Owner or endorser? Investigating the effectiveness of celebrity owners of sports teams as endorsers

Abstract

Endorsement of a brand or sports team by a sports celebrity has been thoroughly researched within the context of sports marketing. However, the recent phenomenon of non-sports celebrities owning sports teams has received little research attention. This study uses a survey of Indian respondents in the context of a major sport (cricket) in India to explore the impact of a non-sports celebrity owning and endorsing a sports team on consumer attitudes towards the team and their sponsors. Findings indicate that the level of credibility assigned to the celebrity significantly affects consumer attitudes towards the team and its sponsors. The results suggest that managers of sports teams and their sponsors should consider a celebrity owner as an endorser, as long as that celebrity has high credibility.

Citation

Roy, S. and Pansari, A. (2014), "Owner or endorser? Investigating the effectiveness of celebrity owners of sports teams as endorsers", International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 12-29. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-15-02-2014-B003