Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 42 (2020) 190–198

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhtm

Congruent charitable cause sponsorship effect: Air travelers’ perceived T

benefits, satisfaction and behavioral intention
Joonhyeong Joseph Kima, Jinsoo Hwangb, Insin Kimc,∗
a
Department of Hotel Management, Cheju Halla University, 38, Halladaehak-ro, Jeju-si, Jeju-do, 63092, Republic of Korea
b
The College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, 98 Gunja-Dong, Gwangjin-Gu, Seoul, 143-747, Republic of Korea
c
Department of Tourism and Convention, Pusan National University, 2, Busandaehak-ro 63 Beon-gil, Geumjeoung-gu, Busan, 46241, South Korea

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Airlines have developed charitable cause sponsorship programs in association with environmental and/or social
Airline cause sponsorship causes. The aim of this study is to understand airline passengers’ perception of two-dimensional congruence as
Congruence measured by the relevancy and expectancy between airline sponsorship programs and associated airlines.
Perceived benefits Specifically, this study investigates the effect of bidimensional congruence on the perceived benefits of such
Satisfaction
programs, which in turn lead to satisfaction. Additionally, this study examines the influence of satisfaction on
Resistance to negative information
resistance to negative information. In doing so, this study examines the postulated relationships based on 446
respondents who flew with US-based airlines and were conscious of the environmental and/or social cause
sponsorship programs. The results show a positive association of both relevancy and expectancy with perceived
benefits, which, in turn, leads to satisfaction. The data also confirm the positive influence of satisfaction on
resistance to negative information, which is particularly the case for consumers with high give value.

1. Introduction According to Cowper-Smith and de Grosbois (2011), almost all airlines

With the increase in the number of airlines who are reporting their
environmental and/or social initiatives (Coles, Fenclova, & Dinan,
2014; Han, Lee, Chua, & Kim, 2019; B.; Mak & Chan, 2006; B. L. M.;
Mak & Chan, 2007), numerous researchers have addressed issues re-
lating to cause sponsorship, which is an effective cause-related mar-
keting (CRM) strategy, through which companies are able to enhance
positive connotations such as the recognition of brand and sales growth
(Bigné-Alcañiz, Currás-Pérez, Ruiz-Mafé, & Sanz-Blas, 2012; Fenclova &
Coles, 2011). Due to the detrimental effects of the airline industry on
the environment and local community (e.g., noise pollution, solid waste
and emission of greenhouse gases; Chen, Chang, & Lin, 2012; B. Mak &
Chan, 2006), global airlines have attempted to develop the concept of
social responsibility (Chen et al., 2012) and various relationships with
charities (e.g., Cowper-Smith & de Grosbois, 2011).
Airlines have begun to support causes centered on environmental
conservation, employee wellbeing and/or various social causes
(Cowper-Smith & de Grosbois, 2011; Fenclova & Coles, 2011). Such
cause sponsorship may take the form of corporate philanthropy and
CRM (Fenclova & Coles, 2011), and is made available by offering
charities a certain amount of money or developing partnerships to
support their initiatives (Cowper-Smith & de Grosbois, 2011).
that are members of the three major airline alliances have adopted and
reported corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives related to basic
issues such as the reduction of fuel consumption and new fuel-efficient
aircraft, whereas few airlines have simultaneously published reports
dealing with sophisticated environmental (e.g., recycling waste on-
board, ISO 14001 certified) and socioeconomic (e.g., donation to
charitable organizations) issues. Despite the risks associated with such
sponsorship (Johnston, 2015), attribution is likely to influence custo-
mers’ perceptions of charitable cause sponsorships (Geue & Plewa,
2010). Thus, it is crucial to identify the kinds of sponsorship that offer
the greatest value to the airline. To develop successful cause sponsor-
ship in the aviation industry, the current study proposes the concept of
congruence (Lafferty, Goldsmith, & Hult, 2004).
Congruence has received considerable attention from divergent re-
searchers investigating organizational and individual perceptions and
behavior, building on prior research measuring the “perceived fit,
match, similarity, or agreement between two constructs” (Edwards &
Parry, 2017). Additionally, certain researchers have argued that in an
evaluation of congruence, relevancy and expectancy should be em-
ployed as measurement items—regardless of the different mechanisms
(Geue & Plewa, 2010; Maille & Fleck, 2011). Given the complexity of
congruence and the various research contexts, this research examines

∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: josephkim@chu.ac.kr (J.J. Kim), jhwang@sejong.ac.kr (J. Hwang), insinkim@pusan.ac.kr (I. Kim).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.01.004
Received 26 January 2019; Received in revised form 8 January 2020; Accepted 14 January 2020
Available online 22 January 2020
1447-6770/ © 2020 CAUTHE - COUNCIL FOR AUSTRALASIAN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY EDUCATION. Published by Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
J.J. Kim, et al.
the effects of congruence measured as relevancy and expectancy, and
non-sports-related charitable cause sponsorship in the airline cause
sponsorship context, while anecdotal evidence illustrates that airlines
are interested in developing relationships with various sports busi-
nesses, including football and baseball (Goetzl & Petrecca, 2000).
Hence, the research asked air-travelers about their knowledge of en-
vironmental cause sponsorship programs concerning the promotion of
sustainable solutions, investment in developing renewable energy, and
supporting non-profit organizations, including World Wildlife Fund. In
addition to environment-related causes, the study focused on the fol-
lowing airlines’ social initiatives: helping communities, often through
partnership with charities and/or organizations (e.g., Red Cross,
UNICEF, American Cancer Society, military charities). Despite diverse
studies on congruence research, researchers have highlighted the pau-
city of research on congruence building on the notion of relevance and
expectancy (Maille & Fleck, 2011). Further, research by airline com-
panies on CRM has rarely investigated the notion of congruence be-
tween the sponsoring brand and its cause. Hence, this research ex-
amines the benefits of congruence between airlines and their cause
sponsorship programs by adopting the definition of congruence by
Heckler and Childers (1992), which consists of the two dimensions of
relevancy and expectancy.
Although airlines' corporate communication of sponsorship activ-
ities (ATAS et al., 2015; Coles et al., 2014) has been previously re-
searched, the potential benefits of perceived congruence via airlines'
sponsorship of environmental and social causes remain unknown. To
address this gap, this research investigates the structural relationship
between congruent sponsorship, perceived benefits, which consists of
functional, experiential and symbolic benefits, satisfaction and re-
sistance to negative information. First, the hypothesized relationship
between bidimensional congruence and perceived benefits will elabo-
rate on airline passengers' perception of charitable partnerships and
especially of congruent sponsorship. While confirming the relationship
between benefits and satisfaction, this research will highlight the in-
fluence of passengers' satisfaction on resistance to negative information.
Second, the study examines the moderating effect of “give value” (Gipp,
Kalafatis, & Ledden, 2008) in bolstering the relationship between sa-
tisfaction and resistance to negative information. Specifically, the study
posits that despite the positive relationship between several perceived
benefits of airline brands and customer satisfaction, travelers tend to
resist negative information depending on their sacrifice to the brand.
While tourism and hospitality research has rarely investigated air tra-
velers' perception of airlines' charitable cause sponsorship efforts and
the associated effects (J. J. Kim & Kim, 2018a; 2018b), this research
significantly contributes to our understanding of the congruent spon-
sorship effects from the perspective of air travelers. In particular, this
research adds knowledge of an important variable, namely, give value,
to magnify customers’ resistance to negative information.
2. Literature review and formulation of study hypotheses
2.1. Cause sponsorship
Sandler and Shani (1989, p. 10) defined sponsorship as “the pro-
vision of resources (e.g., money, people, equipment) by an organization
directly to an event or activity in exchange for a direct association to
the event or activity.” Previous studies on sponsorship have noted
corporations' tendency to associate their business with social initiatives
by sponsoring sports events (Cowper-Smith & de Grosbois, 2011;
Fenclova & Coles, 2011; O'Connell, 2011) and/or subsidizing the ac-
tivities of nonprofit organizations (e.g., McDonalds' event sponsorship
and the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade; Fellman, 1999; Smith, 2004).
Regarding CRM, consumers' perceived attribution has received
considerable attention in the literature, as the motives of cause spon-
sorship have been found to influence consumers' responses to CSR in-
itiatives (e.g., Bigné, Currás-Pérez, & Aldás-Manzano, 2012; Geue &
191
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 42 (2020) 190–198
Plewa, 2010; Kanta, Ramana, & Mallikarjuna, 2014). While consumers
have been found to attribute various motives, such as altruism, profit,
public image, and ethics motives, to corporations' enthusiasm for social
initiatives (de Jong & van der Meer, 2015; Ellen, Webb, & Mohr, 2006;
Geue & Plewa, 2010; Rifon, Choi, Trimble, & Li, 2004), there is a
paucity of research on air travelers' understanding of charitable cause
sponsorship programs and factors influencing their attitude and beha-
vior, in spite of a few studies on travel and tourism CSR and/or CRM
initiatives (e.g., Aliperti, Rizzi, & Frey, 2018; Shin, Lee, & Perdue,
2018). Although CRM efforts may be noteworthy for various reasons,
recent literature has pointed out that due to the “sense-making pro-
cesses” in producing tentative CSR perceptions, which may change at a
given time (de Jong & van der Meer, 2015), doubt has arisen as to
consumers’ actual consumption in response to “good corporate beha-
vior” (Moosmayer Dirk & Fuljahn, 2010, p. 543).
2.2. Congruence and perceived benefits
While developing successful sponsorship programs, the concept of
congruence has received extensive attention in the extant research (e.g.,
Cornwell & Smith, 2001; Keller, 1993; Rifon et al., 2004). Although
prior research has provided numerous definitions of congruence, it has
been argued that congruence should be measured using both relevancy
and expectancy as dimensions, particularly in consumer psychology
(Heckler & Childers, 1992). First, relevancy refers to a thematic re-
lationship where the information in advertising facilitates the identifi-
cation of the general focus or message of the advertising (Fleck &
Quester, 2007; Heckler & Childers, 1992). As well documented, the
relatedness between a sponsor and the associated entity likely influ-
ences the sponsored-sponsor association (Cornwell, Weeks, & Roy,
2005; Johar & Pham, 1999).
Second, expectancy is more related to a thematic relationship by
comparing the information and message obtained in the stimulus such
as advertising where the consumer has prior knowledge about the
company (e.g., its attributes and/or any relevant information). In other
words, a “predetermined schema or a structure” may be stored in the
memory (Fleck & Quester, 2007), and people may possess a brand
schema. For instance, Emirates has been found to facilitate the com-
pany's engagement with passengers through sports sponsorships, for
instance, through a $143 million contract with a London soccer team,
Arsenal, in consideration of the regional situation, where football is the
most popular sport in the UK (O'Connell, 2011). The millions of football
television viewers are likely to be exposed to the brand image (i.e., Fly
Emirates' logo on athletes' clothing) and associated stimuli due to the
company's focus on sports sponsorship. Additionally, the public ad-
vertising of charity support by some low-fare airlines induces people to
perceive airlines' CSR efforts in positively or negative ways (e.g., United
Nations Children's Fund, Fenclova & Coles, 2011). It has been argued
that customers tend to process such information based on a set of stored
information (i.e., a schema) and evaluate the stimulus, where schemas
are considered “generic knowledge structures of a stimulus domain
stored in memory” (Desai & Gencturk, 1995, p. 390). According to the
original elaboration likelihood model (ELM), people likely go through a
series of processes consisting of “depth of information processing, at-
titude change and behavior,” whereas other research has highlighted
the amount of cognitive effort exerted while processing information in
the stages of attention, elaboration, and behavior (Tam & Ho, 2005).
Air travelers are aware of the influence of air transport on the en-
vironment and community and associated corporate social initiatives in
practice to address issues, despite the fact that their voluntary partici-
pation (e.g., carbon offsetting) in changing the environmental impacts
has been limited (Gössling, Scott, & Hall, 2015; Miller, Rathouse,
Scarles, Holmes, & Tribe, 2010). However, when passengers perceive
one airline to be CSR-conscious, they are more likely to form a future
purchase intention with the brand (Brown & Dacin, 1997; Han, Yu, &
Kim, 2019; Mohr & Webb, 2005).
J.J. Kim, et al.
It is theorized that brand images include types of brand associations,
including functional, symbolic, and experiential benefits (Kaynak,
Salman, & Tatoglu, 2008; Keller, 1993). Functional benefits refer to
“the intrinsic advantages of produce or service consumption,” whereas
symbolic benefits are the extrinsic advantages of product or service
consumption, resulting in the gratification of the inner needs such as
social approval or personal expression (Keller, 1993, p. 4). Additionally,
experiential benefits refer to the feelings the customer experiences
while using the product and/or service. Importantly, relatedness en-
genders a positive influence of a company's cause sponsorship on con-
sumers' perceptions (Geue & Plewa, 2010). When people perceive a
level of relatedness between two entities (i.e., a brand and its charitable
causes) and expect them to be associated, they are more likely to find
some benefits from adopting the brand. This is because the brand's
congruent image with the environmental or social cause is perceived to
be of high quality (i.e., functional benefit), to produce affective re-
sponses (experiential benefit), and to create an inner meaning for self-
evaluation (i.e., symbolic benefit) (e.g., Kaynak et al., 2008; Keller,
1993). For instance, airlines try to convey a positive message trans-
ferred from the sponsored entity (e.g., functional and image fit through
sports sponsorship) (e.g., ATAS et al., 2015), so that they can attract
airline passengers who are likely to associate congruent cause spon-
sorship with the expected quality of theproducts/service onboard (e.g.,
expertise and trustworthiness). (Alcañiz, Cáceres, & Pérez, 2010). Re-
garding expectancy, some research has supported the effect of category
match on consumer emotions, such as high liking. Based on the cate-
gorization process, people tend to form cognitive consequences such as
attitude formation, recall, and learning through typicality (Babin &
Babin, 2001).
Furthermore, given that ethical and philanthropic responsibilities
are highly valued (Carroll, 1991; Mohr & Webb, 2005), prior research
on the congruence between a company and the sponsored cause has
found positive effects of congruence on altruistic sponsor motives,
sponsor credibility, and attitudes toward the sponsor (Bigné et al.,
2012; Plewa & Quester, 2011; Rifon et al., 2004). Airlines' service
quality is associated with intangibles, including empathy, reliability,
assurance, responsiveness and tangibles (Calisir, Basak, & Calisir,
2016). While a range of airlines' environmental and/or social initiatives
that sponsor charities has been identified in recent airline CSR research,
air travelers’ evaluation is subject to intangible value such as service
quality caused by CSR, in addition to tangible value onboard (e.g.,
physical environment, Han, Shim, Lee, & Kim, 2019), due to the
growing attention to socially responsible behavior.
Prior research highlights that consumers' perceived value is con-
ceptualized into two dimensions: get and give (i.e., monetary and
nonmonetary costs; Gipp et al., 2008; Hwang & Lyu, 2018; Kim, Kim, &
Hwang, 2019; Sweeney & Soutar, 2001). Hence, when airline passen-
gers perceive the pairing between the airline brand and its sponsorship
to be related and expected, they are likely to link the positive influence
of congruence with airline's get value, including functional (quality
products/services), experiential (empathy resulting in feelings and/or
affection) and symbolic (expressing their individual identities) service
provision (Chen, 2013; He & Lai, 2014; Keller, 1993; Sweeney & Soutar,
2001; Woo, 2019).
H1. The relevancy of airline sponsorship is positively associated with
passengers' perceived benefits.
H2. The expectancy of airline sponsorship is positively associated with
passengers' perceived benefits.
2.3. Perceived benefits, satisfaction, and resistance to negative information
While perceived benefits have been found to affect emotion, sa-
tisfaction and behavioral intentions (e.g., Bajs, 2013; Chen, 2013; Gipp
et al., 2008; Hwang, Cho, & Kim, 2019; Hwang & Choi, 2019; Roig,
192
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 42 (2020) 190–198
Guillén, Coll, & Saumell, 2013; Wang, Po Lo, Chi, & Yang, 2004),
previous consumer and brand research has supported the benefit-sa-
tisfaction-loyalty relationship (Bajs, 2013; Kaynak et al., 2008; So, Oh,
& Min, 2018). Research has also suggested that customer satisfaction
driven by perceived benefits leads people to develop what Keller (1993)
has called brand knowledge, which leads to brand loyalty. Further,
using a modified value-attitude-behavior model, Chen and Peng (2014)
confirmed the relationship between value (i.e., functional, experiential,
and symbolic value of luxury hotels), attitudes, and behavior intentions
(i.e., staying in those hotels). Moreover, it has been found that per-
ceived service value by attendees is an important determinant of be-
havioral intentions for festivals (Lee, Petrick, & Crompton, 2007).
Prior research on in-flight products and service has shown the as-
sociated relationships between quality products/service, satisfaction
and behavioral intention (Ahn, Kim, & Hyun, 2015; Go & Kim, 2018).
Notably, resistance to negative information can be viewed as one type
of positive consumer response to corporate actions, wherein moral
emotion and gratitude are elicited toward the firm (Xie, Bagozzi, &
Grønhaug, 2015). While negative word-of-mouth (WOM) is associated
with customers' negative feelings toward the firm following their irre-
sponsible behavior, resistance to negative information is described as
an example of customers' prosocial behavior, where they feel gratitude
toward the firm or fall in love with the brand (Batra, Ahuvia, & Bagozzi,
2012; Kim & Cho, 2014; Xie et al., 2015). In linking the service quality,
value and customer citizenship behavior in the airline business, Woo
(2019) has demonstrated the effect of tangible and intangible airline
service quality on customer citizenship behavior, consisting of ad-
vocacy, feedback, helping and tolerance (Lee & Kim, 2019). While air
travelers seem to be influenced by various intangible factors, con-
temporary passengers are more influenced by the companies’ social
behavior (e.g., Mohr & Webb, 2005). Hence, in the case of airline
customers experiencing satisfaction in the context of cause sponsorship,
when passengers are satisfied with the brand, they will likely be willing
to engage in extra-role behavior, such as resistance to negative in-
formation.
H3. Passengers' perceived benefits have a positive impact on
satisfaction.
H4. Passengers' satisfaction has a positive impact on resistance to
negative information.
2.4. Moderating effect of give value
It has been argued that consumer value includes not only positive
but also negative value dimensions (Smith & Colgate, 2007), which are
known as “the give components of value” that are associated with a cost
and/or sacrifice that customers likely must give up (Smith & Colgate,
2007). In general, the give value dimension is associated with “the loss
derived from the product or service” from the perspective of customers
(Wang et al., 2004, p. 172), including pecuniary and nonmonetary as-
pects (Gipp et al., 2008). Specifically, when customers receive an of-
fering from the company, they aggregate the benefits along with the
conventionally reported undesired consequences (i.e., price) based on
their “composite perception that recognizes the respective attribute
salience” (Kumar & Reinartz, 2016, p. 37). Regarding the “perceived
customer value of an offering”, there is a wide range of cost compo-
nents, including price, transaction cost, learning cost, and risk.
Likewise, Kumar and Reinartz (2016) theorized that customers are
likely to respond to products/services by giving up the costs in ex-
change for the benefits. This culminates in the extent of profitable
customer engagement, where customers likely produce what the au-
thors called “customer lifetime value.” While customers may give value
back to the firm in consideration of the perceived benefits (i.e., the get
value or value for customers), some customers actively engaging with
the firm are likely to bear higher give value than others. In particular,
J.J. Kim, et al.
the marketing literature has found positive relationships between trust,
value, satisfaction, and loyalty in diverse consumer settings (Choi, Kim,
Cha, Suh, & Kim, 2019; Kim, Nam, & Kim, 2019; Sampaio, Perin,
Simões, & Kleinowski, 2012; Sirdeshmukh, Singh, & Sabol, 2002),
whereas the consequences of customer engagement have encompassed
value, trust, affective commitment, WOM, loyalty, and brand commu-
nity involvement (Vivek, Beatty, & Morgan, 2012).
Therefore, give value likely produces enduring value for companies,
for instance, through resistance to negative information, which satisfied
customers tend to show. This is supported by the customer engagement
value framework, which reveals those who generate value for the firm
(Kumar et al., 2010). The various types of profitable customers are: (1)
those who influence the firm's future profitability (customer lifetime
value), (2) those who actively participate in “firm-initiated and firm-
incentivized referral programs” (Kumar et al., 2010, p. 299; customer
referral value), (3) those who influence other customers' behavior
(customer influencer value), and (4) those who add value to the firm via
the knowledge development process (customer knowledge value).
While air travelers perceive value from airlines' service provision driven
by intangible resources, passengers are likely to invest their time and
effort in engaging with airlines by visiting their websites and social
networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter (Menon et al., 2019),
thus developing customer loyalty (Hapsari, Clemes, & Dean, 2017).
Throughout this process, passengers are likely to show a prosocial be-
havior known as customer citizenship behavior given the perceived
emotional, economic, quality and social values. Hence, air travelers,
who tend to sacrifice their time in order to research about airline
companies such as CSR initiatives and service offers, are more likely to
develop a level of tolerance. This sacrifice makes it possible for pas-
sengers to endure an unsatisfactory quality of service delivery below
their expectations (Woo, 2019). Importantly, as positive cognitive, at-
titudinal, and emotional consequences have been associated with cus-
tomer engagement behavior (Van Doorn et al., 2010; Vivek et al.,
2012), airline customers' engagement value framework resulting from
an experiential airline brand (i.e., social interaction and memorable
experiences, So, King, Hudson, & Meng, 2017) may support the mod-
erating role of give value in the positive relationship between sa-
tisfaction and resistance to negative information. Hence, the following
hypothesis is postulated:
H5. Give value moderates the relationship between passengers'
satisfaction and resistance to negative information.
The proposed conceptual model, including the five hypotheses, is
shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1. Proposed conceptual model.
193
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 42 (2020) 190–198
3. Method
3.1. Measures
The conceptual model contains five constructs: two sub-dimensions
of congruence (relevance and expectancy), perceived benefits, sa-
tisfaction, and resistance to negative information. All measures were
drawn from previous research in which their reliability and validity
were confirmed and were slightly reworded appropriately to the con-
text of airline sponsoring causes. Relevance and expectancy were
measured with three items each from Fleck and Quester (2007). Per-
ceived benefits were measured with 11 items from the study of He and
Lai (2014). Satisfaction was measured with three items derived from
Roig et al. (2013). Resistance to negative information was measured
with three items drawn from Batra et al. (2012) and Xie et al. (2015).
Give value was measured using five items adapted from Gipp et al.
(2008). Sample items include “My involvement with using this airline
brand represented a substantial investment” and “The time and effort
devoted to using this airline brand was considerable.” Each item was
assessed with a 5-point Likert-type scale (with 5 representing strongly
agree and 1, strongly disagree).
3.2. Sampling
To empirically test the hypotheses, a web-based survey was ad-
ministered to passengers who have travelled by full-service US airline
firms conducting cause sponsorships. To invite eligible respondents, a
research survey company, Qualtrics, sent emails to US air travelers who
frequently travel for business or leisure by cooperating with their
partners. Prior to answering the questions, the participants were asked
to read the meaning and examples of the airline companies’ cause
sponsorship. Then, they were requested to indicate all the airlines that
they had flown out of 27 full-service US airline companies provided
which have conducted cause sponsorships. Participants who had used
“none of them” were screened out as unqualified respondents. The
eligible respondents were asked to indicate the airline brand that is the
most concerned with cause sponsorship among the airline firms that
they had used. Participants responded to all questions based on the
flying experience of the specific airline brand they mentioned. Of the
446 responses used for the data analysis, 400 passengers among the
respondents had had their flight experience within the previous twelve
months, and their specific profile is presented in Table 1.
4. Results
4.1. Measurement model
The structural equation modeling (SEM) procedure includes two
J.J. Kim, et al. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 42 (2020) 190–198

Table 1 Table 2
Profile of respondents (n = 446). Confirmatory factor analysis: Items and loadings.
Variable n % Items Standardized loading

Gender Relevancy
Male 214 48.0 When I hear about the sponsorship, I can understand this 0.818
Female 232 52.0 airline better.
With this sponsorship, I discover a new aspect of this 0.792
Age airline.
19 11 2.5 The fact that the airline sponsors the cause tells me 0.783
20–29 173 38.8 something about the airline.
30–39 130 29.1 Expectancy
40–49 62 13.9 I am not surprised that this airline sponsors the cause. 0.735
Older than 50 70 15.7 One would expect this airline to sponsor the cause. 0.800
It was predictable that this airline would sponsor the 0.718
Ethnicity cause.
Caucasian 268 60.1 Functional benefit
Hispanic/Latino 36 8.1 This airline brand has consistent quality. 0.832
African-American 81 18.2 This airline brand has an acceptable standard of quality. 0.810
Asian 38 8.5 The function of the airline brand is visible. 0.785
Other 23 5.1 Experiential benefit
I enjoy this airline brand. 0.860
Level of education This airline brand makes me want to use it. 0.854
High school graduate or less 156 35.0 This airline brand is one that I would feel relaxed about 0.810
College or university graduate 251 56.3 using.
Postgraduate 39 8.7 This airline brand makes me feel good. 0.820
Symbolic benefit
Income level (Annual income) This airline brand helps me feel acceptable. 0.812
Under US $20,000 49 11.0 This airline brand makes me leave a good impression on 0.868
US $20,000–US $40,000 90 20.2 other people.
US $40,000–US $60,000 105 23.5 This airline brand improves my social relations. 0.794
US $60,000–US $80,000 92 20.6 This airline brand improves the way I am perceived. 0.754
US $80,000–US $100,000 46 10.3 Satisfaction
More than $100,000 64 14.4 I am satisfied with this airline brand. 0.857
My expectations of this airline brand have been met. 0.847
If I compare it with other airline brands, my satisfaction 0.806
level with this airline brand is high.
steps: confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and path analysis (Anderson &
Resistance to negative information
Gerbing, 1988). In the first step, the measurement model was evaluated I forgive this airline when it makes mistakes. 0.817
through CFA. The CFA results indicated that the measurement model I will forgive this airline for unfavorable media-specific 0.800
well fit the data [χ2 = 500.799, df = 217, χ2/df = 2.308 at p < .001, coverage.
goodness-of-fit index (GFI) = 0.911, comparative fit index If I hear something bad about this airline, I would 0.515
question it.
(CFI) = 0.961, incremental fit index (IFI) = 0.961, Tucker-Lewis index
(TLI) = 0.955, root mean square error of approximation Note: All factor loadings were significant at p < .001.
(RMSEA) = 0.054] (Byrne, 2001).
The validity and reliability for all variables were assessed (Hair, brand and its sponsorship, had significantly positive effects on per-
Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2010). Convergent validity was supported by ceived benefits. Therefore, H1 and H2 were supported. Passengers'
verifying that all items’ standardized factor loadings were above the 0.5 perceived benefits significantly influenced their satisfaction
cut-off value, and the average variance extracted (AVE) value for each (β = 0.972, p < .01), supporting H3. Passengers' satisfaction also had
construct was greater than the 0.5 threshold, as presented in Tables 2 a significantly positive impact on resistance to negative information
and 3. Discriminant validity was also assessed. Although Fornell and (β = 0.755, p < .01). Thus, H4 was supported.
Larcker (1981) suggested that the AVE value for each construct be
greater than its squared correlation with other variables, Bagozzi and Yi
(1988) claimed that discriminant validity can be confirmed by verifying 4.3. Moderating effect
a significant difference between the free model and combined model
through a chi-square difference test. Thus, the chi-square difference test To verify whether give value moderates the link from passengers'
was conducted with five pairs of constructs whose AVE values were less satisfaction to their resistance to negative information, a multi-group
than the squared correlation. The resulting significant differences be- analysis was performed (Byrne, 2001). The sample was categorized into
tween constructs supported the discriminant validity. Composite relia- two groups (high and low give value groups) by using the median value
bility indices (see Table 3) were more than the 0.7 cut-off value, which (Me = 20.5) regarding the moderating scores’ sum as a classification
established the reliability of the constructs. criterion (Chandrashekaran & Grewal, 2003). Then, a chi-square dif-
ference test was conducted to identify a significant difference in give
4.2. Structural model value between the two groups.
The analysis results for the moderating function are presented in
SEM was conducted to test the hypothesized relationships between Table 5. The two groups showed a significant difference in the effect of
constructs. The overall fit of the structural model with the data was satisfaction on resistance to negative information (Δχ2 = 4.764 > χ2.05
acceptable (χ2 = 539.603, df = 222, χ2/df = 2.431 at the p < .001, (1) = 3.84, df = 1). Specifically, satisfaction had a stronger impact on
GFI = 0.903, CFI = 0.957, IFI = 0.957, TLI = 0.951, resistance to negative information in the high give value group than in
RMSEA = 0.057). the low give value group (high: β = 0.833, p < .01 vs. low: β = 0.641,
Table 4 summarizes the SEM analysis results. Specifically, both di- p < .01). Therefore, H5 was supported.
mensions, i.e., the relevancy (β = 0.423, p < .01) and expectancy
(β = 0.451, p < .01) of the congruence between the airline firm's

194
J.J. Kim, et al. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 42 (2020) 190–198

Table 3
Descriptive statistics and associated measures.
No. of items Mean (std dev.) AVE 1 2 3 4 5

a b
1 Relevancy 3 3.94 (0.820) 0.636 0.854 0.806 0.781 0.754 0.692
2 Expectancy 3 3.80 (0.825) 0.565 0.649c 0.801 0.795 0.730 0.726
3 Perceived benefits 11 4.00 (0.788) 0.670 0.609 0.632 0.958 0.958 0.750
4 Satisfaction 3 4.06 (0.882) 0.700 0.568 0.532 0.917 0.878 0.710
5 Resistance to negative information 3 3.65 (0.805) 0.524 0.478 0.527 0.562 0.504 0.763

Goodness-of-fit indices: χ2 (217) = 500.799, p < .001, χ2/df = 2.308.

GFI = 0.911; CFI = 0.961; IFI = 0.961; TL I = 0.955; RMSEA = 0.054.
Note: AVE = Average variance extracted; GFI = Goodness-of-fit index; CFI = Comparative fit index; IFI = Incremental fit index; TLI = Tucker-Lewis index;
RMSEA = Root mean square error of approximation.
a
Composite reliability is indicated along the diagonal.
b
Correlations are above the diagonal.
c
Squared correlations are below the diagonal.

5. Discussion and implications
This study aimed to (1) use a bidimensional model of congruence to
analyze the effect of full-service US airlines' cause sponsorship on tra-
velers' perceived benefits, (2) examine the influence of perceived ben-
efits on satisfaction, (3) investigate the association between satisfaction
and resistance to negative information, and (4) determine the moder-
ating effect of give value in the model. Although previous studies have
investigated congruence effects in a sponsorship context, the bidimen-
sional construct of congruence has received limited attention regarding
its ability to predict air travelers’ sponsorship responses. In response to
the identified research gap, this study provided one possible context,
where consumers likely produce “intangible and tangible CRM perfor-
mance”.
First, this study supports the adequacy of the bidimensional con-
gruence construct, which influences perceived benefits. As discussed by
Maille and Fleck (2011), few studies have provided a rigorous under-
standing of congruence and its consequences by building on theory-
based measurement. Both relevancy and expectancy had significant
effects on perceived benefits, measured by a reflective variable. While
there is a comprehensive list of CSR initiatives and/or CRM practices
(e.g., Coles et al., 2014), this study focused on evaluating air travelers'
perceived congruence between charitable cause sponsorship (e.g., al-
leviation of environmental impacts such as carbon emissions, invest-
ment in developing renewable energy, conservation of nature by sup-
porting non-profit organizations, and helping communities) with the
airline, and its impact on perceived benefits. This indicates that if the
airlines' sponsorship is perceived as relevant and expected, this per-
ception is likely to engender a positive emotive and psychological state
among passengers. Previous investigations have produced mixed find-
ings on the influence of congruent sponsorship on customer evaluations
(Keller, 1993); for instance, severe incongruity has been argued to
spawn strong positive affect (Mandler, 1982; Yoon, 2013), whereas
congruent sponsorship has been found to lead to positive outcomes
(Bigné et al., 2012). Previous airline CSR research has confirmed air-
lines' environmental management and reporting in the Asia Pacific and
European regions despite the need for improved benchmarking (Chan &
Mak, 2005; B.; Mak & Chan, 2006; B. L. M.; Mak & Chan, 2007). Ex-
panding on the existing studies, the present study confirms that
sponsorship-based congruency has a positive influence on air travelers'
perceived benefits and elaborates on the positive effects of environ-
ment-friendly activities on passengers’ behavioral intention. The study
further confirms that congruence derived from non-sports-related cause
sponsorship has a positive influence on consumer evaluations of airline
brands, extending previous sponsorship literature showing that media
exposure, celebrity endorsements, and communication (ATAS et al.,
2015; Wakefield, 2007) foster successful sponsorship programs.
Second, the study has further established the positive relationship
between perceived benefits and satisfaction. Substantial congruence
and related research has been conducted to illuminate various aspects
of consumers' perceptions, beliefs, cognitive/affective responses, atti-
tudes toward cause-brand alliances, and attributions (e.g., Becker-
Olsen, Cudmore, & Hill, 2006; Bigné et al., 2012; Rifon et al., 2004).
The study has bolstered the finding that airline passengers’ perceived
value positively influences satisfaction (Hapsari et al., 2017). By ex-
panding on the importance of perceived benefits driven by intangible
resources (e.g., Woo, 2019), this study focused on the intangible cause
sponsorship congruence effect in isolation from the tangible resource
provided by the airline.
While previous studies have demonstrated the significant role of
relational benefits in predicting behavioral intentions for hospitality
organizations (e.g., Han & Kim, 2009), the previous understanding of
the importance of value dimensions (e.g., functional, experiential, and
symbolic benefits) in brand evaluations for predicting behavioral in-
tentions has been limited in the tourism context. In responding to this
research gap, the current study found a positive effect of satisfaction on
resistance to negative information, illustrating a need for companies
employing cause sponsorship to focus on customers who are willing to
engage with firms. This is because congruent sponsorship programs are
always subject to negative media exposure, which is likely to produce
“customer churn” (Kumar & Reinartz, 2016, p. 55). Woo's (2019) airline
study has demonstrated the influence of emotional, economic, quality
and social values on consumer citizenship behavior, wherein passengers
are likely involved in extra role behavior The negative impact posed by
casual corporate irresponsibility is likely to be obfuscated by customers
who are bound to trust in the company to some extent owing to their
high satisfaction with the airline brand (Woo, 2019). Therefore, the
study provides meaningful insights for the development of effective

Table 4
Standardized parameter estimates for the structural model.
Paths Standardized estimate t-value Support

H1 Relevancy → Perceived benefits 0.423 5.194** Yes

H2 Expectancy → Perceived benefits 0.451 5.378** Yes
H3 Perceived benefits → Satisfaction 0.972 20.263** Yes
H4 Satisfaction → Resistance to negative information 0.755 14.533** Yes

Note: **p < .01.

195
J.J. Kim, et al.
Table 5
Structural invariance test for the hypothesized path.
Path High give value group (n = 218)
Standardized estimate t-value
Satisfaction → 0.833 11.215**
Resistance to negative information
Chi-square difference test.
H5. △χ2(1) = 4.764, p < .05 (Significant; hypothesis 5a: supported).
Note: **p < .01.
sponsorship programs.
Furthermore, this study has evidenced the moderating effect of give
value. Specifically, in consumers with high give value, the effect of
satisfaction was found to be stronger on resistance to negative in-
formation. Previous studies in the tourism and hospitality context have
primarily focused on the value-satisfaction-loyalty relationship (Chen,
2013; Han & Kim, 2009; Han, Moon, & Kim, 2019; Lee et al., 2007).
While emphasizing the strongest effect of customer engagement on
customer loyalty among related marketing constructs, Hapsari et al.
(2017) have confirmed the value-engagement-loyalty link among In-
donesian airline passengers. The research finding well illustrates the
importance of the customer engagement value framework (Kumar
et al., 2010; Kumar & Reinartz, 2016). Likewise, while behavior in-
tentions, as indicated by recommendation, repurchase intentions,
WOM, and the like, appear to an important factor predicting future
consumer behavior, this study has clearly contributed to the literature
in showing that airlines need to go beyond behavioral intentions and
focus on actual behavior. This accords with the argument that profit-
able consumers are those who provide enduring value to the firm
(Kumar et al., 2010; Kumar & Reinartz, 2016).
5.1. Practical implications
This study provides critical insights into management involved in
developing airlines' charitable sponsorship programs. First, the aviation
industry is encouraged to develop effective sponsorship efforts by em-
ploying congruence to promote various aspects of perceived consumer
benefits. In line with the congruence construct, firms need to under-
stand which causes are more relevant to potential airline customers and
their companies. While Emirates sponsors the London football team,
Arsenal, for the UK market (O'Connell, 2011), a wider range of different
charities is expected to work better due to passengers' predetermined
knowledge structure about the airlines and powerful charitable part-
nerships in a different market; for instance, the European market seems
to have adopted several prevention-rather than recovery-focused po-
licies in coping with disasters (e.g., Aliperti et al., 2018; Bradford et al.,
2012; Espresso European Union Project, 2017; European Parliament,
2013).
Additionally, while recognizing the need to identify those long-term
profitable customers who are likely to show resistance to negative in-
formation, airlines need to provide various perceived benefits from the
perspective of their customers. Airlines must take every opportunity to
link their cause sponsorship with functional, experiential and symbolic
service provisions. Airlines may provide potential online channels such
as Facebook for advocating associated CRM campaigns, wherein they
have partnered with local charities targeting specific regional, national
and/or international markets (e.g., BBC Children in Need and Radio 2's
Rockin’ in the USA competition, BBC in BBC Children in Need, 2019)
which in turn leads to increased brand awareness and benefits. For
instance, for some consumers, children in need will be an important
issue, whereas sponsoring cancer research seems to be invaluable sup-
port to others, which is likely to be associated with a unique social
status, all of which should be complemented by choosing relevant
marketing communication channels.
196
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 42 (2020) 190–198
Low give value group (n = 228) Baseline model Restricted model
Standardized estimate t-value
0.641 7.355** χ2(444) = 838.417 χ2(445) = 843.181
5.2. Limitations and future research
Despite the valuable insights uncovered, several issues must be
noted. First, careful examination should be made of other factors that
influence sponsorship (e.g., culture and internal leadership) before the
results are applied to specific contexts. Second, given the diverse routes
to forming congruence, the current study has shown one way of in-
vestigating congruence; for instance, incongruence, moderate incon-
gruences, and congruence between the airline brand and its social
sponsorship programs may be examined in terms of communication
outcomes for consumers, employees, and investors. Although the cur-
rent study predicted positive CRM-related effects as a result of con-
gruence in cause sponsorship, whether the relationships between trust
in frontline employees' behavior and management philosophy and
practices positively influence consumer evaluations of value and air-
lines’ sponsorship programs (i.e., trust-value-loyalty relationship) may
be of interest to tourism marketing researchers.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a HumanitiesᆞSocial-ScienceᆞArts
Journal Research Promotion of Pusan National University.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.01.004.
References
Ahn, Y., Kim, I., & Hyun, S. (2015). Critical in-flight and ground service factors influ-
encing brand prestige and relationships between brand prestige, well-being percep-
tions, and brand loyalty: First-class passengers. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing,
32(s1), s114–s138.
Alcañiz, E. B., Cáceres, R. C., & Pérez, R. C. (2010). Alliances between brands and social
causes: The influence of company credibility on social responsibility image. Journal of
Business Ethics, 96(2), 169–186.
Aliperti, G., Rizzi, F., & Frey, M. (2018). Cause-related marketing for disaster risk re-
duction in the tourism industry: A comparative analysis of prevention- and recovery-
related campaigns. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 37, 1–10.
Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A
review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411–423.
ATAS, U., Morris, G., & Bat, M. (2015). The importance of sponsorship in corporate
communication: A case study of Turkish airlines. Global Media Journal Turkish Edition,
6(11), 35–53.
Babin, B. J., & Babin, L. (2001). Seeking something different? A model of schema typi-
cality, consumer affect, purchase intentions and perceived shopping value. Journal of
Business Research, 54(2), 89–96.
Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of
the Academy of Marketing Science, 16(1), 74–94.
Bajs, I. P. (2013). Tourist perceived value, relationship to satisfaction, and behavioral
intentions: The example of the Croatian tourist destination dubrovnik. Journal of
Travel Research, 54(1), 122–134.
Batra, R., Ahuvia, A., & Bagozzi, R. P. (2012). Brand love. Journal of Marketing, 76(2),
1–16.
BBC Children in Need (2019). Rockin’ in the USA text to win competitions. https://www.
bbcchildreninneed.co.uk/shows/rockin-in-the-usa-text-competitions/ Accessed 21
Dec 2019.
Becker-Olsen, K. L., Cudmore, B. A., & Hill, R. P. (2006). The impact of perceived cor-
porate social responsibility on consumer behavior. Journal of Business Research, 59(1),
46–53.
J.J. Kim, et al.
Bigné-Alcañiz, E., Currás-Pérez, R., Ruiz-Mafé, C., & Sanz-Blas, S. (2012). Cause-related
marketing influence on consumer responses: The moderating effect of cause–brand
fit. Journal of Marketing Communications, 18(4), 265–283.
Bigné, E., Currás-Pérez, R., & Aldás-Manzano, J. (2012). Dual nature of cause-brand fit:
Influence on corporate social responsibility consumer perception. European Journal of
Marketing, 46(3/4), 575–594.
Bradford, R. A., O'Sullivan, J. J., Van der Craats, I. M., Krywkow, J., Rotko, P., Aaltonen,
J., et al. (2012). Risk perception–issues for flood management in Europe. Natural
Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 12(7), 2299–2309.
Brown, T. J., & Dacin, P. A. (1997). The company and the product: Corporate associations
and consumer product responses. Journal of Marketing, 61(1), 68–84.
Byrne, B. M. (2001). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications,
and programming. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Calisir, N., Basak, E., & Calisir, F. (2016). Key drivers of passenger loyalty: A case of
Frankfurt–Istanbul flights. Journal of Air Transport Management, 53, 211–217.
Carroll, A. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral
management of organizational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34(4), 39–48.
Chandrashekaran, R., & Grewal, D. (2003). Assimilation of advertised reference prices:
The moderating role of involvement. Journal of Retailing, 79, 53–62.
Chan, W. W., & Mak, B. (2005). An analysis of the environmental reporting structures of
selected European airlines. International Journal of Tourism Research, 7(4/5),
249–259.
Chen, W. (2013). Perceived value in community supported agriculture (csa) a preliminary
conceptualization, measurement, and nomological validity. British Food Journal,
115(10), 1428–1453.
Chen, F.-Y., Chang, Y.-H., & Lin, Y.-H. (2012). Customer perceptions of airline social
responsibility and its effect on loyalty. Journal of Air Transport Management, 20,
49–51.
Chen, A., & Peng, N. (2014). Examining Chinese consumers' luxury hotel staying beha-
vior. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 39, 53–56.
Choi, S., Kim, I., Cha, K., Suh, Y., & Kim, K. (2019). Travelers' parasocial interactions in
online travel communities. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 36(8), 888–904.
Coles, T., Fenclova, E., & Dinan, C. (2014). Corporate social responsibility reporting
among European low-fares airlines: Challenges for the examination and development
of sustainable mobilities. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 22(1), 69–88.
Cornwell, T. B., & Smith, R. K. (2001). The communications importance of consumer
meaning in cause-linked events: Findings from a US event for benefiting breast cancer
research. Journal of Marketing Communications, 7(4), 213–229.
Cornwell, T. B., Weeks, C. S., & Roy, D. P. (2005). Sponsorship-linked marketing-opening
the black box. Journal of Advertising, 34(2), 21–42.
Cowper-Smith, A., & de Grosbois, D. (2011). The adoption of corporate social responsi-
bility practices in the airline industry. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 19(1), 59–77.
Desai, K. K., & Gencturk, E. (1995). Special session summary schema incongruity: A
multidimensional perspective involving advertising schema, self-schema, and pro-
duct schema. Advances in Consumer Research, 22, 390.
Edwards, J. R., & Parry, M. E. (2017). On the use of spline regression in the study of
congruence in organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 21(1),
68–110.
Ellen, P. S., Webb, D. J., & Mohr, L. A. (2006). Building corporate associations: Consumer
attributions for corporate socially responsible programs. Journal of the Academy of
Marketing Science, 34(2), 147–157.
Espresso European Union Project (2017). Enhancing synergies for disaster prevention in the
European Union. http://www.espressoproject.eu/ Accessed date: 3 May 2017.
European Parliament (2013). European parliament resolution on the European Union soli-
darity fund, implementation and application (2012/2075(INI)). http://www.europarl.
europa.eu/RegistreWeb/search/simple.htm?reference=P7_TA(2013)0003 Accessed
date: 19 December 2016.
Fellman, M. W. (1999). Cause marketing takes a strategic turn. Marketing News, 33(9), 4.
Fenclova, E., & Coles, T. (2011). Charitable partnerships among travel and tourism
businesses: Perspectives from low-fares airlines. International Journal of Tourism
Research, 13(4), 337–354.
Fleck, N. D., & Quester, P. (2007). Birds of a feather flock together… definition, role and
measure of congruence: An application to sponsorship. Psychology and Marketing,
24(11), 975–1000.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with un-
observable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1),
39–50.
Geue, M., & Plewa, C. (2010). Cause sponsorship: A study on congruence, attribution and
corporate social responsibility. Journal of Sponsorship, 3(3), 228–241.
Gipp, N., Kalafatis, S. P., & Ledden, L. (2008). Perceived value of corporate donations: An
empirical investigation. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector
Marketing, 13(4), 327–346.
Goetzl, D., & Petrecca, L. (2000). Southwest Airlines signs up for 3-year NFL sponsorship.
Advertising Age, 71(30) 4-4.
Go, M., & Kim, I. (2018). In-flight NCCI management by combining the kano model with
the service blueprint: A comparison of frequent and infrequent flyers. Tourism
Management, 69, 471–486.
Gössling, S., Scott, D., & Hall, C. M. (2015). Inter-market variability in CO2 emission-
intensities in tourism: Implications for destination marketing and carbon manage-
ment. Tourism Management, 46, 203–212.
Hair, J. F., Jr., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data
analysis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Han, H., & Kim, W. (2009). Outcomes of relational benefits: Restaurant customers' per-
spective. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 26(8), 820–835.
Han, H., Lee, M. J., Chua, B.-L., & Kim, W. (2019). Triggers of traveler willingness to use
and recommend eco-friendly airplanes. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
197
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 42 (2020) 190–198
Management, 38, 91–101.
Han, H., Moon, H., & Kim, W. (2019). The influence of international tourists' self-image
congruity with a shopping place on their shopping experiences. Journal of Hospitality
and Tourism Management, 41, 101–109.
Han, H., Shim, C., Lee, W. S., & Kim, W. (2019). Product performance and its role in
airline image generation and customer retention processes: Gender difference.
Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 36(4), 536–548.
Han, H., Yu, J., & Kim, W. (2019). Environmental corporate social responsibility and
strategy to boost the airline's image and customer loyalty intentions. Journal of Travel
& Tourism Marketing, 36(3), 371–383.
Hapsari, R., Clemes, M. D., & Dean, D. (2017). The impact of service quality, customer
engagement and selected marketing constructs on airline passenger loyalty.
International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 9(1), 21–40.
Heckler, S. E., & Childers, T. L. (1992). The role of expectancy and relevancy in memory
for verbal and visual information: What is incongruency? Journal of Consumer
Research, 18(4), 475–492.
He, Y., & Lai, K. K. (2014). The effect of corporate social responsibility on brand loyalty:
The mediating role of brand image. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence,
25(3–4), 249–263.
Hwang, J., & Choi, J. K. (2019). An investigation of passengers' psychological benefits
from green brands in an environmentally friendly airline context: The moderating
role of gender. Sustainability, 10(1), 80.
Hwang, J., Cho, S.-B., & Kim, W. (2019). Consequences of psychological benefits of using
eco-friendly services in the context of drone food delivery services. Journal of Travel &
Tourism Marketing, 36(7), 835–846.
Hwang, J., & Lyu, S. O. (2018). Understanding first-class passengers' luxury value per-
ceptions in the US airline industry. Tourism Management Perspectives, 28, 29–40.
Johar, G. V., & Pham, M. T. (1999). Relatedness, prominence, and constructive sponsor
identification. Journal of Marketing Research, 299–312.
Johnston, M. A. (2015). The sum of all fears: Stakeholder responses to sponsorship alli-
ance risk. Tourism Management Perspectives, 15, 91–104.
de Jong, M. D. T., & van der Meer, M. (2015). How does it fit? Exploring the congruence
between organizations and their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.
Journal of Business Ethics, 1–13.
Kanta, K. N. M., Ramana, D., & Mallikarjuna, V. (2014). Cause related marketing:
Antecedents of corporate motive. SCMS Journal of Indian Management, 11(3).
Kaynak, E., Salman, G. G., & Tatoglu, E. (2008). An integrative framework linking brand
associations and brand loyalty in professional sports. Journal of Brand Management,
15(5), 336–357.
Keller, K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand
equity. Journal of Marketing, 1–22.
Kim, I., & Cho, M. (2014). The impact of brand relationship and attributions on passenger
response to service failure. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 19(12),
1441–1462.
Kim, J. J., & Kim, I. (2018a). Entrepreneurial marketing and airline-cause sponsorship
congruence: Passenger sponsorship response to us-based full-service airlines.
Sustainability, 10(7), 2359.
Kim, J. J., & Kim, I. (2018b). Moral imagination, parasocial brand love, and customer
citizenship behavior: Travelers' relationship with sponsoring airline brands in the
United States. Sustainability, 10(12), 4391.
Kim, J. J., Kim, K., & Hwang, J. (2019). Self-enhancement driven first-class airline tra-
velers' behavior: The moderating role of third-party certification. Sustainability,
11(12), 3285.
Kim, J. J., Nam, M., & Kim, I. (2019). The effect of trust on value on travel websites:
Enhancing well-being and word-of-mouth among the elderly. Journal of Travel &
Tourism Marketing, 36(1), 76–89.
Kumar, V., Aksoy, L., Donkers, B., Venkatesan, R., Wiesel, T., & Tillmanns, S. (2010).
Undervalued or overvalued customers: Capturing total customer engagement value.
Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 297–310.
Kumar, V., & Reinartz, W. (2016). Creating enduring customer value. Journal of
Marketing, 80(6), 36–68.
Lafferty, B. A., Goldsmith, R. E., & Hult, G. T. M. (2004). The impact of the alliance on the
partners: A look at cause–brand alliances. Psychology and Marketing, 21(7), 509–531.
Lee, Y., & Kim, I. (2019). A value co-creation model in brand tribes: The effect of luxury
cruise consumers' power perception. Service Business, 13(1), 129–152.
Lee, S. Y., Petrick, J. F., & Crompton, J. (2007). The roles of quality and intermediary
constructs in determining festival attendees' behavioral intention. Journal of Travel
Research, 45(4), 402–412.
Maille, V., & Fleck, N. (2011). Perceived congruence and incongruence: Toward a clar-
ification of the concept, its formation and measure. Recherche et Applications en
Marketing, 26(2), 77–113.
Mak, B., & Chan, W. W. (2006). Environmental reporting of airlines in the Asia pacific
region. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 14(6), 618–628.
Mak, B. L. M., & Chan, W. W. (2007). A study of environmental reporting: International
Japanese airlines. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 12(4), 303–312.
Mandler, G. (1982). The structure of value: Accounting for taste. Affect and cognition: The
17th annual carnegie symposium (pp. 203–230). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Menon, R. G. V., Sigurdsson, V., Larsen, N. M., Fagerstrom, A., Sorensen, H.,
Marteinsdottir, H. G., et al. (2019). How to grow brand post engagement on Facebook
and twitter for airlines? An empirical investigation of design and content factors.
Journal of Air Transport Management, 79, 101678.
Miller, G., Rathouse, K., Scarles, C., Holmes, K., & Tribe, J. (2010). Public understanding
of sustainable tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 37(3), 627–645.
Mohr, L. A., & Webb, D. J. (2005). The effects of corporate social responsibility and price
on consumer responses. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 39(1), 121–147.
J.J. Kim, et al.
Moosmayer Dirk, C., & Fuljahn, A. (2010). Consumer perceptions of cause related mar-
keting campaigns. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 27(6), 543–549.
O'Connell, J. F. (2011). The rise of the Arabian Gulf carriers: An insight into the business
model of Emirates Airline. Journal of Air Transport Management, 17(6), 339–346.
Plewa, C., & Quester, P. G. (2011). Sponsorship and CSR: Is there a link? A conceptual
framework. International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, 12(4), 22–38.
Rifon, N. J., Choi, S. M., Trimble, C. S., & Li, H. (2004). Congruence effects in sponsorship:
The mediating role of sponsor credibility and consumer attributions of sponsor mo-
tive. Journal of Advertising, 33(1), 30–42.
Roig, J. C. F., Guillén, M. E., Coll, S. F., & Saumell, R. P.i. (2013). Social value in retail
banking. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 31(5), 348–367.
Sampaio, C. H.c. p. b., Perin, M. G., Simões, C., & Kleinowski, H. (2012). Students' trust,
value and loyalty: Evidence from higher education in Brazil. Journal of Marketing for
Higher Education, 22(1), 83–100.
Sandler, D. M., & Shani, D. (1989). Olympic sponsorship vs. 'Ambush' marketing: Who
gets the gold? Journal of Advertising Research, 29(4), 9–14.
Shin, H., Lee, H., & Perdue, R. R. (2018). The congruity effects of commercial brand
sponsorship in a regional event. Tourism Management, 67, 168–179.
Sirdeshmukh, D., Singh, J., & Sabol, B. (2002). Consumer trust, value, and loyalty in
relational exchanges. Journal of Marketing, 66(1), 15–37.
Smith, G. (2004). Brand image transfer through sponsorship: A consumer learning per-
spective. Journal of Marketing Management, 20(3–4), 457–474.
Smith, J. B., & Colgate, M. (2007). Customer value creation: A practical framework.
Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 15(1), 7–23.
So, K. K. F., King, C., Hudson, S., & Meng, F. (2017). The missing link in building customer
brand identification: The role of brand attractiveness. Tourism Management, 59,
640–651.
198
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 42 (2020) 190–198
So, K. K. F., Oh, H., & Min, S. (2018). Motivations and constraints of airbnb consumers:
Findings from a mixed-methods approach. Tourism Management, 67, 224–236.
Sweeney, J. C., & Soutar, G. N. (2001). Consumer perceived value: The development of a
multiple item scale. Journal of Retailing, 77(2), 203–220.
Tam, K. Y., & Ho, S. Y. (2005). Web personalization as a persuasion strategy: An ela-
boration likelihood model perspective. Information Systems Research, 16(3), 271–291.
Van Doorn, J., Lemon, K. N., Mittal, V., Nass, S., Pick, D., Pirner, P., et al. (2010).
Customer engagement behavior: Theoretical foundations and research directions.
Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 253–266.
Vivek, S., Beatty, S., & Morgan, R. (2012). Customer engagement: Exploring customer
relationships beyond purchase. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 20(2),
122–146.
Wakefield, K. L. (2007). Chapter 9 - create sponsorship value. In K. L. Wakefield (Ed.).
Team sports marketing (pp. 186–203). Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Wang, Y., Po Lo, H., Chi, R., & Yang, Y. (2004). An integrated framework for customer
value and customer-relationship-management performance: A customer-based per-
spective from China. Managing Service Quality: International Journal, 14(2/3),
169–182.
Woo, M. (2019). Assessing customer citizenship behaviors in the airline industry:
Investigation of service quality and value. Journal of Air Transport Management, 76,
40–47.
Xie, C., Bagozzi, R. P., & Grønhaug, K. (2015). The role of moral emotions and individual
differences in consumer responses to corporate green and non-green actions. Journal
of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(3), 333–356.
Yoon, H. J. (2013). Understanding schema incongruity as a process in advertising: Review
and future recommendations. Journal of Marketing Communications, 19(5), 360–376.