Introduction

With a current buying power that is estimated to be nearly $1 trillion in annual spending (Nielson, 2013), African American consumers in the United States are of significant importance to marketers (Oyewole, 2007; Simpson, Snuggs, Christiansen, & Simples, 2000). When coupled with the fact that African Americans account for 13% of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011) and yet still make up a smaller percentage of fans among some of the major North American sports leagues (SportsBusiness Daily, 2010), this consumer market becomes of major significance for sports marketers responsible for increasing attendance and viewership for Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS), NASCAR, National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), and National Hockey League (NHL). Perhaps the most alarming development among African Americans' sport consumption in recent years is the waning interest in MLB (Brown & Bennett, 2015). Recent studies indicate that African Americans comprise less than 10% percent of baseball fans in the US (Clinkscales, 2013), and make up an even lesser percentage of consumers who view baseball on television (Armour, 2002; Livingstone, 2011). These numbers might suggest some dated, poorly communicated, or otherwise deficient marketing strategies on the part of sport marketers attempting to reach this demographic. Still, recent studies on the topic focus on the motives and constraints of African Americans to attend sporting events, and utilize inductive techniques and grounded theory (e.g., Stadler Blank, Sweeney, & Fuller, 2014). In an attempt to advance these efforts, the current study incorporates a deductive experimental design to understand the effects of baseball advertising on African Americans, whereby the match-up hypothesis and the theory of reasoned action provide a framework for examining variables that might influence the effectiveness of advertising.

According to Ogden and Hilt (2003), African Americans are consuming increasingly less baseball largely because of a lack of collective identity, a process that "involves an absorption of cultural traits by individuals in the formation of self-identity," such that minority group members might gravitate to one sport over another due to aspects that facilitate cultural identity and group interest in the sport (p. 213). For example, these authors found four factors of collective identity that indicate a preference for the sport of basketball among African Americans in recent years: an encouragement from authority figures to play basketball, the depiction of the sport as a form of self-expression and empowerment, the profusion of African American players that are shown in media and marketing, and perceptions of basketball's influence on social mobility. Given the decline in African American attendance and participation in baseball, these findings suggest that baseball lacks such factors through which African Americans can identify. Thus, sport marketers might need to explore cultural and social factors in their communications that may predispose African American sport consumers to identify with the sport of baseball.

Cortese (2007) claims advertising is "a mechanism through which members of a society assimilate their cultural heritage and cultural ideologies" (p. 2). In image-oriented ads of today, ideologies (i.e., images, concepts, principles) may frame the manner in which people represent, interpret, and understand their cultural identity and views of social life (Hall, 2013). Therefore, advertisers increasingly recognize the significance of representing marginalized groups in their communication efforts, and the overall importance of multiculturalism in marketing, to gaining the interest and loyalty of these consumers (Cortese, 2007). Theoretical principles of the match-up hypothesis support this rationale--a greater perceived fit between an endorser and the brand leads to more effective communication with target consumer audiences (Misra & Beatty, 1990), as does a greater perceived racial fit between advertisement actors (i.e., individuals who serve as main characters or play some other supporting part in the advertisement; Corbett, 2002) and the target audience (e.g., Appiah, 2001; Kerin, 1979; Kim & Cheong, 2011; Schlinger & Plummer, 1972). Therefore, in order to entice consumption of products, marketers seek to alter consumers' attitudes by designing specific settings and actors in advertisements that might allow consumers to envision themselves using the same promoted product or service (Boyd & Shank, 2004; Kim & Cheong, 2011). In addition, given extant studies show African Americans as having negative attitudes towards baseball (Brown & Bennett, 2015; Ogden & Hilt, 2003), marketers can utilize the match-up hypothesis as a way to investigate whether or not culturally matching and racially similar baseball advertisements impact African Americans' perceived fit with an advertisement message, which might potentially alter these consumers' attitudes toward the sport of baseball.

While attitudes are recognized as being important drivers of sport consumption (Funk & James, 2004; Funk & Pastore, 2000), attitudes alone may not necessarily account for significant variation in consumers' behavioral intentions (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Glassman & Albarracin, 2006). However, according to theory of reasoned action (Ajzen, 2002; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980), researchers can predict intentions by examining attitudes and subjective norms. Research on the theory of reasoned action shows attitudes are correlated with subjective norms, and that positive evaluations of both concepts may subsequently affect behavior (Madden, Ellen, & Ajzen, 1992; Sheppard, Hartwick, & Warshaw, 1988). Therefore, principles of both the match-up hypothesis and the theory of reasoned action were employed in this study as a means of developing a set of testable hypotheses that address the elements of our research questions: To what extent do race and setting in baseball advertisements influence perceived identity fit among African Americans, and how might perceived identify fit affect their attitudes toward baseball, subjective norms, and intentions to consume baseball?

The main purpose of this study was to examine African Americans' attitudes, subjective norms, and behavioral intentions towards the sport of baseball by exploring the effects of setting and race in print baseball advertisements. We propose baseball advertisements portraying a sense of identity fit between prominent advertisement characteristics (i.e., setting and race) and African American viewers will influence the attitudes viewers have toward baseball. Further, we propose that perceived fit with the advertisement may also influence subjective norms, such that baseball advertisements designed to identify with African American consumers may positively influence their social opinions about the sport. In doing so, this research fits within a larger body of extant literature on the reasons why African Americans are consuming increasingly less baseball.

Theoretical Framework

Match-up Hypothesis

The central tenet of the match-up hypothesis is that consumers are more likely to exhibit positive evaluations of an advertisement and attitudes toward the product when the advertisement depicts a greater perceived fit between the product and endorser (Fink, Cunningham, & Kensicki, 2004; McDaniel, 1999). The theoretical principles of the match-up hypothesis are founded on the source attractiveness model (Kelman, 1961), which states that an advertisement's effectiveness is dependent on how familiar, likable, and similar viewers find the source to be in an advertisement (Ohanian, 1990). According to Erdogan (1999) and Ohanian (1990), attractiveness is not always qualified in terms of physical beauty--attractiveness is often referred to in terms of resemblance between the source and consumers. To this end, consumers typically view an advertisement more positively when the actors and scenes resemble the consumers' physical appearances and cultural norms, respectively (Boyd & Shank, 2004; Kim & Cheong, 2011).

Much of the research on match-up hypothesis involves perceived fit or "match" between the advertisement endorser and the advertised product (e.g., Kahle & Homer, 1985; Till & Busler, 2000). However, there is a growing body of literature focused on the perceived fit between the advertisement endorser and consumer (Cunningham, Fink, & Kenix, 2008; Kamins, & Gupta, 1994; Kim & Cheong, 2011; Liu, Huang, & Minghua, 2007). By these studies, match-up hypothesis has been employed to show how consumers' attitudes regarding an advertisement, product, or brand can change depending on whether they perceive a similarity between them and the actors and scenes featured in the advertisement. For example, Kim and Cheong (2011) found Asian Americans responded more favorably to golf advertisements when Asian actors were used over Anglo actors. Similarly, Boyd and Shank (2004) found that advertisements featuring female actors were perceived by female viewers to be more truthful than those that featured male actors. Further, research also shows consumers will exhibit less desirable evaluations and attitudes if they observe no sense of identity with an advertisement (Kamins, 1990; Khale & Homer, 1985).

In addition to relating with the physical characteristics of advertisement actors, research indicates consumers also respond to the settings, scenes, or contexts fabricated and portrayed in an advertisement. According to Pradeep (2013), "the brain seeks context in all that it processes, so the selection of the setting for a scene in an advertisement is important for providing context" (p. 2). To this end, the settings or "story themes" depicted in an advertisement convey messages that are positioned to appeal (sometimes in an illusorily fashion) to the culture and norms of the target audience (Alden, Steenkamp, & Batra, 1999, p. 78). Moreover, Dyer (2008) contends the setting of an advertisement has as much to do with appealing to consumers as actors or language. This supports research conducted by Alden et al. (1999), who claim "culture members" establish whether the scenes and settings in advertisements exemplify those ordinarily found in their own consumer culture prior to forming attitudes and evaluations regarding the advertisement (p. 78).

Armstrong (2002b) suggests African American sport consumers demonstrate a particular interest in sports they not only identify with racially (i.e., sports that prominently feature players who are African American), but also culturally (i.e., sports that represent their cultural identities). According to Armstrong (2002b), cultural identities can function as motivational factors--when they are present in a sport, then African Americans will gain a sense of personal association with the sport. For example, her findings suggest African Americans are motivated to consume sports that feature "excitement" and "skill" as fundamental qualities. Other researchers have supported these findings, including Brown and Bennett (2015), who performed interviews with African American sport consumers and found baseball to be lacking in excitement and skill, whereas participants perceived these qualities to be core features of both basketball and football. Based on the aforementioned findings, we posit that African Americans might perceive a greater fit with a baseball advertisement if the setting is exciting and illustrates skill on the part of actors. Furthermore, we hypothesize that actor race will moderate the "setting-fit" relationship such that actors having noticeably similar racial features will strengthen the participants' perceptions of fit. As such, we propose the following hypotheses:

H1: African American viewers will perceive a baseball advertisement as being a greater fit with their identity if the advertisement setting portrays a sense of excitement and skill.

H2: Actor race will moderate the relationship between setting and perceived fit, such that African American actors will intensify African American viewers' perceptions of fit.

Theory of Reasoned Action

Based on the principles of social cognitive theory, the theory of reasoned action suggests attitudes and subjective norms have a significant influence on an individual's intention to partake in certain behaviors (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Madden et al., 1992). The theory has been applied rather extensively in sport management literature as a means of understanding sport consumption (e.g., Cunningham & Kwon, 2003; Funk & James, 2004; Shoham, Rose, & Kahle, 1998; Walker & Kent, 2013). For instance, Cunningham and Kwon (2003) showed attitudes and subjective norms toward hockey were significantly related to intentions to consume the sport. In the current study, the theory of reasoned action is used as a means to better understand the lack of baseball consumption among African Americans.

The theory of reasoned action posits one's beliefs about certain behaviors are influenced by her or his attitudes and subjective norms (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). Attitude refers to the way in which one views a certain behavior as either favorable or unfavorable (Babiak, Mills, Tainsky, & Juravich, 2012). An individual's attitudes towards a behavior are a function of the desirability and attractiveness of outcomes that are likely to stem from performing the behavior. As such, consumers commonly behave in ways that consistently lead to desirable and attractive outcomes (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010). Bell and Stephenson (2014) found different attitudinal motivations to compete in 5K races based on runners' perceived levels of ability. Runners who had a high-level ability revealed attitudes toward racing that supported their desire and attraction for competition and altruism, while runners with low-level ability reported attitudes for racing that were focused more on health and social affiliation outcomes or participation.

According to the match-up hypothesis, if individuals perceive a fit between an actor and themselves through an advertisement, they will likely be inclined to change attitudes towards the main product in the advertisement (Boyd & Shank, 2003; Kim & Cheong, 2011). With regard to the theory of reasoned action, African Americans might choose not to consume baseball because of negative attitudes they have towards baseball. Yet, if African Americans view advertisements better positioned to match their identity, their attitudes and subsequent intentions to consume the sport might be positively affected. Therefore, the following hypothesis is put forth:

H3: African American viewers who perceive a greater fit with a baseball advertisement will have more positive attitudes towards the sport of baseball.

Subjective norms refer to an individual's intention to take part in certain behaviors based on social pressures, or "social expectations a person has from significant others" (Cunningham & Kwon, 2003, p. 129). To this end, individuals traditionally participate in behaviors they perceive as being supported by their friends and family. Support might include direct support (e.g., direct verbal support from significant others towards the individual about partaking in the behavior) or indirect support (e.g., significant others openly revealing positive attitudes towards the behavior; Hagger, Chatzisarantis, & Briddle, 2001). For example, Kaplanidou and Gibson (2012) showed how parents of youth female soccer players were influenced by a social network of other soccer parents to attend youth soccer travel events based on what authors called "peer influence" (p. 8). Moreover, Babiak et al. (2012) found professional athletes were more likely to donate to charity or engage in philanthropic behaviors when significant others (i.e., coaches and teammates) were perceived as valuing altruism.

Research on the match-up hypothesis illustrates how an intensified sense of identity with an advertisement (i.e., increased perceived fit) might not only influence consumers' attitudes, but also subjective norms. For example, if African American consumers perceive an advertisement's actors and setting as closely resembling and relating to their culture, they might be more inclined to respond favorably (both affectively and behaviorally; Alden et al., 1999) to various marketing messages communicated via the advertisement. As such, we put forth the following hypothesis:

H4: African American viewers who perceive a greater fit with a baseball advertisement will have more positive subjective norms towards the sport of baseball.

Research has suggested that the components of the theory of reasoned action are positively associated with intentions. For example, Cunningham and Kwon (2003) found a positive relationship between attitudes and intentions to attend a hockey game, and subjective norms and intentions to attend a hockey game. Furthermore, other studies have also demonstrated a relationship between these variables and intentions to consume sport (Cheng, Chen, Chen, & Lu, 2012; Lu et al., 2001). Therefore, in the current study, it is expected that those who carry positive attitudes towards baseball and those who have significant others who positively evaluate baseball consumption will have intentions to consume baseball. Thus, the following hypotheses are presented:

H5: African American viewers who carry more positive attitudes towards baseball will have stronger behavioral intentions to consume baseball.

H6: African American viewers who have more positive subjective norms towards baseball will have stronger behavioral intentions to consume baseball.

Method

Participants

Participants who agreed to take part in this study were asked to read and answer various questions related to the dependent variables, and concluded their participation by providing their demographic information in the final section of the questionnaire. The demographic makeup of the study sample (N = 283) was 70.7% males and 29.3% females, with a racial breakdown that was entirely made up of self-identified African Americans. Study participants who were 18-25 years of age comprised 36.4% of the sample, while 26-34 year-olds made up 49.8%, 35-54 year-olds made up 9.9%, 55-64 year-olds made up 3.2%, and less than one percent of the participants were over 65 years old.

Procedure

The extant literature on African American sport consumption emphasizes two important findings: African American consumers are more likely to consume a sport that depicts culturally significant motivational characteristics (i.e., excitement and skill; Armstrong, 2002b; Brown & Bennett, 2015), as well as a sense of racial similarity (Armstrong, 2002a, 2002b). In comparison to other racial groups, the factors--excitement and skill--are particularly relevant to African Americans. Studies suggest that if these factors are not present, African Americans will be less likely to partake in sport consumption (Armstrong, 2002b; Brown & Bennett, 2015). As such, these factors are utilized within the current study to examine their relationship with similarity and consequently, consumption. To measure the effects of these aspects of sport as they relate to sport advertising, we utilized them in a series of print advertisements to investigate the extent to which they were able to prompt a perceived sense of fit and, subsequently, affect the following dependent variables: participants' attitudes towards baseball, subjective norms, and behavioral intentions. An experimental study design was employed to assess whether the presence of excitement and skill in an advertisement setting, and the use of advertisement actors with noticeably similar racial features, affected participants' responses to survey items measuring the aforementioned dependent variables. In order to ensure participants were consciously acknowledging both the excitement and skill aspects (or lack thereof) within the advertisements, and the racial makeup of the actors within the advertisements, a manipulation check was conducted. The manipulation check required the participants to properly identify whether an advertisement contains excitement and skill. In addition, the manipulation check required the participants to properly identify the race of the actors within the advertisements.

The investigators utilized a relatively new online platform, Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk), to recruit participants to take part in the experiment. Amazon's MTurk is a "market in which anyone can post tasks to be completed and specify prices paid for completing them," and the purpose of the system "was to have human users complete simple tasks that would otherwise be extremely difficult (if not impossible) for computers to perform" (Kittur, Chi, & Suh, 2008, p. 453). Tasks typically require little time and effort on the part of the participants, and participants make up a population of over 500,000 individuals from 190 countries (MTurk, 2015). Scholars are able to identify specific individuals based on attributes ranging from race, gender, education, and social class, to name a few. Berinsky, Huber, and Lenz (2012) found that MTurk is a viable source for the social sciences. Specifically, Berinsky et al. (2012) examined this online platform for internal and external validity, and found MTurk is a valid online platform for data collection. In addition, Buhrmester, Kwang, and Gosling (2011) assessed the MTurk platform for reliability and data quality, and found MTurk "met or exceeded the psychometric standards associated with published research" (p. 5). Moreover, Paolacci, Chandler, and Ipeirotis (2010) found MTurk to be particularly reliable for experimental data in the social sciences.

MTurk utilizes an incentive-based platform to recruit study participants. Participants visit the MTurk website as a means to participate in research and survey questionnaires for rewards in the form of cash incentives that are paid directly from Amazon (researchers pay a fee to Amazon to utilize MTurk platforms). In order to qualify for this study, study participants were required to be self-identified African Americans. Qualified participants were then randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions, which were each accompanied by identical study directions and questionnaire items.

Study directions asked participants to provide information regarding their demographic makeup (e.g., age, race, gender) and previous baseball consumption history (i.e., "How often do you watch baseball games on television?"). Participants were then asked to view a print baseball advertisement embedded in the online survey and answer questions in conjunction with viewing the advertisement. Participants viewed one of four baseball advertisements created by one specially trained graphic designer for the purposes of examining the aforementioned research hypotheses. Specifically, participants were randomly assigned to see one of the four following print baseball advertisements: (a) an Anglo American baseball player making a skilled play and depicted in an exciting setting ([Ad.sub.a]), (b) an African American baseball player making a skilled play and shown in an exciting setting ([Ad.sub.b], (c) an Anglo American baseball player shown in a non-active scene (i.e., unexciting, no demonstration of skill) ([Ad.sub.c]), and (d) an African American baseball player portrayed in a non-active scene (i.e., unexciting, no demonstration of skill) ([Ad.sub.d]). Additionally, the advertisements were purposely designed to emphasize the product of baseball, as opposed to advertising a specific team, brand, or event. This measure was taken to remove any confounding issues that may otherwise have surfaced had we included added copy (Golden, 1979). Visuals of the advertisements used for each of the conditions are provided in the Appendix. In total, 72 participants viewed [Ad.sub.a,] 78 separate participants viewed [Ad.sub.b], 91 separate participants viewed [Ad.sub.c], and 82 separate participants viewed [Ad.sub.d.]

Measures

Perceived fit (i.e., match-up) between the advertisement and viewer was measured using a three-item, seven-point Likert-type scale developed by Dahlen (2005), who adapted items from Lange, Selander, and Aberg's (2003) congruency scale ([alpha] = .81). A three-item scale developed by Cunningham and Kwon (2003) was used to assess participants' attitudes toward the sport of baseball ([alpha] = .90). Responses were reported on a semantic differential, seven-point Likert-type scale (i.e., extremely unpleasant to extremely pleasant, extremely dull to extremely entertaining, and extremely worthless to extremely valuable). Subjective norms were measured using Ajzen's (2002) three-item, seven-point Likert-type scale that ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree ([alpha] = .91) (i.e., "Most people who are close to me believe I would benefit from consuming baseball"). A four-item, seven-point Likert-type scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree was adapted from Cunningham and Kwon (2003) to assess intentions to consume baseball (i.e., "After observing this advertisement, I would enjoy consuming baseball in the near future."). A detailed summary of scale items is provided in Table 1.

Based on recommendations put forth by Nunnally and Bernstein (1994), the scales used in this research were above the required threshold of .80 and, therefore, considered reliable. The scales were further validated by measuring composite reliability and average variance extracted in accordance with Hair, Black, Babin, and Anderson (2010), who argue scores greater than .50 are necessary for construct validity. The conditions were satisfied, as each of the factors showed composite reliability and average variance extracted values greater than .80 and .60, respectively.

Data Analysis

Structural equation modeling was used to test the aforementioned series of hypotheses (see Figure 1 for an illustrative summary of study predictions). The fit indices that were utilized to measure the goodness of fit of the hypothesized model included the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), the comparative fit index (CFI), and the Tucker-Lewis index (TLI). In adhering to recommendations of Hu and Bentler (1999) and Kelloway (1998), RMSEA values of less than .05, CFI values greater than .95, and TLI values greater than .90 were considered to be suggestive of acceptable model fit. Following the suggestions of Marsh, Wen, and Hau (2004), moderation analysis was conducted whereby race was used to create the setting x race product.

Results

Manipulation Check

As a way of assessing the experiment's manipulation, study participants were asked to establish whether the advertisement setting depicted a sense of excitement and skill (e.g., "Is this advertisement exciting," and "Does the actor in this advertisement seemed skilled?"). Moreover, study participants were asked to assess if the actors in the advertisement were African American or Anglo American (e.g., "What race are the actors in this advertisement?"). A total of 72 study participants viewed [Ad.sub.a] (excitement and skill/Anglo American), of which 73% (n = 53) reported that the advertisement portrayed excitement and skill, and believed that the advertisement actors were Anglo American. A total of 78 study participants viewed [Ad.sub.b] (excitement and skill/African American), of which 95% (n = 74) responded that the advertisement was exciting and featured a skilled African American actor. A total of 91 study participants observed [Ad.sub.c] (no excitement or skill/Anglo American), of which 89% (n = 81) responded that the advertisement did not depict a sense of excitement and skill, and featured actors who were Anglo American. A total of 82 study participants viewed [Ad.sub.d] (no excitement or skill/African American), of which 92% (n = 75) stated that the advertisement did not depict a sense of excitement and skill, and that actors were African American. Nearly all responses to the manipulation check questions supported the conditions the researchers intended for experimentation. Only those participants who fulfilled the manipulation check (i.e., study participants who perceived the setting and race as intended by authors for their respective advertisement condition) were included in the subsequent stage of data analysis.

Descriptive Statistics

Means, standard deviations, and bivariate correlations for latent variable were computed in order to understand the relationships between these variables (see Table 2). Findings indicated participants who perceived having a better fit with the advertisement (r = .55, p < .01), expressed more positive attitudes toward baseball (r = .64, p < .01), reported more favorable responses with regards to subjective norms (r = .59, p < .01), and had stronger intentions to consume baseball in the future (r = .64, p < .01).

Hypothesis Testing

Hypotheses were tested through observed path analysis, and findings indicated that the model was an acceptable fit to the data: [chi square]/df = 2.82; RMSEA (90% CI: .07, .09) = .08; CFI = .95; TLI = .94. An illustrative summary of the tested model is presented in Figure 2. Hypothesis 1 predicted that an advertisement setting depicting characteristics of excitement and skill would be positively related to perceived fit. This was not supported at the .05 alpha level, as the results indicated setting did not significantly affect viewers' perceptions of fit with the advertisement ([beta] = .061, p = .4). However, our second hypothesis (Hypothesis 2), which predicted that actor race would moderate the relationship between advertisement setting and perceived fit, was supported. This effect was qualified by a significant setting x race interaction ([beta] = -.178, p < .05). Findings revealed that, among participants who observed baseball advertisements with Anglo American actors, there were no significant differences between the two advertisement settings with regard to perceived fit (i.e., the exciting/skill condition had the same degree of fit as the unexciting/no skill condition). Among participants who viewed advertisements with African American actors, however, there were significant differences between the two different setting conditions--study participants in the exciting/skill condition who viewed African American actors in the baseball advertisement conveyed significantly higher levels of perceived fit with the advertisement than did participants in the same condition who viewed Anglo American actors in the advertisement. These interaction effects support Hypothesis 2.

Hypotheses 3 and 4 predicted a positive relationship between perceived fit and attitudes towards baseball and subjective norms, respectively. Both hypotheses were confirmed. Findings indicated that perceived fit had a significant effect on participants' attitudes towards baseball ([beta] = .704, p < .001), and on participants' subjective norms ([beta] = .690, p < .001). With regard to the principles on which the theory of reasoned action is based, Hypothesis 5 and Hypothesis 6 both predicted participants' favorable attitudes towards baseball and positive subjective norms about baseball would influence future behavioral intentions to consume baseball. Results revealed that while Hypothesis 5 was not confirmed, Hypothesis 6 was confirmed. Though findings indicate positive effects for attitudes toward baseball on future intentions to consume, this effect was not found to be significant ([beta] = .030, p = .78). For subjective norms, however, this effect was found to be significant ([beta] = .887, p < .001).

Discussion and Implications

Drawing from the literature concerning the match-up hypothesis, this research examined whether specific similar characteristics of a print baseball advertisement (i.e., actor race and advertisement setting) would influence the African American participants involved in this study to perceive various degrees of fit with the advertisement. More specifically, a primary objective of this study was to determine if African American participants would perceive a greater overall fit with a baseball advertisement if the actors and settings shown in the advertisement resembled their racial and cultural traits. Prior researchers support the notion that settings and actors in advertisements should not only match consumers' perceptions of an advertised product or brand, but also fit with consumers' self-identifying qualities and characteristics (see Cunningham et al., 2008; Kamins, & Gupta, 1994; Kim & Cheong, 2011; Liu et al., 2007). For example, Boyd and Shank (2004) found matching gender qualities between advertisement actors and advertisement viewers led to greater overall opinions of the advertisement. Similarly, Kim and Cheong (2011) found that using advertisement actors' race to appeal to a particular minority group (e.g., Asian American actors in a golf advertisement to appeal to potential Asian American golf consumers) led to greater perceptions of fit regarding many aspects of an advertisement as opposed to when Anglo American actors were used. In this investigation, we illustrate how advertisement settings portraying excitement and skill (i.e., characteristics of sport African American consumers most commonly seek; Armstrong 2002a, 2002b) significantly influenced African American viewers' perceived fit with the advertisement, but only when African American actors were portrayed in the advertisement.

Support for our second hypothesis indicates that actor or endorser race is a particularly significant moderating factor for affecting consumers' perceptions of fit with an advertisement. This is supportive of literature suggesting individuals who have a higher sense of racial similarity will be more likely to consume products that reinforce and exhibit their own racial traits (Brown & Bennett, 2015; Cunningham & Kwon, 2004; Xu, Shim, Lotz, & Almeida, 2004). Further, support for the moderating effects of actor race on perceived fit upholds scholars' assertions that individuals are likely to display positive assessments towards individuals who are perceived as being similar on a surface-level self-identity (Dovidio, Gaertner, & Kawakami, 2003). Hence, a major implication of this study is that of the perspective of race and diversity in sport marketing, as racial elements seem to have the ability to significantly influence perceptions of advertisements among minority group consumers.

Our results also offer some meaningful insights for comparable studies in the field of reasoned action research in that they support previous findings related to the impact of attitudes and subjective norms on one's behaviors and intentions (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). Given the significant findings related to Hypothesis 3 and Hypothesis 4 in this research (i.e., perceived fit was positively related to participants' attitudes towards baseball and subjective norms about the sport), our results also demonstrate that intentions to consume baseball were strengthened when participants' attitudes towards baseball and subjective norms about baseball were both positive. These results are similar to prior research showing attitudes and subjective norms having direct effects upon intentions (Ajzen & Daigle, 2001; Ajzen & Driver, 1992; Lu, Lin, & Cheng, 2011). Though subjective norms were meaningful in their prediction of intentions to consume baseball (Hypothesis 6), our results indicate that attitudes towards baseball were not (Hypothesis 5). This finding is noteworthy given that previous research has demonstrated the influence of attitudes on sport consumption (e.g., Cunningham & Kwon, 2003; Cheng et al., 2012), and relatively fewer studies have explored the effect of attitudes on sport consumption where African Americans are concerned (e.g., Brown & Bennett, 2015; Stadler Blank et al., 2014). Though future research on the topic is warranted, this result may showcase the surface-level nature of the attitude variable, one which may not aptly encompass the multi-layered dynamics influencing African American sport consumption. In fact, Armstrong (2008) infers that African Americans are different from other consumers in that their consumption habits may be preceded by deeper-level, psychosocial elements relating to culture. To this end, Armstrong (2008) contends sports ought to be "imbued with artifacts and expressions that have sociocultural salience to consumers of color," and should provide "a sense of cultural congruity, or a culturally rewarding experience that may differ from the experience perceived by Caucasian consumers in the same setting" (p. 228). This perspective articulates the multilayered dynamics associated with African American sport consumption and offers insights for future research on factors affecting attitudes.

Perhaps one of the more meaningful implications for the study is that subjective norms, more so than attitudes, were significant predictors of future intentions to consume baseball for our sample of African Americans (Hypothesis 6). In reviewing previous research, it seems that subjective norms are particularly important to African American sport consumers, most notably due to the importance of psychosocial involvement of individuals in varied parts of culture and society (e.g., Cohen, Brown, & Welty Peachey, 2012). Psychosocial involvement refers to the ability of individuals to be influenced by family, friends, or significant others (Armstrong, 2002a). Armstrong states that minorities will participate (or not participate) in certain behaviors if other members of their culture also participate (or not participate), and will do so at a greater speed of adoption (or rejection) than members of majority groups. The result is a kind of ripple effect, as individuals who are part of the minority group will adhere to the sentiments of others like them and further convey their negative or positive sentiments about a certain behavior. Our results support Armstrong's notions. That is, when viewing other African Americans portrayed in a baseball advertisement, study participants may have felt more psychosocially involved with the sport.

Because the study of African American sport consumers is still in its relative infancy, extant research on this minority group with regards to sport consumption is still advancing and research designs are still largely qualitative and grounded from a theoretical standpoint (Brown & Bennett, 2015; Stadler Blank et al., 2014). There are many possible reasons for the dearth of sport marketing literature on this important minority group. For example, the lack of studies on African American sport consumers might perhaps be due to the fact sport management research has only begun to fully inquire and study these consumers in recent decades (see Singer, 2005). In addition, because recruiting large sample sizes of African American research participants is a relatively difficult and oftentimes unachievable task (see Coker, Huang, & Kashubeck-West, 2011), perhaps research on African American sport consumers in sport management literature has been qualitative because of limited access to these consumers and subsequently small sample sizes. In this study, the authors were able to utilize new data collection techniques via Amazon's MTurk, which allowed for a large enough sample size of African Americans to conduct a thorough SEM analysis. As such, this research advances current findings related to African Americans and sport consumption by presenting a series of testable hypotheses that shed light on novel ways in which sport marketers might employ the influence of race and settings in advertisements to attract more African American consumers to the sport of baseball.

Limitations and Future Research

While this study reveals important information for both academicians and practitioners, it is not without limitations. First, data collection methods involved a relatively new online platform. Although Amazon's MTurk has been found to be a viable resource for collecting data within the social sciences (Berinsky et al., 2012), the platform has not been widely utilized within the sport management field. MTurk was reliable in its capacity to provide a sizable amount of participants; however, the presence of a predominately male sample (70.7%) hinders the results where female African Americans are concerned. Additionally, individuals who participated in this survey were largely made up of 18-34 year olds. This is probably due to the technological nature of MTurk--a younger demographic is more likely to participate on such platforms. Provided just over 30% of African Americans in the US are between the ages of 18 and 34 (Nielson, 2011), the large sample of African Americans in this study might not necessarily reflect the opinions of all African American consumers in the US. However, given the hypotheses in the current study, significant findings among a younger demographic of African American consumers might be viewed as being even more meaningful since this age group is gaining more spending power and having influences on friends and early family members (e.g., spouse and children).

The findings presented here may also be limited because of the fictitious nature of the advertisements used in the study. The addition of recognizable baseball brand names (e.g., MLB, Rawlings) or noticeable celebrity endorsers (as opposed to common advertisement actors) might influence the effects of both setting and race on African American sport consumers' perceptions. Previous researchers argue that specific brands and endorsers portray a sense of expertise related to the product that might influence perceived fit and behavioral intentions (Fink et al., 2004), and actual consumption decisions (McDaniel, 1999; Ruihley, Runyan, & Lear, 2010). Therefore, we recommend future studies increase the real-world bearing of this research by conducting original experiments with advertisements featuring MLB players that included African Americans, Anglo Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans to see if endorser expertise may advance the findings in this study. Also, motion advertisements such as television commercials may be better suited to examine different advertisement settings that, according to our findings, are influential of viewers' behavioral intentions (Alden et al., 1999; Pradeep, 2013). In addition, as we did not examine potential racial hue effects, future scholars interested in deeper level race effects might be able to glean additional insights beyond those examined in this study. Although an examination of actors' different racial hues would have been interesting, our hypotheses were focused mainly on differences between Anglo American and African American actors in baseball advertisements.

This study is seemingly one of the first to utilize the theoretical principles of match-up hypothesis in conjunction with the theory of reasoned action. Our results illustrate how a setting x race product influenced study participants' perceptions of fit with the advertisement. When fit was greater, attitudes towards baseball and subjective norms about baseball were both positively affected. To this end, other researchers may want to employ both theories in future endeavors as a means to advance the current knowledge in these fields. Within the field of sport management, both match-up hypothesis and theory of reasoned action have been utilized in studies pertaining to sport consumption (see Cunningham & Kwon, 2003; Fink et al., 2004; Kim & Cheong, 2011; Shoham, Rose, & Kahle, 1998; Walker & Kent, 2013); however, fewer studies have specifically employed both theories to examine motivations and constraints to sport consumption.

In sum, research on African American sport consumption in sport marketing literature has largely gone without the attention of academicians; therefore, very little is known when it comes to advertising to this minority group more effectively to generate positive consumption behaviors (Brown & Bennett, 2015; Stadler Blank et al., 2014). This void in the literature is rather notable, as Armstrong (2008) describes African American consumers as "the new mainstream that is transforming how America will work, learn, spend, and play in the coming decades...they will undoubtedly impact sport marketing theory and practice" (p. 229). Given studies and recent trends in the sport industry show consumption of baseball by African Americans to be decreasing every year, it is important sport marketing researchers and practitioners assess why marketing and promotion strategies have been unsuccessful in reaching this important target audience. This study provides insightful implications in this regard.

Brandon Brown, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Sport Management at the University of Tampa. His research interests include sport marketing, branding, and minority consumption habits.

Gregg Bennett, EdD, is a professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology and director of the Center for Sport Management Research and Education at Texas A&M University. His research interests include branding and effective event marketing.

Khalid Ballouli, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management at the University of South Carolina. His research interests include sport consumer behavior, music in contemporary sport, and branding.

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Address author corespondence to:

Brandon Brown

University of Tampa

401 W Kennedy Blvd--Box 18F

Tampa, FL 33606

Email: bbrown@ut.edu

Appendix

Advertisement A. Action/Anglo American

Advertisement B. Action/African American

Advertisement C. No action/Anglo American

Advertisement D. No action/African American

Table 1
Standardized Regression Weights for Scale Items of Latent Variables

Scale                  Items                                Estimates

Perceived Fit (b)      a. The advertisement fits well       .85
                       with who I am as a person.
                       b. The advertisement fits well       .88
                       with the image I have of myself.
                       c. The advertisement fits well       .93
                       with the person I want to be.
                       (Based on Dahlen, 2005)
Attitudes Towards      a. How pleasant of an experience     .86
Baseball (a)           is consuming baseball?
                       b. How would you describe baseball   .88
                       in terms of entertainment?
                       c. What is the value of baseball     .84
                       to you personally?
                       (Based on Cunningham and Kwon,
                       2003)
Subjective Norms (b)   a. People important to me            .89
                       (friends/family) would approve of
                       me consuming baseball.
                       b. Consuming baseball with people    .87
                       close to me (friends/family) is
                       something I plan to do.
                       c. People close to me                .89
                       (friends/family) believe I would
                       benefit from consumer baseball.
                       (Based on Ajzen, 2002)
Intentions to          a. I intend to consume baseball      .94
Consume Baseball (b)   sometime in the near future.
                       b. I would enjoy consuming           .95
                       baseball sometime in the near
                       future.
                       c. I have the resources              .93
                       (transportation, TV, Internet) to
                       consumer baseball in the future.
                       d. I will try to consume baseball    .95
                       sometime in the near future.
                       (Based on Cunningham and Kwon,
                       2003)

(a) Items were measured using a 7-point semantic differential scale.

(b) Items were measured using a 7-point Likert-type (1 = strongly
disagree, 7 = strongly agree).

Table 2
Means, Standard Deviations, and Bivariate Correlations for the Latent
Variables

                              M      SD     1       2       3       4

1. Perceived fit              5.02   1.30   --
2. Attitudes towards          5.32   1.15   .64**   --
  baseball
3. Subjective norms towards   5.17   1.16   .59**   .73**   --
  baseball
4. Intentions to consume      5.13   1.32   .64**   .69**   .78**   --
  baseball

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (two-tailed)