프로야구 구단의 사회적 책임(CSR) 활동이 스폰서 기업의 브랜드 개성 및 관계지속의도에 미치는 영향: 이동통신사의 사례

The purpose of this research was to empirically examine the relationships among professional baseball teams’ cooperate social responsibility (CSR), sponsors’ brand personality, and sport fans’ relationship continuity intention. Due to the lack of scales with which to measure CSR in the context of professional baseball, the CSR scale was developed and confirmed as a reliable, valid instrument to capture the five factors (supporting socially vulnerable groups, supporting community development, empathy for clients and employees, economic·legal transparency, and contribution to society) of the CSR through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) (n=160) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) (n=626). Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed to test the hypothesized relationships among the CSR, brand personality, and relationship continuity intention. The study found that the four (supporting socially vulnerable groups, supporting community development, empathy for clients and employees, and economic·legal transparency) of the five factors of the CSR had direct effects on the sponsors’ brand personality and that the two (sophistication, sincerity) of the four factors (warmth, passion, sophistication, sincerity) of the brand personality had direct effects on the relationship continuity intention. In addition, the study revealed that the two (supporting socially vulnerable groups, empathy for clients and employees) of the five factors of the CSR had indirect effects on the relationship continuity intention via their effects on the two factors (sophistication, sincerity) of the brand personality while economic·legal transparency had a direct effect on the relationship continuity intention without any mediated effect of the brand personality. In order for marketers to maximize relationship continuity intention, they need to develop specific CSR programs that promote brand personality.