根據社會認同理論 (Tajfel, 1981),球迷可延伸自我價值和形象到認同的球隊,並可能與該球隊其他球迷形成類似圈內人 (in-group) 的社群夥伴關係 (Wann & Grieve, 2005),藉此因緣進一步形成社會網絡資產,共用某些符碼、遵守某些規範、產生信任和認同而彼此互惠 (Bourdieu, 1986; Coleman,1988; Putnam, 1993)。球迷社群成員的互動建立社會資本,滿足需求理論中的社會需求 (social needs) (Maslow, 1970),而感受幸福感。另外,球迷也可能透過球隊認同產生集體自尊 (collective self-esteem) (Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992),正向改善社會心理健康 (social psychological benefits) 和幸福感 (social well-being) (Wann & Pierce, 2005; Wann, 2006b)。所以本研究假設棒球迷「球隊認同」會部份透過「社會資本」影響「幸福感」。研究方法採用問卷,主要包括三個量表:參考James and Ross (2002)、Wann and Branscombe (1993)「球隊認同」量表;參考李瑋琪 (2007)、陳靖旻 (2008)、曾志文、許晉龍 (2008) 「社會資本」量表;參考王慶田 (2008)、林宜蔓 (2004) 「幸福感」量表,採Likert五點尺度。發放對象以傾向有支持職業棒球隊的球迷為主,採立意和隨機取樣,網路論壇回收252份、棒球場回收159份。樣本以男性居多 (79%);30歲(含)以下佔多數 (78%);學生居多 (60%)。量表信度 (Cronbach Alphas) 在 0.90 和 0.92之間。資料處理的統計方法,主要根據Baron and Kenny (1986) 之建議,以三步驟迴歸分析驗證中介效果,「球隊認同」、「社會資本」和「幸福感」顯著相關 (.40, .57, p<.001);「球隊認同」、「社會資本」顯著相關 (.53, p<.001);以「球隊認同」、「社會資本」為自變數,「幸福感」為依變數的迴歸分析結果顯示,「球隊認同」和「幸福感」的相關迴歸係數降為 .15 (p = .001),但仍顯著,表示「社會資本」扮演部分中介的角色,研究假設獲得支持。
According to social identity theory, the fans can extend their self-identity to a fans community, interact with community members to establish social capital, and meet social needs to feel well-being. In addition, fans may also produce collective self-esteem by identifying a team and further experience social psychological benefits or social well-being. This study attempted to investigate the relationships among baseball fans team identification, social capital and well-being. It was hypothesized that social capital partly mediated the relationship between team identification and well-being. A questionnaire was used, including three parts: The measure of team identification, the measure of social capital and the measure of well-being. A Likert five-point scale was used. Questionnaires were distributed to those who supported a professional baseball team in baseball discussion forums online (252) and baseball fields (159) by using purposive and convenience sampling. A total of 416 questionnaires were collected and 411 were valid (98.7%). The sample was consisted of 79% males; the majority of respondents were below 30 years of age (inclusive) (78%); most respondents were students (60%). Reliability analysis revealed that the Cronbach Alphas were between 0.90 and 0.92 for the three measures. According to Baron and Kenny’s (1986) suggestion, a three-step regression analysis was used to verify the mediating effect of social capital on the relationship between team identification and well-being. First, “team identification”, “social capital” were significantly related to “well-being” (.40, .57, p <.001); second, “team identification” and “social capital” were significantly related (.53, p <.001); third, by using “team identification” and “social capital” as independent variables and “well-being” as the dependent variable, a regression analysis showed that the regression coefficient of “team identification” with “well-being” dropped to .15 (p = .001) but still significant, indicating that “social capital” partly mediated the relationship between “team identification” and “well-being.” The hypothesis was supported .