What is it about?
This research explored the emotion of schadenfreude (joy at others' misfortune) within sport rivalry and its impact on the success of rivalry sponsorship. Study 1, drawing on thousands of fans across six leagues, found that the rivalry elements most strongly correlated with heightened schadenfreude were unfairness and cultural difference. Study 2, an experiment featuring sponsored rivalry games, demonstrated that schadenfreude is positively related to desirable sponsor outcomes (interest, favorability, and intended brand use). This positive effect is mediated by perceived sincerity of the rivalry sponsor. The underlying mechanism is that the positive emotion of joy from schadenfreude creates an affective basis for fans to evaluate the rivalry sponsor as sincere in its motivations. These results offer a pathway for brands to sponsor rivalry games directly and achieve positive responses from highly engaged fans on both sides of a rivalry dyad, mitigating the risks associated with sponsoring just one rival team.
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This page is a summary of: Schadenfreude, rivalry antecedents, and the role of perceived sincerity in sponsorship of sport rivalries, Journal of Business Research, January 2021, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.09.029.
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