The influence of Covid-19 pandemic on sports sponsorship as socioeconomic alliance : value co-creation between partners involved

Pavli, Gašper (author), Zalaznik, Maja (author), Pfajfar, Gregor (author)

Purpose: This article uncovers the changes in sports sponsorship and its marketing, economic and social effects due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews and an online survey were conducted on a dyadic longitudinal sample of sports properties and corresponding sponsors in 2020, 2021 and 2022. New scales were developed to map the specific influence of Covid-19 on sports sponsorship, with validity and reliability. Conceptual model is proposed and tested with regression models. Findings: The research findings suggest that the changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic influence sponsorship effects by altering the expectations of various sponsorship stakeholders. Surprisingly, the changes in consumer behaviour do not directly influence the changes in the expectations of the different sponsorship stakeholders at the beginning of the pandemic, and the trends do not influence the expectations or the relationships among the sponsorship stakeholders now, when all of them have already adapted to the new reality of Covid-19. Moreover, changes in the expectations of different sponsorship stakeholders only affect sponsorship effects when the relationship is moderated by a sustainable stakeholder engagement. Originality: This research highlights the importance of sponsors and sports properties collaborating with other stakeholders (consumers, society and government). The collaboration between these stakeholders is at the heart of the newly proposed model of a network of relationships in sponsorship, which opens up this field for future research.

• Language: English
• Keywords: sports, sports sponsorship, Covid-19, epidemic, sponsorship effects, sponsorship activation, value co-creation, public-private partnership
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: EF - School of Economics and Business; FŠ - Faculty of Sport
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 84-131
• Numbering: Vol. 31, no. 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-179904
• UDC: 796.01
• ISSN on article: 1318-2269
• DOI: 10.52165/kinsi.31.3.84-131
• COBISS.SI-ID: 261059587

Copyright

Podatek o licenci CC BY-SA 4.0 je naveden na pristajalni strani članka (glej zgoraj izvorni URL). (Datum opombe: 17. 3. 2026)

• Publication date in RUL: 26.02.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Kinesiologia Slovenica. scientific journal on sport
• Shortened title: Kinesiol. Slov.
• Publisher: Fakulteta za šport, Inštitut za kineziologijo, Fakulteta za šport, Inštitut za kineziologijo, Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 1318-2269
• COBISS.SI-ID: 30681856

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Vpliv pandemije covid-19 na sponzorstvo športa kot družbeno-ekonomskega zavezništva : soustvarjanje vrednosti med vključenimi partnerji

Abstract

Namen: Ta članek razkriva spremembe v sponzorstvu športa in njegovih tržnih, gospodarskih in družbenih učinkih zaradi pandemije Covid-19. Dizajn/metodologija/pristop: V letih 2020, 2021 in 2022 so bili izvedeni polstrukturirani intervjuji in spletna anketa na diadnem longitudinalnem vzorcu športnih imetnikov in njim ustreznih sponzorjev. Razvite so bile nove lestvice za popis specifičnega vpliva Covid-19 na sponzorstvo športa, ki so veljavne in zanesljive. Predlagan je konceptualni model, ki je bil preizkušen z regresijskimi modeli. Ugotovitve: Rezultati raziskave kažejo, da spremembe, ki jih je povzročila pandemija Covid-19, vplivajo na učinke sponzorstva, saj spreminjajo pričakovanja različnih deležnikov sponzorstva. Presenetljivo je, da spremembe v vedenju porabnikov ne vplivajo neposredno na spremembe v pričakovanjih različnih deležnikov sponzorstva na začetku pandemije, prav tako pa trendi ne vplivajo na pričakovanja ali odnose med deležniki sponzorstva kasneje, ko so se vsi že prilagodili novi realnosti Covid-19. Poleg tega spremembe v pričakovanjih različnih deležnikov sponzorstva vplivajo na učinke sponzorstva le, če odnos moderira trajnostno vključevanje deležnikov. Izvirnost: Ta raziskava poudarja pomen sodelovanja sponzorjev in športnih imetnikov z drugimi zainteresiranimi stranmi (potrošniki, družba in vlada). Sodelovanje med temi zainteresiranimi stranmi je v središču novo-predlaganega modela mreže odnosov v sponzorstvu, ki odpira to področje za prihodnje raziskave.

• Keywords: šport, sponzorstvo v športu, Covid-19, epidemija, učinki sponzorstva, aktivacija sponzorstva, soustvarjanje vrednosti, javno-zasebno partnerstvo

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P5-0177
• Name: Slovenija in njeni akterji v mednarodnih odnosih in evropskih integracijah