Sponsorship antecedents and outcomes in participant sport settings
International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship
ISSN: 1464-6668
Article publication date: 17 May 2018
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to measure participants’ sponsorship awareness, and assess a model designed to predict participants’ behavioral intentions toward the sponsors of the Fayetteville Race Series.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on non-experimental survey research design using path analysis.
Findings
Perceived sponsor goodwill had a positive direct effect on participants’ sponsor behavioral intentions, as well as a positive indirect effect partially mediated by sponsor image. Sponsor image and future event participation also had positive direct effects on behavioral intentions. Overall, participants had very positive perceptions of the sponsors’ goodwill and image, and indicated positive future intentions. Participants’ ability to identify event sponsors through aided recall was inconsistent between the two events studied.
Practical implications
The positive outcomes for sponsors observed in this study should make small, regional, participant-based sport events appealing marketing channels, especially for generating goodwill in the community. Further, even small sponsorship spends can have a significant impact on these smaller events, since traditional funding sources continue to be cut.
Originality/value
Existing literature on sponsorship of participant sport-based events has generally focused on large events (i.e. marathons that draw participants nationally), despite the prevalence of smaller scale, regional events around the world.
Keywords
Citation
Eddy, T. and Cork, B.C. (2019), "Sponsorship antecedents and outcomes in participant sport settings", International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 26-42. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-05-2016-0018
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited