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Article
Publication date: 19 December 2023

Sardar Mohammadi, Mojtaba Ghasemi Siani and Manuel Alonso Dos Santos

The aim of this paper is to investigate the interaction effect that sponsor-team congruence and team fan (home/rival team) have on the influence of different types of sports…

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to investigate the interaction effect that sponsor-team congruence and team fan (home/rival team) have on the influence of different types of sports sponsorship (joint, corporate social responsibility [CSR]-linked and conventional sponsorship) on fans' attitudes and purchase intentions toward the sponsor.

Design/methodology/approach

Two experimental studies were conducted on 391 and 297 participants. The data gathered underwent analysis through five multivariate general linear model analyses.

Findings

The study found that CSR-linked sponsorship had the strongest positive impact and the weakest negative impact on the attitude and purchase intention of home team supporters and the attitude of rival team supporters. Nonetheless, the sponsor-team congruence did not significantly moderate the relationship. Additionally, the research demonstrated that the fan identity of both home and rival teams moderates the impact of sports sponsorships on attitude and purchase intention.

Originality/value

Previous research has studied the effectiveness of sponsorship format types independently. This is the first research comparing sponsorship formats regarding fan type and congruence.

Details

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1464-6668

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 November 2015

Reinhard Grohs, Heribert Reisinger and David M. Woisetschläger

The purpose of this study is to understand the occurrence, formation and magnitude of negative effects for sponsors of rival sports teams and to identify means to counteract…

2961

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to understand the occurrence, formation and magnitude of negative effects for sponsors of rival sports teams and to identify means to counteract negative sponsorship effects.

Design/methodology/approach

Surveys measure fans’ identification with their team as well as attitudes toward rival teams and their sponsors in a soccer context. An experiment introduces sponsorship communication activities that aim at mitigating negative sponsorship effects by shifting the focus of the sponsorship.

Findings

Results from surveys and experiments demonstrate that identification with a sports team negatively affects perceptions of a rival team, negative perceptions of a rival team negatively affect perceptions of its sponsors, this effect is stronger for fans with higher levels of team identification, companies can improve perceptions of rival team sponsors by shifting the focus of sponsorship-linked communication activities, but attenuating negative sponsorship effects is more difficult to achieve for fans with higher levels of identification with their team.

Research limitations/implications

Further studies need to disentangle mitigating effects of framing sponsorship communication and investigate in greater depth conditions under which sponsorship leverage can emphasize specific social identities of sports fans and enhance the inclusiveness of fans’ self-categorization.

Practical implications

Companies can learn from this study how they can frame, design and use sponsorship communication activities to mitigate negative sponsorship effects in the context of rival-team sponsorship.

Originality/value

The study is one of the few studies addressing negative effects of sponsorship. In particular, the study provides first insights into how social identity theory, social categorization theory and framing theory work together with theories of image transfer in both the formation and the attenuation of negative sponsorship outcomes.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 49 no. 11/12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 July 2019

Li-Chun Hsu

This study aims to investigate the social, utilitarian and hedonic benefits associated with a brand behavioral performance from an attitude contagion theory perspective. An…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the social, utilitarian and hedonic benefits associated with a brand behavioral performance from an attitude contagion theory perspective. An integrated empirical model was constructed to identify the antecedents and consequences of consumer attitude contagion.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained from 609 members of Facebook apparel brand fan pages using purposive sampling. Structural equation modeling was used to validate the proposed theoretical model.

Findings

Social, utilitarian and hedonic benefits could be used to explain the effects of attitude contagion on various relationships. Attitude contagion factors partially mediate exogenous factors and the behavior of brand fans. Regarding the attitude contagion effect, perceived community attitude and attitude toward fans’ sponsored recommendation posts have stronger explanatory powers for attitude toward products than for attitude toward brands. Specifically, attitude toward brands can indirectly influence members’ purchase intention through brand recall. The proposed model exhibited desirable goodness-of-fit.

Practical implications

The findings can give brand community managers insight into the development of consumer attitude contagion and assist companies to improve their community management.

Originality/value

This study contributes to multiple perspectives in the literature regarding social, utilitarian and hedonic benefits and adopted an extension viewpoint to explain that the formation of consumer attitude is a complex process.

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 29 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2010

Heidi M Parker and Janet S Fink

This research examines the fan-team-sponsor relationship. It focuses on how the sports team's response to negative sponsor behaviour affects fan/spectator attitudes towards the…

753

Abstract

This research examines the fan-team-sponsor relationship. It focuses on how the sports team's response to negative sponsor behaviour affects fan/spectator attitudes towards the sponsor. Results indicate that highly identified fans have significantly more positive attitudes towards the team sponsor than fans who are lower in identification. Highly identified fans informed of a negative action by a team sponsor felt more favourably towards the sponsor if the team continued, rather than terminated, their relationship with the sponsor.

Details

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1464-6668

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 April 2014

Carla Ruiz-Mafe, Jose Martí-Parreño and Silvia Sanz-Blas

With the rapid expansion of social networking sites, researchers and practitioners are challenged to understand drivers of customer loyalty in fan pages. The purpose of this paper…

5482

Abstract

Purpose

With the rapid expansion of social networking sites, researchers and practitioners are challenged to understand drivers of customer loyalty in fan pages. The purpose of this paper is to identify the main drivers of Facebook fan page loyalty in order to promote the creation of affective links and long-term relationships with users.

Design/methodology/approach

The impact of trust, fan page content dependency, attitude and consumer beliefs on loyalty to fan pages was tested through structural equation modelling techniques. The sample consisted of 691 Spanish Facebook users.

Findings

Data analysis shows that attitude appears as a key variable in increasing loyalty to fan pages. The empirical study also found a significant positive influence of perceived usefulness, attitude, trust and dependency on loyalty in fan pages, and an indirect influence of perceived ease of use mediated by perceived usefulness and attitude.

Practical implications

This research enables managers to know what aspects to highlight in their communication strategies to increase fan page use and positive word-of-mouth. Research findings show managers that Facebook fan page content should provide valuable information, be fun and foster user interactions in order to improve user attitude and loyalty. Practical recommendations to reinforce consumer trust on Facebook fan pages are also provided.

Originality/value

There are still too few studies that analyse the effects of trust and fan page dependency on fan page users’ loyalty. This work aims to combine the influence of dependency on fan pages, trust, attitude and Technology Acceptance Model beliefs in order to construct an improved model for fan page loyalty formation.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 38 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 June 2018

Kevin K.W. Ho and Eric W.K. See-To

The fan page of social network site can be used as a platform for the tourist attractions to interact with their consumers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how…

1483

Abstract

Purpose

The fan page of social network site can be used as a platform for the tourist attractions to interact with their consumers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how entertainment, informativeness, and socializing gratifications affect a user’s attitude toward a tourist attraction fan page in the context of smart tourism, on which scant research has been conducted so far.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors investigate how entertainment, information, and socialization gratifications affect a user’s attitude toward a tourist attraction fan page of Hong Kong youth in the context of smart tourism using structural equation modeling.

Findings

The authors show that three aspects of gratifications, i.e., entertainment, informativeness, and socializing, have significant impacts on a user’s attitude toward a tourist attraction fan page, which subsequently has an impact on intention to visit the attraction through a user’s attitude toward a tourist attraction developed through his/her attitude toward a fan page.

Originality/value

Scant research has been conducted to study how uses and gratifications affect a user’s attitude toward a tourist attraction fan page in the context of smart tourism. This research fills this research gap.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 28 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 August 2018

Nick Burton and Simon Chadwick

The purpose of this paper is to explore attitudes towards ambush marketing at the 2016 Union of European Football Associations European Championships, seeking to examine fan

1117

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore attitudes towards ambush marketing at the 2016 Union of European Football Associations European Championships, seeking to examine fan affect towards ambush marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

A 24-item survey questionnaire was constructed, exploring consumers’ general cognition and affection of ambush marketing; following Dickson et al.’s (2015) design, industry-specific attitudes were canvassed, assessing supporters’ views of beer and gambling industry ambush marketers.

Findings

Results indicate that fans appear to be marginally more forgiving of ambush practices from beer or gambling brands than across ambushing more generally, yet a prevailing antipathy towards ambush marketing from an ethical perspective was observed. Importantly, however, the study’s findings suggest that industry-specific advertising regulations bear little impact on fan perspectives.

Practical implications

The study’s results bear notable implications for marketing theory and practice: for ambushing brands, this suggests that they are rather less likely to be have a disruptive effect on events and their official sponsors. For official sponsors, a level of threat from ambushers nevertheless remains as it would appear consumers do not have strong views about the practice of ambushing.

Originality/value

The study’s methods build upon and extend previous studies into consumer attitudes towards ambush marketing, specifically focusing on the perceptions and affect of fans in lieu of more empirically generalisable consumer populations. Given the target audiences of sponsors and ambush marketers, this emphasis on fan attitudes represents an important direction in ambush affect research.

Details

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1464-6668

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 July 2020

Alfredo Silva and José Manuel Cristóvão Veríssimo

This study aims to explore the indirect and direct effect of perceived congruence between fans' identification with a team and the intention to buy sponsor's products. The level…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the indirect and direct effect of perceived congruence between fans' identification with a team and the intention to buy sponsor's products. The level of perceived congruence between the sponsor and the sports team, as well as fans' attitude toward the sponsor and their purchase intention toward products from the sponsoring company are analyzed.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 2,647 football fans who support two well-known Portuguese professional football teams completed a questionnaire. Structural equation modeling with multigroup analysis was carried out to test the model and the hypotheses.

Findings

Team identification has an effect on perceived congruence, on attitude toward sponsors and on intention to buy. The results also show the positive direct and indirect effects of both perceived congruence on attitude toward the sponsoring company and on purchase intention of sponsors' products. However, neither congruence nor attitude show significant results on purchase intention.

Originality/value

This study departs from previous studies, in that it investigates the direct and indirect (i.e. mediated) effects of perceived congruence. Firstly, it analyzes the mediating effect of perceived congruence between team identification and purchase intentions. Secondly, it explores the mediating effect of perceived congruence between team identification and attitude toward the sponsor.

Details

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1464-6668

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 July 2014

David M. Woisetschläger, Vanessa J. Haselhoff and Christof Backhaus

The aim of this article is to contribute to the literature by analyzing potential determinants of fan resistance to naming right sponsorships. Although sports sponsorships mostly…

3209

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this article is to contribute to the literature by analyzing potential determinants of fan resistance to naming right sponsorships. Although sports sponsorships mostly trigger neutral or positive reactions by fans, the authors find empirical support which provides evidence for fan boycott or resistance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors empirically test a model using a sample of 798 soccer fans and thereby quantify structural relations between determinants and fan resistance. They use a logistic regression to assess potential determinants of fan resistance.

Findings

Results indicate that sponsee- and sports-related variables, such as fan/regional identification and attitude toward commercialization, contribute to higher fan resistance. Furthermore, fans see themselves as in-group members who discriminate out-group members. As the sponsoring company takes over control and imposes a “threat” (the change of a stadium’s name) on the group’s ritual place, this results in strong negative emotional reactions. These emotions tend to be repeated and affirmed in intra-group communications which intensify negative reactions unless the sponsor offers a positive contribution from the fans’ standpoints. Our findings confirm that sponsorship fit and perceived benefits of the sponsorship reduce fan resistance while the sponsor’s regional identification is unrelated to fan resistance.

Research limitations/implications

Little attention has been paid on negative reactions to sponsorships in the existing research. Therefore, future research could assess negative effects resulting from other sponsorship contexts, such as the sale of a club's naming right, promotion campaigns during the venue and to sponsorship deals in general. Moreover, research should be devoted to finding strategies that lead to a reduction of fan resistance to sponsorship actions.

Practical implications

Results show that sponsorship fit reduces fan resistance. Existing literature suggests that sponsorship fit can be improved by emphasis or creation of fit between sponsor and sponsee. Additionally, sponsors should try to build a bridge between sponsor and fans to gain acceptance of the in-group by raising awareness on the benefits that the sponsee receives from their partnership. Moreover, sponsors should actively strive to understand negative reactions of the fans and adapt their communication strategy to avoid resistance, e.g. due to fans’ feelings of overt commercialism.

Originality/value

Although naming right sponsorships are generally considered a powerful instrument for companies to gain high profile and market share, they seem not to be entirely free of risk. This article contributes to the literature by conceptualizing the phenomenon of fan resistance and assessing the determinants that contribute to fan resistance when naming rights are sold. Our findings extend the understanding of negative sponsorship effects in addition to the mechanisms and theoretical frameworks that are documented in the literature (Cornwell et al., 2005).

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 48 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2012

Chih-Fu Cheng, Lung Hung Chen, Mei-Yen Chen and Wan-Chen Lu

Watching sporting events is a popular leisure activity. However, in the context of sports marketing, little is known about the mechanism that determines fans' game-attending…

Abstract

Watching sporting events is a popular leisure activity. However, in the context of sports marketing, little is known about the mechanism that determines fans' game-attending behaviour. This study aims to investigate fan participation in the context of baseball, using the theory of planned behaviour. The 623 subjects of this study were recruited from the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan. The structural equation indicates that attitude and perceived behavioural control will have an influence on gameattending behaviour through behavioural intention. However, subjective norms do not significantly predict behavioural intention, nor do perceived behavioural controls significantly predict game-attending behaviour. The results are discussed in terms of their applicability to fan behaviour.

Details

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1464-6668

Keywords

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