The marketing of an international match in Asia: the effects of sport commentary and nationalistic sentiments on framing, priming, and consumer behavior.

Lee, Minkyo ; Lim, Choong Hoon ; Yeo, In-Sung 等

Introduction

Sport has emerged as one of the critical components of marketing strategies designed to promote national values during mega sporting events (e.g., Chalip, Green, & Hill, 2003). It has also been identified as playing an ambassadorial role in boosting a country's perceived image (e.g., Kim & Chalip, 2010) and exposure to a popular sports team in a country has an impact on foreigners' perceptions of the country (White & Absher, 2013). Sport practitioners and academicians believe that sport is a significant determinant in constructing a strong country brand (e.g., Xing & Chalip, 2006; Zhang & Zhao, 2009), which in turn, can contribute to international tourism, business, and investments in the host country (e.g., Horne & Manzenreiter, 2004; Lee & Taylor, 2005; White & Absher, 2013).

Media coverage amplifies these effects by providing sports viewership with exposure to sports teams and sporting events. Most people obtain information related to mega sporting events though media coverage (White & Absher, 2013). The coverage around the globe often displays national identities by expressing emotional responses (e.g., anger, joy) and national pride during sporting events (Billings, 2009; Kosebalaban, 2004). Cross-cultural content analyses have reported that such nationalistic message frames are often dominant in the media coverage during mega sporting events such as the Olympic Games (e.g., Billings & Angelini, 2007), FIFA World Cup (e.g., Billings & Tambosi, 2004), and other international sports matches (e.g., Woo, Kim, Nichols, & Zheng, 2010). For example, Billings, Angelini, and Wu (2011) found meaningful differences on how sports media commentaries describe the home nation and the rival nation in Olympic broadcasts between NBC (US) and CCTV (China). Perceptions of nationalistic framed media coverage also have been considered one of the main culprits of evoking nationalistic sentiments among sport viewers (e.g., Ha, 2004).

In addition to the framing effects of media coverage, media content has priming effects on humans' subsequent behaviors or judgments that are related to the media content processed by those consuming (e.g., television viewers) the media coverage (RoskosEwoldsen, Roskos-Ewoldsen, & Carpentier, 2009). For example, after a contested win of Korea over the Italian team at the 2002 World Cup (Wilson, 2015), the criticism of Italian fans led to a boycott of Italian products in Korea. Perceptions derived from media coverage may act as the standards by which people evaluate a country's products. In accordance with this notion, Choi (2010) indicated that the distorted media coverage regarding sports competitions negatively affects the perception of both sports teams and countries. Research by Choi revealed that exposure to negatively framed media contents regarding an opposing national team leads to negative attitudes toward the opposing team's home country. Additionally, Watson (2011) found that how message producers characterize Olympic events (i.e., nationalism and internationalism) has a priming effect on participants' national pride as well as their attitudes related to political issues. Accordingly, it is plausible to expect that distorted media content associated with nationalistic sentiments affect perceptions regarding a country, its sports team, and even purchasing behavior. Therefore, the current study focused on addressing the predominant issues in international sporting events regarding nationalistic sentiments, distorted media coverage, and their potential effects.

The aim of the current study is to provide several theoretical and practical implications by investigating the effect of distorted media coverage and nationalistic sentiments on consumers' responses. Although previous literature offered insights on how sports media coverage across nations depicts their perceived reality during mega sporting events (e.g., Billings, 2009; Billings et al., 2011; Woo et al., 2010), research as of yet has not answered the question as to how actual media consumers are affected by nationalistic message framing and sentiments. Thus, the current study may be the first known attempt to experimentally test how message framing influences consumers' responses as moderating functions of individual differences (i.e., nationalistic sentiments). Also, the current study investigated how framed messages have a priming impact on consumers' purchasing behaviors via a sport team. As such, the study connects fundamental theories and marketing practices by providing a deeper understanding of East Asia sports media consumers.

Literature Review

Sport and Nationalistic Sentiments in Sport Broadcasting

Sports within the context of international competitions (e.g., Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup) exist within national, ideological, and ethical boundaries (Kim & Kim, 2010; Lee, 2007). According to Guttmann (1988), the Olympic Games have been used as a political tool to showcase and promote the superiority of ideologies. Flag raising and playing the national anthem during Olympic Games are both examples of this sort of strategy (Billings, 2009). Identity issues related to nationality and ethnicity also play a significant role in international sporting events. For instance, Hogan (2003) compared three Olympic Games (i.e., Nagano, 1998; Sydney, 2000; and Salt Lake City, 2002), and found that--through the display of national characteristics such as power and pride--the Olympic ceremony often strengthened social imbalances as opposed to enhancing the goals of the Olympic movement (e.g., peace, internationalism, freedom, fairness).

The sports media are often involved in this, as their coverage at times includes expressions of sports nationalism in an effort to attract an audience (Kim & Kim, 2010). Desmarais and Bruce (2009), Li en and Topi (2008), and other scholars have reported that nationalistic biases have been found in the coverage provided by sports media in various locations around the world. Several media coverage studies have found that the sportscasts of a given country are likely to describe players and teams from their nations in positive and favorable ways and terms and are likely to describe the opponents in negative or unfavorable ways (e.g., Billings & Tambosi, 2004; Li en & Topi). Further, other political, historical, or national rivalries, which are irrelevant to the playing field, are often brought up during mega sporting events (e.g., Sack & Suster, 2000).

Additionally, specific situations of the games are delivered to the viewership through sports commentators' nationalistic biased justifications or interpretations. Analyses of commentaries during televised hallmark events have found that the sports commentators most frequently mention their affiliated nation's team and often display favoritism toward their affiliated nation's team, whereas they expressed criticism and denunciation toward opponents (e.g., Billings, 2009; Billings & Angelini, 2007). In accordance with this notion, for example, Billings and Tambosi (2004) found that the broadcasters from the United States during the 2002 FIFA World Cup attributed their national soccer team's failure to bad luck rather than to a poor performance related to issues such as lack of skill, teamwork, etc. Subsequent research conducted by Li en and Topi (2008) showed that commentators often depict their nation's team (in this case, Slovenia) as their own by using terms like "us," "we," and "ours" during international basketball matches. Further, a comparative analysis conducted by Woo and colleagues (2010) reported that commentators from different countries (i.e., the United States, Chinese Taipei, and South Korea) frame the same game differently based on their respective nation's dispositional tendency. They found that commentators from East Asia (i.e., Chinese Taipei and South Korea) are more likely than commentators from the United States to provide biased commentary.

While several studies of nationalism in sports media context (e.g., Billings, 2009; Billings & Angelini, 2007; Watanabe, Nie, & Yan, 2013) were discussed above, the current study explores nationalistic sentiments, which can be referred as emotional moods generated from shared belief, knowledge, national identity, or individual ideology (Billig, 1995). There are some reasons to utilize the concept of nationalistic sentiments rather than nationalism. Billig argues that "ideological habits (i.e., banal nationalism) are not removed from everyday life" (p. 6). As such, while "nationalism has deeply affected contemporary ways of thinking" (p. 37), it is hard to conceptualize because it involves how people unconsciously feel, think, judge, and behave based on naturally equipped beliefs within their own communities. Because the current study dealt with a historically unique case (i.e., an international soccer match between South Korea and Japan), it would be problematic to appropriately capture the nationalism involved, as this might manifest itself differently in each nation. Furthermore, Billig (1995) suggests that because of the unique, habitual, and complex nature of nationalism the concept cannot be understood through quantitative methodology. On the other hand, nationalistic sentiments--which are conceptualized as the psychological expression by identifying national superiority through national sport team (Billings, Brown, & Brown, 2013; Billings, Brown, Brown et al., 2013; Kosterman & Feshbach, 1989)--can be quantitatively measured. Therefore, the quantitative evaluation of nationalistic sentiments can be used to better understand nationalism within sports media coverage.

The Korean View on Japan and the Role of Sport

The background pertaining to sports nationalism and anti-Japanese sentiments has been discussed in many studies. Lee (2005) noted that the viewpoints of most Koreans are not favorable toward Japan, owing to historical reasons, such as the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592, the annexation of Korea under Japanese rule for 36 years (from 1910 to 1945), and the Liancourt Rocks territorial dispute. In addition to such significant historical incidents between the two countries, Koreans have condemned the Japanese government's attitude toward the Japanese colonization of Korea (Yan & Watanabe, 2014). The various political and historical disagreements and conflicts that have influenced the relationship between the two countries for centuries continue to contribute to some of the nationalistic sentiments in South Korea (Yan & Watanabe, 2014).

According to Yan and Watanabe (2014), these conflicts also have a meaningful impact on sports media coverage in both countries. For instance, when there was an incident where a Korean soccer player ran around the stadium with a banner displaying "Dokdo (the Liancourt Rocks) is our land," the discourse in Korea and Japan media were quite different. The Korea media treated this event with a strong emotional voice and enacted memories from Japan's colonial period, while the Japanese media were relatively disengaged regarding this same event.

Framing and Sports Commentary

One of the unique and powerful aspects of sports commentaries is their ability to shape viewer perceptions. By delivering unscripted messages directly to audiences in real time, the sports commentators are able to first set and subsequently carry out an agenda (Comisky, Bryant, & Zillmann, 1977; Frederick, Lim, Chung, & Clavio, 2013). During live broadcasts sports commentators insert additional values into mediated competitions by using subjective perspectives to interpret various situations involving the sporting events (e.g., Frederick et al., 2013; Rose & Friedman, 1997). Consequently, sports commentators have tremendous influence on audiences' perceptions when they choose how they will narrate the goings on of a game and when they underscore what they believe are the important messages (Sullivan, 1991).

The theoretical perspective of framing has provided a useful framework to understand commentary effects (Parker & Fink, 2008), which basically assume that how the message producer characterizes an issue has an impact on how audiences perceive it (Entman 1993; Scheufele & Tewksbury, 2007). Over the last few decades, scholars have examined how sports commentators describe issues such as gender, nationality, and race (e.g., Billings & Tambosi 2004; Li en & Topi, 2008; Woo et al., 2010) and how audiences perceive the messages conveyed by commentators (e.g., Beentjes, Van Oordt, & Van Der Voort, 2002; Bryant, Brown, Comisky, & Zillmann, 1982; Lee &Yeo, 2011; Sullivan, 1991).

Consistent with this notion are the many experimental studies that have provided evidence for the effects of framed commentary on viewers' perceptions. For example, Comisky et al. (1977) examined the effects of commentary stressing violent actions on audiences' perceptions of roughness and found that audiences' perceptions were significantly affected by commentary conditions. Moreover, it has been revealed that commentary can influence audiences' perceptions with regard to the fairness of plays, and this perception of fairness goes beyond national allegiance (Beentjes et al., 2002). Beentjes and colleagues found that participants perceived foreign players' fouls as fair, whereas they rejected their own team's fouls and were thus persuaded by the commentator's justification. This demonstrates that commentators' interpretations trigger viewers to shape a certain impression of plays, players, and even games. Furthermore, a study by Lee and Yeo (2011) advanced previous research by assessing the effects of color commentary (i.e., home team biased commentary) on perception of a sports team. The scholars found that there were greater changes in the evaluation of the home team for those participants who were exposed to favoritism toward their team in the commentary. Taken together, the experimental investigations above found that the stimulation of commentary hypes viewers to believe something mentioned by the commentator more than what the audiences may have actually been seeing. According to previous studies, it is firmly believed that the impact of commentary can alter viewers' perceptions regarding mediated sports contests.

Although previous research in this area has attempted to test the moderating effects of psychological attachments--such as levels of fanship (Sullivan, 1991) and national allegiance (Beentjes et al., 2002)--on the relationship between commentary and cognitive responses, the findings of these studies were limited to empirical support of the role of individual differences in mediated sporting event context. However, investigations in other fields (e.g., politics, business, sociology) suggest that individual ideology or psychological attachments serves as a moderating function when people deal with issues involving international relations (e.g., conflict, trade, ethnicity; e.g., Federico, Golec, & Dial, 2005; Rawwas, Rajendran, & Wuehrer, 1996). Based on the prior literature, it can be argued that exposure to the commentary does not affect all audiences in the same way. The impact of sports commentary would vary based on audiences' personal and psychological traits such as nationalistic sentiments. Citizens with higher nationalistic sentiments would be more vulnerable to be shaped by the nationalistically biased commentary (i.e., color commentary). Given the fact that national sentiment is one of the main contributors for the consumption of international sporting events (Billings, Brown, & Brown, 2013; Billings, Brown, & Brown et al., 2013), exploring the relationship between the exposure to color commentary and viewers' perceptions as a function of individual differences would be beneficial for a better understanding of the nature of international sporting events. Thus this study proposes the following hypotheses:

H1 a: Commentary will have an impact on team image.

H1 b: Nationalistic sentiments will moderate the effect of commentary on team image.

H2a: Commentary will have an impact on hostility toward the country of the opposing team.

H2b: Nationalistic sentiments will moderate the effect of sports commentary on hostility.

Priming and Purchasing Intention

Priming theory is based on the assumption that humans utilize information that is easily accessible or available in their minds when they make decisions (Krosnick & Kinder, 1990). It suggests that the media have the ability to stimulate pre-existing thoughts, which are utilized as standards to evaluate subsequent objects or events (Ansolabehere, Behr, & Iyengar, 1993). According to Roskos-Ewoldsen et al. (2009), priming refers to the effect of media content on an individual's subsequent judgmental or behavioral intentions related to the stimulation. It has been well documented that media have a priming ability to initiate or trigger the associated nodes in memory, which leads to subsequent evaluation of products related to the stimuli being affected (Srull & Wyer, 1980; Yi, 1990). When it comes to the realm of sports, few studies have empirically tested priming, the second level of agenda setting. One of the few studies in this area was conducted by Watson (2011), who examined the message frame (i.e., nationalism or internationalism with mega sporting event) on emotional responses (i.e., national pride) and explicit attitudes (i.e., political issues). Participants were randomly exposed to various video stimulations, and Watson found that those exposed to nationalist framing showed greater increases in national pride. Also, the effect of frame on political attitudes was significantly mediated by national pride. These findings firmly support the notion that media have a first-order cognitive effect and second-level agenda setting effects.

On the other hand, the country of origin (COO) is one of the determinant factors for consumers when they consider buying certain products. Anderson and Cunningham (1972) noted that COO effects can be conceptualized as formerly shaped prejudices or stereotypical attitudes toward the quality of the products or services in some countries. The important role of a country's image in consumer behavior has been revealed in business literature (e.g., Loureiro & Umberger, 2007; Pappu, Quester, & Cooksey, 2006). A meta-analysis conducted by Laroche, Papadopoulos, Heslop, and Mourali (2005) revealed that the extensive literature regarding the effect of COO on consumer product evaluations and consumer choices supports evidence that COO is a leading indicator in consumer behavior.

In line with this notion and nationalistic sentiments, Choi (2010) found that exposure to the distorted media in South Korea, which expressed anti-Japanese sentiments regarding the Japanese baseball team during a World Baseball Classic, resulted in audiences forming negative perceptions with regard to the Japanese baseball team and products made in Japan. The greater the exposure to the distorted media, the more negatively the Japanese team and products made in Japan were evaluated. As mentioned above, sports media coverage clearly has the power to create or change certain images of a country. One can assume that if sports commentary has an impact on a national's team images and even those nations themselves, then such an impact would influence subsequent evaluations and purchase decisions regarding products made in specific countries. It can be anticipated that the commentators would stimulate certain beliefs (i.e., team image) and such stimulations would have an impact on attitudes as they pertain to products made in opposing team's country. Thus the following hypotheses are proposed:

H3a: Commentary will have an impact on attitude toward products from the opposing team's country.

H3b: Team image will mediate the effect of sports commentary on attitude toward products from the opposing team's country.

Method

Participants and Experimental Procedure Before conducting the experiment, G*Power3 was utilized in order to quote a required sample size with desired statistical power ([alpha] = .05, 1 - [beta] = .80, [f.sup.2] = .15) (Faul, Erdfelder, Buchner, & Lang, 2009); this indicated that 55 subjects would be enough to get the desired statistical power. Eighty participants (i.e., 30 female and 50 male) who were recruited through the convenient sampling method from a large private university located in South Korea (the nation of the home team) were randomly exposed to one of the two versions of a video. Some of the participants (n = 39) were exposed to the video version that included an objective commentary while the other participants (n = 41) were exposed to the color commentary version of the video. Then, they were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding demographic characteristics, team image, hostility, and purchasing intentions related to the away team--the national soccer team from Japan and nationalistic sentiments.

According to Kang (2008), compared to other generations, Korean college students had more favorable attitudes toward Japan, which enabled the experiments to avoid the ceiling effect. Also, the subjects were psychologically affiliated with the Korean national soccer team (M = 5.10, SD = 1.07). Thus, college students were considered an appropriate sample for the current study. Additionally, in order to ensure the procedure of random assignment of subjects, i-tests were conducted, and the results indicated that participants' personal characteristics such as level of experience (e.g., time spent on national soccer match) and demographic variables (e.g., gender), which could possibly influence the treatment effect, did not show significant differences across the two groups.

Stimulus Material

A video clip taken from the 2011 Asian Cup, which showed a soccer match involving South Korea (home team) versus Japan (away team), was edited down to 22 minutes; the clip included the opening ceremony (4 minutes) and meaningful action (18 minutes) such as close-ups and replays of various specific game situations (e.g., fouls, penalty kicks, shots, scorings, vague referees' decisions). Moreover, this video clip provided an equal number of plays (e.g., fouls, shots, scoring) from both teams. Also, the game outcome (i.e., penalty shoot-out) was excluded in the clip in order to prevent possible biased responses. After editing the video clip, the original commentary was erased. The editing procedure, nature of game (i.e., semifinal), and relationship between the teams (i.e., arch-rival) encouraged the participants to concentrate on the game.

Using the edited video clip, two different versions of commentary treatments (i.e., color commentary and objective commentary) were created. After comparing the commentaries broadcast by the Korean (SBS) and Japanese (KBC) channels, the descriptions of objective commentary, which just deliver information regarding the specific situations without any blatant exaggeration or biased comments regarding either team, were developed. Thus, the objective commentary was not biased for either team. Also, the created description was acoustically inserted into the video clip by a semiprofessional commentator. Similarly, the description of color commentary was developed based on the description aired by SBS. The same commentator was also guided to record the created description into the edited video clip. The commentator, in addition to describing the home team as a desirable team and the away team as the enemy, frequently demonstrated favoritism toward the home team's plays and criticized the away team's plays (e.g., aggressive actions) as being unfavorable to the home team. Thus, the color commentary shared biased and exaggerated interpretations with the home team audience.

Measures

Nationalistic Sentiments. To measure this variable, Lee's (2005) scale, which was translated and modified from Kosterman and Feshbach's (1989) work, with seven-point Likert-type responses (e.g., superiority in sports, supremacy of victory, relative superiority), anchored by "strongly disagree" and "strongly agree" (1 = strongly agree, 7 = strongly disagree), was modified and adopted. For instance, scale items included statements such as "It is important that my country wins in international sporting competitions" and "Our country should be number one in whatever it does." Furthermore, the five items that measured nationalistic sentiments were externally validated by two sport management professors. The scale showed an acceptable level of reliability ([alpha] = .82). This scale has been widely used to capture nationalistic sentiments in sports media context (Billings, Brown, & Brown, 2013; Billings, Brown, Brown et al., 2013; Lee, 2007).

Team Image. To assess this variable, a seven-point Likert-type response scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree) was adopted from Lee and Yeo's (2011) work and consisted of six items: credible, desirable, favorable, luxurious, interesting, and elegant impressions of the Japanese national soccer team. The scale reached a satisfactory level of reliability ([alpha] = .90).

Hostility. This variable was operationalized by using Choi's (2010) scale with five items (e.g., unfavorable, distrustful, immoral). A seven-point Likert-type response scale was anchored by "strongly disagree" and "strongly agree" (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Cronbach's Alpha value was .90.

Attitude. To measure this variable, five seven-point Likert-type scale items were adopted from Choi's (2010) work. These items included the measures of credible, affable, and positive thinking, intention to buy, and recommendation (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). The Cronbach's Alpha value reached an acceptable level of reliability ([alpha] = .92).

Demographic and Individual Characteristics. Gender, age, and prior soccer watching experiences (e.g., times on watching and visiting) were included in the questionnaire.

Data Analysis

First, Cronbach's Alpha was assessed to test the reliability of the variables of nationalistic sentiments, team image, hostility, and attitude. Basic assumptions of regression (e.g., normality, linearity, homoscedasticity of residuals) were confirmed by observing residual plot, kurtosis, and skewness scores. No univariate or multivariate outliers were detected.

To test the moderating effects of nationalistic sentiments on the commentary and perception relationship, a series of multiple moderated regressions (MMR) was conducted. MMR analysis helps to increase greater statistical power and avoid spurious conclusions regarding interaction effects (West, Aiken, & Krull, 1996). West and colleagues further note that when it comes to a model that has one categorical moderator and a continuous predictor, the effect is statistically powerful. Using median split, the high nationalistic sentiments group and the low nationalistic sentiments group were divided. Centering processes were conducted to avoid muticollinearity and the unweighted effects codes (color commentary = -1, objective commentary = +1) were utilized (West et al., 1996). Further, the Sobel test with the bootstrapping technique (Preacher & Hayes, 2008) was performed to explore the indirect effect of commentary on attitudes toward products through treatment-induced perception (i.e., team images). According to MacKinnon, Lockwood, Hoffman, West, and Sheets (2002), the Sobel test provides superior statistical power in order to test the indirect effects of a predictor on criteria variables through the mediator.

Results

Manipulation Checks

In order to check manipulation, after the main experiment the respondents were asked to answer a questionnaire that included the following statements-as-questions: "I think that the commentators were concentrating more on one of the two teams," "I think that the commentators were more biased toward one of the two teams," and "I think the commentators favored one of the two teams," anchored by "Japan (1)" and "Korea (7)." As expected, the color commentary was perceived to be more concentrated ([M.sub.Color] = 6.58 vs. [M.sub.Objective] = 4.49, p < .001) biased ([M.sub.Color] 6.43 vs. [M.sub.Objective] 4-54, p < .001), and favorable ([M.sub.color] = 6.65 vs. [M.sub.Objective] = 4.54, p < .001) to the home team than the objective commentary. The results suggest that the objective commentary was not biased toward either team. Moreover, the color commentary was found to be biased toward the home team. Thus, manipulation was successfully checked.

Framing Effect (H1a & H2a) and Moderating Effect (H1b & H2b)

Moderated multiple regression was conducted to investigate the effect of commentary and nationalistic sentiments on team image. After controlling for nationalistic sentiments, the second model fit of regression with the addition of commentary was significant [P (2, 77) = 10.05, p <.001]. Commentary ([beta] = .41, p < .001) was a significant predictor for team image (H1a). The [beta] coefficient revealed that those who were exposed to objective commentary were more likely to evaluate counter-team images favorably. After the interaction effects were added to the third step, the final model fit was significant [P (3, 76) = 7.89, p < .001]. However, interaction effect did not significantly increase additional variance explanation ([beta] = .15, p = .086; H1b).

Similar to previous processes, after controlling for nationalistic sentiments, one predictor (i.e., commentary) and interaction effect between commentary and nationalistic sentiments were entered into a hierarchical regression model to examine the effect of commentary and nationalistic sentiments on hostility. Results indicated that commentary effect was not statistically significant (H2a). However, with the addition of interaction term ([beta] = -.29, p < .05), the variance explained final models were improved by 7% [P (3, 76) = 3.73, p < .05]. Thus, the moderating role of nationalistic sentiments was found to be significant (H2b).

Priming Effect (H3a & H3b)

Multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the priming effect. The proposed mediation model showed significant regression fit, when controlling for nationalistic sentiments [P (3, 76) = 2.81, p <.05]. First, it was found that team image was significantly influenced by treatment ([beta] = .41, p < .001). It was also shown that team image was significantly associated with product-purchasing attitudes ([beta] = .37, p < .01). However, commentary itself had no direct impact on attitudes toward products (H3a). Considering these results, team image could be considered a significant mediator. Also mediation analyses via the bootstrapping method (Preacher & Hayes, 2008) showed that indirect effect commentary on purchasing attitudes through team images was found to be significant ([beta] = .37, 95% CI [.03, .30]; H3b), which suggests the full mediating role of team image in the relationship between commentary and purchasing intention.

Discussion

The findings of this study extend previous research that examined the cognitive responses of consumers to the commentary in televised sports. Based on the results, the way sports commentators describe specific game situations (e.g., fouls and scorings) has an impact on how audiences perceive more than just those specific situations. Further, the formerly framed agenda influences subsequent evaluation. It should also be noted that nationalistic sentiments plays a significant role of moderator between commentary and audiences' cognitive responses regarding international sport competitions.

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The results of this study revealed that color commentary has at least some measureable impact on viewers' cognitive responses. The types of sports commentary were shown to be a significant predictor of perceptions regarding images of an opposing team (H1a), but were not shown to be a good predictor of hostility toward the opposing team (H2a). A prediction regarding the relationship between commentary and perception of hostility was somewhat mixed. However, when considering the results shown in Table 1, which indicates that nationalistic sentiments has a significant impact on hostility, it may be assumed that a single incident or treatment is insufficient to alter participants' pre-existing beliefs regarding the country of the opposing country. This is one possible explanation for the unexpected result. On the other hand, participants exposed to biased color commentary were more likely to perceive counter teams' images negatively than participants who were exposed to objective commentary. The finding indicates that sports viewers' perceptions are based on commentators' interpretations and justifications as opposed to what they are actually watching. This result firmly supports previous research regarding the framing effect of commentary on viewer perceptions (e.g., Bryant et al., 1982; Frederick et al., 2013; Sullivan, 1991). The current study's findings advance the previous research of Lee and Yeo (2011), which demonstrated an impact of home team biased commentary on perception of the home team. It should be noted that the biased commentary has a significant impact not only on attitudes toward the home team image but also on attitudes toward the opposing team.

Nationalistic sentiments moderated the effect of commentary on audiences' cognitive responses. Although the interaction effect between commentary and nationalistic sentiments was marginally significant (p = .086; H1b), the directionality of the slope shown in Figure 1 indicates that nationalistic sentiments enhance the effect of color commentary on perceived team images for participants who possess higher nationalistic sentiments scores. It also indeed plays a moderating role in the relationship between commentary and hostility. The interaction effect between nationalistic sentiments and commentary was significant to predict hostility toward the opposing country (H3b). To be specific, the relationship between commentary and hostility was stronger for high nationalistic sentiments groups. As shown in Figure 2, the high nationalistic sentiments group was more vulnerably incited by color commentary and more likely to report greater hostility toward the opposing country. This is consistent with research (Heere & James, 2007) that indicates that external group identities, such as national identity, would be a potential moderator between commentary and audiences' responses in the context of international sport competition. This result sheds light on a scholarly area (e.g., Funk & Pritchard, 2005; Kwak, Kim, & Zimmerman, 2010) that has dealt with the moderating role of psychological attachment (e.g., identification, loyalty) in the relationships between the team-related stimuli and sports consumers' reactions.

Consistent with findings regarding the paradigm of priming effect (e.g., Roskos-Ewoldsen et al., 2009; Yi, 1990), the indirect effects of commentary on attitudes toward products through sport team image was significant. In other words, the treatment of a team's image was a significant predictor of attitudes toward products. Participants who were exposed to objective commentary (as opposed to color commentary) reported greater evaluations of the other country's team, which led to an increased likelihood that those participants would buy products made in the opponent's country. This result indicates that particular attitudes and beliefs stimulated by framed messages are more easily accessible and affects the standards people apply when they evaluate something that is relevant to the message. Thereby, the findings from the current investigation provide additional evidence regarding the framework of priming effect and suggest that the media have an ability to initiate or change certain attitudes as they pertain to a given issue, which, in turn, influences subsequent judgments related to the issue.

Implications and Limitations

This study both advances the body of knowledge in this area (e.g., application of framing and priming theory, application of the analysis of nationalistic sentiments and attitudes toward products) and can assist sport practitioners (e.g., sport marketers, broadcasting executives). First, nationalistic sentiments embedded in sports commentaries affect viewers' perceptions of sport teams. Broadcasting networks should be aware of the roles sports commentators play as professional gatekeepers. Sports media coverage can provide opportunities to change audiences' world views (e.g., images of countries, relationship between nations). Moreover, when audiences watch a sporting event, their attitudes regarding the opposing nation and their inclinations to purchase products made in the opposing county can be affected. The results indicate that sports fans may evaluate other countries based on their attitudes towards their own nation's sports teams. A sports team can be a useful strategic tool when a foreigner wants to build a strong brand as it related to the foreign nation, a notion that is consistent with the arguments put forth by White and Absher (2013).

Furthermore, from a sport marketing perspective, it could be argued that nationalistic sentiments could be utilized in various sport industry activities (e.g., broadcasting commercials, marketing strategies, ticket sales promotions, sport viewership analyses). For example, during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, a mobile telecommunication company (i.e., KTF) in South Korea garnered considerable success through an advertising campaign (i.e., Korea Team Fighting) that reflected nationalistic sentiments using their initial characters (Hong, 2013).

Because this study is the first known attempt to experimentally test the framing and priming effects of distorted media coverage in conjunction with nationalistic sentiments on sport viewership, the findings are somewhat limited. Future research in this area should involve examining this issue with different sports, or by looking at soccer matches between other countries mainly because Korea and Japan have a unique background in terms of their historical, territorial, political, etc. interactions. It should be re-examined in other cultural contexts. The findings of the current study are not generalizable to different contexts. Furthermore, it could be a weakness of the current study that it employed limited constructs (i.e., team image and attitude toward products) and manipulation (i.e., commentary) when considering marketing and managerial implications. Therefore, it is expected that extending the role of nationalistic sentiments into other sport marketing areas (e.g., advertisements, athlete endorsements, sport sponsorships) would provide an opportunity to create additional scholarly work (e.g., nationalistic sentiments as a marketing strategy for a team or league) within sport marketing. Despite the current study's limitations, it should be noted that this work contributes to the sport marketing body of knowledge as it investigates the role of nationalistic sentiments and the consumer behavior effects of media coverage in live sports broadcasting settings.

Minkyo Lee, Choong Hoon Lim, In-Sung Yeo, and Paul M. Pedersen

Minkyo Lee, MS, is a doctoral student in the sport management program at Indiana University. His research interests include sport communication, sport consumer behavior, and sport consumer psychology.

Choong Hoon Lim, PhD, is an associate professor of global sport management and institute of sport science in the Department of Physical Education at Seoul National University. His research interests include sport consumer behavior and sport marketing.

In-Sung Yeo, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Sport and Leisure Studies at Yonsei University. His research interests include sport history and sport philosophy.

Paul M. Pedersen, PhD, is a professor and director of the sport management program in the Department of Kinesiology at Indiana University. His research interests include sport communication and sport management.

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Table 1

Influence of Nationalistic Sentiments, Commentary,
and Interaction on Criteria Variables

Variable            Team Image

                    1          2           3

Step1
Nationalistic       0.13        0.11       0.13
  Sentiments (NS)
Step2
Commentary           .41 ***     .41 ***
Step3                                       .15 (+)
Commentary x NS
[DELTA]R2           0.23        0.18       0.03
[DELTA]F            1.85       17.84 ***   3.03 (+)
Adjusted R2         0.01        0.19       0.21
F                   1.85       10.05 ***   7.89 ***

Variable            Hostility

                    1        2        3

Step1
Nationalistic       0.25 *   0.25 *   0.21
  Sentiments (NS)
Step2
Commentary                   0.04     0.05
Step3
Commentary x NS                       -.29 *
[DELTA]R2           0.05     0        0.07
[DELTA]F            4.47 *   0.1      6.37 *
Adjusted R2         0.04     0.03     0.09
F                   4.47 *   2.26     3.73 *

Note: (+) p < .10, * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001