The Influence of Social Alliances with Sports Teams on Intentions to Purchase Corporate Sponsors' Products

Abstract Sponsorship has become an increasingly popular form of marketing communications, yet little is known about what might influence consumers' intentions to purchase a sponsor's products. The focus here is on how the social alliances existing between fans and a preferred sports team influence purchase intentions. Data from a convenience sample of 678 adults attending a college football game suggest that favorable purchase intentions are more likely to occur (1) as identification with the team increases and (2) when such intentions are perceived as a group norm. Moreover, an ordinal interaction indicates that team identification has a greater effect on intentions at lower levels of group norms than at higher levels. Implications for practice are discussed.