Sports sponsorship effects on customer equity: an Asian market application

Abstract

The authors of this study investigate sponsorship effects on customers in Korea and China, specifically to determine whether current sponsorship research applies to Asian countries and whether the model is significantly different between Korea and China. For this purpose, 251 Koreans and 309 Chinese participated in a survey. The findings suggest that appropriate fit between the sponsor and the sports event enhances brand loyalty and customer equity by positively influencing attitude toward the sponsor and brand image. However, in China, the sponsor's fit did not directly impact brand image. As expected, sporting event experience search positively affects attitudes toward the sponsoring brand, which enhances brand image. Koreans' more favourable attitude toward the sponsoring brand positively influences their brand preference, but favourable attitude does not significantly affect Chinese consumers' perceived congruency with a product. Brand image positively impacted brand preference, and therefore confirms brand personality's congruence effect in both countries. Both brand image and brand preference directly and positively enabled brand loyalty to develop more favourable customer equity. Koreans, however, showed higher effects in the relationships between brand image and brand loyalty and between brand loyalty and customer equity.

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

“…According to Rowe and Gilmour (2010), the way sports are consumed in Asian countries is substantially different from the Western countries. Researchers in the recent past have also highlighted that there is a difference in sponsorship attitudes across Western countries and Asia (Hino and Takeda, 2020; Pan and Huang, 2019; Kaplan and Langdon, 2012; Lee and Tan, 2019; Liu et al , 2015; and, Rowe and Gilmour, 2010). Asians' response to sponsorship programs is different from their Western counterparts in the way they process sponsorship information (Aaker and Sengupta, 2000).…”

An Empirical Exploration of Sports Sponsorship: Activation of Experiential Marketing, Sponsorship Satisfaction, Brand Equity, and Purchase Intention

“…Shank and Lyberger ( 2014 ) considered sports sponsorship as an investment in a sports entity (e.g., athlete, league, or event) to achieve a company's marketing goals or promotional strategies. A large body of literature supports the arguments that sports sponsorship can improve corporate image and enhance consumers' purchase intention regarding the sponsoring brand (e.g., Liu et al, 2015 ; Eddy and Cork, 2019 ). In addition, researchers have found that the longer the sponsorship lasts, the stronger the link between the sponsor's brand image and the sponsored sports event in a consumer's memory (Cornwell and Humphreys, 2013 ).…”

“…Keller ( 2001 ) asserted that as brand strength increases, consumers are more likely to purchase branded products and pay a premium price. Referring to sports sponsorship events, prior studies have pointed out that by shifting the image from the sponsored event to the sponsoring company, corporate brands can be enhanced, thereby affecting consumers' willingness to purchase products or services (Crompton, 1994 ; Chien et al, 2011 ; Liu et al, 2015 ). Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis:…”

Sponsoring the football national team

“…Visentin et al (2016) also favor a consumer-oriented perspective on the role of attitude towards sponsor brands and sponsee involvement in determining customers’ reactions to sponsorship activities. In reference to the Chinese market, Liu et al (2015) noticed that sponsor–event fit does not directly impact brand image, but sporting event experiences affect attitudes that enhance sponsors’ brand image. Speed and Thompson (2000) suggest that, in addition to sponsor–event fit, perceived sincerity of sponsors and attitudes towards sponsors are key factors in generating a favorable response to sponsorships.…”