Assessing the Impact of Gender and Expertise in Athletic Product Endorsement in China

Authors: Jiayao Chee Qi1, Marshall J. Magnusen2, Jun Woo Kim3, and Jeffrey C. Petersen2

1Department of Sport and Entertainment Management, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
2Department of Educational Leadership, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
3School of Global Business, Arcadia University, Glenside, PA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Marshall J. Magnusen, PhD
Marrs McLean Science
One Bear Place #97312
Waco, TX 76798
Marshall_Magnusen@baylor.edu
254-710-4019

Jiayao Chee Qi, MSEd, is a doctoral candidate at the University of South Carolina. His advisor is Dr. Sam Todd, the associate dean for faculty, operations, and international partnerships. His current research interests focus on sport organization behavior, realistic job previews, and personnel selection.

Marshall J. Magnusen, PhD, is an associate professor of sport management at Baylor University. Magnusen’s research interests include leadership, recruiting and personnel selection, and wellbeing.
Jun Woo Kim, PhD, is an associate professor of sport management at Arcadia University. His research interests are in the areas of sport consumer behavior, marketing, and sports analytics.
Jeffrey C. Petersen, PhD, is a professor of sport management at Baylor University. He has research interests in the areas of sport consumer behavior as well as facility and event management.

Assessing the Impact of Gender and Expertise in Athletic Product Endorsement in China

ABSTRACT

Product-endorser relationships are critical to the success of marketing campaigns involving the sponsorship of an individual to promote a product or service. The significance of such relationships can be understood in part through the “match-up hypothesis.” This theory suggests endorsers are more effective when “fit” is stronger between a product and the endorser of the product. In this study, Chinese consumers’ perceptions of gender-sport fit, expertise, and endorser-product fit were evaluated. Images of two sets of athletes participating in different sports, with one being mixed martial arts (MMA) and the other one being gymnastics, were compared in a two-part study by 649 sport consumers from Shanghai, China. In Study 1, a 2 (male athlete and female athlete) × 2 (MMA and gymnastics) model compared Chinese consumers’ perceptions of gender-sport fit on endorser-product fit. In Study 2, a 2 (gender-sport fit: high and low) × 2 (expertise: highly skilled and less skilled) model evaluated whether consumers’ perceptions of endorser-product fit were more strongly influenced by athlete gender-sport fit or sport expertise. Gender-sport fit was shown to outperform expertise. Though expertise is important, an endorsement lacking sufficient gender-sport fit may not maximize the effectiveness of the endorsement relationship.


Key Words: consumer behavior; culture; endorsers; international; marketing; MMA; sponsorship; sport management

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2023-12-08T10:17:32-06:00December 8th, 2023|Research, Sports Management|Comments Off on Assessing the Impact of Gender and Expertise in Athletic Product Endorsement in China

Tennis Anyone? A Content Analysis of the Written and Pictorial Coverage of Tennis Magazine

Authors:
Tywan G. Martin, University of Miami
Sanghak Lee, Korea Aerospace University
Erin L. McNary, Indiana University
Daniel Totani, University of Miami

Corresponding author:
Tywan G. Martin, Ph.D.
Department of Kinesiology & Sport Sciences
P.O. Box 248065
Coral Gables, FL 33124
Phone: (305) 284-1168
E-mail: t.martin@miami.edu

Tennis Anyone? A Content Analysis of the Written and Pictorial Coverage of Tennis Magazine

ABSTRACT
This investigation measured the coverage given to female and male athletes in a single sport focused print publication Tennis magazine from 2007 to 2012. The examined timeframe was selected based on the updated Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rules that required both female and male athletes to compete at many of the same high profile events during the professional tennis season. Given the restructured rules, the perceived femininity associated with female tennis players, and the media coverage female athletes in individual sports tended to generate, it was important to determine the amount of media attention female professional tennis players received on the pages of a tennis magazine. The study’s results revealed that female tennis players did receive some prominent coverage and their total amount of coverage was similar to the percentage of female readers of the magazine. However, enthusiasm over the progress should be tempered as female competitors’ total exposure was less than their male counterparts and more coverage was garnered to female athletes in poses not related to tennis.

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2017-03-15T08:52:34-05:00April 13th, 2017|Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on Tennis Anyone? A Content Analysis of the Written and Pictorial Coverage of Tennis Magazine
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