The purpose of this study was to understand the relationships among brand image, loyalty of fans, and purchase intention. It also discussed the influence of different ways of watching the baseball games on the relationship. This study was based on internet and on-site questionnaire investigation. The sample of this study consists of the CPBL (Chinese Professional Baseball League) fans. The valid sample was 631. The results were as follows: Team¡¦s brand image affected the loyalty of fans positively. Team¡¦s brand image had positive effects on purchase intention of fans. Fans¡¦ identification with a team had the strongest influence on purchase intention for accessory products. Besides, stadium environment also had the strongest influence on purchase intention for parent company¡¦s products. Loyalty of fans affected fans¡¦ purchase intention positively. Different ways of watching baseball games had effects on fans¡¦ purchase intentions. The purchase intention of the fans who watch the games on-the-scene more often was higher than of those who watch the games on TV or internet. According to the conclusion, this study gave some suggestions to the operators of the professional baseball teams.

Referring to an employee as “the face” of an organization suggests that an individual worker’s actions may transmit information about the kind of organization they represent. Mascots in a baseball stadium make that metaphor material by wearing an organizationally prescribed mask and performing in the name of the organization (Keller & Richey, 2006; MacNeill, 2009). This study investigated how one baseball mascot, Spike of the Round Rock Express, embodied his team’s identity through the activation of organizational routines by analyzing video recordings, autoethnographic field notes, and stories (Heath & Luff, 2013). Recognizing the highly symbolic work of a mascot work has implications for the performer, audience members, and organizations who rely on mascots to enhance the stadium experience. Additionally, this research provides suggestions for future mascot performers on how they might come to “know your role and play it to the hilt” (Devantier & Turkington, 2006). Organizational routines combine three recursive dimensions: the ostensive, understandings an employee brings to his or her work, the performative, actions an employee takes while doing his or her work, and the artifactual, material objects an employee uses or creates in order to facilitate work tasks (Feldman & Pentland, 2003). This research begins with an exploration of how I developed occupational and organizational role expectations. In order to know my role, I had to learn Spike’s identity: what he must do, may do, and can do (Strauss, 1959; Enfield, 2011). I specifically recognize the ways I came to understand my role as someone who embodies the mission of the organization through the preparation of artifacts for performance and protection of the audience for whom I am performing. The performative dimension is explored by identifying instances when my performance challenged established understandings of Spike’s identity, specifically in instances where I was unprepared for a scenario or chose to protect one group’s interest over another’s. In these unanticipated moments, I often found myself turning other participants in the stadium event, like fans and coworkers, into co-performers and relied on their improvisational offerings to inform my ongoing performance (Eisenberg, 1990; Meyer, Frost, & Weick, 1998). / text

This dissertation examines the roles of popular sports baseball and Gaelic Games in Taiwanese and Irish society respectively between the years 1884 and 1968. During this period, the spread of each sport in popularity and the subsequent increased profile in the public realm highlighted similar challenges faced by the societies of each territory as inhabitants of minor players in a global political system dominated by major powers. The development of Taiwanese baseball and its spread in popularity during the colonial period reveals the extent to which divisions between colonial Japanese and local Taiwanese blurred beyond the parameters of governmental efforts at coexistence and assimilation. Two teams in particular, the Nenggao team of 1924-25 and the KANO team of 1931, give evidence of a colonial Taiwanese sporting culture that featured strengthening connections with sporting culture in Japan. In both cases, baseball displayed potential as an integrating force in colonial Taiwanese society between social groups resident on the island rather than as a source for opposition to colonial rule. This is in direct contrast to Irish society, where the resurgence in popularity of Gaelic Games occurred within the political context of exclusivist nationalism. Gaelic Games existed as cultural markers of an Irish culture defined by a Gaelic ethnic identity and political commitment to an Irish nation state, choosing to ignore the realities of partition and the existence of a sizable Loyalist community in the north of the country. This viewpoint persisted until the late 1960s, when the eruption of paramilitary violence in Northern Ireland irrevocably changed the terms of Irish political participation. At the same time, Taiwanese baseball transitioned from a shared cultural form between Taiwan and Japan to a potent avenue for emerging Taiwanese political voices in 1968 with the widely celebrated success of the Hongye schoolboy baseball team. Baseball’s popularity had persisted in the face of ambivalent attitudes among ruling Guomindang officials following retrocession, but the Hongye victory marked the introduction of specific political overtones to Taiwanese baseball, bringing an end to decades of the sport’s primary role as an act of public participation with limited political connotations. / text

The aim of the current study was to examine the differences in sport fan motivation factors between mainstream (Minor League baseball) and atypical (roller derby) fans. Eighty-one fans (40 Minor League baseball and 41 roller derby) completed an 8 question demographic survey, a 26-item Sport Fan Motivation Scale, a 7-item Sport Spectator Identification Scale, and a 10-item Sport Fan Exploratory Curiosity Scale. It was believed that fans of Minor League baseball would be more motivated by the entertainment factor than roller derby fans. While roller derby fans would be more motivated by eustress, group affiliation and family factors at the event than Minor League baseball fans. It was also predicted that roller derby fans would be more curious about new sports than Minor League baseball fans. Results showed that Minor League baseball fans were more motivated by the family aspects of the game than roller derby fans. Additionally, it was found that baseball fans were more curious about new sports in general than roller derby fans. Finally, the study found that roller derby fans were more motivated by the aesthetics of the game than Minor League baseball fans.

This study examines the roles and functions of public relations professionals in Major League Baseball. Grunig's four models of public relations were used to categorize the perceptions of the respondents regarding this subject.Eleven respondents took part in this study. All were given thirty-six statements that described typical public relations activities and philosophies. The statements were derived from original research conducted by Grunig. Each respondent was asked to sort the statements according to their perceptions of the organization in which they were currently employed.The results of this study were analyzed using the Qmethod program. Two distinct factors were revealed through this process. Factor I perceived their role as advocates for the organization (Grunig's press agency model). Factor II perceived their role a more neutral channel for communication (Grunig's public information model). Both factors believed it was important to relay the truth to the public. / Department of Journalism

In recent years Major League Baseball (MLB) has seen a trend of long term multimillion dollar contracts. The purpose of this study was to examine Major League Baseball player’s performance before and after signing a free-agent contract. This research helps to explain the relationship between reward and performance in professional baseball players. Subjects include 65 major league baseball players that were free agents in the years of 2005 and 2006. The group of 65 players consisted of 34 position players and 31 pitchers. The individual statistical analysis of position players’ batting average, homeruns, and runs batted in were used. The statistics that were analyzed for the pitchers were earned run average, innings pitched, strikeouts, and wins and losses. The results that showed significance was batting average, homeruns, runs batted in, and earned run average. The results of this study can be a useful tool for the front office of Major League Baseball teams. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

This thesis reviews the system of governance of professional baseball in Taiwan, which has developed since its inception in 1990. The analysis undertaken reviews three case studies of major events in the baseball world in Taiwan to provide an insight into the principal interests and forces in the governance system. In theoretical terms the study employs and evaluates classical theories of the state, strategic relations theory and governance theory to describe, evaluate and explain the processes evident in the three cases. The study concludes that the governance system is characterised by a tension between mechanisms of 'modem' liberal politics, and 'traditional' forms of political clientelism.

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2008. / Department of History, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Kevin C. Robbins. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 130-137).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [178]-182). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [178]-182). Also available on the Internet.