Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore how event volunteers, athletes and onsite spectators perceive the impact of sport event sponsorship on future purchase intentions of the event sponsor brand. Design/methodology/approach – The research problem was based on propositions by Novais and Arcodia (2013) and proposes relationships between sponsor–event fit, brand attitude, perceived brand quality and sponsor brand purchase intentions. Data were collected from 352 Greek sport event consumers from the 2013 Classic Marathon event, in Athens, Greece, using onsite surveys targeting non-sponsor brand consumer spectators, volunteers and athletes. Findings – The results reveal that sponsor–event fit indirectly influenced sponsor brand purchase intentions via brand attitude and brand quality across all three groups. However, the fit did not directly influence perceived brand quality of the sponsor across all three groups and directly influenced purchase intentions of the athlete group. Research limitations/implications – Because of the duration of the event (one day), the sample sizes were not very large. In addition, the study was delimited on one sponsor from a single sport event. Therefore, the findings need to be tested with larger samples and additional sponsors and events to arrive to more robust conclusion about the purchase intention formation and its antecedents across multiple sport event consumer groups. Originality/value – This study explores the power of sponsor–event fit among non-consumers of the sponsor brand and how the “interface” of event consumption through the lenses of three groups, namely, volunteer, spectator and athlete, influences brand attitude, perceived brand quality and sponsor brand purchase intentions.

Purpose This study aims to examine the actions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at a national business context that is firmly defined by prolonged financial crisis. It does so by using a critical view on CSR disclosures in an attempt to get to the heart of the real matter of CSR, from both a thematic content and strategic orientation perspective. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a sample of 50 firms that operate in the Greek market and belong to the most significant sectors of the national economy. Their CSR disclosures are content-analyzed, providing a body of 836 pragmatic CSR actions. Findings The key findings of the study denote differences among the examined sectors, with banks and financial services being the most active in terms of CSR actions. Regarding the thematic content, firms choose mainly to implement actions with a societal character, while in terms of strategic orientation, they opt for CSR actions that serve existing cause-related programs without any brand presence. Moreover, profound interest appears for the external business environment, whereas the number of CSR actions with employees’ participation is limited. Practical implications The study offers a descriptive account of the actual CSR engagement in Greece amid a prolonged downturn, thus shedding light on the current CSR trends and deficits and helping decision makers embed CSR as an integral part of their business operation. Originality/value During adverse economic conditions, this study captures potential discrepancies between the “walk” (doing) and the “talk” (self-reporting) of CSR. In so doing, it contributes to CSR literature by exploring both the “what” and the “how” these actions are implemented.

This study examines the influence of employees' perception of their employers' corporate social responsibility (CSR) on their affective commitment. Drawing on social identity theory and positive organizational behavior in the context of human resource development, the study tests the mediating effect of employees' psychological capital (PsyCap) by using the bootstrap method to estimate the significance of indirect effects. Also, it accounts for any significant group differences across participants (Ps) and non‐participants in organizational CSR programs. A cross‐sectional survey was conducted among 260 employees of 23 firms in Greece. The measurement model was tested by applying confirmatory factor analysis and the research hypotheses were empirically tested by using structural equation modeling, independent samples t‐test, and chi‐square difference test. Findings revealed a strong and positive relation between employees' CSR perception and affective commitment, which is partially mediated by PsyCap. All scores of the study's variables were found to differ significantly in favor of Ps. However, the hypothesized interactions between variables were not proven to vary significantly on account of the employees' participation in CSR. The study advances the emerging micro‐level CSR literature by estimating the importance of employees' positive perception and participation in CSR.

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