Title: Sponsorship activation: a systematic review and future research agenda

Authors: Pascale Marceau; Frank Pons

Addresses: Marketing Department, Faculty of Business Administration, Laval University, 2325 Rue de l'Université, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada ' Marketing Department, Faculty of Business Administration, Laval University, 2325 Rue de l'Université, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada

Abstract: Since the utilisation of sponsorship activations is constantly increasing, the objective of this article is to provide a thorough overview of knowledge, and to showcase future avenues of research according to trends and gaps found in literature. A systematic review of the literature (SRL) which summarises the different understandings of sponsorship activation within an innovative conceptual framework linking both activations and events was conducted. The analysis of the 107 writings included in this SRL contributes to a better understanding of the current literature. The results show that no consensus exists when it comes to the definition of the activation concept. Also, the results reveal that taking into consideration certain variables drawn from a theoretical framework related to event marketing which unite both the organisational strategy and the consumer experience can enable a global overview. This article provides an in-depth analysis and overview of the relatively chaotic body of knowledge currently found in this field.

Keywords: activation; sponsorship activation; sponsorship; sponsorship leveraging; leverage; systematic review; systematic literature review; SRL; Future research agenda; event; management; marketing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2023.130433

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2023 Vol.23 No.1/2, pp.99 - 134

Accepted: 31 Mar 2022
Published online: 20 Apr 2023 *