IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/rsmrxx/v16y2013i3p298-313.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability: Why professional sport is greening the playing field

Author

Listed:
  • Sylvia Trendafilova
  • Kathy Babiak
  • Kathryn Heinze

Abstract

► Findings show associative environmental management behavior among professional sport organizations in North America. ► Media played a role in defining the type and extent of environmental sustainability efforts in professional sport. ► Scrutiny, regulation, and normative and associative pressures force the adoption of environmentally friendly behaviors. ► Although not yet taken for granted, environmental practices are contributing to the legitimacy of professional sport.In this study, we explore institutional forces affecting environmental sustainability in professional sport teams and leagues in North America. Interviews with sport executives and executives from partner groups, 122 websites and organizational documents, and 56 media reports were examined. Data revealed how environmental management practices are being diffused in professional sport organizations. Evidence indicated associative behavior among sport organizations with respect to environmental management. Data also illustrated that media played a role in driving and defining the type and extent of involvement in professional sport teams’ environmental sustainability efforts. We discuss environmental sustainability as it affects a team's or league's CSR related initiatives (i.e., averting legal recourse, saving money, as well as building stronger relationships with stakeholders (e.g., customers, fans, local communities, federal governments and corporate partners)), and speculate how these efforts might evolve and inform the development of environmental sustainability in organizations in the sport, service and entertainment sectors.

Suggested Citation

  • Sylvia Trendafilova & Kathy Babiak & Kathryn Heinze, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability: Why professional sport is greening the playing field," Sport Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 298-313, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rsmrxx:v:16:y:2013:i:3:p:298-313
    DOI: 10.1016/j.smr.2012.12.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1016/j.smr.2012.12.006
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.smr.2012.12.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonathan P. Doh & Terrence R. Guay, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Public Policy, and NGO Activism in Europe and the United States: An Institutional‐Stakeholder Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 47-73, January.
    2. Hela Sheth & Kathy Babiak, 2010. "Beyond the Game: Perceptions and Practices of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Professional Sport Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(3), pages 433-450, February.
    3. Ron Bird & Anthony D. Hall & Francesco Momentè & Francesco Reggiani, 2007. "What Corporate Social Responsibility Activities are Valued by the Market?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 76(2), pages 189-206, December.
    4. Babiak, Kathy, 2010. "The role and relevance of corporate social responsibility in sport: A view from the top," Journal of Management & Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(4), pages 528-549, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rodrigo Lozano & Maria Barreiro‐Gen, 2023. "Civil society organisations as agents for societal change: Football clubs' engagement with sustainability," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 820-828, March.
    2. Kinga Ráthonyi-Ódor & Éva Bácsné Bába & Anetta Müller & Zoltán Bács & Gergely Ráthonyi, 2020. "How Successful Are the Teams of the European Football Elite off the Field?—CSR Activities of the Premier League and the Primera División," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-31, October.
    3. Mariana Dubravská & Martina Marchevská & Petra Vašaničová & Rastislav Kotulič, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management Linkage: An Empirical Analysis of the Slovak Republic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-18, July.
    4. George Cunningham & Brian P. McCullough & Shelby Hohensee, 2020. "Physical activity and climate change attitudes," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 61-74, March.
    5. Ha Junsheng & Muhammad Mehedi Masud & Rulia Akhtar & Md. Sohel Rana, 2020. "The Mediating Role of Employees’ Green Motivation between Exploratory Factors and Green Behaviour in the Malaysian Food Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.
    6. Christopher Hautbois & Michel Desbordes, 2023. "Sustainability in Sport: Sport, Part of the Problem … and of the Solution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-18, August.
    7. Ine Hugaerts & Jeroen Scheerder & Kobe Helsen & Joris Corthouts & Erik Thibaut & Thomas Könecke, 2021. "Sustainability in Participatory Sports Events: The Development of a Research Instrument and Empirical Insights," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, May.
    8. Schyvinck, Cleo & Willem, Annick, 2018. "A typology of cause-related marketing approaches in European professional basketball," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 347-362.
    9. Christopher Hautbois & Michel Desbordes, 2023. "Sustainability in Sport: Sport, Part of the Problem … and of the Solution," Post-Print hal-04252259, HAL.
    10. Orr, Madeleine & Inoue, Yuhei, 2019. "Sport versus climate: Introducing the climate vulnerability of sport organizations framework," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 452-463.
    11. Brian P. McCullough & Jamee Pelcher & Sylvia Trendafilova, 2020. "An Exploratory Analysis of the Environmental Sustainability Performance Signaling Communications among North American Sport Organizations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-17, March.
    12. Ráthonyi-Ódor, Kinga & Bába, Éva Bácsné & Ráthonyi, Gergely, 2019. "Responsible Behavior And Environmental Protection – In Case Of Football Clubs," APSTRACT: Applied Studies in Agribusiness and Commerce, AGRIMBA, vol. 13(1-2), June.
    13. Rosa M. Muñoz & M. Valle Fernández & Yolanda Salinero, 2020. "Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Performance in the Spanish Wine Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    14. Jed J. Cohen, Levan Elbakidze, and Randall Jackson, 2020. "Solar Bait: How U.S. States Attract Solar Investments from Large Corporations," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2), pages 167-190.
    15. Joanna Wall-Tweedie & Sheila N. Nguyen, 2018. "Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side? A Review of the Asia-Pacific Sport Industry’s Environmental Sustainability Practices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 741-761, October.
    16. Daniel Limones, 2020. "CSR and Firm Performance Nexus in UK: Empirical Evidence of Manufacturing Sector," Journal of Accounting, Business and Finance Research, Scientific Publishing Institute, vol. 9(2), pages 64-72.
    17. Sartore-Baldwin, Melanie L. & McCullough, Brian, 2018. "Equity-based sustainability and ecocentric management: Creating more ecologically just sport organization practices," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 391-402.
    18. Ricardo Roseira Cayolla & Teresa Santos & Joana A. Quintela, 2021. "Sustainable Initiatives in Sports Organizations—Analysis of a Group of Stakeholders in Pandemic Times," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    19. Gianluca Gionfriddo & Francesco Rizzi & Tiberio Daddi & Fabio Iraldo, 2023. "The impact of green marketing on collective behaviour: Experimental evidence from the sports industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5349-5367, December.
    20. Virginia S. Harrison & Michail Vafeiadis & Joseph Bober, 2022. "Greening Professional Sport: How Communicating the Fit, Proximity, and Impact of Sustainability Efforts Affects Fan Perceptions and Supportive Intentions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-21, March.
    21. Rongtitya Rith & Riccardo Spinelli, 2024. "Examining the X factor of corporate social responsibility in professional football clubs: An integrative literature review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3487-3501, July.
    22. Alessio Faccia & Leonardo José Mataruna-Dos-Santos & Hussein Munoz Helù & Daniel Range, 2020. "Measuring and Monitoring Sustainability in Listed European Football Clubs: A Value-Added Reporting Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-13, November.
    23. Tayebeh Zargar & Steven Rynne, 2023. "The Corporate Social Responsibility Sport Model: Grounded Theory Approach," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Schyvinck, Cleo & Willem, Annick, 2018. "A typology of cause-related marketing approaches in European professional basketball," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 347-362.
    2. Kathy Babiak & Sylvia Trendafilova, 2011. "CSR and environmental responsibility: motives and pressures to adopt green management practices," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(1), pages 11-24, January.
    3. Reiche, Danyel, 2013. "Climate policies in the U.S. at the stakeholder level: A case study of the National Football League," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 775-784.
    4. Juan Antonio Sánchez-Sáez & Francisco Segado Segado & Ferran Calabuig-Moreno & Ana Mª Gallardo Guerrero, 2020. "Measuring Residents’ Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility at Small- and Medium-Sized Sports Events," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-17, November.
    5. Sylvain Marsat & Benjamin Williams, 2016. "Does the Market Value the Social Dimension? International Evidence," Bankers, Markets & Investors, ESKA Publishing, issue 142, pages 28-40, May-June.
    6. Sylvain Marsat & Benjamin Williams, 2016. "Does the market value the social dimension? International evidence," Post-Print hal-02156613, HAL.
    7. Rongtitya Rith & Riccardo Spinelli, 2024. "Examining the X factor of corporate social responsibility in professional football clubs: An integrative literature review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3487-3501, July.
    8. Gunther Capelle-Blancard & Aurélien Petit, 2019. "Every Little Helps? ESG News and Stock Market Reaction," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 543-565, June.
    9. Sergiy D. Dmytriyev & R. Edward Freeman & Jacob Hörisch, 2021. "The Relationship between Stakeholder Theory and Corporate Social Responsibility: Differences, Similarities, and Implications for Social Issues in Management," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(6), pages 1441-1470, September.
    10. S. J. Chang, 2016. "Sustainable Evolution for Global Business: A Synthetic Review of the Literature," Journal of Management and Sustainability, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 6(1), pages 1-23, March.
    11. Rana, Mohammad B. & Elo, Maria, 2017. "Transnational Diaspora and Civil Society Actors Driving MNE Internationalisation: The Case of Grameenphone in Bangladesh," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 87-106.
    12. Dirk Boehe & Luciano Barin Cruz, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Product Differentiation Strategy and Export Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(2), pages 325-346, February.
    13. Amaka Orakwue & Osarumwense Iguisi, 2020. "Conceptualizing entrepreneurship in human resource management," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 9(3), pages 85-93, April.
    14. Hajar Mouatassim Lahmini & Abdelmajid Ibenrissoul, 2017. "Quel effet de la Responsabilité Sociétale de l'Entreprise sur la performance financière d'un opérateur minier/ Approche par l'Analyse Coûts-Bénéfices," Post-Print hal-01746022, HAL.
    15. Abbate, Stefano & Centobelli, Piera & Cerchione, Roberto, 2023. "From Fast to Slow: An Exploratory Analysis of Circular Business Models in the Italian Apparel Industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    16. I. Girerd-Potin & S. Jimenez-Garces & Pascal Louvet, 2014. "Which Dimensions of Social Responsibility Concern Financial Investors?," Post-Print halshs-01337706, HAL.
    17. Mădălina Dumitru & Justyna Dyduch & Raluca-Gina Gușe & Joanna Krasodomska, 2017. "Corporate Reporting Practices in Poland and Romania – An Ex-ante Study to the New Non-financial Reporting European Directive," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 279-304, September.
    18. Mihaela Păceşilă & Sofia Elena Colesca, 2020. "Insights on Social Responsibility of NGOS," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 311-339, June.
    19. Sara Trucco & Maria Chiara Demartini & Valentina Beretta, 2021. "The reporting of sustainable development goals: is the integrated approach the missing link?," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 1-13, February.
    20. Al-Shaer, Habiba & Uyar, Ali & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "Do shareholders punish or reward excessive CSR engagement? Moderating effect of cash flow and firm growth," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:rsmrxx:v:16:y:2013:i:3:p:298-313. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/rsmr .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.