| Event sponsorship has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. From 1988-1991, sponsorship grew by 18%, making sponsorship the fastest growing segment of corporate communication expenditures (Westberg, 1994). In the United States, corporate sponsorship expenditures are expected to reach nearly ;This paper provided a detailed overview of reasons for the growth of sponsorship and its growing importance to the sports industry. Emphasis was given to the international and United States Olympic Movements and their potential sponsorship threats. The need for increased academic research from an information processing perspective was presented in terms of the involvement construct. Based on the growing importance placed on corporate sponsorship and the lack of theoretical research on sponsorship, this paper attempted to bridge the gap between academic research and application to sports marketing, especially within amateur sports.;Data for the study were collected at the Fresca Masters Cycling Championships. A total of 113 subjects were given a brief demographic survey, the Personal Involvement Inventory (PII; Zaichkowsky, 1985; 1994), followed by recall and recognition surveys of event sponsors.;Zaichkowsky's PII was demonstrated to be useful in assessing spectator involvement levels. In general, results failed to support the hypotheses. The means for recognition scores were higher than for recall scores. However, the difference was not significant. The effect of involvement was not as was predicted. Rather than having a curvilinear effect on recall/recognition, involvement was actually linearly related. National level sponsors were recalled significantly more than local level sponsors, suggesting that corporations with a national reach are more effective in utilizing sport sponsorship. Results were discussed in terms of implications for sport marketers, event organizers, and sponsoring corporations. |
