Built upon the balance theory and schema theory, this study examined the impact of sponsors' intangible attributes, including consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) and brand-event image fit (BEIF), on consumer responses to emerging local events (ELEs), as well as major boundary conditions of this mechanism.
Theoretical hypotheses were tested using multivariate analysis of covariance and structural equation modeling with the data from two experiments: the experiment in the pilot study was used to calibrate sponsor stimuli, and the experiment in the main study was designed to assess consumer responses to different sponsor-event combinations.
Results of this experimental study illustrated the dominant role of CBBE in influencing individuals' perceived event value and intention to participate in the context of ELEs and revealed the noticeable but limited moderating effects of BEIF and sport identification.
This study highlighted the importance of sponsorship in the marketing communications of ELEs and suggested prioritizing the overall attributes of sponsors in the sponsor-selection. This study also called for more research attention directed toward the intangible benefits that sporting events could receive from sponsorship deals.
