EFFECTS OF SPONSOR-EVENT CONGRUENCE ON BRAND IMAGE, ATTITUDE TOWARD THE BRAND, AND PURCHASE INTENTION: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS IN THE CONTEXT OF SPORT SPONSORSHIP

Event sponsorship is considered as one major marketing strategy. Companies investing in sponsorship are growing rapidly. However, research on sponsorship has not been done in the depth management aspects of a sports organization and has been concentrated in specific areas. Thus, this research fills the gap by conducting the study to analyze the relationship between sponsor-event congruence on brand image, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intention in the context of sport sponsorship event in Indonesia. Questionnaires were distributed by applying a personally administered questionnaire to 200 respondents who participated in that event. Data were analyzed through structural equation modeling method. Results showed that there are 4 out of 6 hypotheses were supported. Those hypotheses are: there is a positive relationship between sponsor-event congruence and attitudes toward the brand; there is a positive relationship between attitudes toward the brand and purchase intention, there is a positive relationship between brand image and attitudes toward the brand, and there is a positive relationship between sponsor-event congruence and purchaseintention.

Sponsorship of sporting events is one form of event sponsorship (Belch and Belch, 2011). The size of corporate promotion through international sports events is getting bigger. This is evidenced by the expansion of sponsorship revenues in one of the major international sporting events, the Olympics. According to data released by the IOC (International Olympic Committee), the size of sponsorship revenues from 96 million dollars in 85-88 years has steadily increased to 1003 million dollars in 2013-2016 ( Figure 1).
Another big international sports event, the 18th Asian Games was held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia in August 2018. There are many corporates participate in sponsorship of this event. The organizing committee for the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games (INASGOC) has diversified the sponsors' brands according to the format and size of the sponsorship. Samsung is one of five official partners of the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.

Figure 1 Olympic Sponsorship quadrennial Revenues
Source: Olympic marketing fact file (IOC, 2018) Samsung is one of the leading companies that promote companies through sponsorship at international sporting events. Samsung is sponsoring not only Asian Games but also other famous international sports events such as the Olympics and the International Athletics Championship. That is, Samsung developed a sponsorship strategy for this Asian Games using the various sponsorship experiences that are learned from previous sponsorship activities. The researcher chooses subjects of this study, Asian Games and Samsung, based on the abovebackgrounds.
There are many studies that an alyze the effectiveness of event sponsorship. Especially, sports sponsorship was used as a subject ofmanyevent sponsorship types of research. However, this study differs from previousstudiesthat explored sports sponsorship in two ways. First, there are few indepthcasestudies on sponsorship management from the perspective of sports entities (LundandGreyser, 2016). According to Lund and Greyser (2016), untilnow,most sponsorship studies have focused on the sponsor as a unit of analysisratherthan recognizing the importan trole of the rights holder in the value creation process.This study, however, based principally on an in-depth case study ofAsianGames, makes a contribution to understanding sponsorship managementfromthe perspective of the sports organization. This study investigatesspecificsports organizations and brands more deeply than previous studies byexploringthe sponsorshipactivities of the Samsungbrand in the 2018 Asian Games. Secondly, in the past, studies of sports sponsorship focusedon Western countries such as the USA, Australia and Europe (Bevec, 2016). Therefore, there was a lack of research on non-Western sponsorship such as China. However, according to the Bevec (2016), research on sports sponsorship should be carried out separately from region to region, as development processes, political environment, cultural and historical background vary from region to region. This study is about Indonesia in Asia, one of the areas where Bevec (2016) pointed out the lack of research on sports sponsorship. Therefore, this study can identify the effects of sports sponsorship inIndonesia. Specifically, this research applied three main variables in predicting purchase intention toward a specific brand in sport sponsorship. Those variables are sponsor-event congruence, attitude toward, and the brand brand image.

Relationship between Sponsor-Event Congruence and Attitude toward the Brand
Higher perceptions of event-sponsor fit results in a more positive attitude toward the sponsoring brand (Gwinnerand Bennett, 2008). According to Hutabarat and Gayatri (2014), the event-sponsor fit as one of the factors that influence a sponsorship response is able to measure a consumer's attitude and intention. Favorable sponsorship response is driven by sponsor-event fit, the sponsor's sincerity, and attitude toward the sponsor (Kim and Kim, 2018). Several researches proved that these two variables are related (Hutabarat and Gayatri, 2014;Alonso-Dos-Santos, Veinhardt et al., 2016;Pappu and Cornwell,2014;Kim and Kim, 2018;Cho, 2016;Mazodier and Merunka, 2012;Caemmerer and Descotes, 2014;Gharbi, 2014;Gwinnerand Bennett, 2008;Simmons and Becker-Olsen, 2006). Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed. H 1 : Sponsor-event congruence has a positive impact on attitudes toward the brand.

Relationship between Sponsor-Event Congruence and brandImage
According to Woisetschläger and Michaelis (2012), the improvement of brand image to be stronger for those individuals who learn that the brand is linked to the sponsorship of the event. The perception of congruence between the sponsor and the sports event is based on their logical relationship and connection. This relationship permits the transfer of the event´s image to the sponsor, and vice versa. Therefore, the consumer is able to easily store information about products, due to the link produced between the sponsored event and the brand (Alonso- Dos-Santos et al., 2016). Several researches proved that these two variables are related (HutabaratandGayatri, 2014;Grohsand Reisinger, 2014;ChebliandGharbi, 2014;Woisetschläger and Michaelis, 2012;Grohs, Wagner, andVsetecka, 2004;Carrillat, Harris, and Lafferty, 2010;Gwinner and Eaton, 1999;Rifon, Choi, Trimble, and Li, 2004;Koo, Quarterman, and Flynn, 2006;Ferrand and Pagès, 1996). Hence, the following second hypothesis is proposed. H 2 : Sponsor-event congruence has a positive impact to brand image.

Relationship between Attitudes toward the Brand and Purchase Intention
According to Wahid and Ahmed (2011), attitude toward the brand has a significant effect on purchase intention. Attitude toward the advertisement has a significant and positive influence on attitude toward the brand. Attitude toward the advertisement indirectly affects purchase intention through attitude toward the brand or at least acts as an important mediator variable on brand choice (Kim et al., 2011). Several types of research proved that these two variables are related (Kim et al., 2011;Hutterand Schwarz, 2012;Gilaninia, et al., 2011;Hartmann and Apaolaza-Ibáñez, 2012;Yooand Peña, 2011;Wahid and Ahmed, 2011;Huang, Chou, and Lin, 2010;Jaafar, et al., 2013;Lee and Cho, 2009;Koo et al., 2006). Hence, the following third hypothesis is proposed. H 3 : Attitudes toward the brand have a positive impact to purchase intention.

Relationship between Brand Image and PurchaseIntention
According to Gilaninia et al. (2011), brand image has a positive impact to purchase intention and customers with a more favorable image of a sponsor were more likely to purchase that sponsor's products than those with a less favorable image. Consumers will generate a more positive attitude toward the brand with a good image and thus generate higher purchase intention. An increase in the brand image enhances the purchase intention of the customers (RizkallaandSuzanawati, 2012). Several researches proved that these two variables are related (Gilaninia et al., 2011;Wu, Yeh, and Hsiao, 2011;Shah et al., 2012;Malik et al., 2013;Aghekyan-Simonian et al., 2012;Lien et al.,2015;Bian and Moutinho, 2011;Tariq et al., 2013;Filo, et al., 2010;Koo et al., 2006). Therefore, the following fourth hypothesis isproposed. H 4 : Brand image has a positive impact to purchase intention.

Relationship between Brand Image and Attitudes toward the brand
According to Hutabarat and Gayatri (2014), the brand image has fit with the sponsored event, it affects to favorable attitudes towards the brand. In other words, a positive brand image and is perceived fit with an event can create a positive impact on attitudes towards the brand. Thus, brand image has fit with the sponsored event, and finally to favorable attitudes towards the brand. Several researches proved that these two variables are related (Sääksjärvi and Samiee, 2011;Homer, 2008;Hutabarat and Gayatri, 2014;Kwon and Lennon, 2009;Faircloth et al.,2001;Suh and Yi,2006;Anwar et al.,2011;Chen,2010;Zhang, 2015;Jalilv and et al., 2011). Hence, the following fifth hypothesis is proposed. H 5 : Brand image hasa positive impact on attitudes toward the brand.

Relationship between Sponsor-Event Congruence and purchase intention
According to Cho (2016), event-sponsor fit product leads to a more favorable attitude toward a sponsoring brand and greater purchase intention than an ad with low in event-sponsor fit. According to Hutabarat and Gayatri (2014), which incorporate congruency in the model as a moderator to an identification effect towards sponsorship linked purchase. On the other words, congruency immediately has an effect on purchase intention. Several researches proved that these two variables are related (Cho, 2016;Close and Lacey, 2013;Hutabarat and Gayatri, 2014;Chebli and Gharbi, 2014;Pentecost and Spence, 2009;Gwinner and Bennett, 2008;Sirgy et al., 2008;Lacey and Close, 2013;Tomalieh, 2016;Khuongand Kim Chau, 2017). Hence, the following sixth hypothesis is proposed. H 6 : Sponsor-event congruence has a positive impact to purchase intention.

METHOD
This research distributed 208 questionnaires through a personally administered questionnaire. The sample size of the study can be determined by referring to the sample size selected by other studies that have studied the associated subject (Zikmund and Babin, 2011). Thus, the researcher examined the sample size of the related studies as Table 1. Based on the above criteria, the researcher sets the sample size of this study to200.
Data to analyze research objects were collected from individuals who attended the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. The researcher collects the data from the individuals who attend Asian Games sports competitions or festival that is heldon Gelora Bung Karno (GBK), Asian Games stadium complex during the Asian Games period, from 18th August 2018 to 2nd September 2018.
The questionnaire was constructed through previous research (i.e., Zulkarnain, 2016;Draaijer, 2015;Abzari et al., 2014). This research consists of 4 variables with 18 indicators. Table 2 listed below the details of the indicators.
Data were collected from a representative sample of the population by applying a purposive

Researcher of relevant studies (year) Total sample
Hutabarat and Gayatri (2014) 155 Lee (2015) 291 Wahid and Ahmed (2011) 125 Khuong and Kim (2017) 227 Clark, Cornwell, and Pruitt (2009) 114 Jung and Kim (2015) 246 Mazodier and Merunka, (2012) 300 Total average 208 Source: Developed for this Research Study Table 1 Sample Size design sample. Data then were analyzed through three steps as suggested by SekaranandBougie (2016). Those three steps are preparing data ready for analysis, feel for the data, and analysis data. Descriptive statistics and reliability and validity analysis were conducted before structural equation modeling was applied to test research hypotheses. This research conducted a pretest. A pretest is a very descriptive term indicating a small-scale study in which the results are only preliminary and intended only to assist in the design of a subsequent study (ZikmundandBabin, 2011). Still, in Zikmund and Babin (2011), pretesting is a screening procedure that involves a trial run with a group of respondents to iron out fundamental problems in the survey design. Furthermore, all aspects of the questionnaire should be tested, including question content, wording, sequence, form and layout, question difficulty, and instruction (Malhotra, 2010).

RESULTS
Profile of Respondents. Out of 208 questionnaires distributed, 202 questionnaires were used in the analysis. The profile of the 202 respondents is shown in Table 3.The above table shows that out of 202 respondents, there are more males than females. Male respondents are 53.46%, about 7% more than female respondents. However, there is not a big difference between the two proportions. The age range of the respondents is the highest in the 20s. Among the five age groups, respondents in the 20s are account for 46.04%, far differences from other age groups. Respondents in the 30s and 40s followed in order. That is, respondents in their 20s account for the largest percentage, and the percentage is decreased as the age group increases.
Relibility and Validity Results. The results of the Cronbach's alpha and corrected item-total correlation in the actual test were shown in Table 4. The results of the Cronbach's alpha using 202 respondents indicated that all variables are reliable. The Cronbach's alpha for sponsor-event congruence, attitudes toward the brand, brand image, and purchase intention ranged between 0.715 to 0.858. In addition, the results of the corrected item-total correlation using 202 respondents also indicated that all variables arereliable. Thus, all 16 indicators of four variables that have been tested by the pretest can be used for the following verification (Table 4).

ISSN: 1693-5241 19
Effects of Sponsor-Event Congruence on Brand Image, Attitude Toward The Brand, and ... EFA and Pearson's correlation were applied to test for validity. Convergent validity had been established as the indicators of the same construct converged in one component and satisfied the minimum factor loading of 0.50 suggested by Hair et al. (2010,p.723). Table 5 showed that all research indicators converged in each component.
An evaluation of discriminant validity in the actual test was also made by examining the Pearson   (2018) correlation in the correlation matrix and a cut-off point of no more than 0.75 was used (Sekaran and Bougie, 2013, p.298   Forthisresearch, there searcher adopts structural equation modeling(SEM) using SmartPLS which enables the researcher to estimate various equations at once. The hypothesis testing in this research is done through SEM using SmartPLS 3.2.7. The main reason for using SEM is it offers the researcher the ability to accommodate multiple interrelated dependence relationships in a single model. Based on the SEM results, the researcher identifies whether the hypotheses are supported or unsupported. Table 7 below shows the results of the hypothesestesting.

DISCUSSION
Hypothesis 1 proposed that there is a positive relationship between sponsor-event congruence and attitudes toward the brand. The result of the actual test showed that hypothesis 1 was supported (t sta-tistics = 4.872). Indeed, there is a positive relationship between sponsor-event congruence and attitudes toward the brand. Specifically, the results indicate that the congruence between Samsung and the 2018 Asian Games affects the audience's attitude toward Samsung at the Asian Games.
Hypothesis 2 proposed that there is a positive relationship between sponsor-event congruence and brand image. The result of the actual study showed that hypothesis 2 was supported (t statistics = 4.833). Indeed, there is a positive relationship between sponsor-event congruence and brand image. Specifically, the results indicate that the congruence between Samsung and the 2018 Asian Games affects the audience's brand image of Samsung at the Asian Games.
Hypothesis 5 proposed that there is a positive relationship between brand image and attitudes toward the brand. The result of the actual study showed that hypothesis 6 was supported (t statistics = 9.717). Indeed, there is a positive relationship between brand image and attitudes toward the brand. In particular, this hypothesis had the highest t value compared to other supported hypotheses. This means that the two variables in this hypothesis are highly correlated. Specifically, the results indicate that the image customers have about Samsung brand affects their attitude toward Samsungbran Hypothesis 6 proposed that there is a positive relationship between sponsor-event congruence and purchase intention. The result of the actual study showed that hypothesis 6 was supported (t statistics = 6.466). Indeed, there is a positive relationship between sponsor-event congruence and purchase intention. In particular, this hypothesis has a relatively high t value compared to the four hypotheses supported in this study. This means that the two variables in this hypothesis are highly correlated. Specifically, the results indicate the congruence between Samsung and the 2018 Asian Games affects the audience's purchase intention of the Samsung brand.
Two of the six hypotheses in this study were not supported; those that were not supported were hypotheses 3 and 4. Hypothesis 3 proposed that there is a positive relationship between attitudes toward the brand and purchase intention. The result of the actual study showed that hypothesis 3 was unsupported (t statistics = 0.097). The reason that influenced this unsupported hypothesis is as follows. The profile of respondents can be used to explain the hypothesis test results. According to table 2, male respondents account for a large number of study respondents. Male respondents account for 53.47% of the total respondents, about 7% more than female respondents (46.53%). The characteristics of the consumer behavior of male customers can explain the results of this unsupported hypothesis testing.
According to Hoyer and MacInnis (2010), a male judge from a functional and instrumental perspective rather than a female. On the other hand, females put more emphasis on symbols and identity. Hypothesis 3 is whether attitudes toward brand behavior have a positive impact on purchasing intention. According to Evans and Jamal (2010), attitude toward the brand is a consumer's feelings, affective reaction or evaluative response to a brand.

H1
H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 Thus, assessingattitudes toward the brand is an emotional and value-focused assessment rather than an assessment of a functional or instrumental perspective. According to the explanation above, male respondents, who account for the majority of the study's respondents, would not have given a high rating because this assessment was more appropriate to the characteristics of females than males. Therefore, this hypothesis may not be supported due to the tendency of the male consumers' behavioral characteristics to underestimate the variable of attitudes toward the brand, which is included in thishypothesis. The next unsupported hypothesis is the hypothesis 4. Hypothesis 4 proposed that there is a positive relationship between brand image and purchase intention. The result of the actual study showed that hypothesis 4 was unsupported (t statistics = 0.670). Again, through the table 2, it can be seen that there are more male respondents than female respondents. Male respondents are about 7% more than female respondents. According to Hoyer and MacInnis (2010), there isparticular consumer behavior according to gender. While male consumers are more concerned with functional and instrumental aspects, female consumers are more influenced by value such as symbols and identity (Hoyer andMacInnis, 2010). Hypothesis 4 is whether the brand image has a positive impact on purchasing intention. Hoyer and MacInnis (2010) define the brand image as a subset of salient and feeling-related associations stored in a brand schema. According to this definition, assessing brand image is an emotional and value-focused assessment rather than an assessment of a functional or instrumental perspective. According to the explanation above, male respondents, who account for the majority of the study's respondents, would not have given a high rating because variables related to value and emotion such as brand image are more of a consideration for female consumers. Therefore, this hypothesis may not be supported due to the tendency of the male consumers' behavioral characteristics to underestimate the variable of brand image, which is included in this hypothesis.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDA-TIONS
In this study, the researcher studied the effects of sports sponsorship. The study explored the role of sponsor-event congruence, attitudes toward the brand, and brand image in sponsorship and ultimately the effect of sponsorship, exploring how these variables affect the customer's purchase intention. The results showed that four out of the six hypotheses were supported. The results of this study confirmed the presence of a positive relationship between sponsor-event congruence and attitudes toward the brand, sponsor-event congruence and brand image, sponsor-event congruence and purchase intention, and brand image and attitudes toward the brand. The two unsupported hypotheses were the hypotheses that proposed there is a positive relationship between attitudes toward the brand and purchase intention, and there is a positive relationship between brand image and purchase intention. This unsupported link between attitudes toward the brand and purchase intention, and brand image and purchase intention indicate the need for further research on these variables. This study has two main limitations that are mentioned above. The relevant study should be conducted in a way that overcomes the limitations found in this study. First, the study was conducted in limited places for a limited time. This limitation can be overcome in the following studies by conducting research surveys for a long time in more diverse locations. If a study is conducted on sponsorship of a particular event, such as this study, the study should be conducted in such a way that it covers the location and time where the event is held in order to overcome the firstlimitation.
Secondly, this study limited its scope of subjects. There are several brands sponsored on Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games in 2018, but in this study,the researcher studied Samsung, one of them. This limitation of research can be overcome by studying various companies participating in sponsorship in later studies. When doing research on sponsorship, investigating multiple companies that