The aim of this research is to test the psychometric properties and relationships of a model where, from brand congruence of a sport event, trust and commitment to it can be generated, influencing future behavior of participants and resulting in a higher recommendation also called Word of Mouth (hereinafter WOM). A quantitative approach has been carried out by means of a validated questionnaire with Likert-type responses, and data were analyzed with the EQS 6.4 software. The findings indicated that the model is adequate, and also confirm that from congruence, we can explain, at a theoretical level, 45% of trust, and in the same way, from the congruence and trust, we can explain 67% of the commitment with the brand. Finally, it is confirmed that trust and brand commitment significantly influence WOM, predicting it up to 51%. These conclusions provide implications to managers, to guide their marketing strategies more effectively and to know what is important to achieve the desired behaviors, which will favor the sustainability of the event and the generation of positive impacts in the host location. This research also provides original information in a context such as sporting events where the study of brand image is practically non-existent.

Residents’ perception of a sporting event as a socially unfair phenomenon can lead to changes in residents’ behavior towards the event and future sporting events. The aim of this study is to analyze the mediating effect of the perception variable on the fair social distribution (FSD) of benefits and costs between perceived positive and negative impacts and future intentions with respect to the celebration of the Formula 1 Grand Prix. A total of 371 residents were interviewed by using a questionnaire made up of indicators referring to positive and negative impacts, FSD, and future intentions. The psychometric properties of the scale were analyzed and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. The results confirm that positive and negative impacts are significantly related to the perception of FSD, which, in turn, significantly influences future intentions. The mediating effect of FSD between perceived impacts and future intentions was also tested. The study suggests that it is important for organizers to pay attention to the social injustices and imbalances that may be associated with the holding of major sporting events in order to improve future behaviors toward sporting events.

Brand perception is a key element in achieving business success: how a brand is perceived by current and potential users determines what they think and their disposition towards the brand. The users' perception also determines whether they will perceive the sports service as offering a greater quality or value than other services, whether they will be more loyal, or whether they will recommend the service. This paper analyses the brand perception of users of a public sports service, creating a model of structural equations that analyses how credibility and trust influence a user's congruence with the brand and the generation of positive attitudes towards the brand and how these variables influence loyalty levels and recommendations. The results indicate that the proposed model can explain the variables of trust, congruence, attitudes, loyalty and word of mouth by more than 60%. The study finds that credibility influences trust but that credibility in itself does not cause a congruence with the brand, whereas trust does. Similarly, trust does not generate attitudes towards the brand but credibility and congruence do. Congruence generates loyalty but attitudes do not, and congruence, attitudes and loyalty influence recommendation to a similar extent, with congruence having the highest influence.

Entrepreneurial orientation and passion for work have been widely studied due to their effects on the behaviour and attitude of management teams in the short- and long-term. However, despite the influences of these variables on the sustainability and survival of an entity, there is a gap when considering the effects of these two performance variables in sports organisations. Therefore, the main objectives of this study were to understand the influences of entrepreneurial orientation and passion for work on service quality and sporting performance. To this end, 199 Spanish non-profit sports clubs were analysed using instruments with good psychometric properties. Data analysis was carried out using two complementary methodologies: hierarchical regression models and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. The findings show that innovation and risk-taking influence performance variables and that the inclusion of passion for work significantly increases the explanatory capacity of the model. On the other hand, it was also observed that entrepreneurial orientation dimensions and passion for work are part of the combination that allows the expected result to be explored to a greater extent. Theoretical and practical implications were drawn from these findings, which can be used to improve the economic and social sustainability of sport organisations. The study also provides useful information for managers and directors of sport organisations.