The Role of Team Identification on the Sponsorship Articulation–Fit Relationship

Abstract

Previous literature on sponsorship-linked marketing have shown that articulation messages lead to more favorable attitudes toward the sponsor brand. However, results from some studies do not entirely support this finding, suggesting that important variables affecting the sponsorship articulation–fit relationship may have been overlooked. Addressing this gap in the literature, the authors show that consumer responses to sponsorship articulation are moderated by the fan’s level of identification with a sports team. That is, fans high in team identification respond differently to various types of articulation messages whereas fans with lower team identification levels do not. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate that messages highlighting how fans and sports team benefit from the sponsorship deal elicit thoughts of sincerity which in turn evokes reciprocity and more favorable attitudes from highly identified fans.