Christos Anagnostopoulos

Implementing corporate social responsibility in English football: towards multi-theoretical integration.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to bridge the micro-macro divide by trying to integrate the micro-domains focus on individuals (i.e. managers) with the meso-domains and macro-domains focus (i.e. leagues/football clubs and the socio-political environment, respectively). The examination takes place within the context of English football and in relation to the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on data collected by 21 charitable foundation managers of the top two divisions of English football. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim from digital voice recorders and were analysed using grounded theory coding techniques. Findings – The study found a paradoxical context in which foundation managers make strategic decisions in an endeavour to harmonise multiple environmental and institutional “recipes”. Managers are confident that they have the capability to do so, yet realise that this capability is the result of a heavy...

Corporate social responsibility in professional team sport organisations: towards a theory of decision-making

Research question: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasingly important to business, including professional team sport organisations. Scholars focusing on CSR in sport have generally examined content-related issues such as implementation, motives or outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to add to that body of knowledge by focusing on process-related issues. Specifically, we explore the decision-making process used in relation to CSR-related programmes in the charitable foundations of the English football clubs. Research methods: Employing a grounded theory method and drawing on the analysis and synthesis of 32 interviews and 25 organisational documents, this research explored managerial decision-making with regard to CSR in English football. Results and findings: The findings reveal that decision-making consists of four simultaneous micro-social processes (‘harmonising’, ‘safeguarding’, ‘manoeuvring’ and ‘transcending’) that form the platform upon which the managers in the charitable foundations of the English football clubs make decisions. These four micro-social processes together represent assessable transcendence; a process that is fortified by passion, contingent on trust, sustained by communication and substantiated by factual performance enables CSR formulation and implementation in this organisational context. Implications: The significance of this study for the sport management literature is threefold: (1) it focuses on the individual level of analysis, (2) it shifts the focus of the scholarly activity away from CSR content-based research towards more process-oriented approaches and (3) it adds to the limited number of studies that have utilised grounded theory in a rounded manner.

Corporate social responsibility and governance in sport: “Oh, the things you can find, if you don’t stay behind!”

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide practical and future research implications for the field of governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in sports to strengthen the depth of knowledge in this area. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews parts of the existing international literature and draws on literature from general business, management and governance to widen the scope and open spaces of opportunities for interested researchers. Findings – The authors find six themes that are of particular relevance and cluster them along context, content and process to map out critical and promising aspects that we believe will progress our understanding of and contribution to CSR and governance in sport: features and idiosyncrasies of sport in relation to governance and CSR; the relevance and impact of regional and cultural context; reflections on “content” of CSR in sport in difference to CSR through sport; the quest for the business case for CSR in sport and consumer reactions; ...

Corporate social responsibility through sport: a longitudinal study of the FTSE100 companies

Purpose – Under growing public scrutiny of their behaviour, the vast majority of multinational enterprises (MNEs) have been undertaking significant investments through corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to close legitimacy gaps. The purpose of this paper is to provide a descriptive account of the nature and scope of MNEs’ CSR programmes that have sport at their core. More specifically, the present study addresses the following questions. First, how do Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 firms utilise sport as part of their CSR agendas? Second, how do different industries have different approaches to CSR through sport? And third, can the types of CSR through sport be classified? Design/methodology/approach – Centred on legitimacy theory and exploratory in nature, the study employed a content analysis method, and examined three types of document from each of the FTSE100 firms, namely, annual reports, annual reviews and CSR reports over the ten-year period from 2003 to 2012. In total, 1,473...

Implementing corporate social responsibility through social partnerships

This paper examines how corporate social responsibility (CSR) is implemented through social partnerships. Drawing on previous literature and case study research, it presents a conceptual model of the process of implementation. An exploratory case study of the social responsibility partnership programme at the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has been conducted. The case study draws on interview data and documentary sources of evidence gathered from UEFA and the six partner organisations that comprise its CSR portfolio. The conceptual model identifies three stages of the implementation process (selection, design, management), with partnership evaluation being an ongoing process during all three. The latter consists of two elements, namely project and process evaluation. A key finding is the lack of process evaluation due to a high degree of inter-personal trust. The conceptual model adds to the growing body of research on the implementation of social partnerships and CSR. This paper is also the first to empirically explore the process of CSR implementation through social partnerships in the football sector.

Passion in the workplace: empirical insights from team sport organisations

ABSTRACT Research question: Although sport management scholars have focused on a fairly wide number of psychologically related constructs in the workplace, passion has not been part of this research agenda. The present study is the first attempt to fill this gap by exploring team sport organisation employees’ passion via the dualistic model, that is, harmonious and obsessive, developed by Vallerand et al. Research methods: UK football industry employees responsible for either business-related functions or the clubs’ social agenda (N = 236) completed an online survey in order to measure their level of passion. The particular instrument has two components: harmonious and obsessive passion towards the job. Besides the passion scales, the survey contained measures related to demographic variables, employment position, and previous job experience. Data were treated with confirmatory factor analysis and analysis of variance using SPSS and Amos 18.0. Results and findings: Both groups of employees are passionate about their job. They remain harmoniously passionate throughout their career and show low levels of obsessive passion. The type of work activities influences personnel within sport organisations with employees responsible for the social agenda being slightly more harmoniously and obsessively passionate compared to those responsible for the business agenda. Implications: Vallerand et al.’s dualistic model of passion has been adapted for sport organisations. The particular working environment that forms these organisations attracts and/or facilitates employees to experience a positive work–life balance.

Stakeholder management in Greek professional football: identification and salience

Football is not only the most popular sport in Greece; it is also a sport with remarkable economic and political dimensions. Operating in such a perplexing environment, managers of professional football clubs are often confronted with equally complex tasks. In order to make the best possible decisions, managers need to prioritize these tasks based on identifying the stakeholder who really matters at any given time. This article, hence, uses the lens provided by the Mitchell et al. framework to identify the most salient stakeholders in Greek professional football that managers should pay attention to, and suggests practices that could or should be adopted for the best possible results.

Understanding control in nonprofit organisations: moving governance research forward?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of organisational control and both its importance and utility for understanding nonprofit organisations. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a critical realist (CR) methodology to discuss the concept of control and its utility to research on governance of nonprofit organisations. Findings – The current study offers a conceptual framework that presents a holistic view of control, relevant for analysing nonprofit organisations, and a methodological lens (CR) through which this framework can be implemented. Research limitations/implications – This paper suggests that studies of governance should consider different levels of analysis, as suggested by examining the concept of control using a CR framework. This notion has yet to be tested empirically and a framework for examining governance from a CR perspective of control is suggested. Context is highly relevant to understanding control, and thus, this model requires testing in a wide di...

Transforming top-tier football in Greece: the case of the ‘Super League’

In 2006, the Greek Super League became the organizing body for the country’s top-tier football. It was modelled on the English Premier League, and so can be seen as a mimetic response from Greek football clubs uncertain of how to deal with professionalization and increased commercialization. This article concerns the status of top-tier football in Greece since formation of the Super League, and endeavours to shed light on its organizational, financial and general business attitude. The authors argue that, although the Super League has done an effective job regarding the commercial aspects of the game, it has put less emphasis on governance mechanisms, accountability and organizational issues.

Get ready to innovate! Staff’s disposition to implement service innovation in non-profit sport organisations

ABSTRACT While sport entrepreneurs are known for being risk-takers and for being proactive when implementing new ideas, little is known about individuals’ attitudes within non-profit sport organisations (NPSO). The present study draws on policy implementation and innovation theories to address this gap by investigating staff attitudes towards newness and its impact on innovativeness and change. An online survey was administered to representatives of regional sport federations in Belgium (n = 101; 70% response rate) in order to measure their attitude towards newness, the number of service innovation successfully implemented and the levels of innovativeness and organisational change perceived. On average, sport federation staffs show a positive attitude towards newness, which supports the implementation of service innovation. The number of service innovations and perceptions of innovativeness both have significant indirect effects on organisational change as perceived by individuals within sport federations. Managerial and policy implications are provided with regard to the need to develop positive attitude towards newness within NPSOs in order to foster innovation.