H. Thomas R. Persson

Social Capital and Social Responsibility in Denmark More than Gaining Public Trust

Strong focus on the promotion of health and social integration aspects in society means the state has increased pressure on sport associations to deliver its social policy agenda. The building of (corporate) social responsibility is offered as a possible progressive response to changes in Danish state sport policy and as a way to increase its social capital. A correlation between (corporate) social responsibility and social capital is established and visualized in the official stand on social responsibility of individual and umbrella sport governing bodies, and Danish state policy. Nesss definition of corporate social responsibility as the necessity and the duty of companies to behave responsibly, ethically and sustainably, and to be transparently accountable to their stakeholders, is transferred to sport associations. Social capital could be defined as the relational resources that we as individuals or as part of a collective, such as a sport association, inherit or intentionally construct to achieve our own goals. Depending on the structural and normative characteristics of the social system in which it operates, it can facilitate but also limit individual and collective action. Development of a contemporary grounded social responsibility by the sport governing bodies suggests a gain in social capital, new memberships and future assurance of financial and social support.

The governance of sport from a Scandinavian perspective

In the study of The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism (1989), the internationally renownedDanish researcher Gösta Esping-Andersen characterizes the Scandinavian countries as examples of a social democratic welfare model. Significant for this model is the ideal of equal social benefits to all citizens and far-reaching state ambitions concerning security and well-being for all members of society. Furthermore, the governments’ relatively high expenditures require a labour market policy prioritizing full employment and high tax revenues (Esping-Andersen 1989, 1996). For sports, this social democratic welfare model has led to substantial state support. However, despite the historical emphasis on state regulations in the Scandinavian countries, the governance of sport has been shaped by a considerable degree of autonomy and self-regulation. In the Scandinavian countries, sports have always had their roots in civil society – organized as a large ‘people’s movement’ on voluntary and idealistic premises. Thus, the states have permitted grants and subsidies but avoided political pressure with regard to regulation and normative development of sport clubs and federations. In this respect, Scandinavian sport has been able to uphold a normative autonomy regarding values, morals and sport policy, at least ideologically. Even if the idea of the idealistic virtue of sport as ‘spiritual fosterage’ and ‘physical education’ should not be taken too far, the ideology of a ‘popular movement’, voluntarism and fosterage plays a vital role. In recent decades many characteristics of the Scandinavian – or social democratic – welfare model have declined. The governance of society has become increasingly differentiated with more individualistic and pragmatic approaches towards welfare and governance. These changes can also be seen in the field of sports. Despite some continuance, the Scandinavian sport model has become gradually more differentiated due to comprehensive societal processes such as professionalization, commercialization and globalization. For instance, club football in Denmark has become highly commercialized, regardless of its history of strong amateurism. Norway is facing a similar development. In Sweden, the commercialization of sport has been held back somewhat by the prevailing ideology of sport as a voluntary movement. In the long run, however, it can be questioned whether this ideology of voluntarism can retain its strong position. The Scandinavian societies and their welfare systems are in transition – and so are sports and the governance of sport. Lately, several journals have published articles concerning sports in Scandinavia. For instance, in 2009, Torbjörn Andersson and Bo Carlsson were the editors of a theme issue in Soccer and Society concerning ‘Football in Scandinavia: A Fusion of Welfare Policy and the Market’. In May 2010 Sport in Society published a theme issue with the title ‘Sport in Scandinavian Societies’ (Ørnulf et al. 2010). In addition, in 2008 an issue on ‘Swedish Physical Education Research’ was published in Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy (Quennerstedt and Öhman 2008). These articles have without doubt shed new insights into sports in the Scandinavian countries. Some articles also deal with questions concerning sport policy and the governance of sport, at least implicitly. Regardless of this, we find the need of a International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics Vol. 3, No. 3, November 2011, 305–309

Good governance and the Danish Football Association: between international and domestic sport governance

The Danish Football Association (FA) is about to become the first Danish sport governing body to adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR). This article identifies a number of governance events in Danish sport and football over the last 4 years in order to provide a picture of the current governance climate. Professionalization, value- and norm-based leadership, transparency, ability and democracy, together with law and order as well as a concept of social responsibility, are all central to the overhaul of Danish sport governance. It is argued that they are all part of building trust and that governance practices are therefore to be viewed through a lens integrating ‘good governance’, CSR and social capital in the context of multi-level governance. ‘Good governance’ is consequently seen as embedded in the context of its economic actions and social relations in and with society at large.

Sponsor networks and business relations orchestrated by team sports clubs

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate firms’ reasons and motives for becoming sponsors and how they benefit from this networking engagement by exploring sponsorship networks associated with two Danish team sport clubs – a Premier League football club and a second-division handball club. Design/methodology/approach Two online surveys were conducted with firms associated with the networks during the Autumn and Winter of 2013/2014 (n=116). The questionnaire was theoretically anchored in the existing sponsorship literature, business network research, and social capital theory. Findings The results show that business logics were the dominating reasons for joining the network. A large proportion of the respondents reported having increased their number of business (32 percent) and social (26 percent) relations with other network members after joining the network. Furthermore, 37 percent of the respondents reported having made business agreements with companies external to the network via network contacts, which supports ideas of bridging social capital. More than half the respondents (59 percent) preferred doing business with network members rather than with non-members. Originality/value By investigating a local and regional sport club context, the paper adds to our knowledge about sponsorship networks. It emphasizes the potential importance of team sport clubs for the business landscape, thus maintaining that sport clubs fulfill an important role for local communities beyond being mere entertainment industries.