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Purpose A sponsorship performance cycle of business-to-business (B2B) exchange is conceptualized, where distinct types of resources are invested by sponsoring firms into sponsored properties and the competitive success of those properties enhances returns to sponsors. While the latter return channel in this cycle is well-documented, the former investment channel has remained opaque. Recognizing this empirical missing link, this paper aims to illuminate the investment channel through a longitudinal analysis. Design/methodology/approach Based on 50 years of Formula One (F1) team and sponsor alliances, this study models the effects of three different sponsorship categories on team performance in the annual F1 constructors’ championship. Findings The results demonstrate that each incremental sponsor offering performance-based resources is associated with four additional team points in the championship, controlling for factors such as past success and team experience. Conversely, sponsors offering access to financial or operational resources have no competitive impact. This performance-based sponsor effect is illustrated in models of the current and following seasons. Research limitations/implications In combination with related literature, this study substantiates a complete sponsorship performance cycle in the motorsports context. Practical implications The findings contribute an empirically-based strategy for sustainable sponsorship support that emphasizes acquisition of performance resources in the business-to-business exchange over operational or strictly financial alternatives. Originality/value While scholars have discerned that sponsors invest heterogeneous resources into sponsored properties, and the competitive success of those properties can enhance returns to sponsors, this study demonstrates that particular resources invested by sponsors are related to the property’s competitive success.

Purpose - While various scholars have identified relationship marketing objectives as a rationale for sports sponsorship engagement, analytic investigations of the implications of a relational approach to the corporate sponsorship network have been slow to materialize. The purpose of this paper is to advance the discussion of sponsorship as a means of industrial sports marketing towards a network conceptualization, which can be dissected from both the perspective of the sponsoring firms and that of the sponsored enterprise.Design methodology approach - This paper employs an illustrative case-based approach to the application of network analysis tools as a means of exploring the relationship marketing dynamics of corporate sponsorship portfolios.Findings - Several research propositions and applicable network analytics are presented within the context of Formula One racing team sponsorship portfolios. The concepts of network range, density, power, growth, and social capital are explored in regards to their influence on network actors and prospective actors.Practical implications - Though often neglected in sponsorship research, B2B relational objectives are the focus of this paper, where various evaluative methods are suggested and their dynamic implications illustrated.Originality value - By utilizing an international contextual case and explicating several analytic network measures, this research extends the investigation of sports sponsorship beyond the image and awareness-based objectives that have dominated this area of research. This application of social network analysis to the study of inter-organizational networks in sport builds on the discussion of sponsorship as a bilateral relationship and advances the dialog towards a broader exploration of corporate sponsors and sport enterprises as network partners.

Purpose – Due in large part to the proprietary nature of costs, there is a dearth of academic literature investigating the factors influencing the costs for sport marketing investments, such as sponsorship. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide an analytical framework for market intelligence that enables managers to better predict and forecast costs in today’s ever-changing sport marketing environment. Design/methodology/approach – Given the dynamic and ultra-competitive nature of the athletic apparel industry, this context was chosen to investigate the influence of four distinct factors on sponsorship costs, including property-specific factors, on-field performance, and market-specific factors. A systematic, hierarchical procedure was utilized in the development of a predictive empirical model, which was then utilized to generate predicted values on a per property basis. Findings – Results demonstrated that both property-specific and performance-related factors were significant predictors of costs, while variables reflecting the attractiveness of the property’s home market were non-significant. Further analysis revealed the potential for agency conflicts in the allocation of resources toward properties near the corporate headquarters of sponsors, as well as evidence of overspending by challenger brands (Adidas, Under Armour) in their quest to topple industry leader Nike. Originality/value – Though the context of apparel sponsorships of US-based intercollegiate athletic programs limits the generalizability of the results, this study represents one of the few in the literature to empirically investigate the determinants of sponsorship costs, providing much-needed guidance to aid decision making in a highly volatile, unpredictable industry.

This international study connects sponsorship-linked marketing theories to practice by exploring team-based boundary conditions for congruence, brand clutter and equity, agency conflict (i.e., shared nationality), and the performance cycle. Are these accepted theories generalizable, at least within a common context, or does application result in heterogeneity? Employing five decades of data, we execute a longitudinal hazard model for six iconic F1 teams to discern influences to sponsorship longevity at the level of decision-making: the team-sponsor dyad (N = 1,193). With some exceptions, the teams transcend geographic and business-to-business/consumer distinctions. Heterogeneity arises in factors characterizing the sponsoring brands (e.g., congruence only influences Ferrari's sponsorships; brand equity enhances relationships with McLaren and Williams; clutter is harmful to sponsorships with Ferrari, Red Bull, and Williams), as well as the performance cycle, which affects sponsorships with Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes. While the sponsorship literature has matured, generalizability warrants investigation as connection to practice advances.

Professional baseball operates a tiered system of talent development facilitated by alliances between Minor League Baseball (MiLB) clubs and higher status Major League Baseball (MLB) parent teams. This study applies management theory to advance the literature on MiLB demand modeling by proposing and testing a new set of demand determinants based on interorganizational alliance principles. Team executives at the AA level should be alert to the high cost of switching team alliances and of changing to a parent club in closer geographical proximity. At the AAA level, affiliation with a winning MLB club exerts a positive effect on AAA demand.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how simultaneous use of devices such as personal computers, tablets and smartphones impacts the sponsors that receive brand integration during the broadcasts. Advances in technology now allow fans to consume broadcasts of televised events almost anywhere via personal computers, tablets and smartphones. These devices are also frequently utilized as “second screens” to communicate with fellow consumers on social media, access additional content or otherwise multitask during televised consumption. Design/methodology/approach – An initial study served to test the applicability of the theoretical framework of a dual coding theory in this new context, followed by a 3 × 2 between-subjects design utilized to advance understanding of the influence of second screens on brand awareness of the sponsors of televised events. Findings – Results demonstrated that both brand recognition and recall were reduced by second screen activity across nearly all audio or visual consumption experiences. Further, while second screen use in an audiovisual setting did not interfere with consumers’ ability to recognize brands, indicating they were able to multitask and were not distracted, it inhibited their ability to recall brands from memory. This result provides evidence that second screen use may interfere with elaborative rehearsal and reduce cognitive capacity. Practical implications – Given that marketers are investing more resources than ever to achieve brand integration during televised events, these findings suggest that brands face challenges in achieving a requisite return on their investments. Originality/value – This study represents the first empirical investigation of the impact of consumers’ use of second screens in the academic literature, and has important implications for the sponsors of televised events.

This paper examines the role of league-cause fit, perceived sincerity, and intentions to support campaigns of league-wide cause-related sport marketing (CRSM). Using the context of the National Football League (NFL) and the tenets of schema theory and social identity theory, we demonstrate potential backlash effects of featuring “hometown” team imagery in league-wide CRSM campaigns. The results of three experiments suggest that while a cause perceived as high fit to the league (Wounded Warrior Project) may facilitate better overall response, fans exposed to campaign imagery featuring their hometown team view the CRSM efforts as less sincere, resulting in reduced support compared to campaign imagery featuring a rival or no team. In low-fit CRSM campaigns, team imagery has no effect. These results conflict with the current literature on CRSM and offer new guidance for sport administrators. Specifically, league-wide CRSM campaigns are best presented in the neutral context, without specific team imagery.

Previous research on sports rivalry has emphasized fans’ social identity and the threat posed by rivals. Much of this scholarship is based on intercollegiate sports, where many fans, such as students and alumni, have a formally defined identity with the university. In this study fans (N = 4,828) across five major professional leagues—Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), and National Hockey League (NHL)—are surveyed to compare their animosity toward rivals based on four variables: schadenfreude, disidentification, prejudice, and relationship discrimination against rivals. The results consistently demonstrate that NFL fans harbor significantly greater animosity toward rivals than their counterparts in other leagues. Apart from the NFL, fans of NHL teams generally exhibit more animosity compared to other leagues, and NBA fans exhibit the least. While fan identification is relatively consistent across leagues, highly identified fans react more adversely to rivals. These differences in rivalry reactions have implications for promotional planning and event security protocol.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how reference to a rival or favorite sports team within cause-related sports marketing (CRSM) campaigns affects fans’ intentions to support the cause. The purpose of the studies is to assess the perils of featuring a specific team in league-wide activations of cause-related marketing. Design/methodology/approach The research comprises three experiments. Study 1 employs CRSM advertising to test fans’ responses when rival or hometown team imagery is featured by Major League Baseball (MLB). Studies 2 and 3 utilize a press release to activate a cause partnership in MLB and the National Basketball Association (NBA) and assess the potential influence of team involvement and schadenfreude toward the rival team. Findings Contrary to previous research, results demonstrate that rival team presence in league-wide activation can reduce intentions to support the cause effort across both leagues, but not in all circumstances. The influence of rival team exposure on perceived sincerity is moderated by team involvement with the cause in MLB, but not the NBA. However, sincerity consistently enhances cause support across all studies. While conditional effects of schadenfreude are noted, it is not a significant moderator of cause support. Research limitations/implications This research exposes the nuance of league-wide CRSM activations. Specifically, the rival team effect on perceived sincerity seems to be league dependent, and subject to team involvement with the cause. Moreover, these results are limited to the leagues studied. Practical implications League administrators and their cause-related partners should exercise due diligence when promoting their affiliation using specific teams and levels of involvement with the cause. Originality/value These studies produce results that differ from the limited prior research within the domain of league-wide CRSM, and therefore advance the conversation regarding how best to activate such campaigns.