Report on Sport Sponsorship Awareness, Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of Road Race Series Participants

Introduction of Sport Sponsorship Awareness, Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of Road Race Series Participants

               In this article review assignment, the above-titled research article will be analyzed and reviewed in detail. Each and every aspect of the article will be analyzed and relevant research articles will also be made part of the paper so that more information can be reviewed on the topic of sport sponsorship. In the initial part, the article will be summarized in brief by looking at its main research questions, research design, analysis, and conclusions. Then the value of the research paper will be analyzed like what contribution it has made in the field of sport sponsorship. Different aspects of the research paper will be looked at to see how research design was chosen, and if conclusions are made with viable findings. In the end, future research directions will be found with the help of this research article.

1. Summary of the Research Paper

a) The Research Questions of Sport Sponsorship Awareness, Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of Road Race Series Participants

               This research paper was looking to examine different research questions regarding Sponsorship Attitudes, Awareness, as well as Purchase Intentions of the participants. So, the primary research question of the paper was to determine the level of participants’ attitude and sponsor recognition towards sponsors, as well as examining their intent to purchase, and variables used to find answers for this question were demographics as well as identification level of participants with the road races. This research was a bit different in its approach as its research question was more detailed in terms of findings pertinent answers, and even social media was also made part of the analysis (Eagleman & Krohn, 2012)

b) The Research Design of Sport Sponsorship Awareness, Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of Road Race Series Participants

               It is important to mention here that the research design used in this research paper was a mixed research method, where both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. The data for the study was collected through the survey method, where both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from the survey participants. It is important to mention here that when a study requires both kinds of data, then it is viable to use a mixed research design so that useful data can be collected for proper analysis.

c) The Analyses of Sport Sponsorship Awareness, Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of Road Race Series Participants

               Once the data is collected, it is important to analyze the data so that relevant findings can be made. So, in this research study, the statistical package was used to analyze the quantitative data, and qualitative data such as description off demographics were identified with descriptive analysis.

d) Conclusions of Sport Sponsorship Awareness, Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of Road Race Series Participants

               The study concluded that when it comes to the demographics of participants, there were no major differences found in their approach to recognize sponsorship recognition and attitude towards the sponsors. But it was found that there were various differences among participants on the basis of identification level with the road race series. It showed that people having more identification were able to identify sponsors in a correct manner and their attitude for sponsors was more positive, which means that intent to purchase was there, and it was significant.

2. Examining the Value of the Research

a) The Main Contribution of the Paper of Sport Sponsorship Awareness, Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of Road Race Series Participants

               It is a fact that every research paper does contribute to the research field. The contribution can be little or more, but it makes some contribution. The major contribution of this paper is that it certainly threw light on different aspects of sport sponsorship, which are already known. But it also threw light on some other aspects, which were not made part of earlier research studies. For instance, various previous research studies examined a particular event to get the findings, but this research study analyzed the whole series of events for a road race, which means that participants were different each time, and many of them participated multiple times during different events in the series. The major contribution of this study was associated with the fact that it included social media in the discussion, which has never been included in previous research studies. It analyzed how social media and the online website are used for the purchase intention and sponsor recognition.

               It is important to understand that when a new perspective is added for a research topic through a research study, then it is considered a great contribution. Earlier the researchers have looked at different sports events to know about the perception of consumers regarding sponsorship and its recognition. According to Miloch & Lambrecht (2006), the age, as well as location, was significant to show the level of awareness for the consumers. These aspects also proved important in the purchase intentions of the consumers. But this study and various other previous research studies did not include social media in their discussion. So, it was important to include social media because it has become such an important platform for research in this and every other field. The use of social media in the sports field is increasing with the passage of time, so this research study has contributed a great deal, and it has also paved a way for future research in the field (Pulido, Redondo-Sama, Sordé-Martí, & Flecha, 2018)

b) Authors’ Ontological and Epistemological Positions

               The authors have come up with a new perspective in this paper, and their Ontological and Epistemological Position is quite clear that they are trying to establish the fact that running and road races are becoming common in the United States, so it is important to come up with more insights in this field so that more research is conducted to see its benefits. The position established by the authors is quite vital because it can help to determine different levels of approaches in the sport sponsorship and intention to purchase of participants, especially participating in road race type participant sports events. Their use of social media has made things even more authentic for the research because social media is an important part of such road race events, and with the increase in a number of events, more data can be collected to define several future research areas.

c) Critique of the Overall Research Design

               The overall research design of the study looked quite appropriate. It is vital to mention here that authors were trying to analyze aspects related to sports sponsorship and its recognition, which required them to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. So, they did it by designing a proper survey, which included questions to get answers for both statistical and descriptive data. There can be situations, where only qualitative is needed, and there can be questions to get quantitative data. The position taken by the authors in this regard was correct and it was more suitable to carry out this research study regarding sports sponsorships, awareness as well as purchase intentions of the participants.

               Moreover, when research questions are going to be asked by a large population for any research study, it is critical to select methods, which are helpful in findings the correct answers. The authors’ decision to conduct an online survey was a very good one because there were multiple participants in the road race of Magnificent 7 Series, and it was not possible to personally get in touch with each participant. Moreover, the study was not analyzing a single event, so it was again difficult to specify participants for the study because a series of events for this mega road race event was being used. The email link was sent to all the road race participants in different events so that maximum response can be attained to get considerable findings for the research. It helped to get as many answers as possible for the said research questions for this research paper.

               It is always crucial to determine the sample size according to the population of a research study. There are different aspects that researchers should keep in mind while choosing the sample size from a population. It is sole choice of the researchers whether they want a specific sample, or they want to include whole relevant population for a particular research area. The requirement of a research will determine the fact about sample size in any given circumstances (Taherdoost, 2016). It is evident that researchers are trying to analyze the participants taking part in Magnificent 7 Series, and a series of events is going to be analyzed, so it was hard to get a sample size from each event. The authors made a correct decision for including the whole population as they sent survey emails to all participants of the event so that maximum response is taken from the population. It was appropriate to select the whole population as a sample for the research.

d) Reliability and Validity of the Study of Sport Sponsorship Awareness, Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of Road Race Series Participants

               There are various factors, which are quite critical for a research study, and one of those factors are reliability and validity. An empirical research study is the one, which is used and validated in so many ways. The existing literature is based on research studies as well as future research directions are also derived. So, it is indispensable for a research to have reliability and validity. It is important to understand both terms. If a certain measure is used for getting the results, and if same measure is used again in the same approach, and it provides almost identical results, then such a measure will be considered reliable. On the other hand, when a measure used in the study has the capability to accurately measure things, which are intended to be measured. For instance, if age is going to be measured, then the used method should determine the age, rather determining gender. Such a measure will be considered valid. Looking at overall research design data analysis and results taken from this study, it can be said that the research study has shown reliability and validity, and if same approach will be used for future research, the results will be almost same, but the response can be different from the participants (TAHERDOOST, 2016)

e) Study Results support the Main Conclusions?

               This particular study was trying to get a view of participants participating in road races like what kind of purchase intentions, sponsorship attitude as well as the awareness they have for the recognition of the sport. It was essential for the study to come up with results, which are in line with the main conclusions of the study. It is viable to say here that the results of the study were very well supported by the main conclusions. The results showed that the research was a bit different in approach from the previous research studies in so many ways, and it was also mentioned in the conclusion, how this particular study was different from previous research studies.

3. Future Research Directions of Sport Sponsorship Awareness, Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of Road Race Series Participants

               It is evident that major focus of this research study was on the essence of participants of the road race series to make considerable findings with regards to them. So, results of the study are good for future research regarding participants of these sports events. But the fact of the matter is that participants of the sports event are not the only ones, who are important for sponsors and advertisers, and spectators are equally crucial in this regard. It means that keeping this research in context, the future proposed research direction is using both spectators and participants for such kind of road races so that sponsors can get a complete view of the population associated with these events. It will also allow researchers to get a perspective from spectators and participants, and they can figure out any similarities or differences between their thought process, attitude as well as awareness for the sponsorship.

               The overall research design for this new study will be very much similar to this particular study, because the basics of the study will almost remain the same, and there will be one major change, and that change is the inclusion of spectators in this sample population for the study. The main construct for this future research would be related to both spectators and participants to get their separate analysis, and then identifying any differences or similarities in their approach. This main construct will help sponsors and advertisers to see how they can penetrate in such road race events to get as much recognition as possible.

               It has been mentioned earlier that new future-directed study will use the similar mixed research design approach, where data will be collected through an online survey, and the whole population of participants will be included, but as far as spectators are concerned, they will be provided hard copies of the survey to fill out during the events. It is proposed that the survey sample of the spectators will be equal to the overall number of participants in the sports event. For instance, if 100 participants will be included for an online survey, then 100 spectators will be selected for the psychical survey with hard copies. This number is being selected equal so that the results of the study can be measured with reliability and validity. Any findings made with this approach will be considered reliable and valid because an equal number of samples is going to be taken from both populations of the study. When the study is constructed with proper measures, then it is also deemed reliable and valid, and no one can raise the question on its authenticity and integrity.

               Keeping all the facts of this new research study with a new future direction, it can be said that there is no considerable limitation for this research. However, if both participants and spectators are taken from the same event, and they show lots of differences in approach, then it may happen due to differences in a set of questions asked by both sets of sample groups. To deal with this limitation, it is proposed that both surveys should ask similar kinds of questions from both groups so that results taken from both groups can be analyzed on a similar measure, rather than analyzing them on a different measure.

Conclusion of Sport Sponsorship Awareness, Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of Road Race Series Participants

                             After reviewing the research article with all aspects and factors, it can be said that the research was important for the topic of sports sponsorship, and its contribution is even more crucial for sports events such as road races because running is getting popular as physical activity in the United States. The study made great findings, which can be extremely helpful for various future research areas defining new research directions. The use of social media in this study was one of the most critical contributions, and it also asserts that future researchers should also keep an eye on social media platforms when such sports events are analyzed with regards to sponsorship and its awareness.

References of Sport Sponsorship Awareness, Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of Road Race Series Participants

Eagleman, A. N., & Krohn, B. D. (2012). Sponsorship Awareness, Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions of Road Race Series Participants. Sport Marketing Quarterly , 21, 210-220.

Miloch, K. S., & Lambrecht, K. W. (2006). Consumer Awareness of Sponsorship at Grassroots Sport Events. Sport Marhetlng Quarterly , 15, 147-154.

Pulido, C. M., Redondo-Sama, G., Sordé-Martí, T., & Flecha, R. (2018). Social impact in social media: A new method to evaluate the social impact of research. PLOS ONE , 13 (8).

Taherdoost, H. (2016). Sampling Methods in Research Methodology; How to Choose a Sampling Technique for Research. SSRN Electronic Journal , 5 (2), 18-27.

TAHERDOOST, H. (2016). Validity and Reliability of the Research Instrument; How to Test the Validation of a Questionnaire/Survey in a Research. SSRN Electronic Journal , 5 (3), 28-36.