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Previous research suggests that firms should articulate incongruent sponsorships to provide a rationale for the relationship between sponsor and sponsorship object. Fit articulation is a strategy that communicates shared associations between sponsor and object. Based on conclusion explicitness theory, this paper aims to conceptualize and tests two fit articulation strategies in sponsorships: open-ended and closed-ended.

Research hypotheses were tested in two experiments.

Only open-ended fit articulation improved brand attitudes. Mediation analyses show that while open-ended articulation influenced brand attitudes through brand image (Study 1 and Study 2) and altruistic motive attributions (Study 2), there was an indirect effect of closed-ended articulation on brand attitudes through global fit perceptions (Study 2).

The results from two experiments suggest that incongruent sponsors should use open-ended conclusions about a shared image dimension. Although explicit arguments may increase global perceptions of fit, they may impede a positive impact on the articulated brand image dimension and generation of altruistic motive attribution. Therefore, sponsorship managers should be careful in terms of using explicit arguments for fit when the sponsorship is incongruent because such arguments may hinder articulation from generating goodwill and a positive brand image.

This is the first paper to develop and test different types of fit articulation strategies in sponsorships.

In 2017, the National Basketball Association (NBA) became the first major professional North American sport league to adopt jersey sponsorship. While professional leagues across the globe have allowed this practice for decades, the NBA's decision marked what may be the start of a new trend in North American sport sponsorship. With this in mind, the current study sought to assess the impact of fans' perceptions of these sponsorships on sponsor- and team-related outcomes.

An online sample of 301 NBA fans across the United States was conducted through Amazon's MTurk.

Results exhibited the importance of sponsorship authenticity, which maintained the strongest influence on sponsor- and team-related outcomes. Brand–team fit, sponsorship familiarity and sponsorship identification were also assessed, with mixed results for each factor.

Results of these findings related to sponsorship authenticity and consequent practical and theoretical implications are discussed, and areas for future research are provided.

Drawing upon the Social Identity Theory, this research aims to investigate the effectiveness of Qatar’s soft power sponsorships among the Indian Premier League (IPL) fans in India. We explore the relationship between team identification, team-sponsor fit, and purchase intention of sports fans, while also examining the moderating effect of sponsor brand awareness in the context of the IPL.

Using a quantitative research design, we conducted both offline and online surveys from sports fans. The proposed model was examined using Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling to test the study’s hypotheses.

The results reveal a positive and significant association between team identification and team-sponsor fit, and team-sponsor fit and purchase intention of sponsor brands. Further, brand awareness moderates the relationship between team-sponsor fit and purchase intention of sponsor brands, but not on the team identification and team-sponsor fit relationship.

This research adds to the paradigm of social identity theory and soft power sponsorship research. By providing insights into fans’ predisposition towards the team sponsors, the study will help managers design effective brand promotion strategies.

This research is the first to explore the effectiveness of soft-power sponsorships in the Indian mega-sports landscap. It is also the first to explore the moderating effect of sponsor brand awareness on sponsorship effectiveness, which is determined through the purchase intentions of the sponsor brand.

The aim of this research was to investigate fans’ responses toward a sponsor that has had a long-standing sponsorship deal with a club and decided also to sponsor the club’s rival.

A long-term sponsorship deal between a retsina wine company and a popular football club and a newly established deal between the company and the main rival club were selected as the research setting. Data were collected from a total sample of 302 participants, fans of the two teams, using an online survey and PLS-SEM was employed to test the relationships of the proposed structural model.

The results provided evidence for the importance of the inclusion of perceptions of fit for both teams to the model as it impacted the responses in the joint sponsorship. Team identification emerged significant for improving fans perceptions of fit between the sponsor and their favorite club but also led fans of the long-term sponsored club to feel betrayed from the sponsor. The sense of betrayal impacted the level of fit, the rejection of sponsorship but did not emerge significant for driving negative responses toward the sponsor’s brand. The same held for the rejection of the joint sponsorship.

This is the very first study that incorporated the effects of the perceptions of fit of two rival clubs to test the effect of sponsorship for a sponsor brand of a deal that includes a longtime sponsored football club and its rival as a newly sponsored one. It is also one of the first attempts that explores relationships between perceptions of fit, sense of betrayal and rejection of a joint sport sponsorship in a rivalry context, highlighting the importance of preventing fans' betrayal.

This research aims to explore ways to build a corporate media reputation by sponsoring a sports event (i.e. a marathon), by examining the effects of communication intensity, CEO commitment and cause fit that are most conducive to helping a sponsor gain media reputation benefits.

An empirical study of 122 Chinese marathon title sponsorships is employed that explores the relationship between sponsorship attributes and media reputation construction from the perspective of cause-related marketing theory. Hypotheses are tested with hierarchical regression and interaction analysis.

The results show that a high level of sponsorship communication intensity, the proximity of the sponsor to a sport property, the level of CEO commitment and the level of cause fit contribute to the media reputation of enterprise sponsors. Further analysis also reveals the different interaction effects of technical fit and institutional fit in the process.

This research has practical implications related to sport sponsorship management for event organizers and business operators that seek to promote the healthy and dynamic operations of the sponsor market. Several suggestions for future studies and strategies to increase the media reputation benefits can be drawn from the results of this paper. Sports sponsoring is a process of system engineering and strategic planning, and the integration and coordination of various types of resources are needed.

This study advances the current research about the impact of sponsorship attributes on the media reputation of sports sponsors. The differentiation and exploration of the two kinds of cause fit (i.e. technical fit and institutional fit) expand the dimension of fit in the field of sponsorship. Furthermore, this research provides an in-depth understanding of the mechanism that determines the media reputation benefits that sponsors can reap from a property's activities.

This study aimed to examine the effects of two sponsorship purpose articulations (commercially oriented vs noncommercially oriented) on attitude toward the sponsor via sponsor–property fit and the moderating effect of the overlapped mission between the sponsor and the property.

A 2 (purpose articulation type: commercially oriented vs noncommercially oriented) × 2 (mission overlap articulation condition: present vs absent) between-subjects experimental design with a control condition was employed with student sample (n = 171). The moderated mediation model was tested using Hayes' PROCESS macro model 8.

The commercially oriented purpose articulation did not improve sponsor–property fit as much as the noncommercially oriented purpose articulation, resulting in less favorable attitudes toward the sponsor. When the mission overlap was simultaneously articulated, the less positive effects of the commercially oriented purpose articulation were weaker.

The findings provided incongruent sponsors with insights on mixed articulation strategies with sponsorship purposes and the overlapped mission.

This study extends previous research by presenting the first understanding of the different processes in which two sponsorship purpose articulations developed attitudes toward the sponsor via sponsor–property fit and by investigating the moderating effect of the simultaneously articulated mission overlap on the processes.

Given the strong interest among services marketing practitioners in sponsoring events, this study illustrates how events and sponsorships synergistically facilitate and deepen consumer relationships by connecting service brands with consumers' passions. Structural equation modeling is used to test a congruity theory-based framework via a field study conducted at a professional cycling event. The tested model holds for two service brands operating at different levels of sponsorship. The results demonstrate how the combination of consumers' attitudes toward the event, knowledge of the sponsor brand and their level of activity in the event domain influence their assessments of event-sponsor fit. Interestingly, the findings indicate that, in the context of a community-based sports event, the title sponsor did not experience any discernable advantage of sponsorship, despite its elevated position as a sponsor and higher brand equity.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between sponsorship of professional sport teams and consumers' socially responsible perceptions of a sponsoring brand. More specifically, this research investigates if sponsorship of professional sport teams in itself leads consumers to perceive a sponsoring brand as socially responsible, and what factors may produce CSR perceptions and subsequent consumer response.

An experimental study was conducted to examine the impact of sponsorship of professional sport teams on consumers' CSR perceptions of a sponsoring brand. Further, a field study was used to explore the role of sponsorship fit in generating CSR perceptions.

The results from the experimental study indicated that brand sponsorship of professional sport teams contributes to the socially responsible image of that brand, and sponsorship fit induces consumers' CSR perceptions of a sponsoring brand. Additionally, the results from the field study identified CSR perceptions as an underlying process driving the effect of sponsorship fit on consumers’ behavioral intentions toward a sponsoring brand. Lastly, the role of team identification was shown as a boundary condition shaping the effects of sponsorship fit.

Brands specifically seeking to create a socially responsible image, thanks to sponsoring a sport team, should consider the importance of perceived fit between their brand and the sponsored sport team as it is a key predictor of CSR perceptions.

This paper provides empirical evidence for the sport sponsorship and CSR perceptions link and sheds light on important predictors for consumer response.

The purpose of this paper is to extend sponsorship literature by investigating the role of the fit construct and perceived sponsorship portfolio size for event sponsorship success. To analyze the sponsor–event fit in more detail, the authors draw on the network perspective and, as a consequence, split the sponsor–event fit into two constructs: the sponsor–artist fit construct and the sponsor–event organizer fit construct. Then, a model is developed and tested that examines the effect of these two constructs and perceived sponsorship portfolio size on sponsorship success.

The model is tested with data from 330 visitors to two different concerts in Switzerland. Real events with non-student samples are examined. The data are tested using Mplus 6.0 structural equation modeling.

Results report that the sponsor–artist fit, the sponsor–event organizer fit and perceived sponsorship portfolio size are important drivers of attitude toward the sponsor. Moreover, sponsorships that cause positive attitudes toward the sponsor are found to enhance willingness to pay a price premium and purchase intention.

This paper reveals that it is important for sponsorship managers to correctly consider the fit construct and perceived sponsorship portfolio size for sponsorship success. Additionally, the tested model provides an instrument for measuring sponsorship effectiveness.

The current paper reveals new results by investigating the impact of the sponsor–artist fit and the sponsor–event organizer fit on sponsorship success. Furthermore, the current research paper is the first to analyze the effects of a sponsorship portfolio which is not limited to one sponsorship category on sponsorship success.