Sponsorship Authenticity Scale

What it measures

Measures perceptions of brand authenticity across four dimensions: continuity (connection to heritage), credibility (honest representation), integrity (genuine motives), and symbolism (enabling consumers to express their true selves). Widely used in sponsorship, cause-related marketing, and brand management research to assess whether consumers view brand associations as genuine.

Response format

Likert (1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

Scale items

Sincerity — sponsor genuinely cares about the event/cause (Likert 1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

• This sponsor genuinely supports this event.
• This sponsor truly cares about this event.
• This sponsor is honest in its support of this event.
• This sponsor's involvement in this event is sincere.

Quality Commitment — sponsor is committed to delivering quality through the sponsorship

• This sponsor consistently delivers quality through its association with this event.
• This sponsor is committed to providing high quality through its involvement.
• This sponsor is dedicated to high standards in its support of this event.
• This sponsor is reliable in its commitment to the event.

Heritage — sponsor has a long-term, historically grounded connection to the event

• This sponsor has a long history with this event.
• This sponsor has been involved with this event for a long time.
• This sponsor has genuine roots in this type of event.
• This sponsor's involvement in this event is well established.

Congruence — sponsor fits naturally with the event

• This sponsor is a natural fit for this event.
• This sponsor's image matches the image of this event.
• There is a logical connection between this sponsor and this event.
• This sponsor and this event are well matched.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Four subscale scores. Score = mean per dimension. Integrity and Credibility are the dimensions most predictive of consumer outcomes (preference, loyalty, WOM). Widely used in research on influencer marketing, cause-related marketing, sports sponsorship, and CSR communications.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Morhart, F., Malär, L., Guèvremont, A., Girardin, F., & Grohmann, B. (2015). Brand authenticity: An integrative framework and measurement scale. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 25(2), 200–218.

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