Sport Sponsorship Research Articles

Team identification and sponsors’ altruistic motives on the effectiveness of professional soccer sponsorship

ABSTRACT Research question: In a world where financial investment in sports sponsorship is at risk of committing corporate irresponsibility, how do professional sports team sponsors’ attribute altruistic motives and favorable attitudes towards the fans influence purchasing with decisions? Research methods: For this purpose, a sample of 2,647 fans from two of Portugal's most successful soccer teams completed a questionnaire. A Structural Equation Modelling analysis was carried out to test the model and the hypotheses. Results and Findings: Despite the highly commercial context, the high investments made by the sponsors are seen as altruistic by the fans most identified with the sports team. The model explained 46% of attitudes towards sponsors, but the most relevant result in sponsorship effectiveness was the strong mediating role played by the sponsors’ altruistic motives. Implications: This study extends previous research by providing a unique conceptual framework that highlights the importance of understanding how fans supported by the sponsor's altruistic motives view the sponsor's brand.

Adults’ Exposure to Unhealthy Food and Beverage Marketing: A Multi-Country Study in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States

BackgroundFood marketing increases product appeal, purchasing, and consumption, using diverse strategies and locations to reach consumers. ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to examine differences in adults’ self-reported exposure to various marketing strategies (brand and licensed characters, celebrities, and sponsorship of sports and cultural events) and locations (television, radio, and digital media) across 5 countries: Australia, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. MethodsWe analyzed cross-sectional survey data on self-reported exposure to food marketing strategies and locations collected in 2018 by the International Food Policy Study. Participants (n = 21,678) aged ≥18 years completed an online survey. Exposures to unhealthy food marketing strategies and locations in the prior 30 days were self-reported. Regression models examined differences in marketing exposure and locations across countries. ResultsThe average number of unhealthy food marketing strategies to which participants reported being exposed ranged from 0.5 in the United Kingdom to 2.3 in Mexico. Self-reported exposure to strategies across all countries was highest for brand characters (32%), followed by licensed characters (22%). In total, the reported mean exposure of marketing locations was 1.6 in the prior month. Television was the most prevalent location (44%), followed by digital marketing (32%). Adjusted models indicated that the odds of reporting exposure to marketing strategies and marketing locations were higher for Mexico compared to the rest of the countries. ConclusionsAdults report a variety of exposures to unhealthy food marketing in all countries, but exposure was highest in Mexico. Special attention should be paid to regulating marketing strategies, such as brand characters and licensed characters, and locations, such as television and digital marketing.

Relationship between Corporate Image, Brand Awareness, and Purchase Intention according to Sports Sponsorship

Relationship between Corporate Image, Brand Awareness, and Purchase Intention according to Sports Sponsorship

Do Sport Sponsorship Announcements Help Or Hurt Rival Sponsors’ Market Values?

This study compares the effect of sports sponsorship announcements on the stock returns of sponsors and their rivals between Japan and the United States. Event study analyses reveal that, whereas stock market reactions for Japanese sponsors were significantly positive during 1999–2010, those for their rivals were significantly negative. In the United States, however, both sponsors and rivals experienced increased market value. Sports sponsorships thus might be useful for sponsors to establish a competitive advantage over rivals in Japan, but not in the United States.

Sports Sponsorship Announcements and Marketing Capability

Sports sponsorships are almost a $20 billion business in North America alone. Yet, despite the significant academic and corporate interest in such high financial stakes, the literature is equivocal on several key aspects. While some papers report that sports sponsorships enhance shareholder value, others dispute this. Furthermore, the marketing determinants of this value are unclear, particularly the role of firms’ marketing capabilities. To address these, the authors first created a database of sports sponsorship announcements over 19 years by Canadian and U.S. firms, complementing it with the stock market and firm-level financial and marketing data. The authors then conducted an event study and found that investor response to sports sponsorship announcements is, on average, positive. The authors found that investors not only credit firms with higher marketing capabilities, amplifying their positive reaction, but that they also seem to use firms’ marketing capabilities to offset the potential barriers to the value generated from these announcements. Specifically, for investors, the firms’ marketing capabilities can compensate for the dampening effect of financial risk. Our results are robust to considerations of sample selection bias, endogeneity, and outliers.

A Dichotomy of Sport Sponsorships: Does the Nature of Competition Among Sponsors Matter?

In this paper, the authors argue that the firm value implications of sport sponsorships for sponsors may depend on the competitive environment during the bidding process for different types of sponsorships. More specifically, the authors contend that the bidding environment for professional football (soccer) kit sponsorships represents a form of common value auction, while the bidding environment for corporate logo sponsorships on teams’ shirts does not. As common value auctions are prone to winner’s curse, the firm value implications should be different for kit sponsorship announcements than for shirt sponsorship announcements. Our results suggest that shareholders indeed perceive the value derived from kit and shirt sponsorships differently, resulting in the predicted distinction in their impact on sponsors’ firm value. This study sheds light on conflicting results on firm value implications of sport sponsorships in the prior literature and provides rich areas for future research.

금융기업 스포츠 스폰서십에 대한 지각이 소비자 인식에 미치는 영향 : 대부업 이미지 은행을 중심으로

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the perception of sports sponsorship of the loan business image bank on the consumer awareness of the sponsoring company. For this purpose a research product of a virtual scenario were developed and the scenario was randomly allocated to a total of 300 research participants. The collected data were analyzed through T-test correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. As a result of the study the preference for sports sponsorship games and the recognition of the purpose of sports sponsorship which are sub-variables of the sports sponsorship perception had a positive effect on the image improvement of sponsors but the status of sports sponsorship games did not. In addition the rise of the status of sports sponsorship games and the recognition of the purpose of sports sponsorship the consumer

English

Corporate sponsorship is a common phenomenon in major soccer leagues worldwide. Studies in the area of sports sponsorship decision-making have been done from a global context but lack focus on a particular sport or a major soccer league. Little empirical evidence has emerged in the area of sport sponsorship decision-making factors. The purpose of this study is to determine the factors considered by corporate organizations in availing sponsorship to clubs in the Kenya Premier League. The study determined the influence of team-based, country-based and environmental-based characteristics on corporate organizations’ decisions to sponsor, the first of its kind to be done on the Kenya Premier League. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from six corporate sponsors of community-based, privately-owned and military-based clubs in the Kenya Premier League 2018/2019 season, as well as club chairmen and treasurers. Interviews were also conducted on the managers and assistants of marketing/sales departments of the corporate sponsors. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics to rank the sponsorship factors in their order of importance. Regressions were done to test the hypotheses. The data obtained through interviews were sorted out according to the objectives and presented in a narrative form. The study revealed that team-based factors had the highest significant effect on sponsorship decisions, followed by country-based then environmental-based factors.   Key words: Determinants, corporate sponsorship, soccer, premier league clubs, Kenya Premier League, Kenya.

Algorithms for evaluating sports sponsorship in Russia and Iraq

Relevance. The question of the participation of sponsors in the sports industry is open and continues to develop. The technology of earning a sponsor on a sports product is complex and requires detail. This paper presents the first development on this topic in Russia from the AKKAR agency (Yekaterinburg).Purpose. To identify possible mechanisms for assessing sponsorship risks in sports.Methods and organization of research. When determining the cost of a sponsorship package, a combination of factors is the basis for applying an increasing coefficient to the estimated cost of all other sponsorship opportunities. First of all, an analysis and calculation of the cost of all other sponsorship opportunities is carried out. The coefficients are applied to the total cost of the sponsorship package. We calculate the increasing coefficient for intellectual/image rights.The results of the research. The evaluation of the cost of attracting athletes is divided into 2 components: the right to use the image of an athlete and the direct costs of implementing activation with him.Conclusions. The lack of a methodology for such a multivariate process constrains the sponsor's desires. This paper provides an example of such a technique, but it needs to be developed further.

When sports sponsorship incurs brand risk: the roles of team performance, brand familiarity and team identification

PurposeThis study investigated the potential negative effects of a sponsored team's losing performance on audiences' trust and purchase intention toward the sponsoring brand. Shedding light on the moderating role of sponsoring brand familiarity among audiences and audience team identification regarding such negative effects, the study establishes when sports sponsorship may incur risk to a sponsoring brand.Design/methodology/approachThree experimental designs (audience as stimulus of a team's losing vs control condition) were used to indicate whether and when losing performance influences participants' trust and purchase intention toward the sponsoring brand.FindingsThe participants in the losing condition report lower brand trust and purchase intention. Brand trust mediates the relationship between losing results and decreased purchase intention. The negative effects of losing on brand trust and purchase intention only appear when the sponsoring brand has low familiarity among audiences and only for audiences with low identification.Practical implicationsThe strategy of a brand with low familiarity sponsoring a team that frequently loses has risks and is not worth advocating. However, if an unknown brand has already sponsored a team that often loses, the efforts to cultivate audiences' identification with the team can reduce the potential risks.Originality/valueThe affirmed negative effects of losing performance on brand trust and purchase intention have value for firm sponsorship decisions. This study contributes to the sponsorship literature by revealing two boundary conditions (sponsoring brand familiarity and audiences' team identification) for those negative effects.

УПРОВАДЖЕННЯ ІННОВАЦІЙНОЇ СИСТЕМИ КЕРУВАННЯ ЗАЛУЧЕННЯМ ТАЛАНТІВ У СФЕРІ ПОСЛУГ ФІЗИЧНОЇ КУЛЬТУРИ ТА СПОРТУ В УКРАЇНІ

Анотація. Розглядаються сучасні системи спортивного менеджменту і те, як вони не можуть полегшити зустрічі та поєднати потенційні перспективні таланти з ідеальним спортивним агентством. Сучасний стан фізичної культури і спорту в сільських населених пунктах України залишає бажати кращого. Багато талановитих спортсменів і дітей, які живуть у сільській місцевості, не мають можливості відточувати свою майстерність у спорті та робити кар’єру на основі свого таланту. Тому спорт для них став лише дозвіллям, і очікується, що вони залишать його, щойно досягнуть зрілого віку. Запропоновано систему керування якістю фізкультурно-спортивних послуг, яка може усунути цю проблему за допомогою стандартизації керування якістю. Брак інновацій при розробленні та впровадженні систем керування спортом в Україні не дозволяє галузі повністю розкрити свій потенціал. Тому дуже важливо зрозуміти, що громадськість і спонсори вимагають від технічної системи, яка обробляє профілі спортсменів і керує ними відповідно до вимог користувачів. У дослідженні використана вторинна методологія з акцентом на якісний аналіз. Це дозволяє дослідникові розробити систематичний огляд літератури, використовуючи попередні, уже проведені дослідження. Завдяки цьому методові можна отримати аргументи і підтвердження інших дослідників, засновані на інноваціях у культурних видах спорту та системах керування. Мета роботи — виділити потенційну модель, яка має унікальну інноваційну особливість — пошук споживачем найближчої організації, яка надає спонсорську підтримку спорту в Україні. Підтверджено гіпотезу дослідження, яка полягала у припущенні, що зусилля щодо поліпшення тільки наявних практик організаційної діяльності не можуть суттєво поліпшити стан фізичної культури і спорту та якість фізкультурно-спортивного обслуговування населення. Розглянуто переваги її впровадження, а також потенційні проблеми, що можуть виникнути після її розгортання. Нарешті, запропонована інноваційна система має бути додатково оцінена іншими дослідниками, щоб оцінити її технічну реалізацію та виявити підводне каміння і проблеми, які можуть виникнути у процесі розроблення. Якщо їх буде виявлено, то можна буде усунути, коли система почне проходити належний процес розроблення. Ключові слова: системи керування спортом, фізична активність, інновації. Формул: 0; рис.: 1; табл.: 7; бібл.: 25.

Does Race Matter? Sports Sponsorship and Discrimination: Evidence from Professional European Soccer

Does Race Matter? Sports Sponsorship and Discrimination: Evidence from Professional European Soccer

Different Perspectives on Sports Sponsorship in Brazilian Women’s Volleyball: A Case Study of Osasco Volleyball Club

In view of the scenario of the relationship between sponsorship and Brazilian volleyball, this paper aims to survey, from the historical and marketing point of view, the sponsorship actions undertaken between a multinational food company and Osasco Volleyball Club, in order to discuss them from the perspective of the main agents involved in the sport - coaches, managers and athletes. This is a documental, qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research, which had as primary sources the journalistic reports available in the public domain, published during the period in which the club and the company maintained relations in the sports context. For data analysis, the Content Analysis method was used, in which the research data were organized into three different characteristics that cover the issues discussed throughout the reports, related to the club, athletes / coaching staff and managers. This research is relevant to the area, due to the incipient production of qualitative studies dealing with the relationship between sports sponsorship and volleyball, and for bringing an important discussion of successful cases about the sponsorship of sports clubs in Brazil. We identified the use of different marketing strategies used by the company in the different periods of sponsorship maintenance, which brought positive returns in terms of sports performance for the club - arising mainly from the investment made in structure and athlete development - and in market performance of the company's different brands - reaching market leadership over brands already consolidated in Brazilian consumption. As a case study, the research showed successful strategies that met mutual objectives, by changing the product, the brand, and the uniform, bringing benefits for both the club and the company. Innovations such as the creation of the club's online store, the official mascot, activation campaigns of the company's brands in the gym and advertising campaigns also stand out throughout the sponsorship period. The strategies that were used can be directly applied or adapted to other relationships between sports clubs and companies, contributing to a remarkable return on the brand and its products, and a competent structuring of the sport (from the base to high performance).

Analysis of Sponsorships in Clubs Participating in NBB 2020-2021

The lack of data on sports sponsorship and on the segments that invest the most in this practice, combined with the scarce academic literature on the subject, the lack of professionalism of a large portion of sports managers in Brazil and the lack of knowledge of sponsors about the benefits of sports sponsorship motivated the carrying out of this study, which aimed to analyze the number of sponsors of clubs participating in the NBB 2020-2021, identify the area of activity of their sponsors and which areas were predominant. The research had an exploratory and descriptive nature and used a documental procedure and quantitative analysis. Sponsor data was collected from the official websites and social networks of the 16 clubs participating in the NBB 2020- 2021 season. The data showed a total of 163 sponsoring/supporting companies in total, that is, each team, on average, had 10.2 sponsoring companies. Two diametrically opposite ways emerged for clubs to relate to their sponsors. On the one hand, some teams show a significantly higher number than the average, in the case of Franca (27 companies), Bauru (23), Campo Mourão (21) and Unifacisa (16), and on the opposite side, some teams showed a good number of commercial partners. below average, such as: Corinthians (no company), Pinheiros (2), Paulistano and Minas Tênis (3). These results show heterogeneity in the strategy of clubs participating in the NBB 2020-2021 to relate to this form of revenue. While most basketball clubs have pulverized their partnerships, data show that socio-sports clubs and football clubs are more restrictive when carrying out their commercial partnerships related to sponsorship. The results can be useful for club directors to understand which segments have the greatest potential for interest in the sport, such as the retail trade, health, financial services and education sectors. The results may also indicate to some economic segments that basketball teams are potential possibilities for publicizing the company, given the existence of a significant number of companies in their area among the current sponsors, that is, companies belonging to the areas mentioned above should be on the lookout for opportunities to connect with sports sponsorship through basketball, as your competitors appeared more frequently in this survey.

How Sports Sponsorship Influences a Sponsor’s Financial Performance: A Case Study from the Korea Baseball Organization

Abstract: This study aims to examine the effects of sponsorship on the sponsor’s financial performance. This study investigates return on sponsorship (ROS) with a quantitative analysis. Nexen Tire’s title sponsorship agreement with the Heroes baseball club in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in 2010 is studied. The positive effect of sponsorship on the sponsor’s Tobin’s q is confirmed by comparing the non-sponsorship period (2000–2009) with the sponsorship period (2010–2018). It is also shown from an event study that the sponsor experiences negative abnormal stock returns on the news of the sponsorship agreement, though this was not found to be statistically significant. Still, when the sponsee enters the postseason, positive cumulative abnormal returns are observed, particularly significant 10 days before the postseason games. This study confirms the positive influence of sponsorship on the sponsor’s financial performance and, with evidence from South Korea, provides insight into Asian markets in need of research. The results suggest that 10 days before a postseason game would be an ideal time to leverage marketing and activate a sponsorship strategy.

Not just intentions: predicting actual purchase behavior in sport sponsorship context

PurposeThe scope of this study was to underline the specific aspects of positive consumer attitude and behavior related to sports sponsorship. In more detail, the purpose of this study was to establish a comprehensive sponsorship framework integrating Beliefs about sponsorship, Sponsor's Image, Fans' Attachment with the team, Team's Performance, Fans' Sport Involvement, Sponsors' Sincerity, Awareness of Sponsors, Attitude toward Sponsors, Purchase intentions and Actual Purchases.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative method was utilized and a sum of 2,752 questionnaires were effectively assembled and analyzed by means of SPSS and AMOS. The results of a structural equation model provide an exceptional conceptual framework that underlines the significance of comprehending the role of important factors in sponsorship efficiency.FindingsThis paper provides the context for a discussion. It shows that various antecedents have a significant effect on real – instead of just intentions – purchase behavior regarding sponsors' products and services.Research limitations/implicationsVarious implications for future researches as well as strategies to boost the advantages for both sport clubs and sponsoring firms can be drawn from the suggested model.Originality/valueUp to present, only a handful of empirical studies have looked at the effect of sponsorship on the consumer. The majority of sponsorship studies measure the impact of the sponsorship effort on the recall and recognition of sponsors, with empirical results being inconclusive, with some studies showing high levels of recall and recognition while others show only marginal impact on recall and recognition. The present research provides a comprehensive framework, which can guide future studies by isolating the effect of sponsorship on actual purchase behavior, instead of just estimating individuals' purchase intentions.

Moral Judgements of Junior Sports Sponsorships: An Emerging Mediator of Sponsor Goodwill

The sponsorship of junior sport is a contentious issue with community concerns raised about the appropriateness of some marketing targetted at children. Parents and coaches are guardians of junior sports players and often faced with a moral dilemma. On the one hand they know sponsors, who are trying to generate goodwill through providing financial or in-kind support, are crucial to the affordability of junior sports when competition for securing sponsorships is intense. On the other hand, they hold concerns that some sponsors may exploit their access to these young, vulnerable players. Guardians are caught at a crossroads with equally undesirable alternatives—financially unviable junior sports without sponsors or junior sports with potentially exploitative sponsors. Our study fills a gap in the literature where the tensions of commercial sponsorship agendas and moral concerns in sponsorship has not been well explored with our study being the first to apply the construct of moral judgements in a sponsorship model. Mixed methodology is used to examine the role that moral judgements play in determining sponsor goodwill. A qualitative study ( n = 18) informed an online survey ( n = 306) of Australian junior sports guardians. Structural equation modelling revealed that guardians’ moral judgements mediated the relationships between sponsor fit, perceived sponsor altruism and the outcome variable, sponsorship goodwill. The findings of this study extend scholarly understanding of consumers’ appraisal of sponsorships and provide useful insights to guide practitioners in sponsorship decision making, particularly in contexts that stimulate community interest or concerns.

Can Sports Sponsorship Affect Consumers’ Motivation for Sports Consumption?

Most of the ample research literature into the outcomes of sports sponsorship focuses on consequences for the sponsor. Consequences for the sponsor-object, i.e., the sponsored sport, sports event, or team, have generally been ignored. In this paper, we investigate if and how sponsors affect consumers’ motivation for sports consumption. Drawing on the literature on sponsorship, branding, and advertisement, we identify three sponsor-related factors and one consumer-related factor that affect this motivation. To test our hypotheses, an online experiment with a sample size of 104 observations was conducted. Using regression analysis, we find that the perceived sincerity of the sponsoring brand and consumers’ sports involvement have a significant positive direct effect on motivation for sports consumption. We also identify event-sponsor fit as a moderating variable between attitude toward the sponsoring brand and the motivation for sports consumption. This study contributes to academic research by extending the sponsorship literature to outcomes for the sponsor-object/sponsee. It also has practical implications in that it provides sports managers with information about factors they should consider when they want to choose the right sponsor and avoid potential negative fan reactions (e.g., fan boycotts).

The Effects of the Sports Sponsorship on the Formation of Grab Corporate Image After 18th Asian Games

The purpose of this study was to study the effect of the sport's sponsors on the corporate image formation of the Grab after the 18th Asian Games. The data used in this study were primary data obtained from questionnaire questionnaires that had been distributed to the intended respondents as community users of Grab in the City of Palembang. This study uses a simple linear regression analysis technique. The results of this study indicate that sports sponsorship has a significant influence in shaping the corporate image of Grab after the 2018 Asian Games with sig. t of (a) = 0,000 <0.05 or 5%, so Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted. This means that an increase in sports sponsorships will improve Grab's corporate image, and vice versa if there is a decrease in sports sponsors the Grab's corporate image will also increase.

Does Fandom Influence Marketing Executives’ Valuations of Sports Sponsorships? Insight from the French Soccer League

This study examines how marketing executives perceive valuations of sponsorship assets of soccer clubs. It was conducted with French marketing executives in regard to sponsorship assets of four Ligue 1 teams: Paris Saint-Germain and rival Olympique de Marseille, AS Saint-Etienne and rival Olympique Lyonnais. Results confirmed that both rationality and fandom influence how the executives assigned value to the teams’ sponsorship assets, suggesting that soccer fandom is hard to overlook even in cases when one is expected to make rational decisions.