Crisis Perceptions, Fan Behaviors, and Egocentric Discussion Networks: An Investigation into the Impervious Nature of NFL Crises
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- March 22, 2019
- Creator
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Harker, Jennifer
- Affiliation: Hussman School of Journalism and Media, Mass Communication Graduate Program
- Abstract
- This dissertation uniquely measured stakeholders’ perceptions of crisis, and the affective and behavioral outcomes of those perceptions. More specifically, sport identification, fan behaviors, and egocentric discussion network analyses were all situated within the framework of situational crisis communication theory to explore the ways in which individuals react to and communicate perceptions concerning sport crises. Stakeholders’ perceptions were divided into two categories, crisis perceptions and reputational outcomes, and tested for associations with sport identification and the activation of several fan behaviors. This dissertation captured stakeholders’ perceptions regarding four crises involving the National Football League (NFL) among the three structural levels of the NFL organization: the league as a whole entity, the team as an organization, and athlete as individual. Each crisis, by level of attribution, was then explored in tandem with the sport-specific measurements of sport identification and the activation of fan behaviors. Sport identification was uniquely examined in this dissertation as a relational history with sport entities and actors, and was tested as a predictive antecedent to stakeholders’ perceptions. Sport identification was tested for its predictive power over stakeholders’ perceptions and for its driving force behind the activation of fan behaviors. Several fan behaviors, including CORFing, Blasting, and Schadenfreude, were examined for their role in the psychological and behavioral image management attempts in response to general sport outcomes and in response to sport crises. Findings indicate that sport identification is indeed a predictive element of stakeholders’ perceptions regarding sport crises, as well as an activating factor of fan behaviors in response to both general sport outcomes and in response to sport crises. However, sport identification tracks in an interesting new direction different than originally hypothesized within this research. As a result, this dissertation extended current knowledge and furthers current theory, method, and practice across the crisis communication, sport public relations, and the network perspective bodies of literatures. Exciting new directions are paved by this dissertation for future sport crisis communication research, including the application of fan behaviors as crisis outcomes and the calibrating propensity of identification.
- Date of publication
- May 2018
- Keyword
- DOI
- Resource type
- Advisor
- Austin, Lucinda
- Riffe, Daniel
- Jensen, Jonathan
- Billings, Andrew
- Saffer, Adam
- Degree
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Graduate School
- Graduation year
- 2018
- Language
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