Understanding the Relationship between Past Experience of a Sports Mega-Event and Current Spectatorship: The Mediating Role of Nostalgia

Abstract

Mass sport participation has received considerable attention in the recent sport management literature. However, little is known about sport spectatorship as an outcome of sports mega-events (SMEs). This is the first study to use cross-cultural analysis to examine the relationship between the 2002 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup Korea/Japan and current football spectatorship in the host countries. In the context of SMEs, this study uses the psychological construct of nostalgia as a mediator to identify the relationship with spectatorship. Data from 416 and 408 respondents from South Korea and Japan, respectively, were collected through online surveys and analysed cross-culturally using Hayes’ PROCESS macro model 4. We find that the nostalgia evoked by the 2002 World Cup has positively influenced the host nations’ current football spectatorship. While this SME has a strong impact on evoking nostalgia, the effect of nostalgia on spectator behaviour is significant, yet comparatively weak.

1. Introduction

In the host nations of sports mega-events (SMEs), such as the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup or the Olympic Games, mass sport participation has been seen as an intangible and sustainable outcome of SMEs [1,2]. For decades, sport participation has been an important research topic among sport management scholars, especially in countries that have hosted SMEs ([3,4,5,6,7,8]).

Despite the ongoing debates on the efficacy of SMEs with regard to mass participation, sport spectatorship, one of the two pillars of sport consumption behaviour (the other being sport participation) [9,10], has not received the same level of scholastic attention in the context of impacts generated by SMEs. Although sport spectatorship is believed to facilitate individuals’ psychological well-being (e.g., self-esteem, national pride, social interaction, and group affiliation) through an emotional connection with their favourite sport team(s) [11,12,13,14], it has not been included in the category of the outcomes directly or indirectly generated by SMEs, which are commonly referred to as the legacy of the event (e.g., social, economic, health, infrastructural, and tourism legacy) [6,15,16,17,18].

Instead, sport spectatorship is perceived as a sport consumer behaviour, cultivated by sport marketing and business disciplines [19]. The extant literature on sport spectatorship mainly focuses on spectators’ motivations, such as why fans watch/attend sport events [20,21]. These motivations are commonly segmented by psychological, emotional, social, or environmental variables. From event legacy perspectives, sport spectatorship is not seen as a by-product, nor a consequence, but rather as an antecedent or key driver for making events happen.

However, we believe that sport spectatorship, one of the critical aspects of sport consumer behaviours [22], in parallel with sport participation, can be influenced by the impact of SMEs. Thus, given SMEs act as a motivational construct that can change sport spectatorship behaviour, where various motivational factors are combined (e.g., psychological, environmental, and cultural factors), this study analyses the sport outcomes generated by SMEs. It focuses on whether spectatorship, as a sport consumption behaviour, is influenced by SMEs. Further to examining the influence of SMEs on sport spectatorship behaviour, we also discuss the relationship by focusing specifically on the link between “past” event experience and “present” memories of SMEs, analysed at individual and collective levels.

To determine whether there is a relationship between sport spectatorship and SMEs, this study examines the football spectatorship outcomes of the 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. In an attempt to explain the spectatorship effect of the SMEs from a retrospective angle, the relationship between the World Cup spectatorship experience and the change in the present football spectatorship in the host countries is investigated using the psychological construct of nostalgia.

Since the 2002 FIFA World Cup was co-hosted by two countries (the first time in the event’s history that it was held in more than one country), we used a cross-cultural approach. We then assessed how each host country responded to the SME with its spectatorship behaviour, whilst integrating the dynamics of nostalgia as a multidimensional motivation driver caused by past memories. This is the first attempt to measure the spectatorship outcomes of SMEs empirically using the concept of nostalgia. In the context of the 2002 World Cup, this approach sheds light on how SMEs are consumed in host countries.

2. Theoretical Framework

2.1. Sport Spectatorship as a Consumer Behaviour in the Context of SMEs

Sport as a leisure activity has developed into two distinct behaviour patterns, albeit with the same origin: participation and spectatorship ([9,19]). Although they share the same origin, each pattern has retained its heterogenous qualities in its actualisation, such as motives, attitudes, and determinants [20,21,22,23,24]. Elias and Dunning [9] described these two intrinsic ambivalences in spectator behaviour, stating that “…from these earlier days, the term sport was never confined to participant sport alone: it always included contests undertaken for the enjoyment of spectators, and the principal physical exertion could be that of animals as well as humans” (p. 8). Guttmann [10] further proposed that a substantial distinction between the “player” and “spectator” roles was not made until the 17th century, when sport was modernised through the civilising processes of rationalisation, specialisation, and professionalisation. Conversely, the acts of “playing” and “watching someone play” were originally carried out simultaneously. In contrast, scholars such as Kenyon and McPherson [25], Tokuyama and Greenwell [26], and Zillmann et al. [27] showed a somewhat integrated view, asserting that there is a relationship between participation and spectatorship behaviour, and that the two interact with each other such that the former acts as an antecedent to the latter, or vice versa. Considering sport as an active leisure activity, Henderson [28] postulated that these two activities lie on opposite ends of the spectrum: spectator sport is described as “organized entertainment”, whilst participant sport involves “physical exertion”.

According to Roche [29], SMEs are defined as large-scale sporting events, which have a dramatic character, mass popular appeal, and international appeal. Furthermore, Horne [30] stated that SMEs seem to have significant consequences for the hosting nations where they occur, alongside the huge media coverage that they attract. From the perspective of SMEs, because of the distinctive value that each sport behaviour holds in regard to sport consumption, the two pillars of sport consumption behaviour have been developed differently based on the role that each of them plays in SMEs. Sport participation, on one hand, has become one of the impacts, often called legacy, generated from SMEs as an outcome in association with health benefits [6,16,18]. Legacy, in the context of SMEs, can be defined as the tangible or intangible outcomes or by-products generated for and by an SME that remained in the minds of the spectators longer than the event lasted, whether this was planned or unplanned by key stakeholders [17]. Sport participation, therefore, is categorised as a part of a sport legacy, defined as an intangible promotion of health through sport participation, due to spectators becoming inspired by an SME and subsequently participating in sport themselves [15,16,17,18].

Sport spectatorship, on the other hand, has become a key driver for spectators to attend/watch SMEs due to the entertainment value derived from international sporting competitions. Sport spectatorship was originally defined as individuals “observing” athletic contests at certain cites [10]. However, sport spectating has become facilitated by commercial entities because of its profit-generating potential, largely through the professionalisation of sport. Furthermore, spectating behaviours have become diversified through the development of media technology, allowing spectators to observe events directly (e.g., attending themselves) or indirectly (e.g., watching sport events online or on mobile devices) [10,31]. The sport spectatorship literature has identified various motivational factors influencing spectator involvement and related behaviours that provide an insight into what makes individuals watch/attend sports events [21,22].

In response, a wide variety of spectator motivations have been defined and developed based on the environment and cultural background where each spectating behaviour occurs. However, as with sport participation, sport spectatorship can be an outcome in the form of an intangible aspect of sporting culture or a phenomenon that SMEs generate, especially in hosting nations. As Horne [32] illustrated, SMEs in the 21st century have evolved into commercially motivated global sport spectacles, promoted by corporate sponsors, media, local governments, and international governing bodies. SMEs are used as effective communication and commercial channels in order to influence sport consumption behaviour sustainably [32,33].

Considering the inherent features of sport, the historical and commercial development process of consumer behaviour, and the influence of contemporary SMEs on sport, the present study posits that the effect of SMEs on sport legacy should not necessarily be limited to participation but should extend to spectatorship outcomes as well. This extended scope, in terms of a sustainable sport legacy, provides sport marketers and policymakers with a better understanding of the complexity of SMEs, especially the changes in the behaviour patterns of spectators in host countries. Our research framework is presented in Figure 1, and our first hypothesis is as follows:

Hypothesis 1 (H1).

The past World Cup experience positively influences present football spectatorship behaviour.

2.2. Nostalgia as a Psychological Construct in Sport Tourism, Marketing, and SMEs

An individual’s past memories often motivate them to take a certain course of action. This decision-making process (e.g., the motive for buying) is influenced by emotional characteristics, such as a longing for the past [34], and is associated with an emotional state commonly called nostalgia. In recent studies in modern psychology, nostalgia is described as having some motivating potential [35,36]. Boym [34] suggested that contemporary pop culture has created a nostalgia industry that brings the past back to life, making past events more tangible in order to exploit them commercially. The commercial value of nostalgia is also supported by scholars in marketing management, who have suggested that nostalgia creates emotions that, in turn, lead to the formation of preferences and influence the buying motives and consumption behaviour of consumers [36,37,38,39].

In sports, nostalgia acts as an important communication channel with consumers, and is mainly found in the fields of tourism, consumer marketing, and SMEs. In sport tourism, nostalgia has often been integrated into building an image and raising awareness of specific destinations or tourist attractions [40]. The association of past memory with a readily formed image of the destination motivates tourists to visit specific places again [41,42,43]. The importance of triggering motives for future travel derived from past memories has been gaining attention ever since the tourism industry became important for the economic growth of many countries [44].

Similarly, the sport consumer marketing industry considers nostalgic feelings among consumers as a key retaining strategy [37,38,45,46]. Commonly referred to as retro marketing, this strategy is used by professional sport teams, leagues, and the media. They incorporate past memories into marketing strategies, involving images, merchandising, venues, promotions, and advertising in order to communicate with fans, suggesting that nostalgic feelings evoked by objects or past experiences generate a positive influence on consumer responses [47].

It is apparent that both tourism and consumer behaviour domains use nostalgia as a core element of their marketing communication, acknowledging it as an effective means of influencing consumer behaviour [38]. In both domains, nostalgia is seen to have cognitive and affective states, evoked by external stimuli. This generates strong positive responses [37,46,47,48].

Sports mega-events are often viewed as lieu de mémoire [49,50,51], a phrase originally coined by the French historian Pierre Nora [52], roughly translating to “realms of memory”. Nora [52] stated that “A lieu de mémoire is any significant entity, whether material or non-material in nature, which by dint of human will or the work of times has become a symbolic element of the memorial heritage of any community” (p. 8). Through this concept, the author described the symbolic significance of past collective memory, which is responsible for forming attitudes and constructing one’s identity using the individual memories one has accumulated.

SMEs have a notable social and psychological significance. They are perceived metaphorically as places of collective memory. Furthermore, the effect of nostalgia evoked by SMEs is seen in both the places of collective memory and in the motivational forces of individual memory. Thus, SMEs generate collective memory, which eventually leads to sustainable behaviour, re-connecting individuals’ cognitive and emotional states to their past memory [53,54]. As such, nostalgia is considered as a core sentiment among the motivational drivers of SMEs. One-off and month-long SMEs (whether they recur annually or every four years) provide memorable moments for individuals in host nations through a variety of tangible and intangible entities, ranging from promotional merchandise to multibillion-dollar facilities [49]. However, the effects of the dynamics of collective past memories on consumers behaviour have not received adequate attention in the literature on sport spectatorship in the context of SMEs.

2.3. The Conceptualization of Nostalgia in Leisure Activity and Sport

Owing to the intrinsic characteristics of nostalgia, in its engagement with various external stimuli within an individual’s cognitive and affective mental processing, sport tourism disciplines have started to identify the antecedents of nostalgia empirically. They analyse the manner, time, and circumstances in which nostalgia is evoked. The empirical approach conceptualises nostalgia and establishes a foundation for its understanding in the context of sport tourism [54].

In an attempt to evaluate nostalgia empirically, Cho et al. [55] developed a leisure nostalgia scale (LNS) by integrating Fairley and Gammon’s [42] conceptualisation of nostalgia in sport tourism. The LNS was categorised based on the following antecedents, which are most relevant to engendering a nostalgic feeling: experience, environment, socialisation, personal identity, and group identity [55,56]. When an LNS was applied to and implemented across the research on sport and leisure, it was found that nostalgia, as a multidimensional psychological construct, has motivational effects on an individual’s behaviour changes [55,56]. Based on the principle of stimuli and responses in human behaviour [57], Cho et al. [55] concluded that nostalgia evoked by external stimuli, such as experience, environment, socialisation, and personal and group identity, influences an individual’s future behaviour reactions.

Drawing on this finding, the present study develops the following hypotheses by adding nostalgia as a mediating contributor in the relationship between the past World Cup experience and present football spectatorship. Since the LNS is a multidimensional construct composed of five factors, this study identifies the manner in which spectators’ behaviour changes with each factor (e.g., nostalgic evocation), and how each nostalgia factor acts as a mediator between past experience and present sport spectatorship. Therefore, we hypothesise that the effect of nostalgia is a mediator in the relationship between SMEs and sport spectatorship.

Nostalgia as an experience. It was assumed that an individual’s past experience with sports teams and players, and their event experiences as spectators, including cheering for teams, players, or coaches, can cause nostalgia, as evoked by SMEs. Thus, the following hypothesis was proposed:

Hypothesis 2a (H2a).

Nostalgia evoked by the overall experience of the 2002 World Cup positively mediates the relationship between the past World Cup experience and present football spectatorship.

Nostalgia as an environment. Nostalgia as a leisure environment accounts for an individual’s psychological attachment to physical and emotional objects, such as places, facilities, equipment, and the atmosphere (i.e., the weather). Thus, the following hypothesis was developed:

Hypothesis 2b (H2b).

Nostalgia evoked by the environment during the 2002 World Cup positively mediates the relationship between the past World Cup experience and present football spectatorship.

Nostalgia as socialisation. The third component of nostalgia is socialisation. In other words, nostalgia can be evoked by relationship-building experiences when people interact with others during SMEs; that is, they make new friends, share information with friends, or cheer for their teams together. Thus, the following hypothesis was suggested:

Hypothesis 2c (H2c).

Nostalgia from socialisation during the 2002 World Cup positively mediates the relationship between the past World Cup experience and present football spectatorship.

Nostalgia as a personal identity. This component assumes that the experience of following sport events, players, coaches, or teams generates self-identity for a fan. This eventually evokes nostalgia in association with past memories. Thus, we proposed the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 2d (H2d)

Nostalgia from personal identity generated during the 2002 World Cup positively mediates the relationship between the past World Cup experience and present football spectatorship.

Nostalgia as group identity. The last component of nostalgia is group identity, wherein people sharing the same norms and values achieve a sense of belonging. This bonding, often called the “band of brothers or sisters effect”, generates collective memory, which, in turn, influences the group’s nostalgic sentiments. However, in the context of international SMEs, the authors conceptualised this element as a national identity by expanding the scope of the meaning of a “group”. Thus, we proposed the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 2e (H2e).

The sense of nostalgia from national identity generated during the 2002 World Cup positively mediates the relationship between the past World Cup experience and present football spectatorship.

Since the 2002 World Cup was hosted by South Korea and Japan, the present study identified the differences in the changes in spectator behaviour for each country. South Korea and Japan, located in the Far East with a close geographical proximity to each other, share a similar trajectory regarding the introduction of association of football between the mid to late 19th century [58,59]. However, the way in which modern football was organised, developed, and diffused was different in each country [60,61]. Moreover, the international presence and professionalisation of the sport, key drivers for football spectatorship, have progressed in a somewhat contrasting manner according to the literature. South Korea have focused on international success and elite development [62,63,64], while Japan have focused on mass participation, the development of a professional football league, and football fandom [65,66,67]. We used a cross-cultural approach based on the assumption that different cultural backgrounds are likely to result in different behaviour outcomes in football spectatorship after an SME [14,68,69]. Based on these arguments, the present study attempted to answer an additional research question, alongside the above hypotheses:

Research Question 1 (RQ1).

Does the mediating effect of nostalgia differ based on nationality?

3. Methods

3.1. Data Collection and Participants

An online survey, in the form of a questionnaire, was conducted with participants from large online panel recruitment service providers from South Korea and Japan between October and November 2019. All respondents were adult males who were over 19 years of age in 2002. Samples from those who were below 19 years of age in 2002 were not included in this study, as the sport consumption behaviour of juniors is believed to lead to different motives, attitudes, and behavioural outcomes, compared with that of adults, mainly because many spectators who were under 19 years of age in 2002 might have been in different environments (e.g., educational institutions, such as middle school or high school) at the time of the 2002 World Cup, which, we presume, might mean that the way in which they reacted to the World Cup might have been different from adults. Therefore, the present study concentrates only on adult males with respect to their football spectatorship.

Before the survey, participants were provided with two types of screening questions, namely, related to their present interest in watching football, accompanied by recall tests about the 2002 World Cup (e.g., the names of the host countries; the winner; and, based on nationality, the final result achieved by their national football team). A total of 416 samples from South Korea and 408 from Japan, who provided correct answers for the screening questions [70] (exemplifying the necessity of the recall tests), were finally recruited for the main survey. During the initial stage of the main survey, the respondents were given a short scenario about the 2002 World Cup. The scenario was created to help participants recall their memories at that time [71]. After reading this, they answered questions about their past World Cup experience, nostalgia, and present football spectatorship. They were also asked to answer questions that related to two control variables (e.g., their present football participation and age).

The samples indicated 44.0 years as the average age of the South Korean participants and 48.0 years as the average age for the Japanese participants. These sample frames are similar to the demographics of each country in terms of their average age. It may be noted that M_{South Korea} = 43.7 [72], whilst M_Japan = 48.4 [73].

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of sample characteristics.

Variables	Descriptions	South Korea (n = 416)	Japan (n = 408)
Gender	Male	100%	100%
Age	M	44.0	48.0
	SD	5.04	8.00
	Min	36	37
	Max	58	78
Age range	30s	20.4%	13.7%
	40s	64.2%	49.0%
	50s	15.4%	26.8%
	60s~	-	10.5%

Note: M = mean; SD = standard deviation.

summarises the sample characteristics.

3.2. Measurements and Data Analysis

In the absence of the existence of a proper scale to measure the experience of SMEs, the past World Cup experience was measured by two items modified from Shamir and Ruskin’s [31] spectatorship mode and Melnick and Wann’s [74] sport fandom behaviour score—individuals’ spectating experiences (e.g., watching events on TV) and relevant activities, such as “sharing” their spectatorship interests with others (see Appendix A). With respect to nostalgia, the present study created five factors with 22 items by modifying the LNS formulated by Cho et al. [55]. The nostalgia items were assessed using a seven-point Likert-type scale. Lastly, two items, also assessed using a seven-point Likert-type scale, were used to assess present football spectatorship based on frequency and regularity [31]. Additionally, the correlation of present football participation was measured as a controlling variable because of their relationship with sport spectatorship behaviour [25,26,31]. Two items that measured present football participation were also adopted from Shamir and Ruskin’s [31]. We executed a confirmatory factor analysis using IBM SPSS AMOS 26.0 to assess the reliability and validity of all variables. The hypotheses were then tested by the Hayes’ PROCESS macro model 4 using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0 [75]. Hayes’ PROCESS macro is an observed variable ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic regression path analysis modelling tool. It has been widely used in the social, business, and health sciences for estimating direct and indirect effects in single- and multiple-mediator models [75].

4. Results

4.1. Measurement Model

A series of confirmatory factor analysis tests was performed with samples from each country. South Korean samples were analysed first. The model fit showed acceptable levels for all indices (χ²/df = 2.692, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.918, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.937, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.064; [76,77]), indicating an acceptable model fit for the data. The standardised factor loadings of all items were statistically significant and ranged from 0.56 to 0.93, surpassing the cut-off point of 0.50 ([77]; see

Table 2. Confirmatory factor analysis results.

Factors	Items	South Korea (n = 416)					Japan (n = 408)
		M	SD	λ	CR	AVE	M	SD	λ	CR	AVE
PWE	PWE1	6.57	0.82	0.56	0.71	0.56	6.8	0.49	0.61	0.71	0.56
	PWE2	6.44	0.91	0.9			6.63	0.76	0.87
NX	NX1	5.88	1.09	0.75	0.82	0.6	5.89	1.1	0.78	0.87	0.69
	NX2	5.97	1.08	0.81			5.66	1.2	0.83
	NX3	5.51	1.18	0.77			5.48	1.24	0.87
NE	NE1	6.13	0.96	0.84	0.83	0.62	5.72	1.15	0.81	0.84	0.64
	NE2	5.51	1.29	0.84			4.88	1.73	0.77
	NE3	4.78	1.49	0.67			4.56	1.81	0.81
NS	NS1	5.74	1.12	0.81	0.89	0.61	5.25	1.47	0.8	0.91	0.66
	NS2	5.73	1.11	0.75			5.44	1.3	0.8
	NS3	5.42	1.24	0.77			4.87	1.64	0.82
	NS4	5.39	1.22	0.8			5.07	1.5	0.82
	NS5	5.57	1.25	0.78			5.33	1.41	0.83
NP	NP1	5.86	1.07	0.84	0.92	0.71	5.75	1.22	0.78	0.92	0.69
	NP2	5.85	1.11	0.82			5.46	1.29	0.83
	NP3	5.78	1.14	0.87			5.61	1.23	0.81
	NP4	5.85	1.06	0.84			5.4	1.31	0.87
	NP5	5.77	1.14	0.86			5.61	1.22	0.85
NN	NN1	5.54	1.16	0.7	0.92	0.66	5	1.52	0.66	0.91	0.64
	NN2	5.69	1.14	0.76			5.3	1.55	0.74
	NN3	6.06	1	0.82			5.75	1.2	0.81
	NN4	6.07	0.99	0.84			5.57	1.29	0.85
	NN5	6.06	0.99	0.87			5.63	1.29	0.86
	NN6	5.98	1.07	0.86			5.5	1.36	0.85
PFS	PFS1	5.24	1.46	0.78	0.85	0.74	5.72	1.42	0.79	0.69	0.53
	PFS2	5.19	1.49	0.93			4.94	1.71	0.66
PFP	PFP1	3.94	1.88	0.75	0.83	0.72	3.83	2.16	0.87	0.82	0.7
	PFP2	4.5	1.75	0.93			3.57	2.05	0.81

Note 1: λ = standardised factor loadings; CR = composite reliability; AVE = average variance extracted; note 2: PWE = the past World Cup experience; PFS = present football spectatorship; PFP = present football participation; NX = nostalgia as an experience; NE = nostalgia as an environment; NS = nostalgia as socialisation; NP = nostalgia as a personal identity; NN = nostalgia as national identity.

). The internal consistency of each variable was measured using composite reliability (CR). The CR values ranged from 0.71 to 0.92, indicating acceptable levels of reliability for the variables according to the recommended 0.60 threshold [77]. Convergent validity was evaluated through the average variance extracted (AVE). It was found that the AVE values were greater than the 0.50 standard for convergent validity [78], ranging from 0.56 to 0.74. Thus, the variables showed acceptable levels of convergent validity. To examine discriminant validity, the squared correlations between measured variables were analysed. The AVE for each variable was greater than the squared correlations between them (see

Table 3. Squared correlation matrix of the latent variables.

No.	Variables	South Korea (n = 416)								Japan (n = 408)
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1	PWE	0.56								0.56
2	NX	0.24	0.60							0.21	0.69
3	NE	0.13	0.51	0.62						0.10	0.46	0.64
4	NS	0.17	0.59	0.55	0.61					0.10	0.50	0.63	0.66
5	NP	0.18	0.58	0.44	0.47	0.71				0.17	0.68	0.48	0.45	0.69
6	NN	0.22	0.53	0.48	0.46	0.66 a	0.66 b			0.09	0.54	0.47	0.51	0.63	0.64
7	PFS	0.05	0.15	0.16	0.15	0.17	0.11	0.74		0.10	0.22	0.18	0.14	0.22	0.16	0.53
8	PFP	0.00	0.09	0.14	0.13	0.06	0.03	0.32	0.72	0.01	0.13	0.21	0.16	0.17	0.12	0.28	0.70

Note: The diagonal (in bold and italics) shows the average variance extracted value for each variable; ^a 0.656, ^b 0.659.

), thereby supporting the discriminant validity [79]. Taken together, the measurement model was a successful fit for the data from the South Korean samples.

The Japanese samples were analysed next. The model fit showed acceptable levels for all indices (χ²/df = 3.552, TLI = 0.901, CFI = 0.904, RMSEA = 0.079). The standardised factor loadings of all items were statistically significant and ranged from 0.61 to 0.87 (see Table 2). The CR values ranged from 0.69 to 0.92, demonstrating acceptable levels of reliability for the variables, whilst the AVE values ranged from 0.53 to 0.70, showing acceptable levels of convergent validity. Moreover, the AVE for each variable was greater than the squared correlations between them (see Table 3), supporting the discriminant validity. Hence, this measurement model was also a successful fit for the data from the Japanese samples.

4.2. Hypothesis Testing

Hypotheses were tested using Hayes’ PROCESS macro model 4. The past World Cup experience was employed as an antecedent, the five factors of nostalgia were used as mediators, and present football spectatorship was measured as a consequence. Additionally, present football participation and age were employed as control variables. We employed a bootstrap analysis using 5000 samples with a 95% confidence interval and ran the analysis with each country’s data.

Consolidated South Korean and Japanese samples were analysed first. As shown in

Table 4. The effects of the past World Cup experience (PWE) on present football spectatorship (PFS) via nostalgia (n = 824).

Antecedents	Consequences	β	SE
Direct Effects
The past World Cup experience	Nostalgia as an experience	0.646 ***	0.043
	Nostalgia as an environment	0.478 ***	0.052
	Nostalgia as socialisation	0.529 ***	0.051
	Nostalgia as a personal identity	0.567 ***	0.046
	Nostalgia as national identity	0.487 ***	0.048
	Present football spectatorship	0.278 ***	0.064
Nostalgia as an experience	Present football spectatorship	0.195 **	0.073
Nostalgia as an environment	Present football spectatorship	0.034	0.059
Nostalgia as socialisation	Present football spectatorship	−0.081	0.062
Nostalgia as a personal identity	Present football spectatorship	0.227 **	0.076
Nostalgia as national identity	Present football spectatorship	−0.049	0.070
Present football participation (covariate)	Nostalgia as an experience	0.169 ***	0.015
	Nostalgia as an environment	0.272 ***	0.019
	Nostalgia as socialisation	0.238 ***	0.019
	Nostalgia as a personal identity	0.187 ***	0.017
	Nostalgia as national identity	0.161 ***	0.017
	Present football spectatorship	0.330 ***	0.023
Age (covariate)	Nostalgia as an experience	−0.009 *	0.004
	Nostalgia as an environment	−0.013 *	0.008
	Nostalgia as socialisation	−0.021 ***	0.005
	Nostalgia as a personal identity	−0.009 *	0.004
	Nostalgia as national identity	−0.016 ***	0.005
	Present football spectatorship	0.007	0.006
Indirect effects
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia→Present football spectatorship (PFS)		0.204 *	0.041
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as an experience→PFS		0.126 *	0.058
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as an environment→PFS		0.016	0.036
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as socialisation→PFS		−0.043	0.042
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as a personal identity→PFS		0.129 *	0.054
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as national identity→PFS		−0.024	0.043

Note 1: β = standardised beta coefficient; SE =standard error; note 2: * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

, the past World Cup experience (PWE) had positive effects on all five factors of nostalgia: experience ([R² = 0.31, p < 0.001]; β = 0.646, p < 0.001), environment ([R² = 0.27, p < 0.001]; β = 0.478, p < 0.001), socialisation ([R² = 0.26, p < 0.001]; β = 0.529, p < 0.001), personal identity ([R² = 0.27, p < 0.001]; β = 0.567, p < 0.001), and national identity ([R² = 0.20, p < 0.001]; β = 0.487, p < 0.001). With regard to the direct effects on present football spectatorship (PFS) (R² = 0.38, p < 0.001), the PWE (β = 0.278, SE = 0.064, p < 0.001), the nostalgia of experience (β = 0.195, SE = 0.073, p < 0.01), the nostalgia of personal identity (β = 0.227, SE = 0.076, p < 0.01), and present football participation (PFP) (β = 0.330, SE = 0.023, p < 0.001) were statistically significant. Regarding the indirect effect of the PWE on the PFS for each nostalgia factor, nostalgia of experience (β = 0.126, SE = 0.058, CI [0.011, 0.235]) and personal identity (β = 0.129, SE = 0.054, CI [0.033, 0.243]) were significant.

The South Korean samples were analysed next. As illustrated in

Table 5. The effects of PWE on PFS via nostalgia in South Korea (n = 416).

Antecedents	Consequences	β	SE
Direct Effects
The past World Cup experience	Nostalgia as an experience	0.596 ***	0.051
	Nostalgia as an environment	0.462 ***	0.057
	Nostalgia as socialisation	0.517 ***	0.054
	Nostalgia as a personal identity	0.532 ***	0.055
	Nostalgia as national identity	0.522 ***	0.048
	Present football spectatorship	0.191 *	0.082
Nostalgia as an experience	Present football spectatorship	0.050	0.105
Nostalgia as an environment	Present football spectatorship	0.088	0.094
Nostalgia as socialisation	Present football spectatorship	−0.072	0.101
Nostalgia as a personal identity	Present football spectatorship	0.390 ***	0.115
Nostalgia as national identity	Present football spectatorship	−0.125	0.130
Present football participation (covariate)	Nostalgia as an experience	0.150 ***	0.021
	Nostalgia as an environment	0.215 ***	0.025
	Nostalgia as socialisation	0.205 ***	0.024
	Nostalgia as a personal identity	0.136 ***	0.025
	Nostalgia as national identity	0.082 ***	0.022
	Present football spectatorship	0.402 ***	0.035
Age (covariate)	Nostalgia as an experience	−0.004	0.008
	Nostalgia as an environment	−0.001	0.008
	Nostalgia as socialisation	−0.007	0.008
	Nostalgia as a personal identity	−0.009	0.008
	Nostalgia as national identity	0.001	0.007
	Present football spectatorship	−0.008	0.010
Indirect effects
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia→Present football spectatorship (PFS)		0.176 *	0.056
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as an experience→PFS		0.030	0.081
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as an environment→PFS		0.041	0.054
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as socialisation→PFS		−0.037	0.073
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as a personal identity→PFS		0.208 *	0.073
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as national identity→PFS		−0.065	0.083

Note 1: β = standardised beta coefficient; SE =standard error; note 2: * p < 0.05, *** p < 0.001.

, the results showed that the PWE had positive effects on all five factors of nostalgia. We observed that experience ([R² = 0.32, p < 0.001]; β = 0.596, p < 0.001), environment ([R² = 0.26, p < 0.001]; β = 0.462, p < 0.001), socialisation ([R² = 0.29, p < 0.001]; β = 0.517, p < 0.001), personal identity ([R² = 0.24, p < 0.001]; β = 0.532, p < 0.001), and national identity ([R² = 0.25, p < 0.001]; β = 0.522, p < 0.001) were statistically significant. Furthermore, regarding the direct effects on the PFS (R² = 0.41, p < 0.001), the PWE (β = 0.191, SE = 0.082, p < 0.05), the nostalgia of personal identity (β = 0.390, SE = 0.115, p < 0.001), and the PFP (β = 0.402, SE = 0.035, p < 0.001) were statistically significant. Thus, as there was a significantly positive effect of the PWE on the PFS, Hypothesis 1 is supported. With regard to the indirect effect of the PWE on the PFS for each nostalgia factor, only the nostalgia of personal identity was significant (β = 0.208, SE = 0.073, CI [0.077, 0.363]). These findings support Hypothesis 2d, but fail to support Hypotheses 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2e.

Lastly, the Japanese samples were analysed. Consistent with the results for South Korea, the PWE positively affected all five nostalgia factors as follows: experience ([R² = 0.31, p < 0.001]; β = 0.786, p < 0.001), environment ([R² = 0.28, p < 0.001]; β = 0.621, p < 0.001), socialisation ([R² = 0.25, p < 0.001]; β = 0.650, p < 0.001), personal identity ([R² = 0.31, p < 0.001]; β = 0.717, p < 0.001), and national identity ([R² = 0.20, p < 0.001]; β = 0.556, p < 0.001). With regard to the direct effects on the PFS (R² = 0.39, p < 0.001), the PWE (β = 0.377, SE = 0.110, p < 0.001), the nostalgia of experience (β = 0.260, SE = 0.104, p < 0.05), and PFP (β = 0.286, SE = 0.031, p < 0.001) were statistically significant. Based on the result that indicated the positive effect of the PWE on the PFS, Hypothesis 1 was supported. When we considered the indirect effects, we observed that only the nostalgia of the experience mediated the relationship between the PWE and the PFS (β = 0.204, SE = 0.089, CI [0.037, 0.386]), supporting Hypothesis 2a. Furthermore, the findings regarding the different mediating effects of the nostalgia factors between South Korea and Japan (in response to Research Question 1) were partial, yet statistically significant. See

Table 6. The effects of PWE on PFS via nostalgia in Japan (n = 408).

Antecedents	Consequences	β	SE
Direct Effects
The past World Cup experience	Nostalgia as an experience	0.786 ***	0.076
	Nostalgia as an environment	0.621 ***	0.099
	Nostalgia as socialisation	0.650 ***	0.099
	Nostalgia as a personal identity	0.717 ***	0.079
	Nostalgia as national identity	0.556 ***	0.093
	Present football spectatorship	0.377 ***	0.110
Nostalgia as an experience	Present football spectatorship	0.260 *	0.104
Nostalgia as an environment	Present football spectatorship	0.043	0.075
Nostalgia as socialisation	Present football spectatorship	−0.098	0.078
Nostalgia as a personal identity	Present football spectatorship	0.070	0.107
Nostalgia as national identity	Present football spectatorship	0.082	0.085
Present football participation (covariate)	Nostalgia as an experience	0.163 ***	0.022
	Nostalgia as an environment	0.285 ***	0.028
	Nostalgia as socialisation	0.238 ***	0.028
	Nostalgia as a personal identity	0.203 ***	0.022
	Nostalgia as national identity	0.186 ***	0.026
	Present football spectatorship	0.286 ***	0.031
Age (covariate)	Nostalgia as an experience	−0.008	0.005
	Nostalgia as an environment	−0.007	0.007
	Nostalgia as socialisation	−0.018 **	0.007
	Nostalgia as a personal identity	−0.002	0.005
	Nostalgia as national identity	−0.011	0.006
	Present football spectatorship	0.007	0.007
Indirect effects
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia→Present football spectatorship (PFS)		0.263 *	0.067
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as an experience→PFS		0.204 *	0.089
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as an environment→PFS		0.027	0.058
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as socialisation→PFS		−0.064	0.062
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as a personal identity→PFS		0.050	0.088
The past World Cup experience→Nostalgia as national identity→PFS		0.046	0.059

Note 1: β = standardised beta coefficient; SE =standard error; note 2: * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

for the effects of PWE on PFS via Nostalgia in Japan.

5. Discussion

5.1. Theoretical Implications

Whilst sport management scholars acknowledge the shared homogeneity between sport participation and spectatorship as leisure activities, the existing literature is limited to comparing the effects of SMEs on sport spectatorship behaviour and sport participation. Thus, the present study investigated the relationship between the 2002 World Cup and football spectatorship to identify the relationship between SMEs and spectatorship. Furthermore, we integrated a psychological construct, nostalgia, into the relationship and analysed whether nostalgic feelings evoked by the event influence football spectatorship in the host countries. In accordance with previous research, the results of the current study provide a number of theoretical and managerial implications.

First, although nostalgia plays a partially significant role as a mediator in each country, the present study indicated that, for the spectators, each nostalgia factor was influenced by their past World Cup experience, irrespective of their nationality. Various studies conducted across the world [32,33,53] have highlighted the effect of the World Cup experience in stadiums, streets, pubs, and public places, coupled with the rise of football fever in host countries among millions of civilian supporters. This took the form of the “Red Devils” supporters’ club in South Korea and “Ultra Nippon” in Japan, creating high levels of enthusiasm inside and outside of stadiums. Subsequently, this generated intangible assets, creating a national identity for supporters as the citizens of the World Cup host country, and a personal identity as a football fan, socialising with family, friends, and fans and spectators [80,81]. Thus, the past World Cup created a collective memory at all societal levels during the event.

Second, from a theoretical perspective, the most significant contribution of this study is the different levels of significance of each nostalgia factor on the present football spectatorship in South Korea and Japan. The current findings show that nostalgia has a positive effect on present football spectatorship. However, we see that the magnitude of the effect of each nostalgia factor on present football spectatorship was relatively weak compared to the effect of the past World Cup experience on these nostalgia factors. Only one factor—nostalgia of experience in Japan and nostalgia of personal identity in South Korea—is a significant determinant of present football spectatorship in each country. This implies that, based on the past World Cup experience itself and the nostalgia that developed following the event (including all nostalgia factors), the collective memory created during the past World Cup obviously played a major role in forming nostalgic feelings.

The collective memory was affected by all levels of nostalgia factors, such as experience, environment, socialisation, personal identity, and national identity. However, this shows that not all nostalgia factors act as motivational drivers of present football spectatorship. From the South Korean samples, only the memory of building a “personal identity” significantly influenced later football spectatorship, while in the Japanese sample, only the memory of the overall World Cup “experience” of being supporters, fans, or spectators was more significant than other nostalgia factors. This result indicates that, from the psychological perspective of nostalgia, the experiences of individuals in each country experienced determine their motivation in regard to future football spectatorship [32,33,53].

On one hand, most South Korean supporters have a great sense of accomplishment, as their team competed against some of the top ranked national football teams, such as Spain and Italy. It is possible that South Korea’s fourth position finish is perceived as a vicarious achievement for spectators that affects their sense of personal identity [82]. Hae-Joang [53] supported this view, describing the 2002 FIFA World Cup as presenting an opportunity to produce a personal identity collectively through the experience of euphoria evoked by being together. The author concluded that the memory of the event remains lodged in the individuals’ minds and brings about changes in their lives even after the euphoria subsides and is forgotten. Memory, as a form of energy, has the ability to transform a different time and space into a basis for social change, including in regard to sport spectatorship.

On the other hand, for Japanese supporters, this event was only the second time that they witnessed the participation of their national team in the World Cup. Therefore, irrespective of the success or failure of their team, the experience of watching and cheering them on was memorable. Takahashi [50] employed the concept of realms of memory in the context of SMEs, demonstrating that memories of the 2002 World Cup influence behaviour changes by reconstructing the individual experiences of the host countries. Accordingly, an individual’s accrued experience of the 2002 World Cup extended from a “specific place” (e.g., stadiums where football matches were held) to intangible “entities” (e.g., satisfaction as football fans, cheering on the streets, mingling with people, and the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat) [80]. These eventually formed a collective memory through “collective enjoyment” and “shared experiences”, which led to changes in attitude, identity, or behaviour in the host country [81,82].

The present study provides practically applicable insights into the role of nostalgia as a motivational force in relation to changes in spectators’ behaviour, as well as its cross-cultural manifestation in the context of SMEs. These insights are applicable across a wide range of disciplines, giving direction to potential marketing strategies for both sports teams and organisations. As a result, we highlight some managerial implications of our findings in the following section.

5.2. Managerial Implications

As Christou et al. [40] suggested, nostalgic triggers are essential to provide positive experiences to tourists and boost their (re)visit intentions. Furthermore, deliberate, intentional, and proactive nostalgic settings developed by tourism stakeholders targeting tangible and intangible elements may also work as effective marketing strategies to attract tourism. Thus, whilst nostalgia does not always act as a trigger by itself, it has the potential to influence behaviour.

Scola and Gordon [47] conceptualised retro marketing practices by categorising the key elements that can be realistically leveraged and marketed based on sport consumers’ nostalgia. This provides useful insights into the ways in which sport marketers can leverage their existing assets to connect with consumers. According to Scola and Gordon [47], the five practical areas of retro marketing in sport are imagery, merchandising, venue, game-day promotion, and advertising. Imagery refers to the figures of symbolic entities that are relevant to sport properties. Commercialised sport properties, such as professional teams or collegiate sports, have a wide variety of intangible assets that are used regularly.

Among these is the uniforms that athletes or players wear on official game days. Adding a nostalgic touch to current uniforms (commonly called “throwback uniforms”), rather than designing new uniforms, is a good example of the use of imagery for retro marketing in sport. The second practical area of retro marketing in sport is merchandising. Merchandising has been an important revenue source for a long time in the sports industry. Merchandise such as retro jerseys, apparel, or memorabilia attracts nostalgic fans. The third aspect, physical space, often the venue or stadium, is seen to bring back memories of historic moments from the various matches played there. Marketers view this as a perfect story to communicate with fans effectively. Hall of fame museums, as a part of stadia, are among the best practices that use nostalgia for retro marketing.

The fourth area is game-day promotion. Matchday is the day that fans and players focus on the most. Marketers target spectators and fans by providing various sources, campaigns, and information before, during, and after the match to increase their involvement in the game. During the game, nostalgic stimuli are among the most effective ways in which to communicate with fans who have positive past memories. The stimuli include giveaways with retro designs or singing old songs associated with the team, meaning that they become team anthems (e.g., “Sweet Caroline” is played at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox).

Finally, advertising messages are also effective marketing vehicles. As one of the most actively used and long-lasting marketing tools, messages linked with a positive past memory have a lasting impact on fans [47].

Therefore, if the goal is to increase sport spectatorship after an SME, one of the most effective ways is to summon an individual’s past memories by focusing on sources that are more relevant to their overall event experience or personal identity, rather than a peripheral experience, such as socialisation or national identity. Specific and target-oriented marketing action plans can be implemented as part of these retro marketing strategies by leveraging the elements that can evoke nostalgia.

6. Limitations and Future Research

The present study has some limitations. When the samples for the present study were chosen from South Korea and Japan, because female data on both football participation and spectatorship around 2002 were not available, we focused only on the male and adult demographics, which may limit the generalisability of the results. Future research should include more diversified demographics that reflect gender and age, or socio-cultural background, from both countries. In this way, future research will be able to examine broader perspectives on how sport spectatorship outcomes, in association with nostalgia, are initiated by SMEs.

Another point that should be made in association with the sampling procedure is the need to improve the general scope of this study and make the research gender neutral. Future research should include the participation of female respondents, and should analyse their behaviour changes. Since all participants of the current study were male, the inclusion of female participants would give marketers insights into cross-gender consumer communication. With the growing popularity of women’s football worldwide, cross-gender studies covering the relationship between female football spectatorship and the women’s World Cup, female spectatorship and the men’s World Cup, or men’s spectatorship and the women’s World Cup are areas that have immense scope for future research.

Third, when we designed the survey for the current study, we had to consider that the subjective nature of “nostalgia” may not have influenced the answers given by respondents to questions about an event held 18 years ago. The notion of nostalgia is subjective in terms of both its scale and scope [83]. Additionally, this study did not carry out an empirical examination of the duration of nostalgia. Therefore, every empirical study that considers nostalgia will always have a subjective and relative element. Whilst we have considered past memories of an SME that occurred 18 years ago as nostalgia in some contexts, further research may shed light on whether the memory of a football match that happened one or two years ago classifies as nostalgia or not. Since the origins of nostalgia date back to a mythical era, its exact definition and categorisation, especially in the empirical scientific research arena, depend highly on the context and assumptions made.

Additionally, one should be careful not to misuse the term nostalgia, or overuse it in sport event tourism or retro marketing practices. This is because excessive and frequent references to past memories might make consumers “anostalgic”. Boym [34] points out that we are living in a world where even the term cyberspace is regarded with nostalgia. Due to technological progress, all content created by individuals, such as information, memories, feelings, emotions, and knowledge, is fully accessible or takes the form of sharable products. If one can see, listen, share, and delete one’s memory of yesterday freely today (or, indeed, every day), then the true meaning of nostalgia—of sentimental longing for one’s past—is diluted and becomes a mere memory (e.g., the German automaker Volkswagen decided to stop the production of the Beetle in 2019 because of a decrease in sales, ending over 80 years of retro marketing that drew on nostalgic feelings) [84].

Finally, given the fact that statistical analyses can strongly be affected by sample size (i.e., too large or too small) [76], the authors believed that it could be preferable to analyse the Hayes’ PROCESS macro model 4 for each country, then compare different mediation mechanisms through the nostalgia factors between the two countries. However, the present study tested how the mediation mechanisms of the nostalgia factors differed based on nationality, not its moderating effect. Thus, employing moderating analysis, such as the Hayes’ PROCESS macro model 7 or 8, with the consideration of a suitable sample size may produce more rigorous results of the moderating effect.