Managing Athlete Brands in Transgressions: Influence of Athlete Performance Level and the Severity of the Transgression on Consumer Perceptions of the Athlete

Abstract The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of athlete’s performance level and their severity of transgression on individuals’ attitudes and willingness to forgive a transgressed athlete from a brand management perspective. Using an experimental study design, two sets of data were collected for Study 1 (n = 205) and Study 2 (n = 347) to test three hypotheses. The results of Study 1 showed that an athlete’s performance level had a main effect on participants’ attitudes (H1) and willingness to forgive (H2). In addition to confirming H1, the results of Study 2 confirmed that there was an interaction between an athlete’s performance level and severity of transgression on participants’ willingness to forgive (H3). The participants showed a higher level of willingness to forgive an athlete with an extraordinary performance level when it came to a minor transgression. The results suggest that high-performing athletes might be able to enjoy a less harsh response for a minor transgression but not for a major transgression. Overall, our work points to the foundation of a possible model that companies can employ in predicting consumer reactions after athlete transgressions in the context of an athlete’s endorsement.