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The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of sport scandals on consumer perceptions of the associated sponsors and sport and to provide a typology of sport celebrity scandals to guide management response tactics.

The study conducted four focus groups that were followed by social media data mining. A total of 8,289 consumer comments were collected from 147 websites, and a total of 224 comments were analyzed in terms of themes and frequency.

The research found the impact of sport scandals on consumer perceptions of sponsorship evaluations depended on whether the scandal was gender related scandal, recreational drug use, gender violence, unplanned and planned on-field scandals. Gender violence and planned on-field scandals can have an overwhelmingly negative impact on sponsorship evaluations, while unplanned on-field scandals may result in positive effects. Consumer empathy may influence the impact of recreational drug use, and the gender of the sport celebrity can influence the impact of unplanned on-field scandals.

This study contributes to sponsorship theory by indicating the type of scandal affects consumer perceptions of associated sponsors and sport.

The findings may guide management to develop response tactics to sport scandals. The response tactics may be based on consumer perceptions of the impact of the scandal on the associated sponsors and sport. Sponsor and sport management response tactics may be perceived as a differentiation of the sponsor and sport brands. It may be necessary that sponsorship agreements included pre-determined response tactics that contribute to value formation in the local community.

This study contributes to sponsorship theory by indicating the type of scandal affects consumer perceptions of sponsorship evaluations. Two additional factors may impact these influences: consumer empathy and the gender of the sport celebrity.

Consumers often prefer sustainable goods and services but fail to follow through with purchases that reflect these espoused values. The green intention–outcome gap is studied in many contexts but has yet to inform deathcare decisions. Industry reports suggest that most Americans prefer sustainable deathcare options, yet unsustainable corpse dispositions dominate the market. The purpose of this paper is to understand how history informs this phenonea.

This study looks to the past – using historical narrative analysis of deathcare trends and influential intermediaries – to understand the future of sustainable deathcare and the prospective role that marketers can play in bridging the gap between decedents’ preferences and survivors’ purchase outcomes.

Historical ritualization, medicalization and commercialization have resulted in the monopolization of traditional deathcare services. Mortuary professionals remain unresponsive to consumer preferences for sustainable alternatives.

Socioeconomic shocks can allow humanity to reflect and transition from consumerism to sustainability. COVID-19 has led to greater awareness of self-mortality, and death has become less taboo. The slow market penetration of sustainable deathcare services suggests a lack of communication between a decedent and their survivors. Marketing scholars need to help marketing practitioners bridge the preference-outcome gap.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is amongst the first to examine how history informs the sustainable action–outcome gap for deathcare preferences in a post-COVID environment and the role that marketers can play in perpetuating change.