Satisfaction with sponsors. Satisfa

Satisfaction with sponsors. Satisfaction is a central concept in marketing. It
is a post-consumption evaluation whereby consumers experience ``a
pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment’’ (Oliver, 1997, p. 13).
``Identification induces the individual to engage in, and derive satisfaction
from, activities congruent with the identity’’ (Ashforth and Mael, 1989,
p. 35). To the extent that these activities include the patronage of sponsors,
in-group favoritism may influence the level of satisfaction highly identified
fans have when interacting with sponsoring firms. Another possibility is that,
due to their favored in-group status, negative service or product performance
attributed to sponsors is discounted such that it remains consistent with prior
held beliefs (i.e. a favorable attitude toward the sponsor’s brands). That is,
new information that is incongruent with existing knowledge is distorted so
as not to upset the existing schema (Crocker et al., 1984). This notion of
individuals seeking out or modifying their perceptions to be consistent with
their beliefs is well accepted (Sherif and Hovland, 1961). It is also in line
with recent theorizing in the organizational identity literature where the ego
defense of denial is proposed to be a tactic by which an organizational
identity can be maintained by questioning the validity of divergent
information (Brown and Starkey 2000). Thus, we propose: