Theses on Sponsorship and Marketing
What Dictates Consumers’ Loyalty? (BSc)
Gustav Moberg (2023)
Abstract: Since American Airlines launched its first frequent flyer program in the 1980s, the use of customer loyalty programs has spread widely. They are now found in many industries in different shapes and forms. Empirical support and research behind loyalty programs as a legitimate marketing method are, however, mixed in terms of positive and negative findings. One side points to generally positive outcomes such as increased retention rates and share of wallet. Another side of the research suggests that other factors, such as satisfaction, determine repurchase intentions rather than the presence of a loyalty program.
The aim of this study is therefore to examine how the perception of a customer loyalty program, purchase motivation for low prices, and satisfaction determine customer loyalty. A self-completion questionnaire for members of a Swedish sports retailer's loyalty program was conducted to examine the research questions.
The results show that satisfaction was the only statistically significant predictor of loyalty. Perceived advantages, perceived complexity, and purchase motivation for low prices did not determine loyalty. Additionally, different membership levels in the focal loyalty program were found to have significant differences in perceived advantages, satisfaction, and loyalty.
Lovisa Wilhelmsson and Sofia Segerfors (2019)
Abstract: Today, sports events play an important part in companies' marketing strategies. This is mostly due to the strong interest sports evoke among people. As a result, commercial costs during these events are extensive and at times even excessive. Therefore, it is important for companies that the receiver of the commercial fully understands and can interpret the message. However, the emotional state of arousal that sports events can induce could potentially impair cognitive ability and thereby interfere with message comprehension.
This study aims to further investigate the impact that arousal, evoked by sports, has on cognitive ability. In addition, it examines how cognitive ability may affect receptiveness and generate different attitudes, intentions, and associations toward the brand.
By investigating these aspects using a quantitative approach, the following conclusions were drawn: arousal during sports events negatively affects an individual's cognitive ability, which results in difficulties interpreting complex advertising messages. Moreover, the level of arousal and the complexity of the commercial message influence attitudes, intentions, and associations toward the brand. The results emphasize the importance for companies of being aware of the receiver's emotional state when commercials air during sports events.
Anthony Grivas and Fabian Bratell (2018)
Abstract: Celebrity athletes have been powerful marketing tools throughout the professionalization and commercialization of sports. During the last couple of decades, the amount of sponsorship money allocated to the sports industry has rapidly increased, outpacing other entertainment sectors. Today, celebrity athletes go beyond their traditional role as spokespeople. Instead, they function as communication channels for their own brands as well as for the brands they endorse. They operate with greater freedom and develop closer relationships with their followers through continuous communication via social media. The increased exposure of their private lives places greater emphasis on athlete personality types, making this an important area of study.
Grounded in social psychology theory, this thesis examines the scandal sensitivity of different athlete personality categories. Using likeability and moral character as two personality dimensions, three categories - the Gentlemen, the Rebels, and the Villains - were formed and exposed to a charity fraud scandal stimulus. Survey respondents, mainly business students in their twenties, evaluated the athlete and the endorsed brand on several measures. A quasi-experimental design was used, comparing the responses of a treatment group and a control group. In addition, mediation analysis was used to better understand underlying relationships.
Although companies tend to partner with well-liked, uncontroversial athletes to mitigate risk, the findings show that high-moral, well-liked athletes- the Gentlemen - are the most scandal sensitive, exhibiting significant declines in attitudes and intentions toward both the athlete and the endorsed brand. Low-moral, less-liked athletes - the Villains - show no significant declines. Well-liked but lower-moral athletes - the Rebels - show some decline in attitudes toward themselves, but not toward the endorsed brand.
Sarah Ahnström and Sofia Albertsson (2014)
Abstract: Corporate sponsorship continues to grow globally. This study investigates corporations' engagement in sports, culture, and community-related sponsorship from a management control perspective. Previous research addresses individual control elements but does not acknowledge that these often interconnect within a control system. This study addresses that gap by examining how corporations manage sponsorship activities through holistic management control systems (MCS). The analysis is based on a multiple case study of six large Swedish companies active as leading sponsors in Swedish communities. Using an abductive research approach, the authors develop a theoretical MCS framework. The holistic MCS consists of five control elements, where Merchant and Van der Stede's (2012) object-of-control framework is complemented with Malmi and Brown's (2008) organizational structure control.
The findings show that various MCS configurations exist for sponsorship. Organizational structure and action controls are the primary elements, whereas result controls are less effective due to the difficulty of measuring sponsorship outcomes. Personnel and culture controls are also of limited application, but an ownership culture based on personal influence may enhance control rather than weaken it, which contradicts previousresearch.
Bernhard Böhm (2014)
Abstract: This study examines how sports team rivalry and other negative sponsorship effects can interfere with successful sponsorship agreements between sponsors and their sponsored entities. The study includes both quantitative and qualitative components. The quantitative part focuses on European club football and analyses rival fans' reactions in top competitions in Austria and Germany.
Results show that fans transfer negative rivalry feelings to rival sponsors. However, not all sponsors are equally affected. Influencing factors were analysed, and while the level of fan identification showed no significant effect, the reason for the sponsorship did. There is also a statistically significant interaction between sponsorship level and the geographic origin of a rival brand in shaping fan responses. The qualitative componentexamines how fans react when their favourite team's main sponsor behaves in a legally or socially controversial way. This was studied through an ethnographic analysis of two German football fan groups.
Findings suggest that longer and more intense sponsorship relationships lead fans to perceive the sponsor and team as one entity, which may reduce negative attitudes toward controversial sponsors over time. The study discusses implications for both managers and sports organizations.
Decision-making processes for different categories of sport sponsorship (BSc)
Anna Söderlind and Emma Nilsson (2014)
Abstract: Sport sponsorship is an increasingly common marketing activity. Companies spend billions of dollars annually on sponsorship, and sponsorship revenue constitutes an essential part of sports organizations' and athletes' income. Despite this, many aspects of sponsorship remain underexplored. This thesis aims to improve understanding of how decision-making processes differ across categories of sport sponsorship collaborations in Sweden. The study is based on interviews with ten Swedish companies across various industries and examines their sponsorship activities and processes.
By analysing the interview data using relevant marketing and management theory, the study identifies structures in decision-making processes across sponsorship categories. Some categories are characterized as traditional, with long-term contracts, vague objectives, and limited use of policies, resulting in unclear decision-making processes. Others are characterized as modern, with larger decision-making units, clear strategies, and active company involvement, leading to sponsorship activities closely aligned with core business operations.