From fans to buyers: antecedents of sponsor's products purchase intention

Purpose – This study aims to explore the indirect and direct effect of perceived congruence between fans’ identification with a team and the intention to buy sponsor’s products. The level of perceived congruence between the sponsor and the sports team, as well as fans’ attitude toward the sponsor and their purchase intention toward products from the sponsoring company are analyzed. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 2,647 football fans who support two well-known Portuguese professional football teams completed a questionnaire. Structural equation modeling with multigroup analysis was carried out to test the model and the hypotheses. Findings – Team identification has an effect on perceived congruence, on attitude toward sponsors and on intention to buy. The results also show the positive direct and indirect effects of both perceived congruence on attitude toward the sponsoring company and on purchase intention of sponsors’ products. However, neither congruence nor attitude show significant results on purchase intention. Originality/value – This study departs from previous studies, in that it investigates the direct and indirect (i.e. mediated) effects of perceived congruence. Firstly, it analyzes the mediating effect of perceived congruence between team identification and purchase intentions. Secondly, it explores the mediating effect of perceived congruence between team identification and attitude toward the sponsor.