Sport Teams as Brand Extensions: A Case of Taiwanese Baseball

Abstract

Brand extensions are a popular strategy for professional sport teams as they can have a positive impact on team revenue and act as another touch point between teams and consumers. However, failed extensions could also potentially harm team brand equity. While research has begun to examine team brand extensions, no research has examined extensions from the perspective of the teams being an extension of a corporate brand. Therefore, this study examined the perceived fit between four professional baseball teams in Taiwan and the corporate parent brand which owned the teams, if team success impacted parent brand enhancement or dilution, and the impact that identification had on enhancement and dilution. The results suggest there was not a perceived fit between the parent brand and the teams, and team success was more likely to enhance the parent brand than team failure was to cause any dilution, particularly for those at higher levels of identification.