Vpliv pandemije covid-19 na sponzorstvo športa kot družbeno-ekonomskega zavezništva

Purpose: This article uncovers the changes in sports sponsorship and its marketing, economic and social effects due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews and an online survey were conducted on a dyadic longitudinal sample of sports properties and corresponding sponsors in 2020, 2021 and 2022. New scales were developed to map the specific influence of Covid-19 on sports sponsorship, with validity and reliability. Conceptual model is proposed and tested with regression models. Findings: The research findings suggest that the changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic influence sponsorship effects by altering the expectations of various sponsorship stakeholders. Surprisingly, the changes in consumer behaviour do not directly influence the changes in the expectations of the different sponsorship stakeholders at the beginning of the pandemic, and the trends do not influence the expectations or the relationships among the sponsorship stakeholders now, when all of them have already adapted to the new reality of Covid-19. Moreover, changes in the expectations of different sponsorship stakeholders only affect sponsorship effects when the relationship is moderated by a sustainable stakeholder engagement. Originality: This research highlights the importance of sponsors and sports properties collaborating with other stakeholders (consumers, society and government). The collaboration between these stakeholders is at the heart of the newly proposed model of a network of relationships in sponsorship, which opens up this field for future research.