kim and Han (2017) and Kim et al. (2022), this study strived to establish a new statistical model to analyze how viewers’ (solely on women) team identification towards a team starring in a Kick a Goal program affect their intention and actual participation in actually playing soccer. In sum, the following research model with research hypotheses was established (See Figure 1):
H1: Women’s identification towards a team starring in a sportainment show will positively influence their satisfaction with watching sportainment shows.
H2: Women’s identification towards a team starring in a sportainment show will positively influence their intention to play soccer(futsal).
H3: Women’s satisfaction with watching a sportainment show will positively influence their intention to play soccer.
H4: Women’s intention to play soccer will positively influence their actual participation in playing soccer.
Method
Participants
Korean women who either identified themselves as a fan of the Kick a Goal sportainment program or members of a women’s sports for all team were recruited through purposeful sampling. Therefore, an online survey link was sent to various women’s amateur soccer clubs affiliated with sports-for-all or university clubs through Instagram, and postings were uploaded to fan communities of the Kick a Goal program. Additionally, snowball sampling was utilized by sending out an online survey link to women’s amateur soccer clubs and asking them to spread the survey to their members. An online survey platform (Qualtrics) was used to collect the data from February 2023 to March 2023. There were no rewards for participation in the survey.
An online survey questionnaire was written in Korean and consisted of 30 items which required approximately five minutes to complete. 237 participants initially replied to the survey, but 75 responses were incomplete. Hence, a total of 162 valid responses were utilized for the analysis. The collected responses were kept in the main author’s password-protected online survey tool webpage and used only for research.
Within the survey, five demographic questions asked participants’ age, frequency, and hours of watching Kick a Goal either on television, over-the-top (hereafter OTT), or through Social Networks Services (hereafter SNS) platforms as a regular program or a short edited content. Table 1 shows the participants’ demographic and viewing rate of the Kick a Goal program. While the participants in their 20s and 30s take up more than 80% of the participants, the authors decided not to remove those over 40s from this study to increase the sample’s generalizability even a little.
Measures
For this study, four scales were adopted from previous studies to measure participants’ team identification toward a team(s) starring in the Kick a Goal program, program viewing satisfaction, intention, and participation in soccer.
The team identification scale was adapted from previous studies (Han et al., 2007; Kim & Han, 2017; Yoon et al., 2013). Three items were utilized to ask participants’ identification of a team(s) in the Kick a Goal program. The scale used a seven-point Likert scale, with 1 being “strongly disagree” and 7 being “strongly agree.” Sample questions included, “If my team is praised, I feel as I am being praised,” and “If my team is criticized, I feel as if I am being criticized.” The scale showed acceptable reliability (alpha coefficient = .73).
Next, the viewing satisfaction scale was adapted from previous studies (Hecht, 1978; Kim et al., 2022). Five items were used to ask about participants’ satisfaction with viewing the Kick a Goal program. The scale used a five-point Likert scale, with 1 being “strongly disagree” and 5 being “strongly agree.” Sample questions included, “Watching the program gives me a feeling of achievement” and “I enjoy watching the program.” The scale showed acceptable reliability (alpha coefficient = .91).
Then, the intention to play soccer scale was adapted from previous studies (Bae & Nam, 2015; Kim & Han, 2017; Lee et al., 2011). Four items were utilized to ask about participants’ intention to play soccer. The scale used a seven-point Likert scale, with 1 being “strongly disagree” and 7 being “strongly agree.” Sample questions included, “If possible, I am going to play soccer(futsal),” and “I have the intention to continue playing soccer(futsal).” The scale showed acceptable reliability (alpha coefficient = .95).
Finally, participation in the soccer scale was adapted from previous studies (Bae & Nam, 2015; Kim, 2016; Im et al., 2010). Five items were utilized to ask whether participants play soccer. The scale used a seven-point Likert scale, with 1 being “strongly disagree” and 7 being “strongly agree.” Sample questions included, “I often play soccer(futsal)” and “I spend time playing soccer.” The scale showed acceptable reliability (alpha coefficient = .90).
Data Analysis
In addition to analyzing descriptive and correlation statistics, this study adopted the path analysis technique, a widely used analysis to analyze the causal relationships in a model with mediating variables (Baron & Kenny, 1986). Hence, the hypothesized model examined the mediating effect of intention to play soccer between viewers’ team identification and their satisfaction with watching the Kick a Goal program, as well as how the intention to play soccer ultimately leads to one’s actual participation. Statistics software SAS 9.4 was utilized to perform statistical analyses.
Results
Descriptive Statistics and Correlations
The descriptive and correlation statistics were computed to test whether an assumption, normality of the variables, is met for further analysis. All variables used in this study showed normal distribution by showing the definite values of kurtosis and skewness less than 7 (Kline, 2016). Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, skewness, and kurtosis) and correlations of the variables are summarized in Table 2.
Path Analysis
Analysis of Hypothesized Model
The hypothesized model suggested in this study was analyzed using path analysis (Baron & Kenny, 1986). Each variable’s composite score was calculated by accumulating the participants’ responses for items and averaging them according to the number of questions in each scale. In order to decide whether the suggested model has a good model fit for further analysis, goodness-of-fit indices suggested by Kenny (2003) were utilized. More specifically, this study utilized the Comparative fit index (CFI) and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI), Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), and Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) to measure how well the hypothesized model fit statistically. As a result, all goodness-of-fit indices were above or less than the cut-off values suggested by Kenny (2003), which indicated the hypothesized model has a good model fit. Table 3 summarizes the goodness-of-fit indices results from the hypothesized model.
Next, the hypothesized model’s path coefficients were decomposed. More specifically, participants’ identification with a team starring in the “Kick a Goal” show showed a significant direct effect on their program view satisfaction (β = .61, p < .01; H1 supported). However, team identification did not show a statistically significant direct effect (β = .09, p > .05) but showed a significant indirect effect via program view satisfaction (β = .22, p < .01; H2 partly supported). In addition, participants’ program view satisfaction had a statistically significant direct effect on their intention to participate in soccer(futsal) (β = .36, p < .01; H3 supported). Finally, participants’ intention to participate in soccer(futsal) showed a statistically significant direct effect on their participation in soccer(futsal) (β = .69, p < .01; H4 supported). Table 4 shows the summary of the hypothesized model’s path coefficients. As a result, the overall model explained 20% of the variance of program view satisfaction, 10% of the variance of intention to participate in soccer(futsal), and 28% of the variance of participation in soccer(futsal). These results were derived by subtracting 1(100%) from each variable’s square root of the standardized error estimates. Hence, Figure 2 shows the final model with standardized path coefficients and errors.
Discussion
Discussion of the Results
The purpose of this study was to establish a model that analyzes whether women’s identification towards a team(s) starring in a soccer sportainment show affects their actual participation in soccer. Moreover, this study strived to add to the previous studies (Delia, 2020), which called for the need to perform studies that analyze the sport fans’ identification of women’s teams. Therefore, a statistical path model was established and analyzed through path analysis (Baron & Kenny, 1986), and the findings indicated the following discussion. First, our model found that there is a significant positive causal relationship between women’s identification towards a team(s) starring in the sportainment show and their satisfaction with watching the show (β = .61, p < .01). Our study’s result is supported by previous studies which shared how women who watch a Kick a Goal program have needs of forming a social group(s) and participate in a fair competition (Kim, 2022; Lee, 2021). This result implies that the more fans identify themselves with a team starring in a Kick a Goal program, the more they are satisfied with watching the program. As more fans watch the sportainment show and identify themselves with a team starring in the show, their needs (or motivations) to form a social group(s) may be satisfied by sharing their companionships of being a fan of the same team. Again, this relationship is portrayed by a significant causal relationship between team identification and satisfaction with watching a show. Therefore, H1 of this study is supported.
Second, our model found that there is no direct statistically significant causal relationship between women’s team identification and their intention to participate in soccer(futsal) (β = .09, p > .05). However, our study’s result indicated there is an indirect effect of women’s team identification via their satisfaction of watching the sportainment show (β = .22, p < .01). In addition, our model showed there is a direct significant statistical causal relationship between one’s satisfaction of watching the sportainment show and their intention to play soccer(futsal). (β = .36, p < .01). While Kim and Han’s (2017) study showed a significant relationship between baseball fans’ team identification and their intention to watch a baseball game, our study revealed a different result. Yet, our study found when identification with a team leads to the satisfaction of watching a program, the satisfaction may ultimately affect one’s intention to play soccer. This shares the result with Lee’s (2021) study, which found people who are satisfied with watching a sportainment show are more likely to have the intention to play actual sports. Additionally, our study’s descriptive statistics show the mean team identification score as 1.97 out of 7, which reflects that most of the participants in our study did not identify themselves with a team(s) starring in the sportainment show. Hence, these results may be explained in two folds. First, unlike Kim and Han’s (2017) study, as long as women are satisfied with watching a sportainment show, they do not have to identify themselves with a team starring in the sportainment show, becoming a fan(s) of a team(s) in other words, to have an intention to actually participate in sports. Second, following Lee’s (2021) results, our study shows as long as the viewers are satisfied with watching a sportainment program, in our study, Kick a Goal, viewers will have higher intention to play soccer(futsal), regardless of their identification towards starring teams. Therefore, while H2 of this study is not supported, H3 is supported according to the study’s results.
Finally, our model indicated one’s intention to play soccer(futsal) has a direct statistically significant causal relationship toward their actual participation in soccer(futsal) (β = .69, p < .01). This result is supported by TPB theory (Ajzen, 1985) and Kim and Han’s (2017) model which found one’s intention to watch baseball game actually leads to their action. Our study’s result implies that when women grow their intention to play soccer, they are more likely to actually play soccer. As per our study, the intention to play soccer is developed through both the team identification towards a team starring in a sportainment show and satisfaction of a show. Therefore, when a fan of Kick a Goal who identifies with a certain team(s) or who does not identify with a team but satisfy watching the program will develop their high intention to play soccer, which will lead to actual participation in playing soccer. Hence, H4 of this study is supported.
Practical Implications
Based on the results of this study, the authors suggest that satisfying the viewers with the program is a first and foremost for promoting the intention or actual participation of women to play soccer. In other words, it can be said that the quality of a sportainment show is important to make fans satisfied with the show, to grow their intention, and to actually play soccer. Hence, as our study’s result shows team identification towards a team starring in a sportainment show leads to their satisfaction with the program, the authors suggest that making the teams more attractive and followable may be utilized to promote viewers’ satisfaction with the program. For instance, as of June 2023, the number of followers of the official Instagram account of the Kick a Goal program is about twenty thousand. Considering that some celebrities who start in Kick a Goal have an Instagram account with followers easily surpassing the official program account (reaching one million at the most), twenty thousand may not be satisfactory. Hence, utilizing Instagram accounts, such as official program accounts, starters, etc., by forming partnerships or promoting marketing campaigns may be one way to promote the program and make the program more attractive and followable.
Moreover, as our study’s descriptive statistics show, many people still do not engage with watching a Kick a Goal. Hence, perhaps attracting the viewers to watch this program in the first place may be considered to promote women’s participation in playing soccer. Utilizing content through various forms of social media, such as Instagram, or by spreading the news related to the program through traditional media, such as television news, to gain accessibility of the program from various age groups may also be considered. In addition, exploring which aspect of the program’s content attract the viewers, such as entertainment, information, interaction, etc., may be done to perform effective program marketing. Attracting more fans through media should come first to make the sportainment program effective in promoting the sports participation rate.
Limitations and Future Study Suggestions
Although our study provided foundational results to provide practical and academic insights, our study is not free from limitations. First, as our study focused on utilizing a single sportainment show that focuses on women’s sports, future studies can utilize more sportainment shows that showed women’s sports participation (e.g., Withces; women’s baseball sportainment show). As Table 1 shows, the participants of this study were shared evenly with those who watch a sportainment program and those who don’t. By utilizing more women’s sportainment program, future studies can collect more samples and test whether women’s intention to participate in sports differ depending on the type of sportainment show they watch. Additionally, more samples should be included in the analysis to run a more statistically sound model.
Next, most of our study’s participants were in their 20s and 30s. Therefore, including more participants in their 40s and 50s will make the results more generalizable. In addition, with the increment of living age in the modern era, living a healthy life is receiving its notion of importance more than ever. Hence, by including more participants in their 40s and 50s, a future study may provide implications for increasing the sports participation rate of women in their 40s and 50s.
Finally, since this study utilized an online survey to establish a statistical model, a future study can use qualitative research methods to explore further the relationship between watching a sportainment show and their actual sports participation. For instance, one can develop an interview questionnaire, or form a focus group, to ask more detailed thoughts about the relationship between a sportainment show and sports participation.
Conclusion
With the rising popularity of women’s sportainment shows, the media focused on sharing the effect of the women’s sportainment show (Kick a Goal) on developing women’s soccer in Korea. However, since this causal relationship has not been dealt with in previous studies, our study established a statistical model to test a causal relationship between one’s identification towards a team starring in a sportainment show and their actual participation in soccer. According to this study, women’s identification with a team in a sportainment show leads to the satisfaction of watching a show, which leads to the intention to participate in soccer and ultimately to actual participation in soccer. Furthermore, the study discussed how a sportainment show could promote women’s actual sports participation. Finally, this study provided future research options suggesting utilizing more sportainment shows, including more participants from the ages of 40s and 50s, and utilizing qualitative research methods.
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