Sports mega-event sponsorship: the impact of FIFA reputation and World Cup image on sponsor brand equit

Abstract

The present study investigates the influence the organizing body’s reputation has on the image of a sports mega-event and on the mega-event sponsors’ consumer-based brand equities. The study's main theoretical references are Associative Network Theory (Collins & Loftus, 1975) and Schema Theory (Axelrod, 1973), both about the functioning of the human memory. The research was carried out during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilians and foreigners who attended the 2014 FIFA Fan Fest on Copacabana Beach were surveyed through a non-probabilistic sampling, and 1,973 questionnaires were collected. Data analysis was performed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). We verified the reliability, convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity of the constructs. In order to test the substantive hypotheses, we applied Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using an Asymptotic Distribution-Free (ADF) technique. The empirical results suggest that FIFA’s reputation influences the image of the FIFA World Cup, but may not directly influence the sponsors’ consumer-based brand equities. We also verified that the perception of fit between the mega-event and the sponsor plays a partial mediating effect on the relationship between the image of the mega-event and the sponsor's brand equity.