Sport sponsorship alliances: relationship management for shared value

Purpose – Using a case study of an international sport event, the purpose of this paper is to examine the inter-organisational relationship between a sport event property and its corporate sponsors. Design/methodology/approach – Interviews were conducted with personnel from the national sport organisation responsible for the delivery of this major event, and from four of its corporate sponsorship partners. Findings – The findings indicated that both formal and informal governance were critical to the relationships underpinning these sponsorship alliances. From a dyadic perspective, it was found that the satisfaction of sponsorship partners had two key elements: tangible commercial benefits from the sponsor-sponsee alliance, and the less tangible but nonetheless valuable relationship support within the partnership. In short, partner satisfaction and alliance stability stemmed from relational constructs and the balance of formal governance mechanisms. Originality/value – This paper explores the variables that generate value and maintain alliance stability for improved sponsorship governance. These findings, while focused on a single case study, have implications for research in the field of sponsorship and to the area of business-to-business relationships more broadly.