Fans' judgments about the 1994-95 major league baseball players' strike

In this study, we used a multilevel analysis to examine how strike tactics influenced fans' support of the 1994-95 Major League Baseball players' stri ke. Strike tactics were discounted ticket prices for season games, replacem ent players in games, and picket lines of striking players. Tactics were va ried within judgment scenarios (i.e., baseball game announcements) and fans ' responses to scenarios were used as within-person variables to estimate t actic influences. Fans' perceptions of themselves (e.g., extent of fanship) and the strike situation (e.g., extent to which the dispute was perceived as a labor dispute) were used as between-person variables to predict indivi dual differences in tactic influences. Results indicated that more replacem ent players had a positive influence on support for the strike and higher d iscounted prices had a negative influence on strike support. The influence of replacement players on judgments was not associated with individual diff erences, whereas the influence of discounted prices on judgments did show s uch differences. The findings were used to discuss implications for winning support from consumers in a professional entertainment workers' strike.