Relational Value and Partnership Experience in B2B Sport Sponsorship

Valeur relationnelle et expérience partenariale dans le sponsoring sportif B2B

Jérôme Boissel ()
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Jérôme Boissel: éklore-ed School of Management

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Abstract: Sport sponsorship has traditionally been analyzed through an instrumental perspective focused on visibility, brand image, and return on investment. However, contemporary B2B sport partnerships also seem to involve relational, experiential, and territorial dimensions that remain underexplored in the literature. In this context, this study investigates how partners of a professional sport club construct the value of their sponsorship experience and examines the place occupied by corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives within this value construction process. The study adopts an interpretive qualitative approach based on a case study conducted with partners of Tours Métropole Basket (TMB), a French professional basketball club. The empirical material combines twelve semi-structured interviews and eighteen video testimonials analyzed through Holbrook's experiential value framework. Findings show that the perceived value of sponsorship relies primarily on relational and experiential dimensions associated with networking opportunities, business development, conviviality, and territorial embeddedness. Sponsorship appears less as a simple visibility tool than as a form of economic sociability fostering durable interorganizational relationships. The study also highlights the hybridization of value forms, where economic benefits are closely intertwined with social and experiential dimensions. Finally, although CSR initiatives are generally perceived positively, they remain relatively peripheral within partners' lived experiences compared to the relational dynamics structuring the sponsorship ecosystem. This research contributes to the literature on B2B sport sponsorship by proposing a relational and experiential understanding of partnership value while also nuancing the effective role played by CSR initiatives in sponsorship value creation processes.

Keywords: CSR; Sport Sponsorship; Experiential Value; Economic Sociability; Relational Value; B2B; Sociabilité économique; RSE; Valeur expérientielle; Valeur relationnelle; Sponsoring sportif (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-03-27
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