Professional sport leagues are both commercial products and public products. As China’s sports leagues transition from state-governed properties to a more commercial model, professional sports are facing a crucial turning point on balancing stakeholders pertaining to its commercial/market value and social value. How to develop a sustainable business and management model of professional sports teams, fitting Chinese culture and the calls on free economy, has become a major challenge to scholars, practitioners and entrepreneurs in China’s sport industry. Every organisation has its relationships with many groups ("stakeholders") that affect and are affected by its decisions, which are dynamic in a constantly changing world. Stakeholder theory was developed through concerns regarding the nature of these relationships in terms of both processes and outcomes for both organisation and stakeholders, and the changing nature of the environment.

Marketing communication has undergone significant transformation in recent years. Influencers, who generate content on social networking sites (SNSs), have had a dramatic impact on consumers’ purchase decisions. Brands and marketers are therefore the most effective and powerful marketing tools. Social media influencers, so-called “YouTubers,” have become online opinion leaders by creating and posting content on social media, in contrast to celebrities who are well-known via traditional media in general. Previous studies regarding influencers have focused on the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of influencer marketing across various contexts or person-related factors. However, previous studies have not only elicited mixed findings concerning the effects of influencer marketing, but also reveal a lack of basic understanding of the mechanisms by which video content and influencers themselves impact consumer, particularly in the high-end product industry. Present-day social media influencers are not only information providers but also friendly communicators rather than inaccessible celebrities. Favorable attitudes towards influencers may play a crucial role in consumer behavior when purchasing high-end products in which have high prices and uncertainties. While some studies include the construct of the perception of influencers in their models, there is a lack of research on the effect of influencers and video content. Thus, we expect our empirical research to provide a comprehensive understanding of the nature of social contagion, which is highlighted by social media influencers.