Do gender and expertise matter? An exploration of athletic product endorsement in China.

Abstract

This study examined the effect of an athlete endorser’s gender-sport fit and expertise in the decision-making process of athlete endorsed product impressions in a Chinese sports market. The result of this study showed that the gender-sport fit of an athlete endorser can significantly impact sport consumers’ intentions to purchase an endorsed product. A total of 649 sport consumers from a major city in China participated in this study. The relationship between gender-sport fit and level of expertise of an athlete endorser was also revealed. Specifically, gender-sport fit had a stronger influence on consumers’ purchase intentions compared to expertise. The findings of this study should be beneficial to athletes considering endorsement contracts and marketers who want to use endorsements to advertise their products and improve sales.