Relationships of involvement and interdependent happiness across a revised Masters Games participant typology

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationships between involvement and happiness across a typology of Masters Games participants. The typology of Trauer, Ryan, and Lockyer [(2003). The South Pacific Masters’ Games–competitor involvement and games development: Implications for management and tourism. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 8(4), 240–259. doi:10.1080/1477508032000161564] was revised and the following four groups of Masters Games participants were created: Games Competitor (high fun-orientation, high competition-orientation), Games Enthusiast (high fun-orientation, low competition-orientation), Serious Competitor (low fun-orientation, high competition-orientation), and Novice (low fun-orientation, low competition-orientation). An online survey was conducted by 449 Japanese people who had participated in Masters Games within the last three years. An importance-performance analysis was employed to categorise the participants into the four groups. Multiple regression analyses were subsequently performed for each of the four groups. The analyses identified that with interdependent happiness, (a) attraction was positively correlated for Games Competitor, Serious Competitor, and Novice, (b) centrality was positively correlated for Games Competitor and Games Enthusiast, and (c) social bonding was positively correlated for Games Competitor, Games Enthusiast, and Novice. These results suggest that this revised typology for Masters Games participants is an effective framework for understanding involvement and interdependent happiness and can be used in the development of promotional/marketing strategies. In particular, under the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which people show less concern for leisure activities including masters sports, such evidence-based promotional/marketing strategies will be needed for re-energising the Masters Games culture and for enhancing participants’ health and well-being following the COVID-19 pandemic.