CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF FOOTBALL IN THE UK. SUMMARY
OF APPROACHES TO CSR BY PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL CLUBS.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a very important practice for
many companies across various industries in recent decades. In these contemporary
times, where awareness of social and environmental issues have heightened,
stakeholders expect companies and businesses to give back to the communities and
environment in which they operate. When companies and businesses fail to
demonstrate meaningful corporate social responsibility initiatives, it can negatively
affect the company’s reputation and relationship with some key audiences (Manoli,
2010).
Within the sports industry, corporate social responsibility has had a lot of prominence
over the years. As practiced by some major economic and cultural institutions,
professional sports teams and leagues now recognize that they have a social
responsibility to their communities and environment. In the English Premier League
for example has seen various clubs develop a lot of CSR programs that focus of
several issues in society like inclusion, education, health and community
development. Because they see themselves as representatives of their local areas,
Premier League clubs understand the importance of actively engaging with and
supporting their surrounding communities (Herbig & Milewicz, 1995 as cited in Manoli,
2010).
It is true that CSR activities and initiatives have become commonplace in the Premier
League, however communicating these initiatives to raise awareness and
demonstrate impact remains a major challenge. Clark (2000) argued that, past
research has found that CSR communication methods are “largely absent from the
social responsibility literature”. In essence, little academic attention has focused on
how exactly Premier League clubs promote their CSR work. It is important to note
that simply having impactful community programs is not sufficient and enough.
Stakeholders need to be informed of the efforts that are being made. This will help in
making the CSR efforts have meaningful contribution to corporate reputation and
relationships (Walters & Tacon, 2010.
This dissertation is aimed at addressing the gaps in understanding how CSR is
promoted with the Premier League. It also seeks to summarize the key approaches
to corporate social responsibility by professional football clubs. Through the
examination and exploration of current practices and perspectives, the research will
give insights into the methods used as well as their perceived effectiveness.
Ultimately, the approaches to corporate social responsibility by professional football
clubs is going to be discussed as well as evaluating if these professional football
clubs are communicating CSR adequately especially looking at its growing
importance within the industry and society at large.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has seen a massive growth and development
over the last few decades and across various industries. However, while the
corporate sector has increasingly engaged with CSR, there has been insufficient and
limited academic analysis of the role of CSR specifically within the sport industry.
Moreover, the existing literature on CSR in sport has tended to be conceptual rather
than empirical in nature. Or in other words, they have not explicitly engaged with
mainstream CSR theories like stakeholder theory. This represent a gap in the
academic research that this study aims to address (Walters & Tacon, 2010).
Stakeholder theory often overlaps with CSR. Thus, it provides a very useful lens for
understanding how sports organizations can implement CSR through managing their
stakeholder relationships. Even though, stakeholder concepts have widely begun to
be applied within sport management research, many studies have not made the
connections explicit to mainstream stakeholder theory. Neither have they engaged
with stakeholder concepts at an underdeveloped level. Evidently, there is more
research that is needed that directly applies to key issues from stakeholder theory.
The UK football industry represents an appropriate field and context in which one can
explore these very important issues. Especially looking at the growing prominence of
CSR initiatives at football clubs as well as the complex stakeholders involved, like the
fans, local communities, and leagues. Nevertheless, there has been limited research
to date and has qualitatively examined how UK football clubs define and prioritize
their stakeholders or either balance the interests of different stakeholder groups in
their CSR activities (Manoli, 2010.
In summary, the purpose of this study is to aid in addressing the gaps by exploring
how CSR can inform both theoretical debates and management practice within sport
organizations, using the UK football industry as a context. Specifically, the goal is
that, it will apply to the key issues from stakeholder theory to empirically examine
stakeholder definition and salience, form actions and responses. As such, there is
going to be conceptual and practical insights into how sports organizations can
implement CSR through stakeholder management strategies.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
1.
2.
3.
4.
To identify and categorize the primary approaches to CSR adopted by
professional football clubs in the UK
To analyze the implementation strategies and initiatives undertaken by selected
football clubs to fulfill their CSR objectives
To evaluate the effectiveness and challenges encountered in the execution of
CSR initiatives by football clubs
To assess the perceptions and attitudes of stakeholders, including fans, players,
club officials, and community members, towards the CSR efforts of football clubs
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What are the primary approaches to CSR adopted by professional football clubs in
the UK, and how can they be categorized?
2. How do selected football clubs in the UK implement strategies and initiatives to
achieve their CSR objectives?
3. What is the effectiveness of CSR initiatives undertaken by football clubs in the UK,
and what are the main challenges encountered during their execution?
4. How do stakeholders, including fans, players, club officials, and community
members, perceive and respond to the CSR efforts of football clubs in the UK?
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
The significance of this study is to contribute to addressing the gap in sports
management literature especially regarding the role and value of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) in professional football. When it comes to CSR, it has attracted
considerable interest and research in general management and many other business
disciplines. However there has been very little attention that has been given to CSR
within the emerging field of sports management (Breitbarth & Harris, 2008).
Now that football has been professionalized and globalized and has earned the
reputation of a multi-billion dollar industry over twenty years now, it is paramount that
sports managers and organizations are aware of the strategic developments that are
happening in other industries, including CSR. As compared to about 3 decades ago,
professional football clubs, leagues, and governing bodies now behave much like
other multi-national corporations in how they are professionally managed and
marketed. As such, the management of these football clubs and leagues should not
be treated differently to the extent of ignoring wider societal expectations like other
industries.
Again, the study seeks to encourage sports managers and organizations to see CSR
not just as a responsibility but as an opportunity-driven concept. Sports managers
and organizations must understand that, if integrated strategically, CSR can help
achieve better results and in the long run strengthen the relevance and legitimacy of
the industry in the public and political spheres.
There have been analyses of CSR practices in four important football markets England, Germany, USA, and Japan. This dissertation will highlight on the empircal
grounded case examples to illustrate how CSR strategies are applied in different
national contexts and what benefits they offer to the competitiveness and
development of the game. Much focus would be given to the UK however since this
is the scope of our research. This can guide future CSR initiatives in professional
football and related sports industries globally.
In short, the study seeks to fill the knowledge gap and provide a framework to
improve sport management’s understanding and appreciation of the growing
importance of CSR. The study will highlight where future research can further explore
the opportunities and challenges of integrating CSR into strategic planning and
operations in professional sport organizations.
The next chapter is the literature review. This is the chapter literature is going to be
reviewed based on the research objectives and research questions that have been
elaborated in the beginning.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
IDENTIFYING AND CATEGORIZING THE PRIMARY APPROACHES TO CSR
ADOPTED BY PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL CLUBS IN THE UK
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within the UK professional football industry
has evolved through two primary approaches: that is the community initiatives and
the strategic CSR. The community initiatives has historically been driven by
regulatory pressures and societal expectations. They have been an integral part to
the fabric of football club’s engagement with local communities (Watson, 2000;
Anagnostopoulos, 2013; Walters & Chadwick, 2009). These initiatives are often
facilitated through some independent community organizations like trust or even
foundations that aim to address various social issues such as youth development,
health promotion, and social inclusion (Walters, 2009). A classical example is the
“Football in The Community” scheme that was introduced in the 1970s. The scheme
laid the groundwork for clubs to establish grassroots programs that is aimed at
fostering positive social change at the local level (Watson, 2000). Thus, some CSR
efforts focus on community development programs. Several studies note how clubs
aim to use their platform and popularity to positively impact issues like health,
education, and social inclusion through CSR initiatives (Babiak & Wolfe, 2013;
Breitbarth et al., 2015; Pringle et al., 2013). These community outreach activities are
a major signal of club’s commitment to CSR according to some managers
interviewed in prior research according to Anagnostopoulos et al. (2014).
Further, it is very important to note that, in recent years, there has been a notable
shift towards strategic CSR practices among UK football clubs, this reflects a more
business-oriented approach to social responsibility (Morgan, 2013; Anagnostopoulos
& Shilbury, 2013). With strategic CSR, it frames social initiatives as integral to
achieving broader organizational objectives, including enhancing brand reputation,
appealing to stakeholders, and gaining commercial advantages (Walters & Chadwick,
2009; Walters & Tacon, 2010). Another initiative like the Premier League’s “Creating
Chances” program go a long to show and exemplify this shifts being discussed here.
The end product of this is that, clubs increasingly utilize CSR terminology and metrics
to communicate their broader trend of institutional isomorphism, where the clubs
within the same league converge around similar CSR practices under top-down
league coordination (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983).
Both community initiatives and strategic CSR play crucial roles when it comes to
shaping the CSR landscape of the UK professional football clubs. And while
community engagement remains foundational to clubs; relationship with their local
communities, the adoption of strategic CSR reflects a broader recognition of the
business value of social responsibility in achieving organizational goals and
maintaining competitive advantage in the industry.
Moreover, there have been several studies that have identified and categorized the
different appraoches to corporate social responsibility (CSR) adopted by professional
clubs in the UK. It is very important to note that another key theme that emerges in
the research papers is the tension that exists between the football clubs’ commercial
goals and their social responsibilities (Ribeiro, Branco and Ribeiro, 2019). Hamil and
Morrow (2011) in a study examined CSR practices in the Scottish Premier League.
Their study revealed some motivations that drove CSR engagements. The
motivations which drove CSR engagements included commercial, ethical and
strategic. The commercial motives were focused on using CSR to gain sponsorship
and partnerships that will lead to revenue and income for the football clubs. Ethical
motives also related to fulfilling obligations to their local communities as formerly
stated above. And then finally, with the strategic motives, it was aimed at boosting
fan engagement and the club’s reputation. Now, the key discovering of this research
was that, ethical and strategic motives were found to be more prominent than
commercial motives.
Similarly, Slack and Shrives (2008) further argued that community involvement
communication increases following periods of negative media coverage. This was
found out when Slack and Shrives (2008) analyzed community disclosure in Premier
League annual reports from 1993 - 2002. This suggests that, legitimacy concerns
motivated disclosure. In the end, their results insinuated that corporate social
responsibility is used strategically to divert attention from financial issues like high
wages. Kolyperas and Sparks (2011) explored CSR communication strategies on the
websites of Premier League clubs. What they did was to categorize the approaches
as either stakeholder-oriented (which means focusing on the stakeholder) or issueoriented (which means focusing on the specific CSR issues). Kolyperas and Sparks
found out that most clubs adopted a stakeholder approach, highlighting community
activities and emphasizing supporter engagement. Just a few clubs took on issueoriented approach covering labour practices or environmental impacts.
Corporate social responsibility has become an important part of the business strategy
for many professional football clubs in the UK. This is the main reason clubs now use
this wonderful opportunity to engage with their local communities and thus strive to
establish some social value. In addition to various approaches that have been
mentioned so far,one primary approach is philanthropic actions that are carried out
through the club’s charitable foundations (Anagnostopoulos & Kolyperas, 2016;
Kolyperas et al., 2017). Several clubs have set up charitable foundations that are
non-profit bodies. This helps clubs to deliver CSR programs and manage community
partnerships. It has been proven that these foundations play a key role in
implementing CSR strategies (Anagnostopoulos et al., 2014). Another major thing is
that some clubs sometimes leverage CSR to strengthen relationships with external
stakeholders. When clubs partner with corporate sponsors this allows the club’s CSR
activities provide benefits for businesses seeking to promote their own brands and
deploy CSR agendas (Levermore, 2010; Smith & Westerbeek, 2007). CSR is utilized
to engage fans, show responsiveness to social issues, and create access to new
demographics (Anagnostopoulos & Shilbury, 2013; Kolyperas et al., 2017).
In summary, while the philosophies and the specific programs that underpin CSR
strategies may differ, community development, stakeholder engagement, and
resource-dependent factors as common categories through which to understand UK
football clubs’ CSR strategies and activities. It is very important to understand that a
multi-pronged approach is often taken.
ANALYZING THE IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND INITIATIVES
UNDERTAKEN BY FOOTBALL CLUBS TO FULFIL THEIR CSR OBJECTIVES
Over the years, football clubs have long recognized the importance of giving back to
their respective communities, this has led many to develop some programs that will
help them achieve their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goals. These
community development programs are an integral part of the efforts the clubs make
towards CSR goals. These initiatives have always focused on important and delicate
issues such as health, education, and social inclusion (Babiak & Wolfe, 2013;
Breitbarth et al., 2015; Pringle et al., 2013). Football clubs leverage their popularity
and resources to make sure they are making a positive difference in these areas.
Again, one of the main ways football clubs contribute to their communities is also
through grassroots initiatives. Sports coaching and educational programs are among
the initiatives the clubs undertake. The football clubs run these initiatives in
collaboration with charitable and non-profit organizations and foundations. These
initiatives have one main idea and the idea is to use football as a tool to engage
young people and the youth and to teach them valuable life skills (Babiak & Wolfe,
2013). One classical example is the fact that some clubs might even organize football
training sessions that also include some lessons on teamwork, leadership, and
healthy lifestyles. This is important because it addresses both physical and
educational needs within the community.
As mentioned earlier, the concept of “Football in the Community” schemes began in
the 1980s and 1990s. During this time, clubs started running their own sports and life
skills programs in local areas (Brown et al., 2006; McGuire & Fenoglio, 2004). These
efforts came early and then they laid the groundwork for what has now become a
widespread practice among football clubs. When clubs get directly involved in
communities activities, the clubs are able to build a stronger relationship with their
local supporters and then create a positive impact in their communities.
Nowadays, larger football clubs have expanded their CSR efforts to tackle broader
social issues. This often involves forming large-scale partnerships with charitable
organizations (Babiak & Wolfe, 2013). When these large football clubs collaborate
with these charities, the clubs are able to support a wider range of causes and reach
a lot of people. Fundraising efforts, awareness campaigns, and community projects
are involved with these partnerships. The clubs are then able to address pressing
social issues.
Football clubs are very influential especially in recent years. As such, they are able to
use their resources to contribute to the well-being of their communities. Through
sports coaching, educational programs, and partnerships with charities, they work to
make a positive difference in areas like health, education, and social inclusion
(Breitbarth et al., 2015; Pringle et al., 2013).
Another strategy football clubs use to increase their efforts with CSR is by building
stronger relationships with external stakeholders who can offer resources and other
benefits. By partnering with corporate sponsors, some clubs can jointly brand their
initiatives. This will go a long way to help promote the businesses that are involved
and supports their own CSR goals (Levermore, 2010; Smith & Westerbeek, 2007).
These partnerships are enviable and sought after because they are both beneficial to
the football club and also beneficial to the corporate sponsor. This creates a win-win
situation. One very key information to take note is the fact that CSR progras help the
clubs to connect with new demographic groups and then demonstrate that they are
listening to community concerns (Anagnostopoulos & Shilbury, 2013; Kolyperas et al.,
2017). Some clubs might develop some programs that specifically aim at engaging
women and minority groups and this is to show that they value inclusivity and
diversity. When clubs do this, addressing the needs and interest of different
community members, clubs are able to build a more inclusive and supportive fan
base.
Football clubs also use grassroots fan and community engagements strategies as
part of their CSR efforts. Some clubs employ varying communication methods such
as newsletters, magazines and supporter forums to keep their fans informed,
updated and involved (Anagnostopoulos et al., 2014; Walters & Tacon, 2009). These
tools that are employed by the football clubs enable them to share certain key
updates about the initiatives the clubs are undertaking and then in turn, gather
feedback from their supporters. Additionally, clubs often seek broader input from the
community on their CSR projects. Sometimes, this might involve holding public
consultations or surveys to understand what fans and local residents think about their
initiatives. The clubs do this to evaluate, assess and examine whether their projects
are serving the purpose of which they were created. The clubs also want to make
sure that the projects are need based and meeting the needs of the community as
well as their expectations.
It is interesting to note that some clubs even go a step further by including their fans
in their governance. Another example is that the clubs might have a supporterelected board of directors who represent the fans’ interests in club decisions
(Anagnostopoulos et al., 2014). Obviously, this approach helps strengthen the bond
between the club and its supporters, making fans feel more valued and involved with
the activities of the club. Thus, by engaging with the fans through the various
communication channels and including them in decision-making processes, football
clubs build stronger, more supportive relationship with their communities which lasts
for many many years to come.
Research has confirmed that, the resources a football club has available play a major
role in how intense and extensive their CSR programs can be. Bigger clubs, like
those in the Premier League, can run more extensive initiatives due to the fact that
they have more money which they get from various industry sources
(Anagnostopoulos, 2013). Basically, even though different clubs may take different
approaches, there are some common elements in their CSR strategies. Strategies
like creating foundations, focusing on community development, building relationships
with stakeholders, and considering the resources they have available.
Ziemers et al. (2020) argued that there were three main ways football clubs carried
out their CSR activities based on the ideas of Husted (2003) - through foundations
which have already been discussed, through in-house projects, and then
collaborations. Ziemers et al. (2020) cited the Celtic FC Foundation, which manages
the club;s charitable and community activities (Hamil & Morrow, 2011; Kolyperas et
al., 2015). secondly, with in-house projects, these are CSR activities that were
managed directly by the club’s departments. For example, the Royal Belgian Football
Association (RBFA) transitioned from using a foundation to having dedicated CSR
departments within the club itself (Zeimers et al., 2020). Thirdly and finally is
collaborations. Ziemers opined that these involved partnerships between the clubs
and external organizations which has already been asserted by other authors as well
in this document. A good example of this is UEFA’s partnerships with various social
partners to carry out joint CSR initiatives (Walters & Anagnostopoulos, 2012).
Zeimers et al., (2017) revealed that football clubs often use multiple strategies for
their CSR efforts, rather than sticking to just one. Some clubs move towards
foundations, others like the Royal Belgian Football Association are changing their
strategies, indicating that there is no single best approach (Kolyperas et al., 2015,
2016). Hence, a club’s choice affects how they integrate and align with their overall
operations (Zeimers et al., 2017). For example, whether a club uses a foundation, inhouse projects, or collaborations will influence how their CSR work is organized and
its impact.
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