The purchasing impact of fan identification and sports sponsorship
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically verify the conventional cause‐and‐effect relationship of fan identification and purchase intention in the context of Asian fans when both the sponsoring firm and the sponsored team are Western. The paper also proposes and examines the mediating role of sponsor credibility and attitude towards sponsor in the relationship between fan identification and purchase intention.
Design/methodology/approach
A field study was conducted in Bangkok, Thailand, where 350 questionnaires were collected from football fans.
Findings
The findings reveal that, even when both the sponsoring firm and the sponsored sports team are western (i.e. foreign), Asian fans’ identification with the team increases their purchase intention for sponsoring firm's goods. The research also confirms that sponsor credibility and attitude towards sponsors partially mediate the fan identification‐purchase link.
Originality/value
The paper provides valuable insights into the under‐researched aspect of sports sponsorship, by examining the effect on Asian fans’ purchase intension when both the sponsoring firm and the sponsored sports team are western. Moreover, most of the prior literature on sports sponsorship focuses on the direct effect of fan identification on purchase intention. The current study extends the scope of knowledge on sports sponsorship by focusing on the under‐researched but crucial mediating effects of sponsor credibility and attitude towards sponsor.
Keywords
Citation
Chih‐Hung Wang, M., Jain, M., Ming‐Sung Cheng, J. and Kyaw‐Myo Aung, G. (2012), "The purchasing impact of fan identification and sports sponsorship", Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 30 No. 5, pp. 553-566. https://doi.org/10.1108/02634501211251052
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited