Jessica R. Murfree and Natasha T. Brison

Abstract

Organizations are increasingly prioritizing green, or pro-environmental, goods and services due to the heightened urgency of environmental concerns. However, this trend has given rise to instances of greenwashing, or deceptively marketing pro-environmental claims with or without intention (Delmas & Burbano, 2011). Greenwashing has been present in marketing campaigns for several decades and is gaining attention in sport organizations, though scholarly exploration remains limited. This study utilizes Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) framework for a scoping review to investigate the extent of green marketing in sport and potential greenwashing occurrences. Analyzing scholarly literature from 1990 to 2022 resulted in 34 articles for synthesis. Despite growing public awareness, most greenwashing in sport research is closely tied to recreation and tourism. Identified themes, such as social leveraging, highlight knowledge gaps at the intersection of sport marketing and sport ecology, urging further scholarly inquiry in this area.

Keywords: greenwashing, marketing, environmental, sustainability, sport, scoping review

DOI: doi.org/10.32731/SMQ.342.062025.01

Weisheng Chiu, Han Soo Kim, and Young Suk Oh

Abstract

This study aimed to explore how the attributes of sports and fitness live streaming (SFLS) streamers—namely social attractiveness, physical attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise—affect consumers’ subjective well-being through their flow experience and emotional attachment. Study participants were recruited using Wenjuanxing, an online survey platform based in China. Among the total sample collected, 1,047 valid cases were utilized for analysis. Data were analyzed using both symmetric and asymmetric approaches: partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The PLS-SEM results showed that physical attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise positively affected consumer flow experience and emotional attachment to live streamers. Moreover, the flow experience positively led to emotional attachment. Finally, both flow experience and emotional attachment had a significant impact on subjective well-being. The fsQCA results complemented the PLS-SEM findings and identified six configurations, resulting in high subjective well-being. The findings of this study contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the uniqueness of SFLS consumption and provide insightful practical implications for the sports and fitness industry.

Keywords: live-streaming, well-being, flow, emotional attachment, mixed method approach

DOI: doi.org/10.32731/SMQ.342.062025.02

Sardar Mohammadi, Wenche Wang, Seyyed Iman Ghaffarisadr, and Jamil Nawkhasi

Abstract

Omni-channel marketing, which seamlessly integrates both offline and online channels, has ushered in transformative shifts in sport consumer expectations for shopping experiences, as well as their decision-making and purchasing processes. The current study presents a model that integrates four existing frameworks to explicate consumer purchasing decisions of sporting goods on omni-channels. We conducted empirical testing using survey data from 401 respondents, revealing the important roles of technology acceptance, pleasure, arousal, dominance, perceived compatibility, perceived risk, perceived cost, and enjoyable experience in shaping consumer attitudes and purchase decisions. Our findings provide practical implications for sporting goods retailers engaged in omni-channel marketing, offering guidance on designing optimal marketing and management strategies to enhance the overall consumer experience.

Keywords: omni-channel marketing, e-commerce, purchase intention, sporting goods, technology advancement

DOI: doi.org/10.32731/SMQ.342.062025.03

Austin C. Bogina, Thomas J. Aicher, Kaylee C. Bogina, and Brian S. Gordon

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to explore how professional runners form attitudes toward sponsors. The secondary purpose was to understand perceived relationships of professional runners with sponsors. This study was guided by the relationship marketing theory, and the conceptual background on sponsorship relationships was presented in detail. The research was conducted with a USA Track & Field certified professional running team, using semi-structured interviews with eight of 12 team members. The results were categorized into three common themes: (1) relational benefits, (2) relationship quality, and (3) satisfaction. Five additional sub-categories were produced and warrant further consideration: (1.1) confidence benefits, (1.2) social benefits, (1.3) special treatment benefits, (2.1) trust, and (2.2) commitment. Key findings fill a gap in the existing literature and advance the limited knowledge on the professional running scene by offering a new perspective yet to be explored.

Keywords: sponsors, participatory sport, runners, relationship marketing

DOI: doi.org/10.32731/SMQ.342.062025.04

Yoseph Mamo

Abstract

Despite ample research over the past two decades on the perceived social impact of sport events and event-related activities for residents, participants, program recipients, and fans, there is a dearth of research on sport organization efforts on digital media, particularly social media. One pivotal avenue for inducing social impact is through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Drawing from stakeholder, use, and gratification theories, we address this gap by examining public emotional and psychological benefits of CSR initiatives on social media. We analyzed 35,931 tweets directed at the @nbacares handle from 2010 to 2022 (n=32,383 unique contributors) using a multi-method approach that combined machine learning, negative binomial regression, and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). Findings suggest that the public expresses positive emotions—trust, joy, and anticipation—towards sport organization CSR initiatives. Specifically, joy fuels retweets, while trust drives likes. These positive emotional responses result in psychological benefits, with community attachment being the most prevalent outcome, followed by community excitement and pride.

Keywords: social impact, uses and gratifications, sentiment analysis, topic modeling, corporate social responsibility, emotions, machine learning

DOI: doi.org/10.32731/SMQ.342.062025.05

Andrea N. Geurin, Natasha T. Brison, Lauren M. Burch, Nicholas M. Watanabe, and Akira Asada

Abstract

This study examined social media posts by athletes from eight nations (Australia, Brazil, Germany, Iran, Japan, South Africa, United Kingdom, and United States) with varied applications of the International Olympic Committee Rule 40 during the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Guided by the concept of ambush marketing, we sought to determine to what extent Olympic athletes followed or violated Rule 40 during the Tokyo Games and what impact that had on engagement with their posts. Our quantitative content analysis of 9,387 Instagram posts from 622 athletes revealed that 4.32 percent of posts violated Rule 40, and these posts received significantly less engagement than non-violation posts. Theoretically, our findings contribute to the ambush marketing literature by offering confirmation that athletes from several nations engage in ambush marketing via social media, and athletes developed a new way to circumvent Rule 40 by tagging their personal sponsors within images.

Keywords: ambush marketing; social media; Rule 40; sport marketing; Olympic Games

DOI: doi.org/10.32731/SMQ.342.062025.06