Correspondence: Jong Woo Jun, Department of Advertising, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida, P.O. Box 118400, Gainesville, FL 32611-8400, USA. Tel: +1 352 846 1060; e-mail: jongwjun@gmail.com

¹is a doctoral student majoring in the Department of Advertising at the University of Florida. Previous to his study, he worked in the advertising business. He has worked for LGAd and Crayfish in Korea. He received a BA and MA, both in mass communication from the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, South Korea. He has papers accepted in the International Marketing Review, Proceedings of the American Academy of Advertising, and the East West Channel.

²is a doctoral student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. He received BAs in Mass Communication and Public Administration from the Hanyang University, and an MA in Public Relations from the University of Florida.

Received 14 December 2006; Revised 14 December 2006.

Abstract

In this study, the impact of an international sport event on participating countries was examined with a viewpoint of place branding. The research focus was placed on the World Baseball Classic, which was a newly initiated international sport event and had not been investigated through previous studies. The structure of South Korean college subjects' beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours to the World Baseball Classic was investigated. Subsequently, the relationship between their attitudes toward the international sport event and their attitudes toward participating countries, which are five Latin American countries, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela was tested. Based on the results, the viewers' tripartite processes of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours about the international sport event were confirmed. In addition, a positive relationship between the viewers' attitudes toward the event and their attitudes toward the participating countries was attested. Implications, limitations, and future research suggestions were discussed as well.