TY - JOUR
T1 - Conceptualising commitment
T2 - a thematic analysis of fans of Welsh rugby
AU - Shearer, David
AU - Roderique-Davies, Gareth
AU - Mayer, Peter
AU - Hall, Ross
AU - Hall, G.A
AU - Thomson, R
PY - 2012/2/22
Y1 - 2012/2/22
N2 - Sports fans derive much of their self-concept from their group membership and committing to a specific team is an essential component of fandom. Few studies, however, examine how sports fans commit to their team, or what commitment means for them. An exploratory qualitative study was, therefore, conducted to investigate sports fans' understanding of commitment. Using focus groups, Welsh rugby fans from three regions in Wales discussed their commitment to their favourite team. Thematic analysis was used to interpret Welsh rugby fans' dominant thoughts about their commitment where four themes were identified in the data: affective loyalty, involvement, distinctiveness and individualism. In general, sports fans distinguished between different types of commitment and used commitment as a means for evaluating in- and out-group fan behaviour, as well as for personal image management. Future research could build on the present study by using these themes to develop a measurement scale for assessing fans' commitment to their team.
AB - Sports fans derive much of their self-concept from their group membership and committing to a specific team is an essential component of fandom. Few studies, however, examine how sports fans commit to their team, or what commitment means for them. An exploratory qualitative study was, therefore, conducted to investigate sports fans' understanding of commitment. Using focus groups, Welsh rugby fans from three regions in Wales discussed their commitment to their favourite team. Thematic analysis was used to interpret Welsh rugby fans' dominant thoughts about their commitment where four themes were identified in the data: affective loyalty, involvement, distinctiveness and individualism. In general, sports fans distinguished between different types of commitment and used commitment as a means for evaluating in- and out-group fan behaviour, as well as for personal image management. Future research could build on the present study by using these themes to develop a measurement scale for assessing fans' commitment to their team.
KW - sports fans
KW - commitment
KW - social identity
KW - thematic analysis
U2 - 10.1080/2159676X.2011.653500
DO - 10.1080/2159676X.2011.653500
M3 - Article
SN - 2159-6778
VL - 4
SP - 138
EP - 153
JO - Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health
JF - Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health
IS - 1
ER -