Implementing CSR through sport events for Moroccan companies: The impact of organizational identification on the wider public trust and purchase intention

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to examine the impact of the organizational identification construct as an indirect indicator of the tangible and intangible benefits that a company can achieve through the implementation of a CSR strategy based on the organization or sponsorship of sporting events, such as building trust and stimulating purchase intention among the wider public. A quantitative study was carried out using a questionnaire designed on the basis of existing measurement scales in the literature, and completed by 125 respondents targeted according to their interest in sport and sporting events. As expected, respondents showed a notable degree of organizational identification with companies that organize or sponsor sporting events as part of CSR, and the results projected and confirmed that the concept of organizational identification has a positive impact on the wider public's purchase intention and trust, but the mediating role that the latter can play between organizational identification and the wider public's purchase intention has not been proven.

Overall, Moroccan companies should deploy CSR strategies through the organization or sponsorship of sporting events, enabling them to increase their financial assets (purchase intention) and build trust, taking into account the level of organizational identification of the target audience as a measurable index to predict the effectiveness and appropriateness of a CSR campaign.

Keywords: CSR; sport events; organizational identification; wider public; trust; Purchase intention

JEL Classification: M14; L21

Paper Type: Empirical Research