ESTUDIOS DE ADMINISTRACIÓN ISSN 0717-0653 versión impresa | ISSN 0717-0616 versión en línea SPONSORSHIP SALES IS NOT ONLY A SPORT, BUT AN INSTITUTIONAL BUSINESS AS WELL: EVIDENCE FROM TWO PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LATIN-AMERICA LAS VENTAS DE PATROCINIO NO SON SOLO UN DEPORTE, SINO TAMBIÉN UN NEGOCIO INSTITUCIONAL: EVIDENCIA DE DOS CLUBES DE FÚTBOL PROFESIONALES EN AMÉRICA LATINA JEL Classification: M10, M31 Received: May 10, 2019 | Accepted: February 26, 2020 | Available Online: February 28, 2020 Cite this article as: Navarro-Picado J.F. (2019). Sponsorship sales is not only a sport, but an institutional business as well: evidence from two professional football clubs in Latin-America. Estudios de Administración, 26 (2), 82-100. https://doi.org/ 10.5354/0719-0816.2019.56952 José Francisco Navarro Picado Escuela de Administración de Negocios - Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica
[email protected] Abstract The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of institutionalization, legitimacy, learning behaviors, and other organizational characteristics on the efforts made by sport clubs signing sponsorship contracts. An exploratory comparison of two professional football clubs, playing in the First Division, of Costa Rica and Chile was performed. Using a narrative methodology, the Costa Rican team was analyzed through observation during a two-year collaboration period, and the Chilean team was analyzed through in-depth interviews and an analysis of the historical literature. The analysis revealed that organizational behaviors impact the clubs’ amount of sponsorship contracts and multi-season contracts. It also revealed that institutionalization and legitimacy work as a first latter in the relationship, and that by themselves it should be considered a marketing tool.