The cross-effects of sponsorship in non-professional sports communities

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the cross-effects of on-site sponsorship on online sponsorship effectiveness in communities. The research evaluates how members’ commitment to a sports-oriented community and attitude to brands providing sponsorship developed through sponsorship on-site, and sponsor-community fit, influence the effectiveness of online sponsorship measured as the intention to purchase the same brands online through sponsoring banners displayed on the community web site.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through a web-survey from a self-selected sample of 272 respondents belonging to non-professional sports communities. By drawing on the principal tenets of the theory of reasoned action, the authors developed a theoretical framework and tested it through a structural equation model to evaluate the role of attitude to sponsor brands developed through sponsorship on-site, and its antecedents, on the intention to purchase the same brands online through sponsoring banners exposed on the community web site.

Findings

The attitude to sponsor brands developed through sponsorship on-site affects the intention to make online purchases of the same brands through sponsoring banners exposed on the web sites of non-professional communities. On the other hand, antecedents of sponsorship on-site, that is, sponsor-community fit and commitment to the community, affect the intention to purchase the same brands online through sponsor banners displayed on the community web site, with attitude playing a different mediating role.

Practical implications

The research contributes to sponsorship literature by establishing the existence of cross-effects of on-site sponsorship on online sponsorship effectiveness and providing insights into the central role of commitment and attitude developed on-site. Managerially, non-professional communities emerge as attractive targets for multiple sponsorship investment owing to their on-site and online social interaction that offers managers an opportunity to exploit sponsorship cross-effects.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the scant body of knowledge on the cross-effects of on-site sponsorship on online sponsorship and provides insights into the importance of communities as a beneficial target of sponsorship investment.

Citation

Andreini, D., Pedeliento, G., Bergamaschi, M. and Salo, J. (2014), "The cross-effects of sponsorship in non-professional sports communities", Management Decision, Vol. 52 No. 10, pp. 2044-2068. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-07-2013-0395