The influence of product involvement and fan identification on response to team sponsors' products

The topic of sponsorship effect has recently received a great deal of attention from researchers and practitioners as the amount of money spent in sponsorship is rapidly increasing. This study was designed to examine the influence of product involvement and fan identification on the response to a sponsor's products in terms of awareness, attitudes, and purchase intention.;The Columbus Crew and the Columbus Destroyers were chosen as target teams, and four product categories of sponsoring companies were selected (i.e., two high and two low product categories were selected in the pilot test initially, but the result of the main test changed it as one high and three low involvement products). Respondents were divided into high- and low-identified fans by the scores of Trail and James' (2001) Team Identification Index (TII). Repeated measure was used, so each respondents answered questions regarding the sponsors of both the Crew and the Destroyers. Data were collected from 298 respondents at three different venues: 112 from SFHP (Sport, Fitness, and Health Promotion) classes at The Ohio State University, 72 from public libraries, and 114 from professional athletic stadiums).;Hypothesis 1 predicted that sponsoring companies producing either low-involvement or high-involvement products will generate higher awareness toward their brands among fans who are highly identified with the teams.;Hypothesis 2a predicted that sponsoring companies producing low-involvement products will generate more favorable attitudes toward their brands among high-identified fans. On the other hand, Hypothesis 2b predicted that there would be no difference in fans' attitudes toward sponsoring companies' high-involvement products. ANOVA analysis with all sponsors showed that sponsors did not generate more favorable attitudes towards their products among high-identified fans (M = 4.87) compared to low-identified fans (M = 4.70, F(1, 2036) = 2.35, p = .13).;Hypothesis 3a predicted that sponsoring companies producing low-involvement products will generate higher purchase intentions toward their brands among high-identified fans. Hypothesis 3b predicted that there would be no difference in fans' purchase intention toward sponsors of high-involvement products.;Hypothesis 4 predicted that high-identified fans will perform better than low-identified fans in the matching test in which respondents were asked to match each brand to a sponsoring team.;The discussion of results includes possible interpretations of these results. In addition, limitations and implications were provided. The present study contributed to the literature of sponsorship by including product involvement and how it influences sponsorship. This study also tried to figure the mechanism of sponsorship effect related to fan identification. This study helps corporate decision makers make a better decision on sponsorship regarding what sponsorship can and cannot bring to their company as a result of sponsorship participation. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...