Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the process followed by sponsors and sport properties in developing their sponsorship deals as seen from a new service development (NSD) perspective. Sponsorships are expensive and can be a source of sustainable competitive advantage if managed appropriately. Therefore, the authors need to approach sponsorship strategically and formalise sponsorship decision-making. Sponsorships are considered to be complex, relationship-based, business-to-business services, and the development of such services has been analysed in the NSD literature. As past research on the development process of sponsorship deals is limited, the use of an NSD perspective can help in formalising sponsorship decision-making. Design/methodology/approach – Four case studies were conducted involving two professional, premier league football clubs and two sponsoring organisations, one major sponsor for each club. One of the dyads involved a brand new sponsorship deal and the other a renewal. Findings – Results showed that in both dyads, the development process of the new service follows the NSD process of other complex, relationship-based, business-to-business services and involves three main phases, namely, information collection, proposal preparation and presentation or receipt and analysis, and negotiations and contract sign. All four firms use a semi-formal and flexible process, whereas the actors in each stage vary. Also, the new deal requires a more lengthy process than the renewal, following the example of really new and me-too services. Multi-functional teams are not present, and top management involvement is important only in the last stage of the process. Research limitations/implications – This paper helps in analysing the development process of new sponsorship deals, as new business-to-business services. However, it involves only four cases and has limited generalisability. Future research should substantiate results with more cases or quantitative research. Practical implications – Results can help sponsors and sponsees to structure their processes for successful development of new sponsorship deals. Also, as new sponsorship deals seem to be developed the same way with other business-to-business, complex services, potential sponsors that are big service providers can probably enjoy synergies from using the same or a slightly different process than the one they use for developing their main services. Finally, the use of a semi-formal and flexible process in sponsorship development can be helpful in dealing with customised services and rapid NSD that is critical for new service success. Originality/value – It is the first time that the development process of sponsorship deals is approached from an NSD perspective and analysed as a new business-to-business service.

Due to the increasing financial value of sport sponsorship, the selection of a sponsorship partner and the development of the sponsorship deal are crucial issues for sports businesses. This study examines the sponsorship selection and development process between football teams and their sponsors. This study is exploratory. Nine case studies were conducted involving three professional, premier league football clubs and six sponsoring organizations, two major sponsors of each club. Results were analysed with content analysis. Findings indicate that the most important selection criteria used from both sides are fit in corporate values of the two partners; revenue opportunities, and possible image enhancement from the deal.Also, results show that both sides use a structured process for developing the sponsorship deal that includes 3 major stages, information collection; preparation and presentation of proposal, and negotiations and contract sign. Also, we find that the sport property only sends proposals whereas the sponsor only receives; the actors in each stage of the process vary, and the extent of the process is affected by the duration and quality of the relationship between the two partners. The study involves nine cases and has limited generalizability. Future research should substantiate results in other settings and using quantitative methods. The findings of this study help sport managers to structure and formalize their sport sponsorship selection and development process. This way sport entities will be able to select the best possible partners for sponsorship and exploit to the fullest extent the money involved from both sides of the partnership (sponsors and sponsees). For the first time a structured process for development of new sponsorship deals is designed.This can help sport managers in managing sponsorships effectively and fast.