THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-CONGRUITY WITH SPONSORSHIP, CUSTOMER INVOLVEMENT AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY

Abstract

Companies have pursued sponsorship as one of the marketing strategies. It has been reported that the development of a customer loyalty is a strategic objective for most companies. Even though customer loyalty becomes the focus in most firms, little has been done in the perspective of event sponsorship. For that reason, the study was undertaken to investigate the impact of self-congruity with sponsorship and customers’ involvement towards customer loyalty. 168 respondents were involved in the study. The study found out that there is a positive relationship between self-congruity with sponsorship, customer involvement and customer loyalty. Customers with high degree of congruence towards the sponsored event are more likely to involve with the event. As the level of self-image congruity increases, customers are more likely to prefer the sponsoring firm’s product. The highly involved customers with a sponsored event portray a high level of loyalty towards the sponsoring firms. This study contributes a significant knowledge to the sponsorship field in the local context.

Keywords: Self-congruity with sponsorship, customer involvement, customer loyalty