Personality fit in nascar: does driver-sponsor congruence influence sponsorship effectiveness outcomes?

The purpose of this study was to determine if personality fit between NASCAR drivers and their major sponsors affects the sponsorship outcomes of consumer attitudes toward the sponsor, attitudes toward the brand, and purchase intentions during a NASCAR event. Moreover, fan identification and product involvement were examined as moderators between personality fit and the three sponsorship outcomes. A cross-sectional, non-experimental, exploratory study was conducted at a NEXTEL Cup event in April 2007, the NASCAR Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Several hundred paper-and-pencil questionnaires were distributed to willing participants prior to the start of the race. A total of 385 questionnaires were distributed during the event, and 347 were completed and useable for data analysis, resulting in a 90% response rate. The demographic variables analyzed in this study showed that there were approximately 58% males and 38% females (percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding or missing responses). The majority of the sample was Caucasian (82%) and married (62%). Respondents at this event were fairly evenly distributed according to age with 11.2% in the 18-24 range, 25.6% in the 25-34 range, 33.7% in the 35-44 range, 18.2% in the 45-54 range and 7.5% in the 55 and older age range. Finally, most of the respondents were high school graduates (31%) or had some college experience (23%). Data analyses conducted in the study included a factor analysis, descriptive statistics (i.e., frequencies, means, and standard deviations), bivariate correlations, and hierarchical moderated regression analyses. Results indicated that there were three personality dimensions present among the NASCAR drivers and their major sponsors: (1) Excitement/Ruggedness, (2) Competence/Sophistication, and (3) Sincerity. Personality fit on all dimensions had a positive effect on each of the three dependent variables: attitude toward the sponsor, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intentions, with personality fit on Dimension 1 having the strongest overall impact. Fan identification moderated the relationship between personality fit and all three dependent variables. Product involvement had a significant direct effect on all three dependent variables, but had only a slight moderating effect on personality fit and attitude toward the sponsor.