Vitalizing effect of athlete-drafting task in fantasy sports: the role of competitive goal-framing, involvement, and competitiveness trait

Research questions: Using an experimental design, this study simulated a drafting task to examine whether a user’s involvement with fantasy sports (FS), different types of goal-framing, and competitiveness trait determine his/her amount of energy and performance in the subsequent self-control behavior after completing the drafting task. Research method: Two experiments were employed, and participants (n = 341) completed a Fantasy Sports Draft Task (FSD-T) that was developed for this study to simulate a draft task in fantasy basketball. After completing the FSD-T, participants engaged in a self-control task and completed questionnaires that included questions on game playing experiences, FS involvement, covariates, and demographics. Results and findings: The results of Experiment 1 indicated that lowly involved users gain higher energy levels when a goal is framed as non-competitive compared to competitive, while highly involved users gain similar energy levels regardless of the goal-framing. The results of Experiment 2 further demonstrated that trait competitiveness further moderates the effect of FS involvement and different types of goal-framing on a user’s amount of energy. Implications: This study provides unique theoretical insight on the vitalizing effect of drafting players in the fantasy sport context. Empirical findings provide actionable insights on segmenting participants, based on several conditions, to offer more tailored services and offerings.