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