The bilateral image flow in sponsorship: an extension of Prendergast, Paliwal, and Mazodier (2016)

Abstract

This study uses a longitudinal approach to examine the sponsored event-to-sponsoring brand image transfer and the reverse image transfer from the sponsor to the event. A between-within mixed design was used to test the moderating role of familiarity in the image flow process. Findings confirmed the bi-directional flow of image is contingent upon the moderator. Specifically, images tended to flow from high-familiarity to low-familiarity entities in the context of sporting sponsorship. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Keywords:

• Sponsorship-linked marketing
• image transfer
• reverse image transfer
• image flow
• brand familiarity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Koo, J., upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the research fund of Hanyang University (HY-2022-2892).