An exploratory investigation into the effectiveness of team kit sponsorship: Fans’ perspectives of new sponsorship in the German Bundesliga

Robert Thomas, Frank Roesler

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    The purpose of this paper is to provide a richer, deeper understanding of fan attitudes toward sponsoring brands, and specifically kit sponsorship. Moving away from the traditional hypo-deductive approach utilised widely in the field, this exploratory research undertaking adopts an inductive, social constructionist, qualitative approach to exploring fans’ perceptions of sponsoring brands and their predilection to engage in long term relationships. The salient element of the work reveals that apathy, negative association, lack of recall, and reluctance to engage with the sponsoring brand are the hallmarks of fan engagement. Importantly, the paper reveals that pre-cognition of a brand can impact significantly on the desire to consume, influence perceptions of fit between club and brand and have nothing to do with club success. The paper makes a practical contribution by highlighting that sponsorship is far from the strategic panacea presented in the current literature.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)177-192
    Number of pages17
    JournalJournal of Customer Behaviour
    Volume12
    Issue number2-3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2 Oct 2013

    Keywords

    • Sports sponsorship
    • Consumer behaviour
    • Brand strategy
    • Brand loyalty
    • Qualitative research

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'An exploratory investigation into the effectiveness of team kit sponsorship: Fans’ perspectives of new sponsorship in the German Bundesliga'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this