TY - JOUR U1 - Wissenschaftlicher Artikel A1 - Nufer, Gerd T1 - Ambush marketing in sports : an attack on sponsorship or innovative marketing? JF - Sport, business and management : an international journal : SBM N2 - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively characterise the interdisciplinary phenomenon of ambush marketing in sports, structure its manifestations, illustrate the consequences associated with ambush marketing and provide a critical evaluation from an objective perspective. Design/methodology/approach: Various approaches to the definition of ambush marketing are presented and the objectives pursued with ambush marketing are identified. In this paper a new approach has been developed to structure the strategies and manifestations of ambush marketing. Findings: It is a fine line between creative marketing and infringing on sponsorship rights. So the interdisciplinary phenomenon ambush marketing is discussed controversially. Ambush marketing is situated at the intersection of two opposing spheres of interest conducting a battle for shares of the marketing potential of a sports event. On one side there is the disparaging view of ambush marketing founded on legal and/or ethical considerations. On the other, the author has the respectful assessment of ambushers characterised by their innovative, creative marketing. Practical implications: The analysis conducted in this paper leads to the conclusion that a general evaluation or condemnation of ambush marketing is not feasible. A four-field matrix emerges from the combination of a legal statutory consideration on one hand and an ethical-moral assessment on the other. Originality/value: The paper describes and structures ambush marketing in a novel form and discusses illustrating examples from major sporting events. Ambush marketing is evaluated from a neutral perspective by summarising the opportunities and threats of ambush marketing which leads to a nuanced contemplation of ambush marketing. KW - sport sponsorship KW - Olympics KW - sporting events KW - ambush marketing KW - event marketing KW - Football World Cup Y1 - 2016 SN - 2042-678X SS - 2042-678X U6 - https://doi.org/10.1108/SBM-05-2013-0008 DO - https://doi.org/10.1108/SBM-05-2013-0008 VL - 6 IS - 4 SP - 476 EP - 495 S1 - 20 PB - Emerald CY - Bingley ER -