Sponsorship evaluation among local sponsors : An exploratory study of the Cross Country World Cup in Ulricehamn 2017

Abstract: In recent years, the financial investments into sponsorships have increased. This is also significant on a local level. Both corporations and local authority invest extensively in sponsorships today and a growing interest has risen in sport event sponsorships. Although more financial resources are invested in sponsorships, there is a lack of sponsorship evaluation. There are evaluation methods present, but the literature has neglected to explain how local corporations and local authority evaluates a sponsorship of a international sport event hosted in a local geographical area.   The purpose of this thesis is therefore to explore how local authority and corporate sponsors evaluates their sponsorship investment of a global sport event arranged in a local geographical area. The research method of this thesis was qualitative and the primary data was collected by conducting a multiple case study including four local corporate sponsors and one local authority sponsor of the cross-country World Cup in Ulricehamn 2017.   The findings revealed that the local corporate sponsors evaluated the sponsorship by using non-numerical, hence intangible metrics, while the local authority sponsor used numerical metrics, hence more tangible metrics.