A study on corporate social responsibility of professional football clubs on fans’ consumption intentions in China

Abstract

Purpose: To examine how Chinese fans’ perception of club CSR affects consumption intentions via fan identification and motivational attribution, and to test the moderating role of involvement. Methods: A total of 1,327 valid questionnaires were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling and cluster analysis. Results: CSR perception had a significant positive effect on consumption intentions; this effect was fully mediated by fan identification and motivational attribution, with the model explaining 40.3% of the variance. Highly involved fans relied primarily on the fan identification path, whereas low-involvement fans relied on the motivational attribution path. Conclusion: Clubs should implement differentiated CSR strategies tailored to fans’ levels of involvement to effectively enhance consumption intentions.