Effects of Sponsorship Congruity on E-Sponsors and E-Newspapers

This study examines psychological responses to e-sponsors and e-newspapers as a function of sponsor congruity. The method is a 3 (sponsor congruity) x 2 (section) x 4 (news story) x 4 (e-newspapers) within-groups experiment. Participants were student and non-student adults. The high congruity condition yielded positive effects for the e-sponsors, whereas the moderate congruity condition yielded positive effects for the e-newspapers. Sponsor motive moderated sponsor congruity on evaluations of the e-newspapers. Results showed that high congruity sponsors benefited from the sponsorship at the expense of the e-newspaper's credibility. Findings suggest that policies are needed to guide decisions about the use of Internet sponsorships in newspaper Web sites.