ABSTRACT
Defined as “a cash and/or in-kind fee paid to a property (typically in sports, arts, entertainment or causes) in return for access to the exploitable commercial potential associated with the property” (Ukman, 1996, p. 1), sponsorship is increasingly becoming a popular way for companies to pursue their target consumers. In 1999 alone, companies spent more than $22 billion worldwide; approximately 31% was spent in the United States, 36% in Europe, and 33% in other countries (Meenaghan & O’Sullivan, 2001). Nowadays, most sporting events rely heavily on sponsorship funding. For example, the Atlanta Olympic Games raised $540million in sponsorship from companies (Speed& Thompson,2000), and the2000OlympicGames inSydneygenerated$550million from the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) 11 worldwide sponsors as well as an additional $315 million from local sponsors (Landler, 2000).
