The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility and Team Identification on Spectator Behavior in Major Junior Hockey

Sport spectatorship is a predominant leisure activity for many individuals who invest considerable time, discretionary income, and emotional energy in their teams. As a result, spectators are becoming more discerning about different aspects of their fan experience and extending their awareness and evaluation of a team's efforts beyond the main sport spectacle. This study builds on previous research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in sport, which has found that spectators express their opinion of an organization's ethics and practices, such as their CSR programs, through their actions and spending. In order to understand the mechanism behind this, the current study examines the role of team identification as a potential mediator between spectators' perceptions of a Major Junior Hockey team's CSR initiatives and their patronage behaviors. The results show that team identification acts as a partial mediator between awareness and affective evaluation, and different types of patronage behavior.