Does a Professional Sport Team's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiative Increase Fans’ Trust in the Team and CSR Participation Intention? A Moderated Mediation Model

The current study examines the impact of a professional sport team's philanthropic initiative on its fans’ CSR participation intention. Turthermore, the study explores how building consumer trust would enhance CSR participation intention among fans with varying psychological connection levels to the team. A scenario-based experimental design was used to test the study hypotheses. The results indicate that CSR participation intention significantly differed based on sport fans’ perception toward their supporting teams’ CSR program. Additionally fans’ trust mediates perceived CSR and CSR participation intention association, and the effect is stronger among lower psychologically connected fans. The study provides theoretical contributions, as it examined the impact of perceived CSR on consumers’ behavioral intention while considering the potential differences in the result based on consumers’ levels of psychological connection to an organization. The study also provides practical implications for sport professionals who aim to build consumer relationships through strategic CSR practices.