Attitudinal constructs towards sponsorship

TLDR

Sponsorship has rapidly expanded in spending and prominence, becoming a cost‑effective alternative to traditional media, yet it remains under‑researched and poorly understood in its consumer impact. The study addresses the definitional ambiguity of sponsorship by proposing a revised definition. To better understand sponsorship effects, the authors develop and empirically test scales for three attitudinal constructs: event attitude, commercialization attitude, and behavioral intent. The scales consistently revealed the three constructs across three global sports events, offering insights for future research and managerial practice.

Abstract

Sponsorship has seen a rapid growth in recent years in both the dollars devoted to it and its prominence as a legitimate element of a company’s promotional mix. As traditional media have become more expensive and cluttered, sponsorship is viewed as a cost‐effective alternative. As an element of the promotional mix, sponsorship has been a stepchild when it comes to a careful understanding of how it works and its effect on consumers. While the promotional element of advertising has been carefully researched, sponsorship has rarely undergone systematic study. It is usually mentioned as “war stories” of specific examples which worked well for a company. Discusses the definitional dilemma of sponsorship, and proposes a revised definition. As a step towards better understanding the effects of sponsorship on consumers, develops and empirically tests scales for three attitudinal constructs: attitude towards the event; attitude towards commercialization; and attitude towards behavioural intent. Results show that the three constructs consistently appear across three global sports events. Discusses future research agenda and managerial implications.