Search results

This paper tests and validates a conceptual model linking the attachment points, team identification, attitude towards the team sponsors and the behavioural intentions in the context of Indian Premier League (IPL), while testing for the moderating effects of age and gender.

Data were collected from 1,053 participants through both online and offline survey and then analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM).

Attachment points influence the formation of team identification, which, in turn, affect the attitude towards the team sponsors. Attitude towards the team sponsors influence the behavioural intentions. Player attachment influences team identification the most. Age and gender have a moderating effect on the constructs of the study. Team identification in females is stronger because of attachment to sports, whereas males have stronger team identification based on player attachment. Males have a stronger intention to spread positive word of mouth (WOM) about sponsor products as compared to the female respondents. The younger age group of less than 21 years has more intention to spread positive WOM compared to the other age groups considered in the study.

This study contributes towards sports sponsorship research and the paradigms of social identity and attachment theories. Moreover, it will also help the marketers (sponsors) in IPL to strategically market their brands.

This is the first study to investigate the impact of attachment points on sponsorship outcomes in the context of IPL. Further, it is also the first to investigate the purchase intentions and WOM for the team sponsors in IPL. The multi-group analysis results will provide insights into marketers to better understand IPL viewers' segments and their behaviour.

This paper aims to examine when and how the number of “likes” can exert significant influence on consumer evaluations of social media advertising. It sheds a novel perspective on how social media “likes”, advertising disclosures and the presence of firm-serving motives influence advertising effectiveness.

Study 1 examines how the number of “likes” influences consumer attitudes towards the sponsoring brand by strengthening advertising credibility, when social media ads are effectively (vs non-effectively) disclosed. Study 2 further establishes how the influence of the number of “likes” for effectively disclosed ads varies depending on whether the company states (vs does not state) its firm-serving motives.

The authors found that a social media ad displayed with a higher number of “likes” is perceived to be more credible, which can then yield more positive attitudes towards the brand. However, the use of effective disclosures moderates this relationship. To offset this effect, companies can restore the value of “likes” by stating their firm-serving motives openly when they develop social media advertising messages.

The study offers a novel perspective on how consumers evaluate the number of displayed “likes” in the context of other social media features.

The study shows how social media marketers can become more effective in taking advantage of the number of “likes” that they accumulate on social networking site platforms.

The study illustrates a novel mechanism behind how and when the number of “likes” can influence the effectiveness of social media advertising.

The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between the attributes of Olympic mascots and their impact on sponsorship effectiveness. Based on a multiattribute model and the introduction of engagement theory and the meaning transfer model, this article uses the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics mascot “Bing Dwen Dwen” as the research object to empirically analyze the effects and mechanisms of the mascot's attributes on preference, event engagement, sponsorship enterprise trust and sponsorship enterprise attitude, ultimately constructing a sponsorship effectiveness model.

The survey method was used to examine 238 respondents' emotions and attitudes towards companies participating in sponsoring Olympic mascots.

The study found that the main attributes of the mascot include visual and emotional factors, both of which have a positive impact on preference, with emotional factors having a greater influence than visual factors. Visual and emotional factors indirectly affect engagement through preference. Preference and engagement play a completely mediating role in the effect of mascot attributes on sponsorship enterprise trust and sponsorship enterprise attitude.

This study provides practical recommendations for managers to achieve marketing success in sports sponsorship through mascots.

This paper provides a measurement tool for the study of mascot attributes and important support for subsequent research in sponsorship marketing.

Although brand loyalty has been cited by practitioners as one of the most important sponsorship objectives, there is little empirical research on the effect that sponsorship has on sports fans' loyalty towards sponsoring brands. Comparing a sample of NASCAR fans to a sample of non-NASCAR fans, brand loyalty towards NASCAR sponsors was measured using a scale that includes both attitudinal and behavioural components. It was found that NASCAR fans exhibited stronger brand loyalty than non-NASCAR fans to NASCAR sponsoring brands of beer, particularly on the attitudinal component of brand loyalty. Furthermore, it was found that NASCAR fans' loyalty to NASCAR sponsoring brands is significantly higher for those fans who scored high on a scale that measures fan identification. Again, this effect was significant on the attitudinal factor of brand loyalty, but not the behavioural factor.

The purpose of this paper is to report exploratory research into UK music festival attendees awareness of, and attitude towards, brands that sponsor music festivals. Sponsorship is an important revenue stream for music festivals, and, conversely brands perceive music festivals to be an effective channel through which to reach young target audiences. Further, there have been concerns expressed about the impact of alcohol sponsorship on drinking and health, but very little research has been conducted in this area.

A questionnaire was used as the primary method of data collection in order to investigate brand recall, brand awareness, brand use, brand attitude and any concerns about the potentially negative impacts of sponsorship, and specifically alcohol sponsorship.

There is evidence to suggest that brand sponsorship of music festivals has an impact on brand recall, awareness and attitude to the brand, but little evidence of impact on brand use. On the other hand, there are variations between brands and festivals. The values associated with sponsoring brands are largely positive. Some respondents indicated concerns about the consequences of sponsorship, particularly in relation to alcohol sponsorship.

This exploratory study has started a long overdue investigation into music festival attendees views on sponsorship. There is considerable scope for a larger scale study to investigate the impact of sponsorship over a larger number of brands and festivals, and to learn more about the sponsorship arrangements that have the most impact.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of emotional valence and intensity on sport sponsorship attitudinal outcomes, across two culturally different samples from Australia and France.

Based on a multidisciplinary literature review of the emotional phenomenon, research hypotheses are proposed and empirically tested against two samples exposed to two comparable major sport events in Australia and France.

Data reveal that Australian and French spectators' emotional responses differ in terms of valence, but not in terms of intensity. This initial difference, in turn, impacts the effect of emotional responses on sponsorship attitudinal outcomes. The more positive are sport‐related emotions, the stronger their impact on the sponsorship persuasion process. The proposed mediating effect of attitude towards the event is partially supported.

The results are limited by the small sample size and the inherent bias of the verbal measurement of the emotional phenomenon.

Despite omnipresence in sports events, emotions and their influence on sponsorship outcomes have not been clarified yet, once simply disregarded by many scholars. This paper provides evidence that emotions can contribute to the formation of attitudes towards sponsors, in some cases mediated by attitude towards the event. In addition, in line with the global reach of sports and sports sponsorship a comparison of results between samples from Australia and France creates a valuable contribution of this paper to marketing theory and practice.

A key concern in sports sponsorship decisions is knowing under what conditions sponsorship can effectively act as a brand building tool. The purpose of this study is to list attributes to use when examining congruency in the sponsorship of national football teams. The second aim was to test whether being a client of the sponsor brand and being involved with the sponsee moderates the relationship between image congruence and sponsorship response.

Data were collected on four sponsors of the Portuguese national team, just before the 20th Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup. Analyses were conducted on a representative national sample of fans. The research design encompassed a two-step approach. First, qualitative analysis identified the main attributes that fans associate with the national team. In the second quantitative phase, moderated regression analysis was used to test the proposed model.

This study confirmed sponsor–sponsee congruence in seven attributes (i.e. national symbol, strength, strong emotions, happiness, optimism, connection and positive feelings) enhances positive brand image and fans’ involvement with the national team moderates this relationship. Positive sponsorship outcomes tend to be higher for sponsors when fans are currently clients of the sponsor brand.

This study adds to previous research by using mixed methods to study sponsor–sponsee congruence regarding national teams and by testing whether fans being clients of sponsors and being involved with sponsees moderate sponsor–sponsee congruence.

The purpose of this study is to assess, in two different live sponsorship environments, the contribution of sponsorship to consumer-based brand equity.

The study adopts a quantitative survey methodology, employing self-administered questionnaires at two UK sporting events (athletics and cricket). To isolate the impact of sponsorship, questionnaires were also distributed to comparison sample groups not exposed to the sponsorship activities. The elements of consumer-based brand equity are operationalized in line with Aaker's (1996) brand equity measurement tool.

Sponsorship can be an appropriate vehicle through which to build consumer-based brand equity; however brand-building success is not guaranteed and is subject to a range of factors impacting upon particular sponsorships, including strength of the sponsor-event link, leverage activities and clutter. The most successful sponsorship displayed marked contributions to building brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty. However, the presence of sponsorship clutter in particular was found to impact negatively upon the perception of quality transferred to a brand through sponsorship.

The use of live event settings limits the ability to tightly control all variables; therefore replication of this study using experimental methodologies is recommended. Nonetheless, findings indicate managers should consider the above mentioned contextual factors when selecting sponsorships in order to maximize sponsorship success.

This study explores the contribution of sports sponsorship to consumer-based brand equity in live sponsorship settings, addressing concerns over the generalizability of previous experimental studies. Equally, this study compares the brand equity-building effectiveness of sponsorship for two sponsors, which differ on a range of contextual factors that impact upon sponsorship success.

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.

The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on sponsorship‐linked marketing and to present a set of research propositions.

The approach to the research propositions was to explore the existing literature to discover areas where opportunities for further research exist.

The authors propose that not only does sponsorship‐linked marketing influence attitudes towards the sponsor, but that the relationship is that of an S‐shaped curve where the incremental impact of sponsorship is slight for brands with very little or very strong attitudes established towards the brand. The most dramatic influence that sponsorship‐linked marketing will have is for those sponsors with a moderate amount of established brand attitude. The authors also present an argument that extreme congruity or extreme incongruity will drive brand awareness more dramatically than an expected level of sponsor‐property congruity, thus suggesting a U‐shaped relationship between awareness and congruency. Moreover, while an extremely incongruent partnership may gain widespread attention, it is unlikely to positively influence an emotional or behavioral response for either the property or sponsor.

The majority of the previous literature regarding sponsorship‐linked marketing proposed or assumed a linear relationship between current brand attitudes and the impact of a sponsorship. This paper suggests that this relationship is actually non‐linear and is, in fact, an S‐shaped relationship. Further, while congruency was believed to be linearly related to awareness, this paper proposes that the association between awareness and congruency is a U‐shaped phenomenon.