Sports sponsorship management: a multinational comparative study

Abstract

While sports sponsorship has attracted an increasing interest as well as growing investments from marketing professionals, research reported in the literature has failed to investigate empirically either the process by which it is managed, or, possible influencing factors such as country of operation or industry sector. This study relies on a survey of sponsorship decision-makers in the USA and Australia and examines the differences and similarities expressed by two samples in relation to objectives, decision-making process and outcome evaluation. A number of hypotheses relating to respondents' industry background and related sponsorship objectives and performance measurements were tested and, in some cases, supported. Overall, the results reveal a coming of age of this promotional tool, with the USA seemingly leading the way in terms of managerial expertise.