CSR and Sport: Background and Research Directions

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CSR and Sport Background and Research Directions

• Kathy Babiak, Ph.D.
• University of Michigan

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The CSR literature

• Friedman (1962) an organizations
  responsibility is to its shareholders--to make
  money (through products and/or services).
• Stakeholder perspective not just responsible to
  shareholders but to stakeholders that can affect
  / be affected by an organization (Donaldson
  Preston, 1995 Freeman, 1984)
• CSR as strategic response (Bruch Walter, 2005
  Hess Warren, 2005 Porter Kramer, 2006) or as
  insurance for future misdeeds (Gardberg
  Fombrun, 2006 Godfrey, 2005 )

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LEGAL
ETHICAL
Carroll, 1979, 1999
DISCRETIONARY
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COMMUNITY WELFARE
PHILANTHROPY
ACCOUNTING PRACTICES

EMPLOYEE TREATMENT
ENVIRONMENT
LEGAL
PRODUCT SAFETY
HEALTH
ETHICAL
EDUCATION
POVERTY
DISCRETIONARY
Carroll, 1979, 1999
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CSR defined

• CSR represents a set of actions that
• appear to further some social good,
• extend beyond the explicit pecuniary interests
  of the firm,
• and are not required by law
• (McWilliams Siegel, 2000)

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Unique features of sport CSR

• Mass media distribution and communication power
• Youth appeal
• Social interaction
• (Smith Westerbeek, 2007)
• Unique, valuable and rare resources
• Celebrity / brand power to convene partners
  passion / emotion invoked by sport
• (Wolfe et al., 2006)

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CSR and Sport The Landscape

• Professional sport Leagues, Teams, Athletes
• Sport related foundations
• Sport manufacturers Reebok, Nike
• Sport mega-events / Olympic sport

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The perspective of the players

• ATHLETE
• I started this Foundation because I really felt
  the need to try to help people. As a professional
  athlete, you are in a position and given the
  opportunity to really have an impact on more than
  just your immediate surroundings. For me to be
  able to do that is something thats sometimes
  challenging, but always worthwhile.
  (Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns)
• TEAM
• We recognize that our actions on the court are
  meager compared to our greater efforts and
  actions within our own community.
• (Michael Heisley, Memphis Grizzlies Owner)
• LEAGUE
• "Basketball has the ability to bring people
  together and address important social issues at
  the same time. (NBA Commissioner David
  Stern)

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COMMUNITY WELFARE (e.g., MLB partnership with
BGCA NFL partnership with United Way)
EMPLOYEE TREATMENT (e.g., NFL Concussion)
ENVIRONMENT (e.g., MLB Team GreeningNHL Green
Initiative)

LEGAL
EDUCATION (e.g., NBAs Read to Achieve)
ETHICAL
HEALTH (e.g., NFL Play 60 NHL Hockey Fights
Cancer)
DISCRETIONARY
Carroll, 1979, 1999
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Diffusion of CSR in Professional Sport
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However.

• Despite the prevalence and magnitude of socially
  responsible activities within the sport industry,
  little attention has been devoted to
  understanding the motivations, strategies, or
  outcomes derived from them.

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CSR in Sport A research perspective

• Excellent context since
• All professional sport teams / leagues have
  community outreach programs / foundations.
• Studying organizational phenomena within sport
  provides rare research advantages
• availability of performance data / clarity of
  outcomes,
• transparency of intended and unintended
  behaviors,
• which result in unique opportunities to observe,
  measure, and compare variables and relationships
  of interest over time.

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What does the research future hold?

• Margolis and Walsh (2003) called for a change in
  empirical research away from justifying CSR to
  examination of the impacts of CSR on recipients
  and society at large (e.g., reductions in
  poverty, increases in health). Research heeding
  that call has yet to reach the publication stage.
  
• Research complex problems that span disciplinary
  boundaries (e.g., public policy, management,
  public health, education, economics, corporate
  governance, social work)
• Engaged scholarship produce actionable
  knowledge

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CSR and Sport Research

• Examining outcome variables i.e., to what extent
  do particular programs address the social issues
  e.g., how much has the reading of students
  attending NBA Read-To-Achieve sessions improved?
• Other outcome variables may include to what
  extent have such programs had corporate
  reputational benefits?
• How do these programs affect team (fan) loyalty
  and other rewards an organization may expect to
  receive from socially responsible efforts?
• And on a broader scale, how much does a community
  benefit from a professional sport teams CSR
  related efforts?
• How can / do managers substitute involvement in
  some CSR activities for lack of involvement in
  others?
• How are sporting organizations (players and
  coaches, teams and unions, and sport governing
  bodies) responding to (both reactively and
  proactively) ethical blowback? (e.g., performance
  enhancing drug scandal)
• In terms of the natural environment, what
  effective measures can sports organizations take
  to reduce levels of pollution, congestion, and
  garbage around their venues?
• Partnerships to maximize social benefits how
  are they formed? And how are socially responsible
  initiatives enacted?
• How will the expanding global nature of sport
  influence CSR initiatives?