Stephen Morrow

Doing the Business? Newspaper reporting of the business of football

This research draws upon a growing interest within media sociology in the ways in which news is shaped by information flows between sources; it focuses on how the media, and newspapers in particular, report on the business aspects of the UK football industry. Media interest in the workings of the City and issues of corporate governance extend beyond the conventional business pages to encompass the sports pages, commentary and even editorializing. The case study in this article centres on the Scottish club, Celtic, and serves to illustrate how public interest in sport can help illuminate aspects of how financial news is produced and reported in the print media. The article argues that much of the growing and complex business side of the game goes largely unreported and that there is evidence of an over-reliance on celebrity sources by journalists and a lack of knowledge or experience among sports reporters in reporting business stories.

Measuring efficiency and productivity in professional football teams: evidence from the English Premier League

Professional football clubs are unusual businesses, their performance judged on and off the field of play. This study is concerned with measuring the efficiency of clubs in the English Premier League. Information from clubs’ financial statements is used as a measure of corporate performance. To measure changes in efficiency and productivity the Malmquist non-parametric technique has been used. This is derived from the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) linear programming approach, with Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) being used to ensure the cohesion of the input–output variables. The study concludes that while clubs operate close to efficient levels for the assessed models, there is limited technological advance in their performance in terms of the displacement of the technological frontier.

Understanding change in professional road cycling

Abstract The decision in 2005 of the world governing body of cycling, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), to introduce a new competition, the UCI Pro Tour, was a highly significant development in professional road cycling. Using this development as the case study setting, this paper draws on stakeholder theory and network theory to examine this changing environment. Drawing on a series of semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, complemented by analysis of publicly available information, this study explores how this process of change has affected the professional road cycling network, the interaction between its stakeholders and the balance of power among those stakeholders. While commercialism has a long history in professional road cycling, the paper concludes that the change process has been driven by a wish for commercial deepening within the network and by a desire to challenge some of the well-established relationships and dependencies that have existed therein.

The governance and regulation of Italian football

Italian football represents a paradox. It produces teams which, at the elite level, are the most successful in European club competitions, and second only to Brazil in national competitions. The quality of its players, in terms of sporting excellence, make it one of the most admired football cultures in the world. The romance and tradition of Italian football captures the imagination of a global sporting public. On the other hand, the industry is chronically unprofitable and unstable, and characterized by a long history of financial scandal. The 2007/2008 season saw it continue to endure an ongoing crisis of confidence in the wake of financial and sporting scandals, an upsurge of spectator violence in dilapidated stadia and crowds well below their peak in the 1990s. This article presents a comprehensive case study of the recent history of Italian football focusing on its administration, governance and regulation. The objective of the case study is to provide a detailed context, in one of the big five European football markets (the others being England, France, Germany and Spain), against which to analyse and inform fresh thinking on how more effective systems of corporate governance in European football might be developed. Much of what is written about the governance of football tends to focus on the English industry. A premise of this article is that it is necessary to move beyond an anglo‐centric orientation and analyse the systems and experience in other European football markets and cultures. This is because football in individual countries forms part of a pyramid structure ultimately governed by the European football governing body, UEFA. What happens in individual country markets has the potential to affect what happens in other markets either by way of example, through influencing UEFA policy, or through precedent‐setting rulings in the courts, such as the Bosman ruling of 1995 which allowed players free movement at the end of their contracts without a transfer fee having to be paid as had hitherto been the case. The case study is interdisciplinary in its focus – economic, social and political dimensions are all important in trying to understand what constitutes the Italian model of football, a European model of football or indeed the European model of football. Critically the article asks the following questions: (1) Is it possible for Italian football to prosper in an environment in which there appears to have been significant shortcomings in governance? (2) If not, what should be the key planks of an agenda for reform? (3) Is there potential for ‘contagion’ of negative Italian experience in the rest of the European football market?

Corporate social responsibility in the Scottish Premier League: Context and motivation

Abstract Widespread acceptance of football club businesses as stakeholder organizations suggests that clubs might be expected to embrace corporate social responsibility (CSR). Focusing on Scottish Premier League (SPL) clubs, this study provides empirical evidence of CSR engagement and motivation. We argue that these clubs are well positioned to act as vehicles to deliver CSR because of their community embeddedness and the strength of their stakeholder relationships. For CSR actions to occur, findings suggest they must be driven by (a) the normative expectations of executives or stakeholders, (b) a response to wider social agendas, or (c) potential economic benefit. Evidence of each of these sources of motivation is presented in this article. Findings also suggest that enhanced communication of CSR activities provides an opportunity to improve stakeholder accountability within a corporate governance structure and facilitate the development of relational partnerships and networks.

Scottish Football: It's a Funny Old Business

The past few years have been financially challenging for Scottish football clubs: sustained losses, record levels of indebtedness, and several clubs placed in administration. There are numerous reasons why Scottish football finds itself in this state. External factors such as changes in the economics of football, in particular changes in footballs relationship with broadcasters, have contributed; so have internal factors such as poor financial management. Although the need to adopt decision-making and control procedures appropriate to the present financial circumstances of Scottish football is recognized, there is also a need for structural reform at both the domestic and European levels.

Football club financial reporting: time for a new model?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate football club financial reporting with reference to: the long-standing debate on the nature and purpose of accounting; and the implementation of UEFAs Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a review and analysis of academic literature, accounting regulation and football regulations. Findings – The focus of financial reporting on rational economic decision-makers results in football club financial reports being of limited use to many football club stakeholders. Consideration of the social and organisational context of football, as takes place in FFP, can be used as a catalyst to consider broader approaches to football club reporting. The paper calls for fuller and different pictures to be provided of clubs’ performance, in particular broadening the scope of accountability to users beyond that provided by an economic account. Research limitations/implications – The paper is designed to stimulat...

Developing CSR in professional football clubs: drivers and phases

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of how corporate social responsibility (CSR) develops within professional football clubs, along with its organizational implications, phases, drivers and barriers for corporate governance, given that professional football organizations have become particularly strong socio-political business institutions, often home to numerous social and business relationships. Additionally it aims to consider CSR development generally drawing specifically on examples from Scottish professional football while answering two key research questions: what kind of drivers do clubs identify as reasons to develop CSR? and Can developmental phases be identified during this process? Design/methodology/approach – The paper builds on a qualitative case study methodology that draws on primary and secondary data collected across 12 Scottish Premier League (SPL) football clubs. Three stages of data collection were set out including interviews, Web content analysis and...

French DNCG management control versus UEFA Financial Fair Play: a divergent conception of financial regulation objectives

The French Football Federation was the first football governing body to put in place, in 1990, a financial regulation system. It might be expected that UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) system established in 2010 would be similar to French DNCG (National Direction for Management Control) regulations. However, while FFP is concerned with profitability, DNCG is focused on solvency. Hence, a French club may be loss-making and not compliant with FFP, while at the same time being solvent in accordance with DNCG rules. Our research confirms that most French clubs do not conform to FFP rules. As such, it provides further evidence that DNCG has not prevented poor financial management within French clubs. The coexistence of DNCG and FFP– or any other domestic financial regulation and FFP –may result in disparities between domestic clubs. As a consequence, there should be consistent financial regulation in all European leagues.

Power and logics in Scottish football: the financial collapse of Rangers FC

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the implications of power imbalance and over-emphasis on commercial logic on the structure and governance of Scottish football. Design/methodology/approach – An in-depth analysis of secondary sources is used to identify the logics at play in Scottish football and to explore implications of the liquidation of Rangers for the structure of the game. Findings – Over-emphasis on commercial logic has led to power being concentrated in two clubs, Celtic and Rangers, and to other clubs and the league itself becoming financially dependent on those clubs. The collapse of Rangers thus threatened the stability of other clubs and the league. The case highlights the challenge of reconciling competing logics and the role played by previously peripheral actors in bringing about change in the field. Research limitations/implications – The on-going nature of the case, related investigations and legal process meant that it was not possible to supplement the secondary sou...