This research comprises three interconnected studies that, when considered together, attend to the dissertation’s purpose of presenting an integrated conceptual framework for ambush marketing in the Olympic Games. This has been accomplished in two ways: (1) the use of institutional theory, supported by network theory, as a lens to view and understand evolutionary processes in Olympic sponsorship and ambush marketing and (2) the use of grounded theory to build a conceptual framework of ambush marketing from the findings. Broadly, the model suggests the evolution of ambush marketing is partially impacted by, and an outcome of, institutional forces and considerations. Study I examines the process of institutionalization in the evolution of Olympic sponsorship during its most critical period of growth. It is argued that three key periods of change for sponsorship and two for ambush marketing exist during this time. Furthermore, these periods of change, most specifically concerning anti-ambush marketing practices, suggest the institutionalization of anti-ambush marketing legislation in the Olympic Games. Study II examines how Olympic ambush marketing stakeholder power and transfer of sponsorship and ambush marketing knowledge has influenced institutional processes toward the state of anti-ambush legislation as institutionalized brand protection. Centrality measures suggest the International Olympic Committee and Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games demonstrate the greatest stakeholder influence within the Olympic ambush marketing network. It is further argued the influence resulting from the structure of Olympic ambush marketing networks impacts the institutional processes of objectification and sedimentation. Study III examines the contemporary state of Olympic sponsorship evidenced by institutionalized legislated brand protection. While direct marketing implications of anti-ambush marketing legislation are minimal, it is argued the practice represents a portion of a regime of brand protection and that public relations outcomes of legislated brand protection must be carefully managed as part of a brand management strategy. Similarly, proportionality and managing expectations are arguably important in the understanding and application of such laws. Finally it is suggested that while the Olympic Movement may be viewed as an early adopter of anti-ambush legislation in the mega-event field, the individual character of each Olympic Games will interfere with complete isomorphism.

The thesis deals with the sponsorship in small sports organizations. The theoretical part of thesis specifies the term sponsorship, sports sponsorship and also defines the concept of a small sports organizations and their importance in sport. In the practical part, we used a mixed method approach. The first phase was qualitative survey and we conducted semi-structured interviews in 9 sports organizations. The second part is a quantitative survey among officials and members of sports clubs and fans (the target group of advert). The results reveal the level of sponsorship within the small sports organizations and define its importance for these organizations and the sponsors itself. The work provides useful advice for sports organizations in acquisition of new sponsors.

This thesis deals with the topic of the economy of sports events. In The practical part describes three different sports events: Mácháčský pohodář, Jablonecký běh do pohody and Tygří skiatlon. On each of them is demonstrated one of the specific activities leading to the organization of medium-sized sports events (from 100 to 500 participants). The main goal is to reveal (in detail) the issue of the organization, financing and promotion of sports events and thus provide readers with guidance for future events of similar structure. The work is further discussed the issue how to organize the event with the aid of project management. The next task is to analyze and evaluate the economic impact of selected sports events to the region in which it is held. The result of this analysis was finally confirm the hypothesis that medium-sized sports events, in our case Mácháčský pohodář, have a relevant economic impact on the area in which they are organized.

Much has been written, by academics, about the impact sponsorship announcements have on the share price performance of sponsoring firms. The objective of this study was to investigate if this phenomenon was true for JSE listed companies with particular focus on three announcement categories i.e. (i) new, (ii) renew and (iii) termination. The Efficient Market Hypothesis as an aspect of Investment Finance behaviour was explored to understand why sponsorship announcements would or would not have an impact on the share price performance. For this study, descriptive research was done with a causal design as the study tested the relationship between two or more variables. The study analysed 118 sponsorship announcements made by 19 JSE listed companies over a period of eleven years and five months. The study then assessed the share price performance for the period 120 days prior to and 120 days after the announcement date. The share price holding periods were adjusted for that of the average Financial Services (J212) Index, the Industrial (J212) Index and the Resources (J258) Index respectively to ascertain whether the returns were abnormal or not. The results have shown that there were no evidence that the announcement of a (i) new, (ii) renewed or (iii) terminated sponsorship do have a significant impact on the performance of share prices for JSE listed companies. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The purpose of this paper is to examine how consumers’ online purchase intention is impacted by sponsorship transparency and the use of disclosure. An online survey was collected from 135 people from 41 different countries around the world. The collected data was used to test the proposed four hypotheses and was analyzed with a linear regression test. The findings suggest that the ethical practice of sponsorship transparency negatively impacts purchase intention; and posits that an explicit sponsorship disclosure has no positive impact on purchase intention. However, the characteristic trait of the influencer, i.e. transparency and authenticity and their source credibility has a significant impact on prompting consumers toward purchase intention.

Title: Sponsorship activation of partners of Czech Athletic Federation Objectives: The aim of thesis is to create proposals for activating sponsorship for intentionally selected entities in connection with the Czech Athletic Federation on the basis of their own observations, case studies and in- depth interviews. The secondary goal is to evaluate the profile of companies in the role of sponsors and to determine the proposal for activations as a new discipline. Methods: Qualitative research based on in-depth interviews with representatives of selected companies, a case study and analysis of secondary data from documents dealing with athletics were used to determine specific activation proposals. Results: The results obtained from the research and the analysis of the profile of the Czech Athletic Federation and selected companies were used to determine specific proposals for activations for individual companies with involvement in Czech sports practice. Keywords: athletics, marketing communication, new media, sponsorship activation

Sponsorship is one of the most effective marketing strategies for corporations to communicate with their target audience as well as improving their brand. The most common sponsorship is sports related, despite this there is a lack of research regarding the on-field performance effect on sponsorship. The aim of this study is to investigate the importance of the on-field performances and their effects on the team’s sponsorships.   The following marketing model and marketing theories have been used: A-ERIC Model, Brand Equity and Brand Image Transfer. All of these have previously been used in different scientific studies and has, because of this, been chosen to act as the foundation of this study. A qualitative data collecting method has been used in this study to be able to work towards the aim of it and fulfil the ambition to answer the scientific questions asked. With an interview guide as support, five semi structured interviews have been created and completed.   The result of this study show that the on-field performances has an indirect effect on the sponsorships. Poor performances can result in worse exposure for the sponsorships and affect them negatively. On the other hand, the fact that sponsorgiver show their support can give them a positive effect because they appear loyal to the sport organization. It also became clear that communication had a major impact and depending on how the sport organization chooses to communicate its goals, it will determine the expectations for sponsorship. Additionally, the study has also shown that communication has a big effect on how important the on-field performances are for the sponsors. The communication between the sponsorgiver and sponsortaker, also has a big effect on how important the on-field performance is for the sponsor.

Det finns stora skillnader i hur ekonomiska resurser fördelas i dam- och herridrotten, trots att fördelningen mellan antalet utövare är mer jämnt fördelad mellan män och kvinnor. Sponsring är en stor och betydande del av de ekonomiska resurserna för idrottsverksamheter, likväl går de största sponsringsinsatserna till herridrotten. Det anses dock finnas en kunskapslucka i vilka marknadsfördelar som kan finnas i sponsring av damidrott. Studiens syfte är därför att ta reda på vilka motiv som kan ligga till grund för att företag väljer att sponsra eller att inte sponsra damidrott, vilka marknadsfördelar det kan leda till att sponsra damidrott samt identifiera potentiella utvecklingsområden för sponsring av damidrott. Forskningsdesignen på denna studie är en kvalitativ metod i form av expertintervjuer som utgick från en semistrukturerad intervjuguide. Det framkom att samhällsnytta och exponering är de vanligaste motiven till sponsring av dam- och herridrott. Då det nuförtiden finns ett större krav på företag att ta ett socialt ansvar anses det vara en fördel till damidrotten. På grund av den höga konkurrensen som finns inom herridrotten har det blivit svårare för sponsorer att urskilja sig från andra konkurrenter i det mediebrus som uppstår. Det anses därför vara en fördel för damidrotten i och med en ökad möjlighet för företag att differentiera sig från övriga konkurrenter. Avslutningsvis kom vi fram till att det finns en stor okunskap generellt om sponsring och om sponsring av damidrott. Både hos företag men också hos rättighetsinnehavare, vilket identifieras som ett utvecklingsområde. / There are substantial differences in how financial resources are distributed in the women’s and men’s sport, even though the number of athletes is more equally distributed between men and women. Sponsorship is a large and significant part of how these investments are distributed as the largest sponsorship efforts go to men’s sport. However, we see a knowledge gap in how market benefits can be used in sponsoring women's sports. The purpose of this study is to find out which motives companies have to sponsor or to not sponsor women's sports, discover what market advantages sponsoring women’s sport can lead to, and identify potential development areas for sponsoring women's sports. This is a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with experts. The results of this study reveal that CSR and exposure are the most common motives for sponsoring women's and men’s sports. Since there is now a greater pressure on a company to adopt social responsibility, it is considered to be an advantage to women's sports. Due to the high level of competition that exists in men’s sport, it is more difficult for sponsors to differentiate themselves in the marketing clutter. Sponsoring of women’s sport is then considered to be an advantage. Lastly, the findings of this study show that there is a great deal of ignorance in general about sponsorship and the sponsorship of women's sports, both in companies and also in rightsholders, which can be seen as an area of improvement.

Title: Possibilities of sponsorship activation during motorsports event Objectives: The aim of this thesis is to create model projects of sponsorship activation during motorsports event. Methods: Model projects of sponsorship activation were processed on the basis of structured interviews with managers of sponsoring companies, on the case study of researches of motorsport and on the basis of the analysis of secondary data from documents referring to motorsport. Results: Results of researches provided basis data for creation of the model projects of sponsorship activation for sponsoring companies of rally. These basis date are: conditions for sponsorship in rally, characteristics of sponsoring companies, sponsorship offers, channels for sponsorship, target groups and goals of sponsoring companies. Model projects were processed on existing strategies for sponsorship activation. Keywords: Rally, marketing and communications goals of companies, sponsorship, advertising.

AbstractKeywords: Brand image, brand identity, sponsorship, betting, football, branding. Purpose: How does Swedish Elite Football (SEF) work with its main sponsors Unibet and OBOS based on its brand identity and how is this perceived through brandimage? Methodology: The study is based on a qualitative approach. With semi-structured interviews and document analysis, we have collected material that has been processed through a thematic analysis. Theory: Theoretical starting points in this study are the concepts of brand image, brand identity and positioning. Results and conclusions: Previous research showed that gambling addiction and a normalization of betting were consequences formed in England since 1992 after a high exposure of gambling companies. This led to unhealthy betting behaviour, especially among adolescents, which may have affected the league's reputation. In our analysis, we investigated SEF's use of a privately owned gaming company as the main sponsor from a brand perspective. Based on SEF's brand identity, the organization will now be associated with Unibet in their exposure and marketing, which also means that their association will fall on SEF. Thus, SEF needs to create a good brand image for the gaming company, which it tries to do through different types of projects. Hemmaklubben and Unicoach are social projects that will develop Swedish football by, for example, training coaches further to develop better own products from the academies. SEF and Unibet have also initiated work against gambling addiction. They explain the project as that the problem is something that affects both organizations and should therefore be solved by the organizations. In this way, they want to inform the public that there are many benefits to the new collaboration, which are factors that strengthen SEF's identity. Based on our review of previous material, we can ́t see any previous studies where private betting companies as the main sponsor of a league social projects have done to counteract unhealthy betting behaviour, which SEF and Unibet do. From this point of view, we believe that the view of SEF's brand is partly dependent on the results the social projects will show. At present, SEF believes that they have received a positive response after turbulent discussions when the collaboration became official. Social projects have calmed the storm and supporters are probably waiting for the consequences of the values the collaboration can have. Thus, brand identity is probably dependent on positive results of the projects to be able to show that the organizations do have a value for Swedish Elite Football. This will then lead to a perception (brand image) about the organization. In further studies, we would like to see further research5on the organization's brand image to see how this has actually been received by supporters of SEF and whether the projects have been successful or not.