The Role of Empathy and Sympathy on Team Identification: The Determinants of Team-Based Approach

Given the attitudes and schadenfreude towards competitors in today's sports fan behavior, it is critical for managers to understand fans in terms of empathy and sympathy phenomenon. Therefore, understanding the influence of empathy and sympathy on team or fan identification has been one of the most important determinants of sports marketing. The purpose of this study is to understand the role of empathy and sympathy on team identity and the relationship between them and to reveal the fact that how the demographics of the fans influence their level of fan and level of watching team matches. The current study involved a quantitative research methodology employing a questionnaire containing three parts. The first part of the questionnaire included scale (AMES- twelve items) relating empathy and sympathy, developed from Vossen et al. (2015). The scale of team identification (six items) in the second part was adapted from Gwinner and Swanson (2003). The last part was designed to collect demographic characteristics and fandom of respondents. A total of 300 university students enrolled at a large university in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey participated in the study. The data were collected with convenience sampling through a self-administrated questionnaire. The results of EFA (exploratory factor analysis) revealed three valid dimensions titled as sympathy, affective empathy, and cognitive empathy respectively. The results of the study add to the body of knowledge in team identification, and empathy and sympathy by providing several theoretical and practical implications. Future research should explore the relationship between schadenfreude and empathy, sympathy and team attachment for sport fans