PURPOSE This study was conducted to refine and verify the argument by Berger & Pope (2011). Based on expectancy theory, we expected that the existence or type of regression discontinuity could vary depending on the situation and time in Korean Professional Basketball League. METHODS We conducted a regression discontinuity design using the R 4.3.1 package on the data of 4,531 games played during the 17 regular seasons (2006–2007 and 2022–2023) of the Korean Basketball League. We divided the sample into top-tier teams (1st and 2nd place) and mid to lower-tier teams (3rd to 10th place). Furthermore, we segregated the sample into the early phase of the regular season (1st and 2nd round) and mid to final phase of the regular season (3rd to 6th round). RESULTS First, a discontinuity of the regression was found after the third quarter. Second, the regression discontinuity appeared differently depending on the performance level. More specifically, discontinuity effects did not appear among the top teams whereas the regression discontinuity effects were identified among mid to lower-tier team samples. Third, the regression discontinuity appeared differently depending on the time point of the regular season (round). A discontinuity of regression line appears from the 3rd to 6th rounds in the Korean Professional Basketball League. CONCLUSIONS This research provides theoretical and practical contributions by systematically exploring that the probability of winning can vary even with the same score difference depending on the time point and situations perceived by the players.
PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to synthetically explore different communication strategy patterns that are dependent on the events and stakeholders, which include professional sports players, teams, and the associations. METHODS Using the Python program, we performed web crawling and machine learning algorithms to analyze news articles for our research analyses. In particular, 696 articles on driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol were gathered and subject to descriptive scrutiny; a total of 782 sentences were selected for the analysis. Also, among the 509 articles on illegal gambling, 484 sentences were analyzed. Moreover, 50 frequently reported words were extracted from these sentences to assess their frequencies through the word cloud method for concrete visualization. Then, the data were mapped in order to systemically understand the communication strategy patterns for each case, which were dependent on the stakeholders and timing of the event. RESULTS The empirical results revealed that in case of unethical events of driving under the influence that were reported in the news, most of the subjects chose an apology strategy immediately, but for illegal gambling reports, the parties involved rarely respond and it was difficult to find specific strategy patterns among the subjects. CONCLUSIONS The present study reveals that when professional sports teams were exposed to transgression, depending on the characteristics of the event and stakeholders, they chose different communication strategies involving fan characteristics for the event and subjects. Ultimately, they chose different strategies dependent on their fans’ involvement.
