Analyzing Sponsorship Outcomes across the Sports Industry

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of identity and goodwill on the effectiveness of sponsorship in terms of attitudes and purchase intentions (sponsorship outcomes) across three different sponsorship categories (a professional sport organization, a nonprofit organization and a cause-related organization). Data were collected using an online survey distributed across ten different classes at the University of Minnesota (N = 191). Participants were randomly assigned a survey about one of the three sponsorship categories and a hypothetical sponsorship. Participants were then asked questions about their organizational identity and goodwill towards the sponsee, followed by questions about their purchase intentions and attitudes towards the hypothetical sponsor. The results showed that identity and goodwill did in fact influence sponsorship outcomes. These variables were also influenced by the sponsorship categories. In addition, the findings suggest that sponsorship categories were statistically significant to purchase intentions. Furthermore, the findings suggest that goodwill mediates a relationship between sponsorship categories and purchase intentions. This study suggests that sport managers should leverage their organization’s identity and goodwill to attract more sponsors with a higher return on investment than other forms of marketing.