The impact of degenerative episodes on the sponsorship B2B relationship: Implications for brand management

Network actors' participation in B2B SME branding

“…Instead, it adopts a relational view of interaction processes in branding, with various networks of internal and external stakeholders, including employees, customers, investors, partners, suppliers, regulators, and local communities (e.g. Balmer, 2001;Roper & Davies, 2007;Westberg, Stavros, & Wilson, 2011). Leitch and Richardson (2003) point out that interactive relationship building and mutuality in stakeholder relationships are keys to brand building.…”

Relationship commitment and value creation in sponsorship relationships

“…In 2013, companies in Sweden invested more than EUR 650 million in sponsorship activities (IRM 2013). Sponsorship arrangements are increasingly being developed as new communication opportunities and brand-positioning strategies (Farrelly and Quester 2005;Grohs and Reisinger 2014;Westberg, Stavros, and Wilson 2011). The present empirical results help us better understand the critical success factors, such as shared values, trust, affective commitment, value-based commitment, and value creation, that are increasingly important in developing valuable sponsorship relationships.…”

“…We wanted to capture sponsors who were in active relationships with the sponsored sports entities rather than those that only bought products or services and then had no further contact with the sponsee. Moreover, Westberg, Stavros, and Wilson (2011) argued that sponsors who invest more in a relationship are more likely to maintain a long-term association with the sponsee organization, thereby providing greater insight into the relationship processes. On this basis, we set a minimum investment threshold to exclude companies having no direct relationship with or impact on the sponsee.…”

Sponsorship networks: toward an innovative model

“…Negative incidents involving athletes representing the sport entity may threaten the brands of both the sport and sponsor and can weaken or even dissolve the partnership (Westberg et al, 2011). In any case, sponsorship can enhance the image of the sponsor's brand.…”