Title: Sport fans' sponsorship evaluation based on their perceived relationship value with a sport property

Authors: Jinbae Hong

Addresses: Department of Sport and Health Science, University of Incheon, 12-1 Songdo-dong Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, 406-840, Korea

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the strength of the relationship between the sport property and its fans positively affects the fans| evaluation of the property|s corporate sponsors. Data were analysed from 288 season ticket holders for a team of the Korean Baseball Organisation (KBO). Structural equation modelling (SEM) was conducted to understand the relationship among the three groups of variables. The results of testing research hypotheses indicated that sport fans| overall satisfaction and the perceived communication effectiveness with a sport property resulted in fans| trust and commitment. In addition, only commitment mediated the three constructs – overall satisfaction, effective communication, and trust – to positively predict the evaluation of a sponsor. These empirical results suggest that sport fans| committed relationship is the primary factor to make the fans positively evaluate corporate sponsorship of the sport property.

Keywords: sponsorship evaluation; relationship marketing; fan commitment; trust; overall satisfaction; effective communication; community involvement; fan identification; fan loyalty; sport sponsorship; sports fans; sport marketing; fan satisfaction; customer satisfaction; season ticket holders; Korean Baseball Organisation; structural equation modelling; Korea.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2011.040260

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2011 Vol.9 No.1/2, pp.116 - 131

Published online: 21 Feb 2015 *

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