SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY, 2015, 43(6), 977–992

© Society for Personality Research

http://dx.doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2015.43.6.977

HAPPY TO SUPPORT: EMOTION AS A MEDIATOR IN BRAND

BUILDING THROUGH PHILANTHROPIC CORPORATE
SPONSORSHIP

WOO-YOUNG LEE
University of Central Missouri
YOUNGJIN HUR
Konkuk University
MINJUNG SUNG
Chung-Ang University

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is very meaningful in a culture such
as that of the Republic of Korea, where individual ethics are grounded in Confucianism,
which emphasizes humanism and altruism. We examined the mediating role of emotion in
the relationships among participants’ perceptions of CSR, their attitude toward philanthropic
corporate sponsorship of a sporting event, and of the sponsoring company’s brand equity. We
conducted a survey with 251 participants in a charitable sports event held in Seoul, South
Korea, which was sponsored by a major Korean company. The results of analysis of the data
collected provide an understanding of how strong brand equity of the sponsoring company
was generated among participants. The findings also shed light on the mediating role of
emotion in the relationship between the company’s brand equity and 2 major participant
cognitive factors of attitude toward an event and perception of CSR. Results indicate that
sponsoring a charitable sporting event targeted at certain types of consumers can be an
effective marketing tool for a company to build brand equity.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, sports sponsorship, brand equity, emotion,

charitable sporting event, philanthropy.

Woo-Young Lee, Department of Nutrition and Kinesiology, University of Central Missouri;

Youngjin Hur, Department of Physical Education, Konkuk University; Minjung Sung, Department
of Advertising and Public Relations, Chung-Ang University.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Minjung Sung, Department of
Advertising and Public Relations, Chung-Ang University, 221 Heukseok-Dong, Dongjak-Ku, Seoul,
Republic of Korea. Email: mjsung@cau.ac.kr

977
978 EMOTION IN BRAND BUILDING

Recognition of the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR)

as a marketing and communication tool has risen dramatically since 2001
(Crampton & Patten, 2008). In 2012 in the USA, individuals, corporations,
and foundations gave more than to US$316 billion to charitable activities
(Giving USA Foundation, 2013), such as cause-related promotions, support
of nonprofit organizations, employee volunteerism in community events,
employment opportunities for people with disabilities and members of minority
groups, and sponsorship of charitable events (Vlachos, Tsamakos, Vrechopoulos,
& Avramidis, 2009). This proliferation of activities reflecting CSR signals that
today’s corporations assume the effect of CSR initiatives on consumers (Sen &
Bhattacharya, 2001). In particular, researchers have indicated that sponsoring
sport events organized for philanthropic causes is one of the most effective
corporate charitable activities (Chakraborti & Roy, 2013). In fact, researchers
have reported that sponsoring charitable sporting events gives enterprises a
significant foundation in competitive advantage by increasing customer loyalty
(Bortoleto & de Moura Costa, 2012), brand equity (Menon & Kahn, 2003), and
influencing consumers’ purchase behavior (Kim, Smith, & James, 2010).
Marketing researchers have progressively emphasized the influence on
consumer buying decisions of intangible attributes, such as trust, brand image,
reputation, and ethics, rather than tangible product features, such as price
and quality (Cretu & Brodie, 2007). Chakraborti and Roy (2013) argued that
emotion is a core component of brand value. Lynch and de Chernatony (2004)
further indicated that the emotional characteristics of brand equity might be
important foundations of competitive advantage. At the present time, substantial
advances have been made in Asian communities in perceptions of CSR and
activities associated with CSR (Wright, 2008). The influence of CSR is
particularly significant in Korean society, where individual ethics are founded
on Confucianism, which emphasizes humanism and altruism (Bae, 2011). For
example, Korean social norms have long emphasized jeong, meaning empathy
toward others and referring to feelings evoked from an individual’s ethical
foundation (Yang, 2006). However, the role of emotion in building a brand image
through CSR has been underemphasized in past research.
Researchers have found that Korean consumers want to patronize companies
that embody their social and ethical standards, for example, by buying envi-
ronmentally friendly products (Oliver & Lee, 2010). In addition, in a survey of
Korean consumers it was reported that 78% of respondents were willing to pay
more for products purchased from socially responsible companies (Garcia, 2010).
Although the positive outcomes of CSR activities have been demonstrated in
the context of Korean society, few researchers have examined the brand-related
consequences of a firm’s sponsorship of charitable sporting events. From our
comprehensive review of the literature we found that previous researchers on
 EMOTION IN BRAND BUILDING 979
CSR had rarely investigated individuals involved in a charity event as study
participants and also that, especially in regard to Korean brands and the Korean
population, there were very few empirical studies of the effect of CSR on the
company’s brand equity. Considering the lack of relevant literature, we sought to
extend the scope of consumer attribution research in the setting of the business
environment of South Korea, by integrating and refining current models to better
understand the following relationships: a) the influences of participant attitudes
toward a charitable event on the sponsoring company’s brand equity, b) the
effects of participant perceptions of CSR on the company’s brand equity, and c)
the moderating role of emotion in the relationships among participants’ attitudes
toward an event, their perceptions of CSR, and the company’s brand equity.

Literature Review and Hypotheses

Corporate Social Responsibility

In his historical publication, Bowen (1953) defined CSR as the obligation
“to pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines of
action which are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society”
(p. 6). More recently, it has been conceptualized as a comprehensive “proactive
social responsiveness view” that articulates a company’s long-term role in a
social system (McGee, 1998, p. 379). Corporations do not have an obligation
to society as a whole, but they do have an obligation to those who are directly
or indirectly affected by their activities, and there is increasing evidence that
consumers have positive attitudes toward businesses that meet their ethical norms
(d’Astous & Bitz, 1995; Meenaghan, 2001). Therefore, companies increasingly
expend more effort to be involved in various CSR activities as marketing or
communication vehicles (Franklin, 2008). Consumer behavior research has been
focused on the consequences of company involvement in CSR activities (Luo &
Bhattacharya, 2006), and it is widely accepted among management scholars that
CSR positively influences overall firm performance (Smith, 2003). For example,
in previous studies it has been found that consumer preference for a company’s
products (Kim et al., 2010), brand choice (Barone, Miyazaki, & Taylor, 2000),
and intention to purchase (Sen & Bhattacharya, 2001) are positively related to
CSR activities. Furthermore, previous researchers have established that CSR
affects brand performance attributes, such as brand loyalty, brand awareness,
brand association, and brand equity (Lai, Chiu, Yang, & Pai, 2010). Thus, CSR
creates a win–win situation for both firms and stakeholders in that it satisfies
the stakeholders’ ethical, moral, and social needs while resulting in the firms’
improved performance.
Calderón-Martínez, Más-Ruiz, and Nicolau-Gonzálbez (2005) noted that
philanthropic sponsorship is one of the most effective methods of demonstrating
980 EMOTION IN BRAND BUILDING

CSR because it helps companies achieve a positive corporate image and social
recognition in the community. Furthermore, the corporate image associated
with demonstrating CSR can evoke positive emotions and positive attitudes
in consumers (Zarantonello & Schmitt, 2013) and encourage (re)patronage
intentions (Keller, 2009). However, many corporate philanthropic sponsorship
activities remain unfocused (Porter & Kramer, 2002). The CSR paradigm has
shifted from simple corporate donations for philanthropic or charitable purposes
to systemic and strategic promotion methods to gain social and economic benefits
by not only advertising the company’s CSR to stakeholders, but also encouraging
them to participate in CSR events (Mahapatra & Visalaksh, 2011).
According to Choi, Lee, and Park (2013), Korea is one of the few Asian
countries in which CSR is emphasized as a form of business communication.
According to a survey by the Federation of Korean Industries (2010), average
corporate spending on socially responsible activities skyrocketed from US$3.07
million in 2000 to US$11.7 million in 2010. Moreover, Korean corporations’
spending on charitable activities is four times higher than the average spending
of U.S. corporations and twice that of corporations in Japan (Federation of
Korean Industries, 2010), showing an expanding growth trend in the figures of
Korean firms that is equivalent to that of other developed countries. Wesley, Lee,
and Kim (2012) expressed the view that, compared with the CSR practices of
Western countries, the CSR of Korean firms is unique, reflecting the context of
the Korean culture.

Confucian Values in Korea

Confucianism is a major basis for the ethical standards of Korean society (Lee,
2012). Confucianism is an ancient Chinese way of thought that has influenced East
Asian cultures, in which the importance of status, social contacts, relationships
with others, education, and political ideology are emphasized. According to
Romar (2002), Confucianism contains the following moral disciplines for
management/business: a) “It requires individuals and organizations to make a
positive contribution to society,” and b) “The Confucian golden rule and virtues
provide a moral basis for the hierarchical and cooperative relationships critical to
organizational success” (p. 119). In line with these concepts, South Koreans are
inclined to be kind to each other, and their culture emphasizes strong relationships
among group members (Lee, 2012). In terms of social responsibility, ethical
virtue in South Korean society is distinctly different from that in Western society.
Korea has a collectivist culture similar to that of other East Asian countries, in
which empathy (jeong) among all members of society is encouraged, created
by relationships and interactions with each other (Lee, 2012). The belief in
this culture is that living through humanity is the clearest way to benevolence,
which enables a moral person to lead by example and show how moral behavior
 EMOTION IN BRAND BUILDING 981
makes both the individual himself/herself and others happy (Yang, 2006). In this
cultural context, our focus was to explore how the emotional reactions of a group
of Korean participants in a charitable sporting event influenced CSR outcomes.

Event Attitude and Brand Equity

Event marketing has been described as one of the fastest growing and most
significant marketing methods (Zarantonello & Schmitt, 2013). For example,
firms in the United States spent $37 billion dollars on marketing events in
2011 (Miller & Washington, 2012). Philanthropic events can meet ethical
expectations as well as providing highly interactive communication and, at the
same time, allow consumers to experience the brand image in an immediate
way. Face-to-face meetings with customers at philanthropic sporting events can
result in memorable brand images. Sponsoring a charitable event is also seen as
experiential marketing. Researchers have increasingly emphasized that events
can not only stimulate and persuade consumers toward attitude change, but
can also create more profound and significant brand equity for the company by
creating memorable consumer experiences (Sözer & Vardar, 2009).
Marketing researchers have identified various components of the concept
of brand equity. Keller’s (1998) concept of brand equity is one of the most
widely accepted among scholars (Zarantonello & Schmitt, 2013). According
to Keller (1998), brand equity consists of six major components: brand
salience (consumer awareness of the brand), brand performance (satisfying
consumers’ functional needs), brand image (extrinsic assets of the product
that meet consumers’ psychological and social needs), consumers’ judgments
or assessments, consumers’ feelings (consumers’ emotional reactions to the
product), and brand resonance (associations between consumers and the brand).
Keller (2009) and Zarantonello and Schmitt (2013) suggested that the
components of event marketing (image of an event and attitude toward an event)
significantly influence brand equity. For example, the meanings that customers
link with an event can be transferred to the enterprise that sponsors it (Novais &
Arcodia, 2013), and a firm’s sponsorship of an event of which customers have
a positive perception can positively influence the image of the brand associated
with it (Close, Finney, Lacey, & Sneath, 2006). Sözer and Vardar (2009) reported
that the cognitive dimensions of event sponsorship (attitude) influence the
customer-based brand equity of the sponsor brands. Furthermore, Zarantonello
and Schmitt (2013) reported that consumer experiences of different types of
events positively contributed to sponsoring firms’ brand equity. On the basis of
these findings, we formed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1: Participants’ positive attitude toward an event will positively
influence the sponsoring company’s brand equity.
982 EMOTION IN BRAND BUILDING

Perception of Corporate Social Responsibility and Brand Equity

Improving a company’s brand image can be a significant motivator for a
firm to undertake CSR activities. Good publicity can result from CSR activities
and increase an organization’s positive brand image. As Keller (1998) stated, a
company’s image related to ethical behavior is a component of its brand equity.
In addition, empirical evidence supports the notion that consumer perceptions of
a firm’s CSR activities can positively influence its brand equity. For example,
corporate reputation garnered from CSR activities was found to have positive
effects on brand equity and brand performance (Lai et al., 2010). Hsu (2012)
investigated the persuasive advertising and informative advertising effects of
CSR initiatives on corporate reputation and brand equity and the empirical results
of this study also support the positive effects of CSR on brand equity. Therefore,
we formed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2: Participant perception of corporate social responsibility will
positively influence the sponsoring company’s brand equity.

Mediating Role of Emotion

There are two main reasons that we have considered emotion as a mediator
in this study. First, as previously pointed out, Korean society has long been
dominated by Confucian values, with its emphasis on jeong. Thus, it is logical
to deduce that consumers in South Korea are likely to feel happier when they
are involved in CSR activities, which, in turn, influences the cognitive outcomes
of CSR events, such as the company’s brand equity. Second, consumers’
emotional responses play a significant role in their cognitive appraisals,
and some researchers have examined the influences of these responses on
certain types of consumption behaviors (Oliver & Raney, 2011). For example,
consumers’ emotional responses have been investigated in relation to how
shopping experiences influence their purchase intentions (Mehrabian & Russell,
1974), their decision-making processes (Oliver & Raney, 2011), their customer
satisfaction (Phillips & Baumgartner, 2002), and their memories of a product
(Janssens & De Pelsmacker, 2005). It has also been shown that emotions are key
elements in determining brand equity (Chakraborti & Roy, 2013). Gobé (2001)
concluded that emotions experienced during consumption affect brand equity and
affective commitment toward the brand. Fournier (1998) described how brands
are emotionally attractive, which means that consumers’ perceptions of brands
are strongly influenced by their sensations and emotions, such as pleasure.
The Mehrabian and Russell model (M-R model, 1974) offers a substantive
explanation of the environmental factors affecting consumer experiences,
behaviors, and related emotional responses. Mehrabian and Russell suggested
that consumers experience consumption environments in terms of three major
emotional dimensions: pleasure, arousal, and dominance (PAD).
 EMOTION IN BRAND BUILDING 983
Sözer and Vardar (2009) described marketing through a sponsored event
as experiential marketing. In experiential marketing, an attempt is made to
build positive consumer experiences. Philanthropic sporting events provide
an opportunity for firms to tie consumer attitudes to their brands through an
appeal to ethical desires and social norms. Participants attending a philanthropic
sporting event tend to have positive emotions and a positive brand image. Thus,
we proposed the following final two hypotheses:
Hypothesis 3: Pleasure and arousal will significantly mediate the relationship
between the participants’ attitude toward the event and the company’s brand
equity.
Hypothesis 4: Pleasure and arousal will significantly mediate the relationship
between the participants’ perception of corporate social responsibility and the
company’s brand equity.

Method

Participants
Participants were more than 7,000 people who took part in the 11th Pink
Ribbon Love Marathon held in Seoul, South Korea. The event is a 5 km and
10 km running and walking event organized to promote breast cancer awareness
and as a fundraiser for and by the Korea Breast Cancer Foundation (KBCF). The
main sponsor, Amore Pacific, is the biggest cosmetic company in the country.
The event has been held each year since 2001, and event participants each paid
approximately US$10 as a registration fee. The Pink Ribbon Love Marathon can
be regarded as a CSR activity because all of the registration fees are donated to
the KBCF for prevention and treatment of breast cancer.

Data Collection
Data were collected from participants who were randomly selected, and each
person was asked to fill out a survey before the race. Only female participants
were recruited because most of the sponsoring company’s products are designed
for women. Among the 313 collected surveys, we analyzed 251 that were usable;
the mean age of participants was 44 years (SD = 11.56). The survey was prepared
in English and translated into Korean following a back-translation process
carried out by two bilingual communication researchers. Two native Korean
speakers reviewed the validity of the Korean version.

Instruments
In Table 1, descriptive statistics are presented of all the study variables. All
survey items had been shown to be acceptable psychometric measures in prior
studies, and all survey items were carefully reviewed and modified to meet the
 984

Table 1. Means, Standard Deviations, Factor Loadings, Critical Ratios, Composite Reliability, and Average Variance Extracted for Survey Items

Items M SD Loading Critical CR AVE

ratio

EA1. I am an enthusiastic supporter of the Pink Ribbon Marathon. 5.45 — .90 — .94 0.84
EA2. The Pink Ribbon Marathon is very important to me. 0.05 .93 21.45
EA3. I enjoy participating in the Pink Ribbon Marathon. 0.05 .92 20.27

CSR1. Amore Pacific is aware of environmental issues. 5.40 — .92 — .94 0.79
CSR2. Amore Pacific fulfills its social responsibilities. 0.03 .92 30.64
CSR3. Amore Pacific gives back to society. 0.05 .89 20.61
CSR4. Amore Pacific is highly involved in community activities. .04 .83 18.04

PL1. Unhappy–Happy 5.22 0.06 .83 — .94 0.79

PL2. Annoyed–Pleased 0.06 .93 24.79
PL3. Dissatisfied–Satisfied 0.05 .90 23.60
PL4. Despairing–Hopeful — .89 21.12

AR1. Relaxed–Stimulated 5.16 — .82 — .91 0.71

EMOTION IN BRAND BUILDING

AR2. Calm–Excited 0.06 .78 16.40

AR3. Sluggish–Frenzied 0.06 .87 15.31
AR4. Unaroused–Aroused 0.06 .89 17.59

BE1. After using this brand, I am very likely to grow fond of it. 5.35 — .86 — .93 0.81
BE2. For this brand, I have positive personal feelings. 0.06 .90 18.25
BE3. With time, I will develop warm feelings toward this brand. 0.05 .94 20.72

Note. EA = event attitude, CSR = corporate social responsibility, PL = pleasure, AR = arousal, BE = brand equity.
 EMOTION IN BRAND BUILDING 985
requirements of the current study. In addition, a panel of experts (three scholars
and two practitioners in the fields of communication and sports management)
analyzed the items for content validity. The survey contained five distinct
components as shown in the table. Three items from Alexandris, Tsaousi, and
James (2007) and Lee, Sandler, and Shani (1997) were used to measure EA,
referring to general feelings toward the event. To measure CSR, we used four
items derived from the Event Attitude Questionnaire developed by Currás-Pérez,
Bigné-Alcañiz, and Alvarado-Herrera (2009). We used the PAD dimensional
model developed by Mehrabian and Russell (1974) to develop items to examine
participants’ emotional responses (PL and AR) to their philanthropic sporting
event experience. We used the eight-item abbreviated PL and AR scales, given
evidence from previous research that they offer a reliable and valid alternative to
their longer predecessor (Havlena & Holbrook 1986). Finally, we used four items
adapted from the scale developed by Yoo and Donthu (2001) to measure BE. We
made several minor changes to the scale items to make them appropriate for this
study. All items were measured using a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1
(strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

Data Analysis
We examined the psychometric properties of the scales using SPSS version
16.0 and EQS version 6.1. We tested the constructs and factor structures of the
measurement models for goodness of fit using the robust maximum likelihood
method. The combined data for skewness and kurtosis were checked with
Mardia’s coefficient of multivariate kurtosis (Mardia, 1970). Mardia’s coefficient
was 162.47, and the normalized estimate was 47.96, which indicated that chi
square might be overestimated and fit indices and standard error of parameter
estimates might be underestimated (Hoyle, 1995). Thus, we used the Satorra–
Bentler scaled chi-square (S–B 2) index, the robust comparative fit index (CFI),
and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) for correction.

Results

Reliability, Validity, and Measurement Model Test

Confirmatory factor analysis with maximum likelihood estimation was
performed to assess the extent to which each of the five constructs was
represented by its indicators. The test of the measurement model showed a good
fit to the data: S–B 2 (125, N = 251) = 166.44, p < .05, CFI = .98, and RMSEA
= .036 (.019–.050). All the item loadings of the indicators were significant at
p < .05. The item loadings of the final scale ranged from .90 to .93 for EA; .83
to .92 for CSR; .83 to .93 for PL; .78 to .89 for AR; and .86 to .94 for BE. All
measures in the scales reached a satisfactory reliability level as measured by
986 EMOTION IN BRAND BUILDING

Cronbach’s alpha, ranging from .78 to .91, which is greater than the .70 minimum
recommended by Nunnally and Bernstein (1994). Likewise, the composite
reliability (CR) of the measurable variables ranged between .91 and .94 (see
Table 1), exceeding the .60 minimum recommended by Bagozzi and Yi (1988).
Average variances extracted (AVE) for all constructs were greater than 0.50 and
were, therefore, acceptable (Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2009; see Table 1).

Structural Model and Hypothesis Tests

We used the structural equation modeling approach via EQS version 6.1 to test
the hypothesized causal relationships among constructs. The proposed model
had an acceptable fit to the data and accounted for 61% of the variance in BE.
All structural path coefficients were statistically significant except for the direct
path from EA to BE (path coefficient = .09; Figure 1). Thus, Hypothesis 1 was
rejected, and Hypothesis 2 was supported at p < .05.
As suggested by MacKinnon, Fairchild, and Fritz (2007), we assessed the
statistical significance of the path coefficients for the mediation effects of PL and
AR on the relationships among EA, CSR, and BE. As shown in Figure 1, paths
EA → PL → BE, EA → AR → BE, CSR → PL → BE, and CSR → AR → BE
are statistically significant. The direct path of EA → BE is not significant, but the
direct path of CSR → BE is significant. Therefore, we concluded that PL and AR
provided complete mediation between EA and BE and partial mediation between
CSR and BE, confirming Hypotheses 3 and 4.

Pleasure

.26*
.28*
.48*
Event attitude
.09

.85* Brand equity

.32* .25*

PCS
.29*

.41*
Arousal 2/df = 299.70/126 = 2.38
CFI = .93
RMSEA = .074 (.063–.085)
Figure 1. Structural model test.
Note. * p < .05.
 EMOTION IN BRAND BUILDING 987
Discussion

Philanthropic corporate activities play a significant role in the marketing

arenas of many businesses (Zimmerman, 2000). Our objective was to explore the
influence of participant attitudes toward a charitable event and their perceptions
of CSR via their reactive emotion during their participation. Our findings provide
important insight into how a corporation’s sponsorship of a philanthropic sporting
event helps to build its brand equity in South Korea. In general, philanthropic
sponsorship can improve brand equity. In addition, our results shed light on the
role of emotion in constructing brand equity through philanthropic sponsorship of
an event, an aspect of this research topic that has been ignored in previous studies
(Lai et al., 2010). Our results suggest that, as predicted in our third and fourth
hypotheses, in terms of pleasure and arousal, consumers’ emotional reactions to
participating in a philanthropic sporting event were significant mediators of the
relationships between their general feeling toward the event, corporate social
responsibility, and the company’s brand equity. This finding indicates that South
Korean consumers’ positive emotions from being involved in a sporting event
with philanthropic corporate sponsorship significantly affected the company’s
brand equity, which is consistent with the overall essence of Confucian and
collectivist culture in Korea. Hur (2006) explored the factors and structure of
South Koreans’ motivations in charitable giving and found six components, the
strongest of which share similar emotional reactions, comprising doing a good
deed, desire for the common good, and altruism. Similar to the findings reported
by Chakraborti and Roy (2013), our results suggest that the brand equity of a
company sponsoring an event is more likely to be positive among South Koreans
when they have a positive emotional response to the event. Therefore, when
a company sponsors a philanthropic sporting event, such as the Pink Ribbon
Marathon, communicating the company’s socially responsible activities and
emphasizing the participants’ emotional rewards from the experience could be
effective marketing strategies to enhance the company’s brand equity.
We found it interesting that, in line with our prediction (H2), corporate social
responsibility and emotions of pleasure and arousal were direct predictors of
the company’s brand equity, whereas our first hypothesis was not supported
because the participants’ general feeling toward the event did not have a direct
effect on the company’s brand equity (see Figure 1). Our findings should be
interpreted carefully because the data were collected from participants in a
real-world event and 47% of the respondents (n = 118) identified themselves as
first-time participants in the event. Their lack of experience and information to
build attitudes toward the event might have attenuated the relationship between
feelings toward the event and the company’s brand equity. In addition, previous
researchers have emphasized the indirect impact of participant experience on
988 EMOTION IN BRAND BUILDING

emotional reaction, rather than their direct impacts during an event on their
cognitive outcomes (e.g., level of brand equity of the company). For example,
Zarantonello and Schmitt (2013) found that event attendance had an impact on
brand experience, which, in turn, is a source of brand equity. In other words,
event experience played a mediating role in the process that leads to enhancement
of the company’s brand equity. In addition, Kim et al. (2010) reported finding
that gratitude was a critical mediating mechanism in the relationship between
consumers’ attitudes toward sponsorship and their purchase intentions.
Taken together, our findings have implications for understanding consumers
and marketing strategies regarding charitable sporting events in South Korea.
One essential managerial implication is the need to use effective communication
strategies to appeal to stakeholders’ emotions through their social desires. The
general strategy for philanthropic marketing communication has been to generate
a persuasive message by highlighting the commonly felt seriousness of a social
issue. However, it has been found that this tactic is not effective as an appeal to
stakeholders and that it diminishes the performance of the company (Lai et al.,
2010). Our results provide evidence that sponsorship of a philanthropic sporting
event should be considered a branding tool to build the company’s brand equity.
The effect of philanthropic sporting event marketing on brand equity is more
salient when events are designed to create strong emotional bonds connecting a
social issue, a company, and consumers than when events fail to build emotional
links among these three components. Because Confucianism is basic to Korean
culture, companies can take advantage of these findings by considering the role
of the emotions evoked in consumers by the charitable activities undertaken by
the company.

Limitations and Future Research

Although we have advanced research in the field of consumer psychology,
our study has limitations that yield opportunities for future research. We have
underlined the importance of emotion in events at which a company demonstrates
CSR through sponsorship, but we have not delivered a specific strategy on how
philanthropic events should be designed to evoke strong, positive, emotional
reactions. Further research in this area is required in order to provide specific
tactics that sponsoring companies and event managers may be able to use to
design a successful marketing strategy for a philanthropic event. Finally, even
though the Pink Ribbon Love Marathon has been an annual event since 2001,
for this study data were collected from only one event, limiting the extent to
which the results can be generalized. Moreover, previous researchers who have
taken into account the impact of multiyear sponsorship have demonstrated that
multiyear attendance is associated with enhanced brand image and purchase
intentions toward a sponsor’s product among participants (e.g., Lacey, Sneath,
 EMOTION IN BRAND BUILDING 989
Finney, & Close, 2007). Studies of repeated event attendance and longer time
periods may offer a deeper understanding of the mediating role of participants’
emotion in building a company’s brand equity.

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