Influence of Spectator Service Satisfaction and Team Identification on Fans’ Re-Spectating Intention: Focusing on the Korean Basketball League

Joon Sung Lee (University of Michigan), Kisung Kwon (Seoul National University), Kyungun Kim (University of Texas), Joon Ho Kang (Seoul National University)

Abstract: Established back in 1997, the Korean Basketball League (KBL) has become one of the most recognized professional sport organizations representing Korean professional sport industry. Since its launch, the KBL has provided sport fans with various chances to enjoy the sport of basketball. In addition, the organization has contributed to development of both tangible and intangible infrastructures of Korean basketball industry. However, while the organization has experienced various achievements, several incidents (e.g., growth rate of audience) illustrate that the KBL has reached its plateau. Thus, the purpose of this study is twofold. First, the current study aims to review the KBL by and large (e.g., league history, historical events, organizational structures, scope of business, etc.). Second, this study seeks to examine the influence structure among the KBL fans’ team identification, core and peripheral service satisfactions, and the fans’ re-spectating intention. The data was collected from onsite spectators who attended a regular season game of the KBL (N = 205). The analyses include descriptive analysis (e.g., mean, SD, skewness, kurtosis, and, demographics), reliability test (e.g., Cronbach's α), validity test (e.g., correlation test, confirmatory factor analysis), and structural equation modeling. The results showed that the KBL spectators’ team identification level influences their re-spectating intention directly. Second, the spectators’ core- and peripheral-service satisfactions positively affect the spectators’ team identification level. Lastly, satisfactions with core- and peripheral-service directly and positively influence the re-spectating intention. Theoretical and practical implications as well as future research directions are provided.