Fan identification, Schadenfreude toward hated rivals, and the mediating effects of Importance of Winning Index (IWIN)

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore potential negative outcomes of high fan identification as well as to identify the causal mechanism or mediator by which high identification may result in such negative responses. Design/methodology/approach A scale development process was used to develop a new mediating construct for the fan identification literature, the Importance of Winning Index (IWIN). Structural equations modeling was used to...