Philanthropic CSR Participation Intention among Sport Spectators and Fans within the Psychological Continuum Model

The present study utilized a scenario-based cross-sectional survey to assess whether the participation intention toward a sport team’s philanthropic corporate social responsibility (P-CSR) initiative varies among sport spectators and fans based on their strength of psychological connection to the team. Among the four groups (i.e. awareness, attraction, attachment, and allegiance) introduced by the psychological continuum model (PCM), the study found a statistical difference in P-CSR participation intention across most groups within the high P-CSR condition. In the low P-CSR condition, the attachment and the allegiance groups were the only categories with no difference in P-CSR participation intention. The study provides theoretical contributions to the PCM literature, as it is the first to use a self-classification method to segment fans into their respective PCM stages. The study also has meaningful implications for sport practitioners who thrive on interacting with their consumers by developing a community through P-CSR initiatives.