Not All Desirable Companies are Good Sponsors: Consumers' Perceptions of the Transfer of Sponsorship of Their Sports Team

This study aims to identify the adverse effects of undesirable sports sponsorships by specifying and empirically testing the impact of the main sponsor’s attribute type—categorized as original, undesirable, or pro-social—on consumers’ perceptions of the sports team and their purchase intentions for the team jersey. It also examines the moderating roles of fan identification (high vs. low) and value congruence (high vs. low) between consumers and the sponsor. Based on a sample of 185 undergraduate students from the Republic of Korea, the findings reveal that the sponsor's attribute type significantly affects participants’ attitudes toward the team and their purchase intentions. Specifically, attitudes toward the team were highest for original sponsors (M = 4.672), followed by pro-social (M = 3.325), and lowest for undesirable sponsors (M = 2.015), with a significant effect (F = 73.491, p = .000). Similarly, purchase intentions for the jersey were highest for original sponsors (M = 3.471), moderate for pro-social (M = 2.786), and lowest for undesirable sponsors (M = 1.918), also showing a significant effect (F = 16.100, p = .000). Fan identification moderated the effect of sponsor attributes on both attitudes (F = 4.571, p = .011) and purchase intentions (F = 8.454, p = .000), while value congruence moderated only the impact on team attitudes (F = 6.132, p = .002), not on purchase intentions (F = .344, p = .853). These results suggest that the nature of sponsorship and alignment with fan values can critically influence consumer behavior and brand association. The study offers valuable insights for practitioners involved in sports sponsorship communication and lays the groundwork for future academic exploration in this area.