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The relationship between sport team

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Int. J. Sport Management and Marketing, Vol. 12, Nos. 1/2, 2012 25

The relationship between sport team identification

and the need to belong

Nicholas D. Theodorakis
Department of Physical Education and Sport Science at Serres,
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Agios Ioannis, 62110, Serres, Greece
E-mail: ndtheo@phed-sr.auth.gr

Daniel L. Wann*
Department of Psychology,
Murray State University,
Murray, KY, 42071, USA
E-mail: dan.wann@murraystate.edu
*Corresponding author

Pantelis Nassis
University of Athens,
Stefanias 52, 15123 Pendeli, Athens, Greece
E-mail: pnassis@phed.uoa.gr

Tara Beth Luellen

Murray State University,
Murray, KY, 42071, USA
E-mail: tara.luellen@gmail.com

Abstract: Because sport team identification plays an important role in

facilitating higher levels of sport attendance and consumption (Wann et al.,
2001), sport management and marketing professionals are often interested in
determining variables that serve as antecedents of identification. Some authors
have suggested that the need to belong may be one such variable (Gwinner and
Swanson, 2003; Wann et al., 2001). Thus, two studies were designed to
examine the relationship between need to belong and identification. Study 1
involved 119 US college students completing measures of demographics,
identification, fandom, and the need to belong. Consistent with expectations,
the need to belong was positively correlated with level of identification with a
local sport team, but not identification with a distant team or mere sport
fandom. Study 2 contained a sample of 100 Greek university students and
replicated the positive relationship between identification with a local team and
the need to belong. Discussion centres on the causal relationships among the
variables, implications for fans of distant teams, and suggestions for sport
marketers and managers.

Keywords: need to belong; team identification; antecedents of identification;

sport fans.

Copyright 2012 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

26 N.D. Theodorakis et al.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Theodorakis, N.D.,

Wann, D.L., Nassis, P. and Luellen, T.B. (2012) The relationship between
sport team identification and the need to belong, Int. J. Sport Management and
Marketing, Vol. 12, Nos. 1/2, pp.2538.

Biographical notes: Nicholas D. Theodorakis is an Assistant Professor in

Sport Management at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He
conducts research in the areas of sport consumer behaviour, sport marketing
and service quality. His recent articles have been published in the European
Sport Management Quarterly, Sport Marketing Quarterly, Managing Service
Quality and Journal of Park and Recreation Administration.

Daniel L. Wann is Professor of Psychology at Murray State University and

member of the Executive Board of Directors for the National Alliance for
Youth Sports. He has published two books (Sport Psychology, Prentice Hall,
1997; Sport Fans: The Psychology and Social Impact of Spectators, Routledge,
2001), over 100 referred journal articles, and serves on the editorial board for
several journals.

Pantelis Nassis is teaching in the University of Athens, Department of Physical

Education and Sport Science. He has published among others in the
International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, International
Journal of Sport Management, Managing Service Quality, and International
Review for the Sociology of Sport. His research interest is in the study of sport
fans behaviour.

Tara Beth Luellen practices clinical psychology for a private practice in

Raleigh, North Carolina. She graduated from Murray State University in 2009
with a Masters in Clinical Psychology and is now a Licensed Psychological
Associate in North Carolina.

1 Introduction

Sport team identification, or the extent to which a fan feels a psychological connection to
a team (Wann and Branscombe, 1993; Wann et al., 2001), has gained a great deal of
interest from sport scientists in recent decades. Some of this research has focused on the
consequences of high levels of team identification (Dietz-Uhler and Lanter, 2008; Wann,
2006b). For instance, research has linked high levels of team identification with intense
affective reactions to watching a team compete (Wann et al., 1994), an increased
likelihood to respond aggressively (Rocca and Vogl-Bauer, 1999; Wann et al., 1999a),
displays of ingroup bias (Dimmock et al., 2005), and levels of social psychological
well-being (Wann, 2006c). Further, and of particular importance to sport marketing and
management professionals, team identification plays a major role in direct and indirect
sport consumption, such as event attendance and purchases of team products (Fisher,
1998; Kwon and Armstrong, 2006; Madrigal, 2000; Matsuoka et al., 2003; Theodorakis
et al., 2009; Wakefield, 1995).
Other sport scholars have focused their attention on the antecedents of team
identification. Wann (2006b) presented a categorisation scheme in which causes of
team identification were classified into three types: team-related, environmental, and
psychological. Team-related causes concern the history, tradition, and success of the
 The relationship between sport team identification and the need to belong 27

team (Sutton et al., 1997; Underwood et al., 2001) and player attractiveness and
similarity (Fisher, 1998; Fisher and Wakefield, 1998). Environmental causes include the
socialisation process (Funk and James, 2001; Wann et al., 2001), a salient rival team
(Luellen and Wann, 2010), and playing in a unique arena (Wann, 2006b).
The final category of causes of team identification involves psychological causes.
This set of antecedents is most directly relevant to the current investigation. This set of
causes lies within the individual. Wann (2006b) discussed several such causes, including
the need to feel part of a distinct group (Branscombe et al., 1999) and death (i.e.,
mortality) salience (Dechesne et al., 2000). A final psychological cause, and the focus of
the current research, concerns the need to belong.
Defined as a need to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships
[Baumeister and Leary, (1995), p.497], the need to belong is viewed as a fundamental
(i.e., innate) motivation for humans (Hornsey and Jetten, 2004; Pickett et al., 2004).
Indeed, many classic theories in psychology have included the need to belong (e.g.,
Bowlby, 1969; Freud, 1930; Fromm, 1955; Maslow, 1968). Baumeister and Leary (1995)
suggested that there are two main features of the need to belong. First, individuals need
frequent (ideally pleasant) interpersonal contact with others. Second, persons need to feel
that their connections to others are stable, emotionally involved, and likely to continue.
Essentially, these features argue that we have a need for valued interpersonal contact with
others.1 The relationships sport fans feel with one another can and often do meet these
criteria. Sport fandom is a social activity (Schurr et al., 1988; Wann et al., 2001) and
affiliation needs often rank high among various fan and spectating motives (Lee and
Armstrong, 2008; Lee et al., 2005; Wann, 1995). Numerous theorists (e.g., Crawford,
2004; Melnick, 1993; Wann, 2006c) have suggested that sport fandom can facilitate
social connections with others, a claim that is substantiated by empirical support
(Clopton, 2008; Palmer and Thompson, 2007; Wann et al., 2011b). Finally, sport fans
often feel a strong bond with other fans of their team (Wann and Branscombe, 1993) and
appear to use sport to satisfy social interaction needs (Mann, 1969).
Thus, it appears that the fundamental human need to feel a sense of belongingness
with others may be related to sport team identification. In fact, some authors have
suggested that the need to belong may be an antecedent of sport team identification
(Gwinner and Swanson, 2003; Wann et al., 2001). However, to date investigators had not
empirically tested the proposed relationships between the need to belong and team
identification. Rather, researchers had discussed and/or investigated the relationship
between affiliation needs and team identification, finding the expected positive
relationship (Donavan et al., 2005; James et al., 2002; Sutton et al., 1997). However, the
need for affiliation and the need to belong, although likely related, are not the same. The
need for affiliation refers to an individuals desire to be in the company of others, such as
friends and acquaintances (Reeve, 1992; Steers and Porter, 1991). As Donavan et al.
(2005, p.34) note, for affiliation needs, the communal gathering is the context.
Sport fans can help satisfy this need is various ways, such as via sporting event
attendance or watching televised sport events with friends (Wann et al., 2001, 1999b).
However, according to Baumeister and Leary (1995), the need to belong goes beyond the
mere need to affiliate with others. They argue that the need for affiliation can often be
satiated via casual contacts with indifferent others (p.500). Conversely, the need to
belong involves a desire to have deep, meaningful, valued relationships with others (see
also De Cremer and Blader, 2006; Joiner, 2005). These authors contend that the need to
belong can only be satisfied by contact with important others (i.e., others with whom one
28 N.D. Theodorakis et al.

feels a strong bond). Mere contact (i.e., contact with persons that lacks a strong bond) or
feeling a bond with someone with whom one never comes into contact will not suffice.
As it relates to sport fans and their actions, this line of reasoning implies that fans could
satisfy their need for affiliation simply by attending a sporting event, even if they did so
mostly with strangers. However, the need to belong would only be satisfied if the fan felt
a strong psychological bond with other fans of the team, i.e., fans with whom they have a
stable, long-term relationship.
In the current investigation, the relationship between levels of sport team
identification and need to belong was examined. Based on the aforementioned literature
on the social nature of fandom and the correlation between affiliation needs and
identification, it was hypothesised that there would be a positive relationship between
levels of need to belong and sport team identification. Given the powerful impact of team
identification on sport consumption (see above) and the need to identify potential
antecedents of identification (Wann et al., 2001), the current investigation would be
beneficial to sport marketing and management professionals. However, the authors did
not expect identification with all teams to be related to need to belong. Rather, it was
hypothesised that the positive relationship would emerge only for levels of identification
with a local team and not with a distant team. Although fans can and do develop strong
attachments with distant teams (Farred, 2002), it is far easier to gain and maintain
relationships with other fans of the team when fans identify with local teams (Wann,
2006c; Wann et al., 2011a). Thus, fans should be more likely to satisfy their need to
belong through their involvement with local teams. Further, because mere sport fandom
is also less likely to generate social connections (Wann, 2006c; Wann et al., 2003), the
authors did not expect to find a significant relationship between general fandom and need
to belong.

2 Study 1

2.1 Method
2.1.1 Participants
Participants were 117 university students (37 male, 80 female) from a mid-southern US
school receiving extra course credit in a psychology class in exchange for participation.
Participants had a mean age of 20.03 years (SD = 2.76).

2.1.2 Materials and procedure

Upon entering the testing session and providing their consent, participants were handed a
questionnaire packet containing five sections. The first section contained demographic
items assessing age and gender. The second section contained the reliable and valid five-
item sport fandom questionnaire (SFQ) assessing general sport fandom (Wann, 2002). A
sample item on the SFQ reads, Being a sport fan is very important to me. Response
options to the five SFQ items ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 8 (strongly agree).
Responses were scored so that higher numbers reflected greater levels of general sport
fandom.
The third and fourth sections asked participants to complete two versions of the sport
spectator identification scale (SSIS; Wann and Branscombe, 1993). The first version
 The relationship between sport team identification and the need to belong 29

asked participants to target the university mens basketball team where the student
currently attended while the second version asked them to target a distant team (another
in-state team approximately 250 miles from the participants own university). The SSIS
has been used in a number of studies involving sport fans and has strong reliability and
validity (see Theodorakis and Wann, 2010; Wann and Branscombe, 1993; Wann et al.,
2001). The SSIS contains seven-Likert-scale items with response options ranging from
1 (low identification) to 8 (high identification). Thus, higher numbers represented greater
levels of identification. A sample item on the SSIS reads, How important is being a fan
of (target team) to you?
The fifth and final section of the questionnaire packet contained the ten-item need to
belong scale (NBS; Kelly, 1999). This Likert-scale item inventory has strong reliability
and validity (e.g., De Cremer and Leonardelli, 2003; Pickett et al., 2004). Response
options range from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely) and are worded so that higher numbers
reflect a greater need to belong. A sample item on the NBS reads, It bothers me a great
deal when I am not included in other peoples plans.
After the completion of the questionnaire packet (approximately 15 minutes), the
participants were debriefed and excused from the testing session.

2.2 Results
Items contained in SFQ, both versions of the SSIS, and the NBS were summed to
establish scale scores for each measure. The means, standard deviations, and Cronbachs
reliability alphas for each scale are listed in Table 1. Pearson correlations were used to
examine the relationship between the need to belong scores and those on the two versions
of the SSIS and the SFQ (see Table 2). As hypothesised, the data revealed a significant
positive relationship between level of need to belong and level of identification with the
local basketball team, r(115) = .22, p < .05. Also as expected, there was no relationship
between level of need to belong and either level of identification with a distant team,
r(115) = .12, p > .20, or level of sport fandom, r(115) = .03, p > .70.
Table 1 Cronbachs reliability alphas, means, and standard deviations for the scales

Study 1 Study 2
Alpha M SD Alpha M SD
SSIS for local team .95 24.92 13.15 .91 39.55 10.92
SSIS for distant team .98 20.60 15.07 N/A N/A N/A
SFQ .96 22.39 10.68 N/A N/A N/A
NBS .69 29.82 5.07 .77 36.00 5.60
Notes: SSIS = team identification; SFQ = fandom; NBS = belonging
Table 2 Simple correlations among the variables

1 2 3 4
SSIS for local team (identification) (1)
SSIS for distant team (identification) (2) .29**
SFQ (fandom) (3) .31** .22*
NBS (belonging) (4) .22* .12 .03
Note: *p < .05; ** p < .01
30 N.D. Theodorakis et al.

2.3 Discussion
The results of Study 1 confirmed each of the three expected relationships. Specifically,
the need to belong was significantly correlated with level of identification for a local
team, but not for identification with a distant team or mere sport fandom. Because this
was merely the first test of the hypothesised positive association beyond identification
with a local team and need to belong, the authors conducted a second study aimed at
replicating this effect. Given that several authors have argued for increased cross-cultural
work on sport fandom (e.g., Theodorakis et al., 2010; Theodorakis and Wann, 2008) and
recent investigations indicate cultural differences in the experiences and behaviours of
fans (Melnick and Wann, 2011, 2004), the authors felt that replicating Study 1 with a
non-US sample was warranted. Therefore, Study 2 involved a sample of Greek university
students. Similar to Study 1, it was hypothesised that there would be a positive
relationship between level of identification with a local sport team and the need to belong
(the non-significant findings from Study 1 involving identification with a distant team
and mere sport fandom were not examined in Study 2).

3 Study 2

3.1 Method
3.1.1 Participants
Participants were 100 university students (68 male, 30 female, 2 not reporting) from a
metropolitan university in Greece. After acquiring permission from class instructors,
questionnaires were distributed and completed by participants inside university
classrooms. Participants had a mean age of 20.6 years (SD = 1.74).

3.1.2 Materials and procedure

Upon entering the testing session and providing their consent, participants were handed a
questionnaire packet containing three sections. The first section contained demographic
items assessing age and gender. The second section contained the Greek version of the
Sport Spectator Identification Scale (SSIS-G; Theodorakis et al., 2006). Similar to the
English version of the SSIS (Wann and Branscombe, 1993), the seven-item SSIS-G has
strong psychometric properties (Theodorakis and Wann, 2010, 2008; Theodorakis et al.,
2006). Participants targeted a local professional soccer team from the top division in
Greece when completing the scale. Once again, the scale contained response options
ranging from 1 (low identification) to 8 (high identification). Thus, higher numbers
represented greater levels of identification. The third and final section contained the
ten-item Need to Belong Scale (NBS; Kelly, 1999) translated into Greek. Similar to
Study 1, response options ranged from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely) so that higher
numbers reflected a great need to belong. After the completion of the questionnaire
packet (approximately ten minutes), the participants were debriefed and excused from the
testing session.
 The relationship between sport team identification and the need to belong 31

3.2 Results
Items contained in the SSIS-G and the NBS were summed to establish scale scores for
each measure. The means, standard deviations, and Cronbachs reliability alphas for each
scale are listed in Table 1. A Pearson correlation was used to examine the relationship
between the need to belong and scores on the SSIS-G. As hypothesised and consistent
with Study 1, the data revealed a significant positive relationship between level of need to
belong and level of identification with the local basketball team, r(98) = .21, p < .05.

4 Discussion

The need to belong is viewed as a fundamental human motive concerning our desire for
valued interpersonal relationships with others (Baumeister and Leary, 1995; Hornsey and
Jetten, 2004; Pickett et al., 2004). Some authors (e.g., Gwinner and Swanson, 2003;
Wann et al., 2001) have suggested that the need to belong should be related to team
identification, perhaps serving as an antecedent. The current pair of studies was designed
to test this possibility by examining the relationship between these two variables. In
Study 1, it was hypothesised and found that identification with a local team was
positively and significantly correlated with the need to belong. Also as expected, need to
belong was not significantly associated with level of identification with a distant team or
mere sport fandom. Study 2 replicated the positive relationship between identification
with a local team and belongingness needs using a culturally different sample. In fact, the
levels of relationships between the variables in the two samples was similar (i.e., r = .22
and .21). Thus, it appears that the relationship between identification and need to belong
is replicable and not culturally specific.2
However, the current research was correlational in nature and, therefore, conclusions
about causal relationships are not warranted. Researchers (Gwinner and Swanson, 2003)
have speculated that need to belong can serve as an antecedent to team identification,
arguing that individuals can meet their belonging needs through team identification.
Although the current research is consistent with this prediction, the exact causal
relationship remains unclear at this time. Although need to belong may indeed lead to
team identification, it is also possible that team identification promotes ones need to
belong. Further, the relationship may be bi-directional. Given that theorists have argued
that the need to belong is universal and innate among humans (e.g., present at birth; see
Hornsey and Jetten, 2004; Pickett et al., 2004) while identification with sport teams
develops later in life, it seems reasonable that the need to belong would serve as a cause
of team identification. Still, additional work is needed to better understand the potential
causal relationships. This research could take one of two possible forms. First,
researchers could employ a cross-lagged longitudinal design with structural equation
modelling techniques. This research would allow for an examination of temporal patterns
among the variables as well as comparisons among the various temporal relationships
(e.g., it would allow for a comparison of the relationship between identification at Time 1
and belonging at Time 2 with the relationship between belonging at Time 1 and
identification at Time 2). Such methodologies have proven quite useful in past research
on the issue of causality and team identification (Wann, 2006a). Second, future
32 N.D. Theodorakis et al.

researchers could attempt to directly manipulate the need to belong by systematically

increasing the salience of the need. General research employing such a salience
methodology has been successful (Watt and Badger, 2009), and reveals that the need to
belong can have a direct causal impact on ones psychological state.
The potential interrelationships among team identification, need for affiliation, and
need to belong also deserve further investigation. As noted above, researchers have found
that higher levels of sport fan affiliation motivation predict higher levels of sport team
identification (Donavan et al., 2005). Future research should simultaneously employ
affiliation motivation and need to belong as predictors of team identification. Such an
examination would be quite useful to sport marketers as they attempt to determine the
best predictors of team identification and, therefore, those factors they should target in
their marketing campaigns. Many possible relationships among the variables could
emerge. For instance, it may be that both need to belong and affiliation needs each
uniquely predicts and fosters team identification. Given that these are viewed as separate
constructs (Baumeister and Leary, 1995), such a prediction has merit. It also remains
possible that, given the likely overlap (i.e., correlation) between belonging and affiliation,
only one of the variables will account for a significant proportion of unique variance in
team identification.
The relationship between sport team identification and the need to belong established
in the current work also has relevance for research on social psychological well-being.
Baumeister and Leary (1995) theorised that there should be a powerful relationship
between belonging and well-being, noting, for instance, that persons without adequate
social connections (i.e., persons whose need to belong has not been met) will likely report
lower levels of well-being. Indeed, empirical research substantiates this pattern of
effects (Cohen and Wills, 1985; Cutrona, 1989). Researchers have also found positive
relationships between team identification and social well-being (Wann, 2006c). For
instance, persons that experience higher levels of identification with a local sport team
report higher levels of social self-esteem and satisfaction with their social life (Wann,
1994; Wann and Pierce, 2005), and lower levels of loneliness (Wann et al., 2009). Given
these literatures, it would be interesting to examine the impact of both team identification
and the need to belong on well-being. Similar to the aforementioned discussion of the
need to belong, affiliation motivation, and team identification, several possible patterns
may emerge. One such pattern may be that the need to belong serves as an antecedent to
team identification (see discussion above), which in turn, impacts social psychological
health. Interestingly, work by Joiner et al. (2006, p.179) provides potential support for
this pattern of effects. These authors theorised that the need to belong would be
associated with psychological well-being, a relationship that could be manifested in
suicide rates. They argued further that sport fandom may provide persons with the
opportunity to pull together, thereby aiding in the satisfaction of the belongingness need
and this satisfaction could be manifested in lowered suicide rates. Consistent with these
predictions, Joiner et al. report several studies documenting the relationship between
fandom and suicide. For instance, lower suicide rates were found on the day of the
Olympic hockey miracle on ice, on super bowl Sundays (relative to non-super bowl
Sundays), and community-wide suicide rates were negatively correlated with college
football final national rankings.
Other researchers interested in belongingness have examined how this need relates to
experiences of homesickness. Watt and Badger (2009) predicted that homesickness and
the need to belong would be positively correlated among individuals who had recently
 The relationship between sport team identification and the need to belong 33

moved. Consistent with their predictions, levels of belongingness needs were found to be
a significant predictor of homesickness among international university students. This line
of research may have implications for displaced fans, that is, fans who have moved away
from their favourite team(s) (or perhaps the team relocated). Faced with these scenarios,
some fans choose to adopt and follow a new local team while others steadfastly maintain
their allegiance with the distant team. Certainly, fans can and often do continue to
maintain high levels of identification with distant teams (Foster and Hyatt, 2007; Hyatt,
2007; Kraszewski, 2008) and their involvement may impact their psychological
well-being (Wann et al., 2011a). Given that individuals who are high in need to belong
experience greater levels of homesickness, sport fans high in the need to belong may
experience greater negative emotional consequences when they are displaced from their
team. That is, these persons may feel a greater need to maintain an interest in their
favourite team post-displacement than persons with lower need to belong. Persons with
lower levels of this construct may be more likely to readily adopt a new team (i.e., a local
team in their new community or a team still present in their current community) once
their formerly favourite team is distant.
As much of the previous discussion suggests, the current pair of studies have
relevance for sport marketing and management professionals. The data described here
supports the contention that the need to belong and identification with a local sport team
are related. Thus, it appears that the need to belong may well be an antecedent of
identification (see the discussion of causation above), as some have suggested (Gwinner
and Swanson, 2003). Given that team identification serves as a powerful predictor of
sport consumption and attendance (Fisher, 1998; Kwon and Armstrong, 2006; Madrigal,
2000; Matsuoka et al., 2003; Theodorakis et al., 2009; Wakefield, 1995), sport
administrators may be able to strategically leverage fans need to belong in an attempt to
increase consumption.
Specifically, sport administrators should engage in marketing campaigns that render
the need to belong salient. For instance, consider the work of Watt and Badger (2009).
These authors were able to successfully manipulate the salience of the need to belong by
having participants read either short article titles involving the need to belong (e.g.,
I Need to Belong and The Importance of Acceptance, see p.529) or control titles on
neutral topics not related to the need to belong. This simple manipulation proved to be
highly successful, ultimately revealing causal effects with experiencing homesickness.
The Watt and Badger results are promising for persons interested in using the need to
belong to impact sport consumption. That is, it appears that very short phrases are
sufficient in stimulating the salience of this need, resulting in changes in
perception/behaviour. Sport marketers and managers could include such statements in
their advertisements about upcoming games (or seasons), such as Feel a part of the
Crowd or Spend an Evening with Your Friends or some such statement. Further, sport
teams often have seasonal slogans or catch phrases (e.g., the Kansas City Royals 2010
slogan was It all Happens Here). Organisations could render the fans need to belong
salient by incorporating need-relevant information in the slogans. Given that these
slogans appear in many places (e.g., media advertisements, posters, ticket stubs), such a
strategy should consistently impact the salience of the need to belong. For instance,
consider professional soccer in Greece. In their campaigns, some sport marketers have
combined relevant phrases and slogans with photos that portray city emblems (e.g., city
monuments, churches) so as to foster a need to belong among fans (i.e., increasing the
salience of the need to belong).
34 N.D. Theodorakis et al.

It also warrants mention that the aforementioned marketing suggestions could, in fact,
be implemented. One of the problems sport marketers encounter in attempting to
facilitate team identification is that many of the variables linked to identification are
generally beyond the control of sport administrators. Consider the work by Wann et al.
(1996) on factors serving as antecedents to identification. These authors found that the
most frequently listed reasons for originally choosing to identify with a specific team
were
1 parents followed that team
2 characteristics of the players
3 geographical reasons (i.e., they lived close to the team in question)
4 friends followed the team
5 team success.
While this information is useful in understanding the process of identification, the applied
strategies that can be generated are limited. For example, there is little a sport marketer
can do to impact which team ones parents followed or impact where one lives. Rather,
they are limited to discussing the relationships. That is, marketers can say Come root
with your parents but they cannot directly manipulate this variable. However, sport
administrators can directly impact the need to belong among their fan base, rendering this
a potentially powerful and effective marketing influence.
And finally, the concept of time warrants mention. One may wonder how long the
effect will last. That is, if ones identification is increased by a salient need to belong,
how long will his or her identification level remains elevated [see Luellen and Wann
(2010), for a similar discussion]? It is unlikely that such an effect would be permanent. If
this were the case then all individuals would have reached a ceiling effect of
identification due to the additive nature of the multiple instances of having the need to
belong made salient. Rather, it is likely that the effect lasts as long as the need is indeed
salient. That is, similar to a primed schema, the effect is transitory (Sparrow and Wegner,
2006). This would imply that, once the need to belong is primed (made salient), the effect
would be temporary. The exact length of this effect would be of value to sport marketers
hoping to leverage the need to belong. Future research endeavours should focus on
determining the length of time involved.

5 Conclusions

Sport team identification is a powerful predictor of sport spectator consumption (Fisher,

1998; Kwon and Armstrong, 2006; Theodorakis et al., 2009). As a result, it is vital for
sport scientists to determine those variables that serve as antecedents to identification.
Some authors (Gwinner and Swanson, 2003; Wann et al., 2001) have argued that the
need to belong may be one such causal variable. The current results were consistent with
this line of reasoning as positive relationships between team identification and need to
belong were found among two divergent samples. Sport marketers may then be able to
increase (at least temporarily) the level of identification among a fan base by strategically
increasing the salience of the fans levels of belongingness need.
 The relationship between sport team identification and the need to belong 35

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Notes
1 Although not directly relevant to the current line of investigation, it warrants mention that the
need to belong must be balanced with a need to be different (Brewer, 1991; Hornsey and
Jetten, 2004). That is, humans are conflicted by their need to feel a sense of association with
meaningful groups while, simultaneously, maintaining a sense of individuality. Indeed,
authors have recently begun to theorise about how these conflicting motives might impact
sport spectating, suggesting for instance that the salience of each motive may impact fan
preferences (see Dimmock and Gucciardi, 2008).
2 It is interesting to note that the correlations found in Study 1 and 2 were highly similar even
though the gender composition in the two studies was not. That is, Study 1 had substantially
more females than males (37 male, 80 female) while Study 2 had an opposite pattern (68 male,
30 female, 2 not reporting). Yet the correlations were highly consistent between the two
studies. Thus, it appears that the gender make-up of the samples was not a factor in the
relationship between team identification and the need to belong.

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