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.

Background: Customer-based brand equity (CBBE) is the differential effect that brand knowledge has on consumers’ response to that brand’s marketing. This research seeks to apply CBBE to action sports sponsorship in a South African context. CBBE was used to investigate the following; • The impact of sponsorship intervention on CBBE<br> • How multiple CBBE objectives can be achieved through sponsorship<br> • The differential effect of sponsorship leveraging activities on CBBE<br> • The influence of interest and involvement in an event on CBBE <br> Results: A quasi experiment, using interrupted time series analysis, found that only brand awareness was raised owing to sponsorship intervention. Sponsors were not very successful at achieving multiple objectives, while some did manage to achieve their primary objective. It was found that the impact of leveraging activities, according to type of brand, had a differential impact on CBBE. Very little association was found between the level of interest and involvement and CBBE. Conclusion: A framework for sponsors to manage CBBE objectives, sponsorship activities and evaluation was presented. New marketing and leveraging techniques are continuously needed to maintain and raise CBBE perceptions. These techniques should leverage interest and involvement in the event to create goodwill and brand loyalty. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Βασικό αντικείμενο της παρούσας μελέτης είναι η μέτρηση των οφελών της αθλητικής χορηγίας, η οποία αποτελεί σήμερα μία από τις πιο διαδεδομένες μεθόδους επικοινωνίας μάρκετινγκ για τις επιχειρήσεις παγκοσμίως. Οι κύριες διαστάσεις της υπεραξίας της μάρκας («πιστότητα στη μάρκα», «αντιληπτή ποιότητα της μάρκας», «αναγνωρισιμότητα και συσχετισμοί της μάρκας») συμπεριλαμβάνονται στους στόχους της εργασίας και εξετάζονται σε συνάρτηση με την έννοια της «εναρμόνισης (fit) του χορηγού με το γεγονός». Το εμπειρικό μέρος ασχολείται με τη χορηγία της εταιρείας τηλεπικοινωνιών WIND στον 31ο Κλασικό Μαραθώνιο της Αθήνας (Νοέμβριος 2013) και εστιάζει τόσο στην εκτίμηση των οφελών όσο και στη διαφοροποίηση αυτών ανάμεσα σε τρεις ομάδες-στόχους (εθελοντές, δρομείς και θεατές). Η συλλογή δεδομένων πραγματοποιήθηκε με τη χρήση προσωπικού ερωτηματολογίου που συμπληρώθηκε από 420 ερωτώμενους ισότιμα κατανεμημένους στις τρεις ομάδες. Στα κυριότερα συμπεράσματα της έρευνας συμπεριλαμβάνονται η θετική αλληλεπίδραση της «εναρμόνισης» (fit) με τη «στάση προς το χορηγό» και με την «πρόθεση αγοράς των προϊόντων του» για τα επιμέρους δείγματα, καθώς επίσης και η διαφοροποίηση του βαθμού πρόβλεψης της «στάσης προς το χορηγό», της «πιστότητας στη μάρκα» και της «πρόθεσης αγοράς των προϊόντων του χορηγού» από τις υπόλοιπες εξεταζόμενες μεταβλητές, ανάμεσα στις επιμέρους ομάδες. / The main aim of the present study refers to the quantitative measurement of sport sponsorship’s benefits, which constitutes today one of the most popular marketing’s communication tools for businesses worldwide. Basic dimensions of brand equity (brand loyalty, perceived quality of brand, brand awareness and associations) are included in the objectives of the study and examined in terms of congruence (fit) between the sponsor and the event. The empirical part of the study is conducted upon WIND’s sponsorship on the 31st Classic Marathon of Athens (November 2013) and focuses both on the evaluation of benefits and the differentiation between three target-markets (volunteers, athletes, spectators). Data collection was carried through the administration of questionnaires among 420 respondents, equally spread across the three samples. The findings of the research show the positive interaction between event-sponsor fit and the attitude toward the sponsor, as well as the sponsorship-linked purchase intention, among the three groups of the sample. Moreover, another interesting conclusion of the research is the differentiation of the extent to which brand attitude, brand loyalty and sponsorship-linked purchase intention are affected by the examined equity variables, among the three group samples.

Sponsorship, and particularly sport sponsorship, continues to grow ahead of all other forms of marketing communication in stature and spend. As a result, there is a growing need for proper sponsorship management and accountability within organisations. The objective of the study was to evaluate how an organisation manages sponsorship to effectively enhance brand image, a long-term differentiator for brands. Focusing on the Energade brand, a qualitative case study method of research, using data from secondary sources and face-to-face interviews, was used to test the propositions developed through literature review. The study indicated that effective management of sponsorship entails setting of consistently aligned and prioritised objectives. In order for a sponsorship to enhance brand image, the sponsorship has to be leveraged at an optimal ratio; the sponsored property has to be congruent with the sponsoring brand at an intrinsic, positioning, and communication objective levels; and lastly, in order for sponsorship to effectively enhance shift brand image, its association with a sponsored property has to be long term. The Energade sponsorship fell short of enhancing the brand‟s Image. Whilst having some of the prescribed affective sponsorship management practices, a number of limitations were identified. Recommendations for managing sponsorship to enhance brand image, from planning, execution and evaluation were presented. Setting of objectives should be more rigorous, leverage activity and non-sponsorship messages should be complementary, sponsorship congruency should be beyond functional fit, and long-term sponsorship of a single property is more effective than sponsoring different properties over time. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Background: This research focused on sport sponsorship related to six sponsors from different industries that are affiliated with a South African football club, namely Kaizer Chiefs; and has drawn from the perceptions and experience of Kaizer Chiefs supporters at in their ability to identify and assess the six sponsors. Results: This research has provided a framework to investigate the interrelationships between sport sponsorship, sponsor awareness, corporate image and intention to purchase sponsors' products. The main findings of the research were that category sport sponsorship awareness has a positive effect on sponsor awareness; and that corporate image has a positive effect on intention to purchase sponsors' products. No significant positive relationship was found between sponsor awareness and corporate image. Furthermore, no conclusive evidence was found to support the hypothesis that sponsor awareness has a positive effect on intention to purchase sponsors' products. Conclusion: The framework proposed within this research has highlighted the supporting role that sponsor awareness plays in achieving media coverage objectives, as well as the role that corporate image plays in achieving sales objectives. The results have further emphasised that corporate image is the more dominant indicator of sponsorship effectiveness as it ultimately leads to increased sales. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Sport sponsorship on social media is a marketing promotional tool that has become increasingly popular. Further, the sport sponsorship spending is only expected to increase. Athletes are becoming brand ambassadors and communicators advertising products and brands on their social media channels. Collaborations between athletes and brands can be essential for both parties. Previous research has studied the concept of sport sponsorship´s influence on brand equity and sport sponsorship´s influence on social media engagement. However, to the best of the author's knowledge, no prior study has focused on how an individual's personality affects the perception of the brand personality of the sponsor brand, as well as the personality of the promoting athlete in the context of social media marketing. As culture differences have been reported to affect sport sponsoring, the decision was taken to focus on the Swedish market, which has not been studied before. Thus, the following research question was put forth: How do Swedish consumers perceive sport sponsorship on social media, and what are the effects of congruence? Through a mixed method approach the study aimed to answer the research question. The aim of the study was to develop a deeper understanding around sport sponsorship on the social media platform Instagram and how it affects consumers' attitude towards and perception of the brand acting as a sponsor. An online questionnaire was sent out to consumers within Generation Z as well as interviews were held with business practitioners to gain information from various perspectives. The findings of the study will give brand managers within the Swedish market insights into the consumers´ attitude towards sport sponsorship which will be of major importance when planning future activities within this area. The study is based on the theoretical framework centered on the Big 5 Personality Traits, Brand Personality and Congruency Theory. Results reveal that congruence between the consumer ́s personality traits and the athlete ́s personality traits as well as between the athlete´s personality traits and the brand's personality both have an impact on how consumers perceive the outcomes of sport sponsorship on social media. The outcomes studied were consumers´ perception of fit, consumers´ attitude towards the sport sponsorship, brand reputation and consumers perception of self-brand connection. Looking at the brand personality dimensions, sincerity is considered to be highly essential for a brand as it is this dimension alone that was shown to have an effect on how consumers view the sport sponsorship when it comes to overall fit, attitude, reputation and self-brand connection. An athlete, on the other hand, should be sought by being perceived as conscientious, as this trait is shown to have a positive impact on the congruence between the respondent and the athlete and influences the perceived overall fit, attitude, and self-brand connection. However, results also reveal that different athletes are perceived differently and thus the outcomes of the sport sponsorship, from the sponsoring brand´s perspective, may differ.

Inom de flesta idrottsföreningar kommer ofta en stor del av intäkterna från sponsring och det är lika viktigt vid en större tävling eller evenemang som det kan vara avgörande för mindre klubbars överlevnad. Under de senaste trettio åren har sponsring utvecklats från en småskalig verksamhet i ett begränsat antal industriländer till en större global industri. Syftet med denna studie är att erhålla en djupare förståelse för sponsorskap inom ridsporten. Fokus kommer vara på de sponsrande företagens motiv såsom effekter, exponering och mål. För att kunna bidra med kunskap om sponsring inom en sport som utmärks av stort hobbyinslag, d.v.s. stora tävlingar men ofta med icke-professionella deltagare. Det är en kvalitativ studie som bygger på ett flertal semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Datainsamlingen består av intervjuer genomförda med sponsoransvariga på olika företag samt med rättighetsinnehavare på olika eventbolag som sysslar främst med ridsports evenemang. Att kunna mäta ett sponsorskap har konstaterats relativt sällsynt många gånger. Det kan vara extremt kostsamt och tidskrävande. Ofta prioriteras det inte att lägga extra ekonomiska resurser på externa tjänster och därav utvärderar man inte. Under studien har detta tagits upp endast hos ett intervjuobjekt. Där läggs hellre resurser och tid på att arbeta fram goda relationer och samarbeten. Däremot kan mätningen av ett sponsorskap vara väl värt pengarna och tiden om man vill se utfallet av sin investering och dessutom för att kunna analysera och förändra tills nästa satsning. Det krävs definitivt mer medvetenhet kring vikten av mätning. / It is not unusual that a large part of the incomes in a sports club comes from sponsor fees. It is equally important at a major competition or event and for smaller clubs it can be crucial for its survival. Over the past thirty years, sponsorships have evolved from small-scale operations in a limited number of countries to a major global industry. The purpose of this study is to obtain a deeper knowledge about how sponsorship in equestrian sport. The focus will be on the sponsoring companies motives such as effects, exposure and goals. To be able to contribute knowledge about sponsorship in a sport characterized by large hobby element, that is, big competitions but often non - professional attendance. It is a qualitative study based on a number of semi-structured interviews. Data collection consists of interviews conducted with the sponsorship managers in different companies and with rights holders in various events company engaged primarily in the equestrian events. Being able to measure a the effects and outcome of a sponsorship has been found relatively rare many times. It can be expensive and very time consuming. Often the priority is not to put additional financial resources on external services and therefore the evaluation will not be a priority. There is added more resources and time to develop good relations and cooperation. However, the measurement of a sponsorship can be well worth the money and time if you want to see the outcome of their investment and moreover to analyze and change until the next time a sponsorship comes up. It definitely requires more awareness of the importance of measurement.

Sport has a unique ability to convey different values. With a set of values that convey joy and fellowship, democracy and participation, the right to be with, and fair play, it is no wonder that the sport now has a major impact on society. Sports organizations has become an attractive platform for companies to establish their marketing strategies. This is accomplished through sponsorship. Sponsorship as a marketing strategy has increased tremendously in the past two decades compared to traditional marketing. Being seen through sponsorships has become a part of many companies marketing strategy. Sponsorship can be applied when companies, for example, wants to strengthen their operations and reach out to their target customer. However, it has been difficult to measure if the companies that sponsor sees impact of their sponsorship. What makes businesses out of the invested capital to a sports organization?

Abstract Title: Sponsorship of grassroots- and youth football teams: A qualitative study from the sponsors’ perspective. Authors: David Arvidsson and Christoffer Rex Hansen Charles. Supervisor: Hèléne Laurell. Level: Bachelor thesis in marketing (15 Swedish credits), Spring 2016. Keywords: Sponsorship, Sport sponsorship, Local sponsorship, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Football,Grassroots, Effectiveness measurement. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of sponsoring grassroots- and youth football teams. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework begins with theory regarding sponsorship. CSR and its importance are also discussed. A link between sponsorship and CSR is brought forward at the end of this chapter. Methodology: A deductive approach and a qualitative method have been used in order to get a more detailed, deeper and descriptive explanation of the chosen subject. Empirical framework: The empirical framework was collected through personal interviews with respondents from five different companies. The respondents were the ones responsible for the work with sponsorship at each respective company. Conclusion: Companies are involved in the sponsoring of grassroots- and youth football teams in order to be seen as good citizens. It is also seen as a brand building activity and away to build relationships. A link between CSR and sponsorship can be done and sponsorship can be used as a tool to communicate companies’ CSR-initiatives. Finally, are the effects from sponsorship not measured due to the difficulties in this process, however, methods for this purpose do exist, such as customer surveys.