Purpose

This study comprehensively explains how sports consumers evaluate athletes’ post-transgression philanthropic activities. We specifically focus on the congruence effect between the pre-transgression philanthropic endeavors and the transgression issue, shedding light on the effectiveness of these strategies in reinstating the positive image of athletes and associated entities.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed a rigorous research design, replicating two studies using sports-related (n = 409) and non-sports-related (n = 404) transgression cases. Data were collected by the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform. A series of experimental studies aimed to investigate the congruence mechanism underlying athletes’ post-transgression philanthropic efforts.

Findings

When the post-transgression philanthropic initiative is related to the transgression, sport consumers are less likely to view it skeptically and are more inclined to positively evaluate the brand attitude and purchase intention, especially when the transgression is unrelated to the pre-transgression philanthropic efforts.

Research limitations/implications

As is the case with most research, this study has a limitation. This study used a fictitious athlete name to prevent any prior biases or preconceived notions about the athletes and to avoid any unforeseen influences of personal attitudes toward the athlete. However, designing this study around a fictitious athlete may pose construct validity issues because it may not reflect real-life interactions with the athletes. To increase the validity of findings, future research should aim to replicate the current findings using the names of actual athletes.

Originality/value

This unique approach provides valuable insights and equips sports marketers and brand managers with effective strategies to restore the positive image of athletes and associated entities after a transgression has been made public, empowering them to make informed decisions in challenging situations.

中文翻译：

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越界后运动员的战略慈善事业：研究越界前和越界问题的一致性效应

 目的

本研究全面解释了体育消费者如何评价运动员越界后的慈善活动。我们特别关注越界前的慈善工作与越界问题之间的一致性效应，阐明了这些策略在恢复运动员和相关实体的积极形象方面的有效性。

设计/方法/方法

本研究采用了严格的研究设计，使用运动相关 （n = 409） 和非运动相关 （n = 404） 违规案例复制了两项研究。数据由 Amazon Mechanical Turk 平台收集。一系列实验研究旨在探讨运动员越界后慈善工作背后的一致性机制。

 发现

当越界后的慈善活动与越界有关时，体育消费者不太可能对它持怀疑态度，并且更倾向于积极评价品牌态度和购买意愿，尤其是当越界与越界前的慈善工作无关时。

研究局限性/影响

与大多数研究一样，这项研究也有局限性。本研究使用虚构的运动员姓名，以防止对运动员的任何先前偏见或先入为主的观念，并避免个人对运动员的态度产生任何不可预见的影响。然而，围绕虚构的运动员设计这项研究可能会带来结构有效性问题，因为它可能无法反映与运动员的现实生活中的互动。为了提高研究结果的有效性，未来的研究应该旨在使用实际运动员的名字来复制当前的发现。

 原创性/价值

这种独特的方法提供了宝贵的见解，并为体育营销人员和品牌经理提供了有效的策略，以便在违规行为被公开后恢复运动员和相关实体的积极形象，使他们能够在充满挑战的情况下做出明智的决定。