FiT Publishing

Mega sport events are believed to positively and significantly impact the host country’s destination image (from the tourism perspective) and country image (from the international marketing perspective). Focusing on the short-haul market, this study questioned the prevailing “optimism” and empirically examined the impact of hosting a mega sport event on the destination image and country image through a pre-post study design. The results presented a mixed (i.e., both positive and negative) impact on the two images, and patterns of image change varied according to sport involvement, media...Read more

While mega events substantially contribute to a hosting community’s economy and marketing appeal, small-scale events might result in more positive effects because they operate within an existing infrastructure, require a smaller budget, create a more manageable level of crowd congestion, and have high-impact regional effects on the community. Despite the positive effects and prevalence of small-scale events, few have examined their conceptual development. The purpose of this study was to investigate the hierarchical relationship among event image, satisfaction, and behavioral intention (i....Read more

This research reports on two studies that examine the roles of product-endorser “fit” with celebrity and non-celebrity endorsers by comparing the effects of a famous athlete and an unknown model on a variety of consumer responses. Additionally, schema theory is tested as the mechanism driving these effects. The results of the first experiment suggest that a famous athlete is more effective when endorsing a sport brand than a non-sport brand, but only for enhancing the image of the celebrity. In the second experiment, an anonymous model is identified as either a famous athlete or not and is...Read more

The public perception of a university’s athletic programs is often considered a primary factor in building the brand image of the respective institution. Maintaining a favorable brand image can have a significant impact when recruiting potential student athletes, when soliciting corporate partners, and when facilitating development opportunities with alumni and key stakeholders. Colleges and universities are becoming increasingly more entrepreneurial in nature as schools seek various strategies to generate additional revenues and exposure. For smaller universities not affiliated with a...Read more

The objective of this study was to test the degree to which three sponsorship outcomes—sponsor’s image, word-of-mouth, and purchase intentions—may be predicted by three attitudinal constructs: attitude toward the event, sport activity involvement (centrality and attraction), and beliefs about sponsorship. The data were collected from a Greek basketball all-star game. The results indicated that purchase intentions were significantly predicted by beliefs about sponsorship, attitudes toward the event, and the centrality dimension of involvement. The word-of-mouth and image outcomes were...Read more