Is Sport Sponsorship Global? Evidence from the United States, the United Kingdom, and India

Abstract

This study sought to develop and test a cross-national sport sponsorship model. Sponsorship and Hofstede's cultural dimensions theories were utilized for the theoretical framework for this study. A survey was conducted with 522 Chelsea FC soccer club's fans from the United States, the United Kingdom, and India in the area of sponsorship through a jersey sponsorship. Single and multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the global sport sponsorship model. The results acknowledged the measurement and structural invariance of a global model for five sport sponsorship outcomes (i.e., sponsorship awareness, sponsorship fit, attitude toward the sponsor, gratitude, and purchase intentions), controlling for age, gender, education, household income and the household's decision maker. The statistical analyses indicated that structural relationships among the analyzed sponsorship outcomes were invariant among all three countries. The effect of sponsorship fit predicted the presence of purchase intentions, while the attitude toward the sponsor was the strongest predictor of purchase intentions.

The Impact of Sport Sponsorship Perceptions and Attitudes on Purchasing Decision of Fans as Consumers—Relevance for Promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Practices

“…It is also important to point out that in the past studies sponsorship has been most frequently explored in terms of its effectiveness in encouraging consumers to purchase products and services from the sponsor that promotes the same values that the target consumers represent and adhere to [16,23], or by emphasizing the importance of having a value fit between sponsors and a sponsored organization or sport club [23][24][25][26]. Viewed in this context, the additional value of this research stems from the fact that the results obtained show that sport sponsorship can be an effective method of encouraging the reverse process-the adoption of a new set of values by consumers, represented and promoted by sport sponsors.…”

“…This result is in line with the research results carried out by Armstrong [22], which states that philanthropic sponsorship will have a stronger impact on improving the corporate image of commercial sponsorship. Another factor that influences consciousness and sponsorship attitudes is the fit between the sponsor and the sponsored subject [16,17,[23][24][25][26], as well as caution in the selection of sponsored subjects in order to avoid adverse effects [27][28][29][30][31]. Finally, the activation of sponsorship is highlighted as one of the factors that predispose the efficiency of the sponsorship investment [24,27,29,32,33].…”

Attachment points, team identification and sponsorship outcomes: evidence from the Indian Premier League

“…Individuals with high team identification have a positive attitude towards the team sponsor brand and show positive purchase intentions. These individuals also indulge in spreading positive WOM about the sponsoring brand (Visentin et al , 2016; Zaharia et al , 2016a, b; Wolfsteiner et al , 2015).…”

“…The attitude that individuals form about a sponsor influences their consumer behaviour. Attitude towards a sponsor has been studied extensively in the sports marketing and sponsorship literature (Biscaia et al , 2013; Dick, 2019; Kyoum Kim et al , 2011; Kim and Zhang, 2019; Lee and Cho, 2009; Maricic et al , 2019; Mazodier and Merunka, 2012; Visentin et al , 2016; Zaharia et al , 2016a, b). According to Alexandris et al (2007), the development of a favourable attitude towards a sponsor is a pivotal element of sponsorship effectiveness.…”

“…Gantz (2011) showed the motivation to follow sports may vary with age. Specifically, in the sports context, it is seen that age differences play a role in shaping fan's consumption behaviour (Park et al , 2016; Tobar, 2006; Zaharia et al , 2016a, b). Toder-Alon et al (2019) found that age moderated the relationship between team identification and the related fans' behaviour.…”