Relationship between Sports fans' ESG Perceptions of Professional Baseball Teams and Rewatching Intention : Moderating Effect of Team identification

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of sports fans’ perception of professional baseball teams’ESG management on revisit intention. Methods The subjects for the study were 256 sports fans who visited Jamsil baseball stadium and KT Wiz baseball stadiums located in Seoul and Kyonggi provinces. Several statistical analyses including descriptive analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson's correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling(SEM) analysis were performed. Results The path coefficients between the environmental(t=7.202, p<.001), social responsibility(t=4.393, p<.001), and governance(t=2.260, p<.05) of ESG perceptions and revisit intention were found to be statistically significant among sports fans. Second, team identification was not found to have a statistically significant moderating factor in the relationship between ESG perception and revisit intention. Conclusions Consequently, sports fans’ perception on the environment, social responsibility, and governance of ESG are crucial predictors of rewatching intention. The results of this study are expected to provide justification for ESG promotion to domestic professional baseball team marketers and suggest specific ESG strategies such as environment, social contribution, and transparent management.