CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) IN SPORTS: ANTECEDENTS AND CONSEQUENCES

The purpose of this research is to identify the types of CSR initiatives employed by sports organisations; their antecedents, and their consequences for the company and society. This study is exploratory in nature. Two detailed case studies were conducted involving the football team and the basketball team of one professional, premier league club in Greece and their CSR initiatives. Both teams have the same name, they belong to one of the most popular teams in Greece with a large fan population; have both competed in International Competitions (UEFA’s Champion League; Final Four of the European Tournament) and have realised many CSR initiatives in the past. The case studies involved in depth, personal interviews of managers responsible for CSR in each team. Case study data was triangulated with documentation and search of published material concerning CSR actions. Data was analysed with content analysis. Both teams investigated have undertaken various CSR activities the last 5 years, the football team significantly more than the basketball team. Major factors that affect CSR activity include pressure from leagues; sponsors; local community, and global organisations; orientation towards fulfilling their duty to society, and team CSR strategy. Major benefits from CSR include relief of vulnerable groups and philanthropy as well as a better reputation for the firm; increase in fan base; and finding sponsors more easily due to the social profile of the team. However, those benefits are not measured in any way although both teams observe increase in tickets sold; web site traffic and TV viewing statistics after CSR activities. Finally, promotion of CSR is mainly done through web sites; press releases; newspapers, and word-of-mouth communications.