The aim of this thesis is to investigate and reflect about the different sponsorship relations between a Swedish sports retailer and their sponsored events. My case for this thesis is the brand Intersport and I am investigating the phenomena sponsorship and their different sponsorship relations and in this case in relation to sport events. A qualitative study has been conducted by doing interviews with representatives from three different events that Intersport are sponsoring, two interviews with Intersport and also observations during two of the events. Furthermore, a theoretical framework within sponsorship has developed through this process. The result of this study showed that there are different kinds of sponsorship relations between Intersport and their sponsored events. Moreover, there are differences in terms of how they are ranking sports and how much money and time they are investing in the specific events. This study showed that Intersport has different levels of professionalism and business relationships. Partille Cup has the highest position on that scale, Stockholm Marathon Group has the second place and Gothenburg Youth Games is in the bottom. The interviews resulted in a clear picture of how these sponsorship relations look like, the underlying reasons for cooperating with Intersport and this means that they are seeing the sports retailer as a large player, a good channel in terms of being connected to them and increase their awareness but also as a partner who can offer relevant products for their events. Lastly, meaningful relations is a key factor here and my result showed that it goes both ways.

There has recently been a marked increase in the number of reported cases of corruption in international sport. As such, a growing number of sponsors have taken remedial action in order to protect the reputation of their brand. This study has been designed to analyse how sponsors respond to the threat of corruption in sport and to identify the contextual factors that influence such a response. Maennig (2005) identified two forms of corruption – ‘management corruption’ and ‘competition corruption’. It is the latter, defined by Gorse & Chadwick (2010) as “any illegal, immoral or unethical activity that attempts to deliberately distort the outcome of a sporting contest (or an element within the contest) for the personal material gain of one or more parties involved in the activity” that provides a focus and context for this study and includes such behaviour as doping, tanking, match fixing and spot fixing. In order to identify how sponsors respond both to the threat of being associated with a property affected by this type of behaviour, also referred to as sporting transgression in this study, and to analyse instances of actual corruption, a four-stage research methodology has been employed. A database of cases of sporting transgression was created to provide contextual background and further rationale for the focus of this study; a series of preliminary interviews were conducted with professionals in and around the sponsorship industry to highlight the potential implications of corruption for sponsors; and a number of case studies were developed, recognising the key stakeholders in sponsorship management. A series of in-depth semi-structured interviews were then conducted with multiple stakeholders in the sport industry - sponsors, legal professionals with expertise in sponsorship and commercial managers in governing bodies of sport. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and then analysed using grounded theory coding techniques, allowing for key themes to emerge and responses to corruption in sport discussed. Analysis of the interview data indicates that sponsors adopt a ‘wait-and-see’ approach when dealing with the potential impact of corruption, relying on a number of factors to decide upon remedial courses of action. These factors have been conceptualised and a Sponsor Response to Sporting Transgression, or SRST, Model is proposed.

This thesis investigates the underlying mechanisms and processes that shape sport sponsorship in Cyprus. A systematic review of the international sport sponsorship literature (1980-2009) is undertaken and used as the guide for the qualitative empirical study concentrating on football sponsorship activity undertaken in Cyprus as a developing sport sponsorship market. The systematic review reveals sponsorship management structures, practices, tendencies, and models adopted at a range of national settings, and discloses contrasts that exist in different contexts. The findings of the systematic review highlight the management practices employed by sponsors, such as their motives, decision-making practices, activation and leveraging initiatives, objectives, and evaluation processes. With regard to the empirical investigation, sponsorship activity is viewed and interpreted within the broader social and cultural context in which it takes place. The analysis of the findings is informed by critical realism paradigm, so that the underlying causal mechanisms and structures shaping (or influencing) sponsorship activity in Cyprus are identified and discussed. Specifically, the findings of study, which focused on the top division of the national professional league, revealed the existence of a sponsorship continuum involving four significantly different sponsorship approaches, ranging from purely philanthropic to heavily rational and commercial. Interestingly, the study revealed the interdependence of global and local processes within the sponsorship-related practices, suggesting that sponsorship arrangements in this specific context are marked culturally by processes of glocalisation. Such processes appeared to be vividly expressed in sponsorship-related projects in Cyprus, and involved an amalgamation of several local and cultural factors such as a strong prevalence of localism, nationalism, political clientelism, and reliance on personal relations. Community pressures seemed to have a central role in sponsorship related decision-making, whilst sponsorship activity appeared also to be influenced by the structure of the sponsors industry, the organisational structure and corporate culture, as well as by the structure and local specificity of the football market in Cyprus. More specifically, competitive imbalance of the national league, politicisation of football, the level of competition within a particular industry, and centrality of authority and control (both organisational and cultural), are additional factors that appeared to impact sponsorship activity in the specific market.

Class of 2008 Abstract / Objectives: Continuing pharmacy education (CPE) programs are required for pharmacists to maintain licensure and necessary to maintain current clinical knowledge. This study attempts to compare the quality of CPE programs from industry sponsored versus non-industry sponsored sources. Methods: Three CE programs were analyzed by comparison to an established guideline source. Diabetes mellitus was selected as the disease state because there was a recently published and widely accepted guideline document available. Two CPE programs were industry sponsored and one was independent of industry. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) guideline document on the management of type 2 diabetes was used to develop a scoring tool. Each CPE program was evaluated for consistency with the ADA guideline, using the scoring tool. The results were analyzed using the Fisher’s exact test. Also, the number of times that a drug name was mentioned in each program was recorded. Results: There was some discordance between the content of the three CPE programs and the ADA guidelines, but no discernible pattern was seen. There was a statistically significant difference between the non-industry sponsored programs. There were some inconsistencies among the three programs relative to “mentions” of drug names, but again no consistent pattern. Conclusions: This work does not provide convincing evidence of bias among industry-sponsored CPE programs. In retrospect, the choice of the specific CPE programs may have been inappropriate considering the nature of the guideline document and the evaluation tool that was developed from it.

M.Comm. / Millions of people around the world watch motor racing on television, and millions of people journey to race circuits to experience personally the excitement and glamour [Howard, 1992: 81]. The ear-splitting noise, the smell of the fuel, the gleaming cars and the drivers - modem-day knights in armour, who do battle at unbelievable speeds. And behind every driver are sponsors, managers, engineers, mechanics and a whole team of professionals. Since cars were invented more than a century ago, men have felt an impulse to race them, while manufacturers have used the sport to prove the superiority of their vehicles.

Problem: Esports budgets and earnings have significantly increased in the past years whichhas increased the level of involvement of corporate sponsors in esports. Ironically, researchaimed at sponsorship within esports is not so abundant. Therefore, due to the lack of knowledge and information about sponsorship in esports and sponsor relationships withesport consumers, this thesis aims to connect already established sponsorship theories withthe new emerging market of esport events and competitions. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate how consumer purchase decisionsand perceptions are affected by sponsored products in esport within Sweden.Research question: From the purpose we arrived at the research question “What factorsaffect a consumer’s purchase decisions and perceptions of sponsored products in esportswithin Sweden”. Method: To achieve the purpose of our study, a quantitative research method has been used,conducting survey research to gather empirical data. For this research, we have used alreadyestablished concepts and theories based on sponsorship, brand image, and image transfer tofulfil the purpose of this research. Results: Consumers within Sweden can be affected by multiple factors such as the playersor the esports teams who use a specific product, the values shared with the sponsor, andperception of the esports teams or/and player. Conclusion: From the results of the questionnaire and the subsequent results from thestatistical analysis we managed to quantify the effects of sponsorship from the differentperspectives as well as the relationships between brand to consumer, brand to event, and brand to product.

Over the past decade sponsorship has shown high growth as a promotional vehicle. Research has found that positive fit between the event and the sponsor assists in information transference. Using current sponsorship literature this research extends current theory by; 1) identifying three dimensions determining fit; and 2) testing for the effect of sponsor-sponsor fit on brand judgments. Results suggest two dimensions primarily determine fit though both are not found together in either event-sponsor or sponsor-sponsor fit. It was also observed that this fit between sponsors did have an effect on brand attitudes and to be stronger than event-sponsor fit. Managerial implications and directions for future research are advanced in the conclusions.

The purpose of this study was to determine if personality fit between NASCAR drivers and their major sponsors affects the sponsorship outcomes of consumer attitudes toward the sponsor, attitudes toward the brand, and purchase intentions during a NASCAR event. Moreover, fan identification and product involvement were examined as moderators between personality fit and the three sponsorship outcomes. A cross-sectional, non-experimental, exploratory study was conducted at a NEXTEL Cup event in April 2007, the NASCAR Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Several hundred paper-and-pencil questionnaires were distributed to willing participants prior to the start of the race. A total of 385 questionnaires were distributed during the event, and 347 were completed and useable for data analysis, resulting in a 90% response rate. The demographic variables analyzed in this study showed that there were approximately 58% males and 38% females (percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding or missing responses). The majority of the sample was Caucasian (82%) and married (62%). Respondents at this event were fairly evenly distributed according to age with 11.2% in the 18-24 range, 25.6% in the 25-34 range, 33.7% in the 35-44 range, 18.2% in the 45-54 range and 7.5% in the 55 and older age range. Finally, most of the respondents were high school graduates (31%) or had some college experience (23%). Data analyses conducted in the study included a factor analysis, descriptive statistics (i.e., frequencies, means, and standard deviations), bivariate correlations, and hierarchical moderated regression analyses. Results indicated that there were three personality dimensions present among the NASCAR drivers and their major sponsors: (1) Excitement/Ruggedness, (2) Competence/Sophistication, and (3) Sincerity. Personality fit on all dimensions had a positive effect on each of the three dependent variables: attitude toward the sponsor, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intentions, with personality fit on Dimension 1 having the strongest overall impact. Fan identification moderated the relationship between personality fit and all three dependent variables. Product involvement had a significant direct effect on all three dependent variables, but had only a slight moderating effect on personality fit and attitude toward the sponsor.

Abstract Among advanced countries, such as in the US, West Europe, and Japan, attending artistic activities have long been the daily life of ordinary people. It is also prevalent of businesses in these countries to sponsor artistic activities or art institutes, through which businesses can feed back society and enhance their company images. In Taiwan, it has been a history for decades of enterprises sponsoring artistic activities and collecting arts. The traditional sponsorship of art originated from the friendships between business owners and artists or business owners¡¦ collection of artistic works. The corporate sponsorship of art in Taiwan can date back to Japanese Occupation (A.D. 1895~1945). In Japanese colonial days, Tai-chung entrepreneur, Zao-Jia Yang, was a renowned art supporter to island-wide artistic activities. During Yang¡¦s younger days, possessed with strong Taiwanese Awareness and literary penchant, he co-funded, with Pei-huo Tsai, the construction of Tai-Yang Fine Art Association. This famous fine art association had encouraged well-known painters of older generation like Shih-Chiao Lee¡BMei-shu Lee¡BCheng-Po Chen¡BChi-Chun Liao¡BSan-Lang Yang¡BShui-Long Yen to fully develop their talents, and pioneered the modern arts in Taiwan at then. Mr. Zao-Jia Yang could be deemed as the guardian god of early Taiwanese artists. Yang¡¦s followers like Mr. Pao-Thou Lin, former Chairman of Taiwan Cement Corporation¡BMr. Chen-fu Koo, former Chairman of Straits Exchange Foundation and Mr. Wen-Lung Hsu, the founder of Chi-Mei Corporation, and etc., have all contributed greatly to local artistic activity fund raising and arts collection in the past decades. To gain a better understanding on various types and paradigms of corporate sponsorship of artistic activities and arts collection, this study focus on the study of Chi-Mei Corporation, in hope that we could advocate the interaction between arts and businesses through deep interview and comprehensive analysis on the creation of Chi-Mei Museum. Through analysis,it is obvious that: Arts are no more the privilege or captive of the rich, enterprises through the operation of their funds or museums can assist academics, artists, and more ordinary people exposure to arts, thereby expanding art population as well as fulfilling the social obligation and citizenship of enterprises. Meanwhile, the resulting ideal economic environment will benefit enterprises themselves. Enterprises should treat arts investment in the same way with regular profitable business operations. The invisible arts value will have economic benefits from all sides. Aside from acknowledging that enterprises are an efficient private factor to promote government policy, government should recognize the essence of nation competitiveness¡Xthe substance of its people including culture development as well as academic credential and economic strength. The present pan-politics environment is against culture development. Government should expedite of legislation of Museum Law and related stipulations improvement to help private museum operation. If art collections are concealed from the public as treasures, the collections are preserved for its own value. The construction of private museum is necessary. It can play complementary role to public museum. According to David Throsby, art collector can be traced by their aesthetic value, spiritual value, social value, historical value, real value, i.e., a series of cultural characteristics, to study the arts collection behavior. Through the beauty, harmony, race uniqueness of artistic works, it helps human understanding of social substance, identity. It also helps reflect the status quo of a society. Artistic works convey meaning of itself and the culture valuation and symbolism of arts collectors. From the above perspectives, the author thinks that arts collection is an extreme passion for human spirit and culture. The difficulties of running private museum should not prevent us from encouraging its setup. According to Bruno S. Frey, investments on arts are tax avoidance in many countries. Although it is a truth known to the public, the tax incurred from owning art works is seldom treated in related study. It is impossible to neglect tax when calculating the profits. In different countries and time, taxation is various. Perfect arts collection, in author¡¦s opinion, aside from fond of arts, and need intellectual tactics more of financial strengths, market information, knowledge, aesthetic taste, and ideal seeking. Therefore, arts investment and its taxation leave ample room for successor to study further.

The object of the work: 2005 – 2006 season Lithuanian basketball league competitions sponsorship Research hypothesis: Lithuanian basketball league clubs sponsorship, positively impacts sponsors awareness, image and sales boosting. The purpose of the work: To evaluate sponsorship equity fore sponsors of Lithuanian basketball league clubs. Tasks of the work: a. To analyze sponsorship conceptions and place in marketing communications mix. b. To analyze sponsorship strategies. c. To analyze methods and models evaluating sponsorship success. d. Empirically calculate sponsorship equity fore sponsors of Lithuanian basketball league clubs. Conclusions: 1. Sponsorship can be either philanthropic or commercial. Philanthropic sponsorship implies the support of a cultural or social cause. But In most situations, sponsorship is commercial, i.e. the firm associates itself with a public event in order to gain direct commercial benefits: increase in consumer awareness, improvement in image, sales, etc. spon¬sorship is noted to be strategically different from advertising in certain respects unlike advertising, the medium and the creative message cannot always be tightly controlled by the sponsor, because sponsorship is often seen as indirectly influencing consumer perceptions of the brand, whereas the traditional advertising media are associated with directly influencing consumer perception. 2. Sponsorship strategies split between sponsorship strategies and counter-strategies... [to full text]