because of the multicollinearity between personality fit and demographic fit (correlation of 0.5 1), two other models were run that included just one of these variables. The results of this analysis are shown in Table 9-4.
The regression results show that personality match has a statistically significant relationship with perceived sponsorship fit. In the models that contain personality fit, the overall model is statistically significant [full model: adj. R2 = 0.64 (p < 0.01) personality only model:R2 = 0.65 (p < 0.01)]. In these models, the personality fit parameter is significant at the 0.05 level. In contrast, demographic fit is not statistically significant-in either the full model (With personality fit) or in the reduced model. This implies that in terms of an individual’s perceptions of sponsorship fit, personality congruency is a better gauge than demographic congruency. This result suggests that for those firms Who seek image-enhancement benefits from sponsorship, the sport’s image and not demographic fit should be the main sponsorship selection criteria.
In order to assess Which of the four personality constructs offered the greatest contribution to overall sponsorship fit, that variable was independently regressed upon each of the constructs. It was found that three of the four factors were independently significant in their contribution to personality fit. While all factors except Wholesome were significant at the 0.05 level, the constructs Sophisticated and Exciting accounted for much of the variance. In total, the four factors accounted for 72% of the variance of sponsorship fit. It is important to note that the results of this particular analysis may be influenced by the particular brands and sports used in the sample. Wholesome may Well have been significant had other brands and sports been utilized.
Study 2
To assess further the potential of personality matching between sports and brands, a second study was conducted. Study 1 supported our personality-matching methodology; the purpose of Study 2 was to further validate personality matching with a larger, more diverse sample