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

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  • 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.

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  • 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
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    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.

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