The cross-effects of sponsorship in non-professional sports communities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the cross-effects of on-site sponsorship on online sponsorship effectiveness in communities. The research evaluates how members’ commitment to a sports-oriented community and attitude to brands providing sponsorship developed through sponsorship on-site, and sponsor-community fit, influence the effectiveness of online sponsorship measured as the intention to purchase the same brands online through sponsoring banners displayed on the community web site. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through a web-survey from a self-selected sample of 272 respondents belonging to non-professional sports communities. By drawing on the principal tenets of the theory of reasoned action, the authors developed a theoretical framework and tested it through a structural equation model to evaluate the role of attitude to sponsor brands developed through sponsorship on-site, and its antecedents, on the intention to purchase the same brands online through sponsoring banners exposed on the community web site. Findings – The attitude to sponsor brands developed through sponsorship on-site affects the intention to make online purchases of the same brands through sponsoring banners exposed on the web sites of non-professional communities. On the other hand, antecedents of sponsorship on-site, that is, sponsor-community fit and commitment to the community, affect the intention to purchase the same brands online through sponsor banners displayed on the community web site, with attitude playing a different mediating role. Practical implications – The research contributes to sponsorship literature by establishing the existence of cross-effects of on-site sponsorship on online sponsorship effectiveness and providing insights into the central role of commitment and attitude developed on-site. Managerially, non-professional communities emerge as attractive targets for multiple sponsorship investment owing to their on-site and online social interaction that offers managers an opportunity to exploit sponsorship cross-effects. Originality/value – The study contributes to the scant body of knowledge on the cross-effects of on-site sponsorship on online sponsorship and provides insights into the importance of communities as a beneficial target of sponsorship investment.