{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.026334519572953737, 'fraction_numerical': 0.002135231316725979, 'mean_word_length': 5.47926267281106, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Can Sports Sponsorship Affect Consumers’ Motivation for Sports Consumption?

Abstract Most of the ample research literature into the outcomes of sports sponsorship focuses on consequences for the sponsor. Consequences for the sponsor-object, i.e., the sponsored sport, sports event, or team, have generally been ignored. In this paper, we investigate if and how sponsors affect consumers’ motivation for sports consumption. Drawing on the literature on sponsorship, branding, and advertisement, we identify three sponsor-related factors and one consumer-related factor that affect this motivation. To test our hypotheses, an online experiment with a sample size of 104 observations was conducted. Using regression analysis, we find that the perceived sincerity of the sponsoring brand and consumers’ sports involvement have a significant positive direct effect on motivation for sports consumption. We also identify event-sponsor fit as a moderating variable between attitude toward the sponsoring brand and the motivation for sports consumption. This study contributes to academic research by extending the sponsorship literature to outcomes for the sponsor-object/sponsee. It also has practical implications in that it provides sports managers with information about factors they should consider when they want to choose the right sponsor and avoid potential negative fan reactions (e.g., fan boycotts).