Resumen de Examining corporate sponsorsip of charitable events in the greater charleston area.

Sharon Nadav, Wayne W. Smith, Andrea Canberg

• Despite an increasing trend of businesses using event sponsorship as a marketing strategy ang tool to enhance corporate image, limited research is available to understand the basis for businesses' decision making regarding event sponsorship and the subsequent evaluation of the value of that sponsorship. The purpose of this study is to develop an event sponsorship decision-making model based on how companies in the greater Charleston, South Carolina area choose and evaluate sponsorship of local charitable events. The findings in this study suggest that six primary factors influence event sponsorship decision making: business policy, type of organization, event type, marketing strategy, projected outputs, and perceived value. The emphasis on each of these factors in the decision-making process was also influenced by the business's orientation toward pure marketing or pure philanthropy. A strategy for approaching businesses regarding event sponsorship for charitable events is suggested based on the findings in this study.