Corporate Social Responsibility In Sport Research Articles

Stakeholders' “voice” through social media: the case of corporate social responsibility in sport

PurposePrevious corporate social responsibility (CSR) research has mainly revolved around the “usual target” (that is, fans and consumers) that invest money, time and energy in supporting their teams in isolation while largely ignoring individual members of the public. Building on social exchange theory and social media analytics, the authors examine the social outcomes of CSR aggregated from individual members of society's perceived benefits (intangible and psychological).Design/methodology/approachRaw data were drawn from the CSR-focused Twitter accounts of six professional leagues (i.e. @nbacares, @nflplay60, @InspireChange, @thewnbpa, @Pr_nhl, @Mlsworks and @Mlbsocial). The authors collected historical data from each CSR-focused Twitter account (N = 136,076) from March 2010 to September 2022.FindingsAfter conducting sentiment analysis of public perceptions, the majority of tweets (53%) were neutral, 39% were positive and 8% were negative. All CSR-related accounts received more positive tweets about their initiatives than negative ones did. The most prevalent positive topics are supporting the community, education, youth wellness and health and inspiring the young generation. The most prevalent negative topics were related to fake, hypocrite, hate and social justice.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the CSR-sport literature by incorporating members of the general public into the stakeholder ecosystem and empirically examining their perceptions of sport organizations' CSR activities. Also, by drawing on the social exchange theory and the unique nature of social media, the authors highlight when and how the public expresses positive, neutral and negative perceptions over time. Finally, it joins a small but growing body of research that adopts the application of big data to sport management, and it measures the sentiment, frequency, distribution and topics of tweets, thereby determining positive and negative public perceptions.

Cricket has no boundaries with NatWest? The hyperreality of inclusion and diversity in English cricket

In this article, we examine England and Wales Cricket Board’s relationship with NatWest Bank and analyse its award-winning sponsorship campaign Cricket Has No Boundaries (CHNB). Drawing upon Jean Baudrillard’s concepts of the hyperreal and the non-event, we explore how CHNB presents an idealised image of English cricket. At the heart of this campaign is NatWest’s desire to demonstrate their commitment to inclusion and diversity through the lens of modern cricket, but what does this tell us about the ‘value’ of cricket in our neoliberal age? Using critical discourse analysis and semiotic analysis, we critique the campaign’s mediated content—advertisements, newspaper articles and short documentaries—and examine the role of commodities, signs and media messages in shaping CHNB’s hyperreal version of cricket. We also reflect upon the growth of corporate social responsibility in sport and discuss how brands exploit athletes’ lived experiences for financial gain.

Sport CSR as a hidden marketing strategy? A study of Djarum, an Indonesian tobacco company

This paper focuses on Djarum, an Indonesian tobacco company, which actively engages in sport corporate social responsibility (SCSR) programs by giving badminton scholarships to children. The aim of this study is to examine what identity Djarum builds via SCSR initiatives and how Djarum’s SCSR circumvents tobacco marketing regulations. Findings show that Djarum’s SCSR builds new positive identities as, firstly, a sport brand that produces health and happiness. Secondly, Djarum recruits children to become badminton athletes and nurtures them to become badminton world champions. Thirdly, sport has become part of Djarum’s corporate culture. Djarum is able to create a positive identity because its products’ visual identity is aligned with its SCSR. This is also why Djarum is able to circumvent regulations making it possible for its advertisements to be aired on television without time limitation rules which normally apply to tobacco companies in Indonesia.

‘For the game, for the world’: An analysis of FIFA’s CSR initiatives

Given the significant and often negative impacts of sport mega-events on host nations, including high costs and lingering environmental challenges, many event organizers, such as the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), began implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to generate positive effects while lessening negative perceptions. Despite the growing body of literature examining the practice of sport CSR, research on how global governing sport agencies implement and adapt these programs to reflect the culture of the host is lacking. This study begins to address this gap by exploring how FIFA tailored its CSR initiatives for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and 2014 event in Brazil. Engaging in CSR is already a daunting task. For FIFA, this challenge was compounded because of the host nations’ complex social, political, and economic concerns, along with skepticism surrounding FIFA’s efforts because of its history of corruption, which recently culminated in an organizational scandal that prompted arrests of high-ranking officials and temporary banishment of its former president. To better investigate CSR using a critical lens, we draw from interdisciplinary research and employ a multi-case study approach to analyze FIFA’s CSR initiatives, arguing that these efforts largely failed to reflect cultural considerations, providing little benefit to Brazilians and South Africans. In doing so, we build upon Zaharna’s in-awareness approach to public relations by merging it with critical CSR research, demonstrating the need for sponsoring organizations to follow an in-awareness approach when practicing international CSR while also adopting participatory approaches that engage members of the affected community to increase and sustain the positive benefits of these initiatives.

Examining public perceptions of CSR in sport

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how the public views two corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives practiced by a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. This study examined the role of perceived fit between an MLB team and its two CSR initiatives in shaping consumers’ intentions to support the team’s CSR efforts.Design/methodology/approachA between-subjects experiment (n=207) was conducted using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to examine the impact of CSR fit on consumers’ patronage intentions.FindingsThe results of this study showed that consumers’ perceived fit between sports teams and their CSR has a positive impact on consumers’ patronage intentions. The values-driven and strategic-driven attributions of the team’s CSR initiatives were positively associated with their patronage intentions.Research limitations/implicationsBoth the values-driven and strategic-driven attributions were positively associated with consumers’ patronage intentions, while previous studies suggested negative association between strategic-driven attributions and consumer behaviors. The findings indicate that consumers do not view professional sports teams’ strategic-driven CSR initiatives to be negative business practices. This could result from the fact that CSR initiatives have become a prevalent and expected organizational practice.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature of CSR within the context of professional sports teams as corporations. The findings of this study suggest that professional sports teams could benefit from CSR initiatives when the teams select social causes with which consumers could infer values-driven and strategic-driven attributions.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Managing Drugs in Sport

ABSTRACTAs concerns over drug management in sport (from tobacco to supplements to doping) become more prominent, discussion of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) implications of how sport manages its relationship with drugs has been a striking omission from the literature. Analysis using Dahlsrud's five dimensions (stakeholders, social, economic, voluntariness and environmental) demonstrates the potential of developing CSR scholarship with regard to drugs in sport. Three conclusions are drawn from the analysis. First, application of CSR theory and methods can lead to new insights about the management of drugs in sport. Second, research on CSR in sport needs to engage with issues that threaten rather than promote sport, such as drugs, discrimination, exploitation and violence. Third, the management of drugs in sport has potential as a test for theory and methods of CSR, especially comparative studies. The conclusions indicate linking CSR and drugs in sport makes potentially valuable contributions to the field.

Institutional isomorphism and social responsibility in professional sports

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of three major professional sport leagues in South Korea to investigate the general beliefs, values, and norms influencing the institutional isomorphism of CSR engagement.Design/methodology/approachNine semi-structured interviews were conducted with three league chiefs of CSR initiatives and senior managers of related divisions to explore the general beliefs, values, and norms that are institutionalized in their CSR practices. The Gioia method of inquiry and data analysis was employed.FindingsUsing institutional theory, the current research found evidence of all three institutional pressures of institutional isomorphism that contribute to the institutionalization of CSR practices in professional South Korean sport. The data revealed that CSR has been institutionalized in these leagues through isomorphic pressures – coercive, mimetic, and normative – as antecedents to their CSR practices.Practical implicationsThe current research identified that conforming to the institutional norms may not only act as a force causing the organization to behave in a socially responsible manner, but also to provide the organization with competitive advantages.Originality/valueThe authors extend the current literature in sport CSR by using institutional theory as a framework to uncover organizational CSR motives. In particular, this is the first study to provide evidence of how three isomorphic pressures work to institutionalize CSR practices in South Korean professional sports leagues.

Linking corporate social responsibility in sport with community development: an added source of community value

This paper investigates the attributes of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes in sport and their potential for sustainable community development. The gap between sport-related CSR and community development needs to be filled by shifting attention to the capacity building of communities. While the neoliberal foundations of CSR are recognized, it is essential to understand the ideological varieties driving CSR that can enable inclusiveness and collaboration in fostering community benefits of CSR programmes. The paper contributes to the literature on CSR in sport advancing the discourse, and sets the stage for a community-based framework for research: (1) related to sport as a tool for social change; (2) exploring the relationship of organizational motives, stakeholder engagement and CSR programme design/implementation; and (3) evaluating the perceived benefits of CSR programmes, and the extent to which these can help achieve sustainable community development.

국내기업의 스포츠 활동을 통한 공유가치창출(CSV) 사례연구

Previous studies revealing the effects of corporate social responsibility(CSR) in the sports management literatures has remained silent in understanding the core elements of creating shared value (CSV) both satisfying economic and societal values. The purpose of this study is to alleviate such research gap by assessing sport management case studies investigating CSV perspectives to provide useful references. We use qualitative methodology implementing inductive case study analysis collecting diverse sport organization and corporate documents related to sport CSV. Also, data related to sport CSR collected from various database were gathered to be categorized into sport CSV cases through contents analysis. Our results are in two folds. First, we find that firms engage in sports marketing events and management activities to seek for both economic benefits and societal values. This can be defined as assessing sports CSV strategy. Second, with an application of qualitative methodology, we provide 6 case studies of sport CSV activities. Specifically, these cases were tested to the theory of sport CSV which we find correspondence of firms seeking to achieve both economic and societal value. In conclusion, we suggest that cases representing successful implementation of sport CSV attracts firms to attain sustainable competitive advantage. Managers can actively participate in sport management events and marketing programs to accomplish sport CSV strategy.

Corporate social responsibility and governance in sport: “Oh, the things you can find, if you don’t stay behind!”

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide practical and future research implications for the field of governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in sports to strengthen the depth of knowledge in this area. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews parts of the existing international literature and draws on literature from general business, management and governance to widen the scope and open spaces of opportunities for interested researchers. Findings – The authors find six themes that are of particular relevance and cluster them along context, content and process to map out critical and promising aspects that we believe will progress our understanding of and contribution to CSR and governance in sport: features and idiosyncrasies of sport in relation to governance and CSR; the relevance and impact of regional and cultural context; reflections on “content” of CSR in sport in difference to CSR through sport; the quest for the business case for CSR in sport and consumer reactions; ...

The need to apply new theories to “Sport CSR”

Purpose This paper aims to highlight how critical theory and political CSR might be applied to deepen our examination of the complexities associated with ‘sport CSR’. The debate on the use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the sports industry is starting to move beyond “mapping the territory”, which characterized the initial examination of this new direction in CSR. This viewpoint suggests that it is time for “sport CSR” to turn to a range of CSR perspectives found in mainstream management debates as they are under-applied at the moment.

Corporate social responsibility in sport: critical issues and future possibilities

Purpose – This paper aims to advance a critical analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within sport. First, the author locates CSR within the wider field of sport-related social activities. Second, the author identifies key issues that confront CSR in sport. Third, while referring to papers elsewhere in this issue of the journal, the author sets out future possibilities for the pursuit of CSR within sport with regards to its technical, dialogical and critical dimensions. Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken here is a critical one, advocating CSR work and research which identifies strengths and limitations in, and explores future arrangements for, the CSR sector. Findings – The paper finds that the CSR sector in sport should pursue a dialogical and critical practice within and through its work. Originality/value – The originality and value of the paper lie in how the paper advances critical understanding of CSR in sport.

Toward Strategic and Authentic Corporate Social Responsibility in Professional Sport: A Case Study of the Detroit Lions

The rise and institutionalization of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in sport is captured in a growing body of work in sport management. This literature suggests professional teams should be strategic in their approaches—matching internal resources with external needs—but we lack an understanding of the processes and mechanisms in the evolution to more strategic CSR, as well as specific practices that characterize these approaches. Further, by focusing on broad trends in how and why teams are adopting CSR, we miss the opportunity to learn from teams with innovative and authentic CSR approaches. To address these gaps, this article uses a qualitative case-study approach to examine how one professional team in the U.S.—the Detroit Lions—evolved their CSR to a more strategic and authentic partnership-focused model. Our findings point to key process steps and mechanisms in the decision making around, and implementation of, this approach, including the role of organizational structure, leadership, and community partnerships. We draw out themes around these central partnerships and highlight best practices. In offering a more nuanced understanding of professional sport CSR process and practice, we contribute to the literature on CSR in sport, sport-community partnerships, and sport and city revitalization.

Corporate social responsibility in professional team sport organisations: towards a theory of decision-making

Research question: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasingly important to business, including professional team sport organisations. Scholars focusing on CSR in sport have generally examined content-related issues such as implementation, motives or outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to add to that body of knowledge by focusing on process-related issues. Specifically, we explore the decision-making process used in relation to CSR-related programmes in the charitable foundations of the English football clubs.Research methods: Employing a grounded theory method and drawing on the analysis and synthesis of 32 interviews and 25 organisational documents, this research explored managerial decision-making with regard to CSR in English football.Results and findings: The findings reveal that decision-making consists of four simultaneous micro-social processes (‘harmonising’, ‘safeguarding’, ‘manoeuvring’ and ‘transcending’) that form the platform upon which the managers in the charitable foundations of the English football clubs make decisions. These four micro-social processes together represent assessable transcendence; a process that is fortified by passion, contingent on trust, sustained by communication and substantiated by factual performance enables CSR formulation and implementation in this organisational context.Implications: The significance of this study for the sport management literature is threefold: (1) it focuses on the individual level of analysis, (2) it shifts the focus of the scholarly activity away from CSR content-based research towards more process-oriented approaches and (3) it adds to the limited number of studies that have utilised grounded theory in a rounded manner.

Consumer Attitudes toward Responsible Entities in Sport (CARES): Scale development and model testing

The advancement of empirical research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been hindered by the lack of an appropriate measure of CSR perceptions among sport consumers. Consequently, researchers have yet to fully explore the ways in which consumer's attitudes impact their responses to CSR. This article first describes (in Study 1) the development and validation of a self-report scale designed to measure consumer attitudes toward CSR in sport. Two data collections were conducted to test the seven-item, Likert-type Consumer Attitudes toward Responsible Entities in Sport (CARES) scale with two dimensions (i.e., cognition and affect). Evidence is presented confirming the scale's internal consistency, validity, and dimensionality. In the second phase, Study 2 examined the influence of the scale dimensions on actual consumer purchasing using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results suggest that the attitude scale for CSR can be a useful tool for sport academicians to gauge the effects of social efforts and social policy formation.

Corporate social responsibility in sport: Stakeholder management in the UK football industry

AbstractCorporate social responsibility (CSR) has become increasingly significant for a wide range of organisations and for the managers that work within them. This is particularly true in the sport industry, where CSR is now an important area of focus for sport organisations, sport events and individual athletes. This article demonstrates how CSR can inform both theoretical debates and management practice within sport organisations. It does so by focusing on stakeholder theory, which overlaps considerably with CSR. In this article, stakeholder theory is used to examine three major CSR issues: stakeholder definition and salience, firm actions and responses, and stakeholder actions and responses. These three issues are considered in the context of the UK football industry. The article draws on 15 semi-structured qualitative interviews with senior representatives from a number of different organisations. These include the director of a large professional football club; a chief executive of a medium-sized professional football club in addition to the supporter-elected director; and the vice-chairman of a small professional football club. Additional interviews were undertaken with five representatives from national supporter organisations, two board members at two large supporter associations, two representatives from the Football League, one representative from the Independent Football Commission, and a prominent sports journalist. The analysis of the interview data illustrates ways in which CSR can be implemented by sport organisations through stakeholder management strategies. The article concludes that stakeholder theory has both conceptual and empirical value and can be used to illuminate key issues in sport management.

The role and relevance of corporate social responsibility in sport: A view from the top

AbstractCorporate social responsibility (CSR) represents behaviors that have increasingly strategic importance to many companies. CSR has been defined as a company's commitment to minimizing or eliminating any harmful effects on society and maximizing its long-term beneficial impact (Mohr, Webb, & Harris, 2001). The purpose of this paper is (a) to improve our understanding of how North American professional sport league executives view CSR and (b) to consider how CSR activities contribute to these leagues. Interviews with four senior league executives provide perspective as to the role and relevance of social responsibility in North American professional sport. The paper discusses the impact of leadership on CSR and relates the topics covered from institutional, strategic, and stakeholder perspectives.

The role and relevance of corporate social responsibility in sport: A view from the top

AbstractCorporate social responsibility (CSR) represents behaviors that have increasingly strategic importance to many companies. CSR has been defined as a company's commitment to minimizing or eliminating any harmful effects on society and maximizing its long-term beneficial impact (Mohr, Webb, & Harris, 2001). The purpose of this paper is (a) to improve our understanding of how North American professional sport league executives view CSR and (b) to consider how CSR activities contribute to these leagues. Interviews with four senior league executives provide perspective as to the role and relevance of social responsibility in North American professional sport. The paper discusses the impact of leadership on CSR and relates the topics covered from institutional, strategic, and stakeholder perspectives.

Corporate social responsibility in sport: Stakeholder management in the UK football industry

AbstractCorporate social responsibility (CSR) has become increasingly significant for a wide range of organisations and for the managers that work within them. This is particularly true in the sport industry, where CSR is now an important area of focus for sport organisations, sport events and individual athletes. This article demonstrates how CSR can inform both theoretical debates and management practice within sport organisations. It does so by focusing on stakeholder theory, which overlaps considerably with CSR. In this article, stakeholder theory is used to examine three major CSR issues: stakeholder definition and salience, firm actions and responses, and stakeholder actions and responses. These three issues are considered in the context of the UK football industry. The article draws on 15 semi-structured qualitative interviews with senior representatives from a number of different organisations. These include the director of a large professional football club; a chief executive of a medium-sized professional football club in addition to the supporter-elected director; and the vice-chairman of a small professional football club. Additional interviews were undertaken with five representatives from national supporter organisations, two board members at two large supporter associations, two representatives from the Football League, one representative from the Independent Football Commission, and a prominent sports journalist. The analysis of the interview data illustrates ways in which CSR can be implemented by sport organisations through stakeholder management strategies. The article concludes that stakeholder theory has both conceptual and empirical value and can be used to illuminate key issues in sport management.

Corporate Social Responsibility in Sport

Over the past decade, there has been a groundswell of support within the sport industry to be “good sports”, as evidenced by a growing number of, and commitment to, “giving” initiatives and “charitable” programs. Consider the following examples:• In 1998, the “Sports Philanthropy Project” was founded, devoted to “harnessing the power of professional sports to support the development of healthy communities.” (Sports Philanthropy Project, 2009) To date, this organization has supported and sustained over 400 philanthropic-related organizations associated with athlete charities, league initiatives, and team foundations in the United States and Canada.• In 2003, “Right To Play” (formerly Olympic Aid) the international humanitarian organization was established, which has used sport to bring about change in over 40 of the world's most disadvantaged communities. Of note is their vision to “engage leaders on all sides of sport, business and media, to ensure every child's right to play” (www.righttoplay.com).• In 2005, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) became one of the first sport organizations to create an internal corporate social responsibility unit, and soon thereafter committed a significant percentage of their revenues to related corporate social responsibility programs (FIFA, 2005).