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Determinants of sports sponsorship response

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Abstract

Despite the growing role of sponsorship in the marketing activities of firms worldwide, academic research in this area has been limited. Adopting a classical conditioning framework, this research examines the effects of consumers’ attitudes about a sports event, their perceptions of sponsor-event fit, and their attitudes about the sponsor on a multidimensional measure of sponsorship response. The results suggest that sponsor-event fit, perceived sincerity of the sponsor, perceived ubiquity of the sponsor, and attitude toward the sponsor are key factors in generating a favorable response from sponsorship. Liking of the event and perceived status of the event have differing significance depending on how response is measured. Sponsorevent fit also has interaction effects with perceived status of the event and personal interest in the event. The implications of these findings for sponsors and event managers are examined, and future research directions are outlined.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Richard Speed & Peter Thompson

Authors
  1. Richard Speed
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  2. Peter Thompson
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Additional information

Richard Speed is an associate professor of marketing in the Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. He received his Ph.D. from the Loughborough University of Technology, United Kingdom. In addition to sponsorship, he researches and publishes on decision-making for marketing strategy and the use and management of brands.

Peter Thompson is principal of Et2 Sponsorship Strategy and a visiting research fellow of the Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. He holds a B.D.Sc. and an MBA from the University of Melbourne. His reserch of sports marketing, personality management, and sports broadcasting.

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Speed, R., Thompson, P. Determinants of sports sponsorship response. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 28, 226–238 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070300282004

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