The Role of Empathy and Sympathy on Team Identification: The Determinants of Team-Based Approach

Abstract

Given the attitudes and schadenfreude towards competitors in today's sports fan behavior, it is critical for managers to understand fans in terms of empathy and sympathy phenomenon. Therefore, understanding the influence of empathy and sympathy on team or fan identification has been one of the most important determinants of sports marketing. The purpose of this study is to understand the role of empathy and sympathy on team identity and the relationship between them and to reveal the fact that how the demographics of the fans influence their level of fan and level of watching team matches. The current study involved a quantitative research methodology employing a questionnaire containing three parts. The first part of the questionnaire included scale (AMES- twelve items) relating empathy and sympathy, developed from Vossen et al. (2015). The scale of team identification (six items) in the second part was adapted from Gwinner and Swanson (2003). The last part was designed to collect demographic characteristics and fandom of respondents. A total of 300 university students enrolled at a large university in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey participated in the study. The data were collected with convenience sampling through a self-administrated questionnaire. The results of EFA (exploratory factor analysis) revealed three valid dimensions titled as sympathy, affective empathy, and cognitive empathy respectively. The results of the study add to the body of knowledge in team identification, and empathy and sympathy by providing several theoretical and practical implications. Future research should explore the relationship between schadenfreude and empathy, sympathy and team attachment for sport fans.

Keywords

• sports marketing
• team identification
• empathy
• Sympathy
• fan behavior

The Role of Empathy and Sympathy on Team Identification: The Determinants of Team-Based Approach

Öz

Günümüzün taraftar davranışlarında rakiplere karşı tutumlar ve schadenfreude (kötü niyetli sevinç) göz önüne alındığında, yöneticilerin taraftarların empati ve sempati olgusu açısından anlamaları çok önemlidir. Bu nedenle, empati ve sempatinin takım ya da taraftar kimliği üzerindeki etkisini anlamak, spor pazarlamasının en önemli belirleyicilerinden biri olmuştur. Bu çalışmanın amacı, empati ve sempatinin takım kimliği üzerindeki rolünü ve aralarında olan ilişkiyi anlamak ve sporseverlerin demografik özelliklerinin taraftarlık seviyelerini ve takım maçlarını izleme düzeylerini nasıl etkilediğini ortaya koymaktır. Bu çalışma, üç bölümlü anket kullanılmak suretiyle nicel araştırma yöntemi ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Anketin ilk bölümü, Vossen ve ark. (2015) tarafından geliştirilen empati ve sempati ile ilgili ölçeği (AMES - on iki madde) içermektedir. İkinci bölümde, Gwinner ve Swanson (2003)’dan uyarlanan takım kimliği ölçeği (altı madde) oluşturmaktadır. Son bölüm ise, katılımcıların demografik özelliklerini ve taraftarlığını anlamak için tasarlanan bilgi toplama formundan oluşmaktadır. Çalışmaya, Orta Anadolu Bölgesi'ndeki büyük bir üniversiteye kayıtlı toplam 300 üniversite öğrencisi katılmıştır. Veriler, kolayda örnekleme yöntemi kullanılarak katılımcılara verilen anketler aracılığıyla ile toplanmıştır. Açıklayıcı faktör analizi (EFA) sonuçları, sırasıyla sempati, duyuşsal empati ve bilişsel empati olarak adlandırılan üç geçerli boyuttan oluşan anlamlı sonuçları ortaya koymaktadır. Çalışma sonuçları, empati ve sempatinin takım kimliğini anlamaya yönelik çeşitli teorik ve uygulamalı çıkarımlar açısından etkileri olduğunu göstermektedir. Gelecekteki araştırmalar, spor taraftarları için schadenfreude, empati, sempati ve takıma bağlılık arasındaki ilişkiyi araştırmalıdır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• spor pazarlaması
• takım kimliği
• empati
• sempati
• taraftar davranışı

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