The Effect of Sport Involvement on Support for Mega Sport Events: Why Does It Matter

Abstract

For residents of a city that hosts a mega sport event, sport involvement can be associated with their perceptions of the impacts and quality of life (QoL) gained from that event. The attributes of mega sport events, with multiple sports in one competition, are linked with the level of residents’ sport involvement, specifically their interest in and identification with sports, which can foster more positive perceptions and enhance the anticipated QoL from the games. Despite the importance of sport involvement on the support for a mega sport event, most studies have mainly focused on how perceptions of the impact from the event influence support based on social exchange theory (SET). Hence, this study examined how sport involvement affected the relationships among impact perceptions, QoL, and support for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the hypotheses in the proposed model, using a sample of 301 Korean residents. The results revealed that sport involvement had a positive effect on event impact perceptions and QoL, which, in turn, significantly influenced support for the Olympic Games in the pre-stage. The study suggests that sport involvement can leverage support for a mega sport event through the creation of positive perceptions of the impacts of the event.