Title: Corporate support: a corporate social responsibility alternative to traditional event sponsorship

Authors: Benoit Seguin, Milena M. Parent, Norm O'Reilly

Addresses: Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, 125 University St., Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada. ' Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, 125 University St., Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada. ' David Falk Center for Sport Management, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA

Abstract: This study investigates an emerging alternative to event sponsorship based on corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate support of major sporting events. The outcome of the 2005 FINA World Aquatic Championships presented a unique case of sponsorship and the purpose of this paper is to identify the factors which led to the development of corporate support as a viable alternative to sponsorship. Factors included the organising committee|s leadership, the positioning of the event (including the event/sport as a social cause, the benefits of hosting the event, CSR, and contextual limitations), and accessing corporate presidents directly. The cost of not getting involved and corporate peer pressure were found to moderate the event president|s decision to offer corporate support to the event|s organising committee. A model showing the interrelationship between the various factors is also proposed.

Keywords: event sponsorship; corporate social responsibility; CSR; sport sponsorship; major sporting events; sport marketing; event marketing; corporate support.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2010.032551

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2010 Vol.7 No.3/4, pp.202 - 222

Published online: 07 Apr 2010 *

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