“Win in Africa, With Africa”: Social responsibility, event image, and destination benefits. The case of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

Applying image transfer related to sponsorship theory and the cognitive–affective model of consumer behavior, this study explores how the deployment of a socially responsible program by a multinational (non-governmental) sport organization impacts the image of a mega sport event. Using the 2010 FIFA World Cup as the research context, the hypothesized model is tested among a sample of international sport tourists (N = 6606) from all nine host cities (ten stadiums) in South Africa during the tournament. The structural model results demonstrate that: (1) tourists' familiarity with the ‘Win in Africa, with Africa’ program, and (2) the perception of FIFA as a socially responsible organization influence event image and one form of consumer patronage.

► ‘Win in Africa’ familiarity influenced socially responsible perceptions.
► Perception of FIFA as socially responsible influenced the image of the World Cup.
► The perception of social responsibility mediated program familiarity on event image.
► A positive event image influenced sport tourists' word-of-mouth intentions.