Det som händer på Tele2 stannar på Tele2, eller? - En kvantitativ studie kring sponsorskaps effekter avseende anti-brand communities, bojkott, word-of-mouth samt köpintention baserat på kontext.

Sammanfattning: In 2020, Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined Hammarby IF as a partner, which has caused outrage among Malmö FF supporters who proceeded to talk negatively about him on social media and destroying his statue outside of Malmö FF's home stadium. Likewise, when the beverage company Spendrups announced a sponsorship of Hammarby IF, the main supporter group of close rivals, Djurgårdens IF called out for a boycott of Spendrups products. This highlights clear potential downsides of sponsorship deals, where the sponsor risk facing negative backlash from people and potentially having their products boycotted. Yet still, surprisingly little is known about the word-of-mouth effects and company-damaging behaviors (such as boycotts and anti-brand communities) arising from sponsorship deals. Whether the decreases in purchase intent extend to other contexts than those in the immediate proximity of the sponsored entity is also unknown. In response to these circumstances, a quantitative experimental study has been conducted. The results show that sponsorship deals can affect word-of-mouth behavior, both in terms positive effects for supporters of the sponsored entity, as well as negative effects for those in opposition to it. Those in opposition also show an increased tendency to engage in boycotts and anti-brand communities. Finally, the results show that the effects on purchase intent can stretch further, beyond the direct vicinity of the sponsored entity. Practical implications are also discussed, giving recommendations on how to act based on the findings in this study.