The role of negative publicity in consumer evaluations of sports stars and their sponsors

Abstract

This paper aims to specify and test empirically the impact that two types of negative information (immorality and incompetence) about a sports star have on consumers' perceptions of the sports star and the sponsor. The moderating role of game relevance (game-related and non-game-related) and fan identification with a sports star (high identification and low identification) are also investigated. Using a sample of South Korean consumers (n = 249), we found in the experiment that the type of negative information affects participants' attitudes toward the sports star and the sponsor. This result implies that a sports star's involvement in negative events not only damages the star's reputation but also detracts from the value of the sponsor company. The results also show that the two factors moderate the main effects of negative publicity on consumers' perception of the sports star and his or her sponsor. First, the negative publicity about the sports star's functional issues (e.g., a career-threatening injury) negatively affects consumer attitude toward the sports star and the sponsor more in the out-of-game context than in the in-game situation. Second, bad sports star publicity has a greater negative effect on consumer perception of sponsors for lowly identified than highly identified sports stars, while the moderating effect on consumer perception of the sports star is not significant. Detailed practical implications and academic contributions are discussed. P. 2016. Consumers' attributions and brand evaluations in product-harm crises: the role of implicit theories of personality. Journal of Consumer Behaviour 15(1): 87-95.Zhou L, Whitla P. 2013. How negative celebrity publicity influences consumer attitudes: the mediating role of moral reputation.

Consumer Behavior Research: Theoretical and Methodological Paradigms Trending

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The effect of the valence of sponsorship information on consumers’ attitudes toward the sponsor brand

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Adolescents and body cult: the influence of Internet advertising in search of the idealised male

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