The purpose of the present study is to investigate if there is the mediating effects of consumers’ brand identification in the relationships between sports brand globalization perceived by consumers, cause-related marketing, in which a company donat...
The purpose of the present study is to investigate if there is the mediating effects of consumers’ brand identification in the relationships between sports brand globalization perceived by consumers, cause-related marketing, in which a company donate a certain portion of its product sales to a social cause in the sports product industry, and positive customer loyalty. For this, we ocllected 431 (95.7%) questionnaires from the students attending N, D, and K universities located in Chung-Nam, Busan, and Kyounggi areas respectively. We also performed several statistical analyses including a descriptive analysis, a confirmatory factor analysis and Structural Equation Model (SMO) analysis. Results were as follows: First, the brand globalization perceived by college sports consumers had positive impacts on brand-cause fit (t=9.698, p<.001), CRM participation motivation (t=3.306, p<.001) and donation amount appropriateness (t=4.976, p<.001). Second, these brandcause fit (t=2.758, p<.01), CRM participation motivation t=4.195, p<.001) and donation amount appropriateness (t=2.814, p<.01) had positive effects on brand identification. Lastly, brand identification had statistically significant effects on customer loyalty (t=6.785, p<.001). Consequently, as consumers perceive a certain sport brand with global image, they are more likely to positively evaluate cause-related marketing of the brand and in turn, create brand identification as well as customer loyalty. Thus, the creation of brand identification, which is the end-product of consumers’ perceptions toward brand globalization and cause-related marketing and customer loyalty can be crucial elements for sporting goods brands to create competitive advantages in the global market.