Social innovation in sport: the creation of Santa Cruz as a world surfing reserve

Abstract

Purpose Nature-based sports such as surfing play an important role in the social harmony of regions, as they provide a way to protect the environment while incorporating a business element. The purpose of this paper is to examine how World Surfing Reserves are a form of social innovation in sport, as they are a program of Save the Waves, which aims to protect the cultural and environmental areas associated with surfing. Design/methodology/approach The aim of this paper is to focus on a case study of the Santa Cruz, California World Surfing Reserve created in 2012 to analyze the associated social innovation programs. Findings Increasingly nature-based and lifestyle sports that incorporate the natural environment have been an innovative way to encourage social issues to progress. This includes programs developed to address water quality at beaches and the development of associated programs around social innovation in terms of surfing as a way to connect people to the environment. Research limitations/implications Suggestions for policy development of social innovation programs in sport will be discussed in addition to directions for future research. Originality/value Institutional theory will be used as the theoretical framework to understand the effects of the natural environment and surfing culture on social innovation.