Competitive balance is important because it enhances outcome uncertainty and therefore it promotes spectator interest, and encourages government investment in a sport. This article analyses the distribution of gold medals, medals, medal points and top eight points amongst nations in table tennis from 1988 to 2016 at the Olympic Games and the World Championships respectively. A normalised version of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index and a coefficient of variation are calculated for each nation's share of these performance indicators. The key findings are that China dominates both events, with successful female players being more dominant than their male counterparts. The competitive balance for gold medals has declined, whilst there is a trend towards improved competitive balance for top eight points for women, suggesting that more teams are featuring in the top eight (but not necessarily the top three) placings. This research has implications for the development of table tennis competitions. Compared to other racket sports, the issue of competitive imbalance in table tennis is particularly thorny, which threatens the long-term development of this sport. Accordingly, some measures are recommended for the International Olympic Committee and the International Table Tennis Federation to propel a more balanced development of international table tennis.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the stadium occupancy rate on television viewers’ game quality perception and stadium visit intention (VI). Design/methodology/approach An experiment was conducted in which two groups were asked to watch video clips of professional soccer games with low- and high-stadium occupancy rates. Findings The results indicate that the higher the stadium occupancy, the higher is perceived game quality and the greater is stadium VI. Originality/value The paper provides useful information on the effect of the stadium occupancy rate on perceived game quality and VI.

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North and South Korea competed with a unified women’s ice hockey team at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. Although the two nations had fielded unified teams at previous international sporting events, the decision to form a unified women’s ice hockey team in 2018 became a contentious political issue. To investigate the relationship between traditional media and social media when covering a controversial political issue in sport, the researchers in the current study examined newspaper coverage and Twitter commentary focused on the unified Korean women’s ice hockey team. Results indicated that newspapers played an important agenda-setting role; progressive newspapers were active in framing the team positively throughout the Olympic Games period, whereas conservative papers covered the team less frequently and framed it negatively. Discussion about the unified team on Twitter was initially positive but turned primarily negative when controversial statements from politicians and issues of unfairness in team selection arose. Ultimately, the results highlight elements of the symbiotic relationship between traditional media and social media.

PurposeThe current study examines (1) the relationships among the crisis response, trust and negative behavioral intentions (i.e. avoidance and revenge), (2) the mediation role of trust in the crisis communication of sports organization and (3) the moderation effect of team identification between the crisis response and trust.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was used to collect data from 324 Major League Baseball (MLB) fans who met specific criteria (i.e. background information; knowing about the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and how the team responded to it). Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were employed to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe findings showed that perceived adequacy of the crisis response positively influenced sports fans' perceived trust. This trust was negatively associated with revenge and avoidance intentions. The mediation effect of trust was also found in the relationship between the crisis response and both avoidance and revenge intentions. Regarding the interaction effect of team identification, however, the relationship between the crisis response and trust was not moderated by team identification levels.Originality/valueThe present study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of crisis communication in sports fans' perceptions and behavioral intentions. It illuminates a psychological process through which perceived adequacy of crisis response reduces negative behavioral intentions through trust.