A comparative study of corporate social responsibility in English and German professional football

ABSTRACT

We build on institutional theory to study Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices in English and German football clubs. We examine how the countries’ political, legal, economic, social, and cultural frameworks impact their CSR approaches and to what degree they allow for a transfer of CSR instruments and activities. Our results, based on 24 expert interviews, show that English club representatives focus on community issues, while their German counterparts take a more holistic approach. Moreover, the organizational integration of CSR differs, as English clubs rely on financially independent charities, while German clubs carry out most of the activities themselves. While financial resources also differ, clubs in both countries employ similar non-monetary resources for their initiatives. Our findings serve as a foundation for further studies amongst a wider geographic range of European football clubs and demonstrate that institutional theory serves well as a framework for comparative studies on CSR in football.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the reviewers and editors for their valuable time and thoughtful and constructive feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

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8. Petroczi, ‘The Dark Side of Sport’.

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10. Breitbarth, Hovemann and Walzel, ‘Scoring Strategy Goals’.

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13. Breitbarth, Walzel, Anagnostopoulos and van Eekeren, ‘Corporate social responsibility and governance in sport’.

14. François et al., ‘A multilevel analysis of implicit and explicit CSR in French and UK professional sport’.

15. See Pifer, Wang, Scremin, Pitts, and Zhang, ‘Contemporary global football industry: An introduction’; Nielsen Sports, ‘World Football Report’; Deloitte, ‘Annual Review of Football Finance 2019ʹ, ‘The UEFA Club Competition Landscape’.

16. Breitbarth and Harris, ‘The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Football Business’.

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18. See Breitbarth, Walzel et al., ‘Corporate social responsibility and governance in sport’.

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27. Matten and Moon, ‘“Implicit” and “explicit” CSR’.

28. Anagnostopoulos and Shilbury, ‘Implementing corporate social responsibility in English football’.

29. François, Bayle and Gond, ‘A multilevel analysis of implicit and explicit CSR in French and UK professional sport’.

30. Silberhorn and Warren, ‘Defining corporate social responsibility’.

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35. Habisch et al.,‘Different Talks with Different Folks‘.

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37. Matten and Moon, ‘“Implicit” and “explicit” CSR’.

38. Matten and Moon, ‘“Implicit” and “explicit” CSR’, 410.

39. Matten and Moon, ‘“Implicit” and “explicit” CSR’, 410.

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41. Premier League, ‘Premier League Handbook 2019/20ʹ.

42. DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga, ‘Lizenzierungsordnung‘.

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51. Deloitte, ‘Annual Review of Football Finance 2019ʹ.

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56. Premier League, ‘Connecting with communities’.

57. Breitbarth et al., ‘Scoring Strategy Goals’, 722.

58. Breitbarth et al., ‘Scoring Strategy Goals’, 722.

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60. Hamil and Morrow, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in the Scottish Premier League’.

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62. Walters and Panton, ‘Corporate social responsibility and social partnerships in professional football’.

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70. Loonam, ‘Towards a Grounded Theory Methodology’.

71. Loonam, ‘Towards a Grounded Theory Methodology’.

72. Interview with E-1-04, August 1, 2016.

73. Interview with E-2-01, August 2, 2016.

74. Interview with E-1-04, August 1, 2016.

75. Interview with E-1-06, July 1, 2016.

76. Interview with G-1-02, May 18, 2016.

77. Interview with G-1-08, April 22, 2016.

78. Interview with G-1-01, April 28, 2016.

79. Interview with G-1-02, May 18, 2016.

80. Interview with G-1-10, June 11, 2016.

81. Interview with G-1-05, May 24, 2016.

82. Interview with G-2-02, July 11, 2016.

83. Interview with E-2-01, August 1, 2016.

84. Interview with E-1-05, August 2, 2016.

85. Interview with E-1-06, September 1, 2016.

86. Interview with E-1-05, August 2, 2016.

87. Interview with E-2-01, August 1, 2016.

88. Interview with G-1-03, May 28, 2016.

89. Interview with G-2-01, June 17, 2016.

90. Interview with G-1-09, May 27, 2016.

91. Interview with G-1-10, June 11, 2016.

92. Interview with E-1-04, August 1, 2016.

93. Interview with E-1-05, August 2, 2016.

94. Interview with E-1-05, August 2, 2016.

95. Interview with G-1-04, July 12, 2016.

96. Interview with G-1-08, April 22, 2016.

97. Interview with E-1-04, August 1, 2016.

98. Interview with E-1-02, August 2, 2016.

99. Interview with G-2-02, July 11, 2016.

100. Interview with E-1-03, July 28, 2016.

101. Interview with E-2-01, August 1, 2016.

102. Interview with G-1-01, April 28, 2016.

103. Interview with G-1-02, May 18, 2016.

104. Interview with G-1-09, May 27, 2016.

105. Interview with G-1-10, June 11, 2016.

106. See Silberhorn and Warren, ‘Defining corporate social responsibility’.

107. Walters, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility Through Sport’.

108. See Hovemann et al., ‘Beyond sponsorship?’.

109. Silberhorn and Warren, ‘Defining corporate social responsibility’.

110. Silberhorn and Warren, ‘Defining corporate social responsibility’.

111. Matten and Moon, ‘“Implicit” and “explicit” CSR’.

112. Breitbarth and Harris, ‘The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Football Business’.

113. Fürtjes, ‘Football and its continuity as a classless mass phenomenon in Germany and England’.

114. Hovemann et al., ‘Beyond sponsorship?’.

115. Silberhorn and Warren, ‘Defining corporate social responsibility’.

116. Breitbarth and Harris, ‘The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Football Business’.

117. Hovemann et al., ‘Beyond sponsorship?’.

118. Hovemann et al., ‘Beyond sponsorship?’.

119. See Hovemann et al., ‘Beyond sponsorship?’.

120. Hovemann et al., ‘Beyond sponsorship?’.