First Advisor

Morse, Alan

Document Type

Dissertation

Date Created

5-2023

Department

College of Natural and Health Sciences, Kinesiology Nutrition and Dietetics, KiND Student Work

Abstract

Minor league hockey provides a unique setting to investigate consumers’ marketingcontrolled activities in a natural environment. Consumers’ visual attention to sponsorship information has been shown to influence their explicit memory of sponsor brands and their purchase intentions. The current research builds on the sponsorship information processing framework of previous scholars by examining consumers’ real-time behaviors to sponsorship information in a natural setting. To analyze consumers’ behaviors at minor league hockey sporting events, qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 16 participants. The qualitative data related to the patterns and observations of consumers’ visual attention behaviors. The quantitative data measured consumers’ fixation duration, fixation frequency, explicit memory (i.e., recall and recognition), and sponsorship response. Through the utilization of a Structural Equation Model (SEM) analysis, the current study constructed a comprehensive understanding of consumers’ information search processes to sponsorship signage. Results indicated that consumers’ fixation frequency influences their ability to recall and recognize sponsorship information, resulting in a positive sponsorship response. The results of this study provide tangible evidence to sport and corporate marketers, indicating expected consumption outcomes based on consumers’ visual attention in a natural environment. The current study highlights sponsorship strategies for marketers to increase sponsors’ return on investment.

Extent

122 pages

Local Identifiers

Romano_unco_0161D_11130.pdf

Comments

Spring 2023 Graduate Dean's Citation for Outstanding Thesis, Dissertation, and Scholarly Project

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

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