Exploring the nexus of business and sport and its impact on society

This special issue call explores the link between business and sports and their impact on society. This body of research has witnessed a few topics being explored, but the literature is scattered (see, e.g. McNamee and Fleming 2007; Wall-Tweedie and Nguyen 2018; Næss 2019; Walker et al. 2010; Hums, Barr, and Gullion 1999; Sheth and Babiak 2010; Smith, Cahn, and Ford 2009). This piece contributes by identifying the critical themes emerging from this body of literature.

Spaaij, Knoppers, and Jeanes (2020) look at the lack of diversity when it comes to encouragement in recreational sports by people in power through discursive practices. Similarly, Cunningham and Hussain (2020) demand the inclusion of LGBT people in an inclusive sports environment and state that organizational, societal and individual factors hinder inclusivity. Furthermore, Ahmad et al. (2020) highlighted the need for multicultural training by sports organizations to include ethnic minorities. Since sports businesses mainly exist to create value, Ratten and Jones (2020) proposed a digital transformation to help co-create value in sports. Moreover, these businesses are also involved as major sponsors for specific sports, so a team’s performance becomes essential, as loyalty and trust in the sponsor and its brand depend on the team’s performance and sports venue (Pan and Phua 2021). Beyond this, racial discrimination (Cunningham 2020), gender discrimination (Hindman and Walker 2020; Buse, Bernstein, and Bilimoria 2016; Adriaanse 2016), manipulation and corruption (Moriconi and De Cima 2020; Caneppele, Langlois, and Verschuuren 2020), etc., are some of the other ethical issues being widely researched and discussed within the existing literature. That said, scholars need to dig deeper by uncovering more such problems and challenges faced in today’s day and age in the context of business in sport. I argue that this is most pressing and topical for many reasons, two key ones being, first, companies’ involvement in sports has never been greater and is growing, and second, this nexus is not as holy as it seems. Many stories in the popular press and by whistle-blowers warrant a more profound exploration to unbundle the relationship between business and sport and its subsequent impact on society. I attempt to touch upon a few examples below.

First, most sports leagues were created with a clear agenda of building and supporting a specific sport. Nonetheless, as they grew popular, there have been increasing concerns regarding the involvement and behaviour of key stakeholders, which raise the following questions. How does the government benefit from such sporting events, and why should they continue to support sporting bodies? How is the generated revenue spent for the greater good of the society? Is there legitimacy, ethics and fairness in organizing these sports events? (De Waegeneer, Van De Sompele, and Willem 2016). How are involved businesses benefitting from these sporting bodies? Is there transparency for the general public to see regarding these partnerships? Further, is there any monopoly involved? To what extent is the corporate world involved in sport and society? Furthermore, what are the positive aspects related to CSR? I propose two new concepts that should be tested empirically soon. These concepts are Sports Social Responsibility (SSR) and Corporate Sports Social Responsibility (CSSR). To what extent do these concepts exist in reality? Additionally, to what extent is equality, diversity and inclusion prevalent in sporting disciplines, and to what extent are businesses/corporate houses involved in its prevalence? From a leadership perspective, a critical question is sports and business leadership. With this nexus and strong relationship, what ethical leadership lessons are learnt from each party within its partnership?

Second, sport, on the one hand, creates business, which in turn provides economic growth to a society and a nation. On the other hand, encouraging sports through business also makes a fitter and healthier society. There is a considerable involvement of many stakeholders (namely sports authorities and organizers, governments at all levels, financial partners, players from different national and geographical states and ethnic backgrounds, broadcasting media and spectators, international sports agencies, athletes, etc.). Hence, in the past few decades, the interest and demand for business in sports and vice versa have increased (Russo and Figueira 2022). Many businesses also found a platform for their investments that portrays their CSR activities. Many sporting associations, such as the English Premier League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Indian Premiership league, etc., have become popular and are funded mainly by global MNCs and brands. Many countries are now largely involved in international sports events and encourage young players by providing them with relevant training infrastructure, financial support, and education. Many private organizations collaborate to fund players and promote a variety of sports. Since most players from emerging countries rise to popularity through struggle and hard work, giving back to society primarily resides in these players, who mainly come from rural areas and are keen on bettering their societies. Some African players who play in Europe give back to their homeland by investing in infrastructure for schools and hospitals, thereby creating and boosting local employment (Acheampong 2019). More such stories and cases need to be portrayed.

Third, although societies benefit from partnerships developed by sports businesses, there is a deep concern about unequal power relations (Levermore 2010). Since these businesses are involved with national and international sporting bodies, power lies in the hands of a few. Do not forget the links with government officials. Additionally, family businesses are involved mainly in such partnerships, as they depend on the involvement of family members for success, and sports is one such business which involves huge networking to create value (Ratten 2021). Since sports and business are gaining popularity, many youngsters opt for management studies in sports. For example, Seifried et al. (2021) provide recommendations to improve and strengthen sports management courses to provide students with solid management foundations.

Fourth, in a study conducted by Babiak and Kihl (2018), it was learnt that all stakeholders believed that sports organizations are obligated to society and the community and were expected to engage in CSR activities. Research based on the London 2012 Olympic Games concluded that CSR relationships could be fruitful when targeted at the right time and expectations are met (Dowling, Robinson, and Washington 2013). So also, when the Winter Olympics 2022 was held recently in Beijing, it included urban transformation with no prior record of winter sports tradition (Xin and Kunzmann 2020). Any sport of such a high magnitude creates local employment and infrastructure in the city apart from revenue generated from tourists. Therefore, with increased financial opportunities, sports businesses must balance their core values and economic interests alongside social considerations (Cockayne 2021). Additionally, when it comes to brands and marketing at sports events, concerns arise regarding sponsoring companies associated with unhealthy drinks and tobacco, which, through their funding and marketing, promote unhealthy living habits, especially amongst the younger generation (Levermore 2010). Recently, the popular press reported a top football player removing soft drink bottles from the table during his press conference. Hence, what can businesses and sports do to collectively behave more responsibly here?

Having made a case for the need for such exploration and inquiry and having portrayed the above four broad examples, I argue that we are still unaware of the impact and extent of business in sport on society. Therefore, the primary objective of this SI would be to kick-start awareness and solicit cutting-edge research from across the world on the intersection of three broad topics, i.e. business, sport and society.

Thus, based on the above literature and arguments of the nexus between business, sport and its impact on society, I identify several research gaps that lead to detailed research questions that must be addressed.

The following are a few of these research topics (questions/problems) relating to the intersection of the three broad streams of literature. They are interdisciplinary, including CSR, management, marketing, strategy, innovation, etc.

Q1 – Many sports leagues worldwide were created with a clear agenda of building and supporting a specific sport. Nonetheless, as they grew popular, there have been increasing concerns regarding critical stakeholders, such as how the government benefit from such sporting events and why it should continue to support sporting bodies.

Q2 – How is the generated revenue spent for the greater good of society?

Q3 – Is there legitimacy, ethics and fairness in organizing these sports events?

Q4 – How are involved businesses benefitting from these sporting bodies?

Q5 – Is there transparency to the general public regarding these games?

Q6 – Is there any monopoly involved?

Q7 – To what extent is the corporate world involved in sport and society? What are the positive aspects related to CSR?

Q8 – I propose two new concepts, which we will test empirically shortly. These concepts are Sports Social Responsibility (SSR) and Corporate Sports Social Responsibility (CSSR). To what extent do these concepts exist in reality?

Q9 – To what extent are equality, diversity and inclusion prevalent in sporting disciplines, and to what extent are businesses/corporate houses involved?

Q10 – From a leadership perspective, a key question is sports and business leadership. With this nexus and strong relationship, what leadership lessons are learnt from each context?

Because of the intersection of the three broad areas, the topic is multi-disciplinary; hence, it can be viewed through different theoretical lenses. I briefly outline the literature to portray this multi-disciplinary aspect. I could draw theoretically for, e.g. from an ethical perspective, either the CSR (I coin the terms SSR and CSSR) or the EID frameworks. Regarding strategy and marketing, one could argue that several first-mover advantages or the resource- or knowledge-based view could be used as theoretical bases. Likewise, several leadership theories regarding Organizational Behaviour (OB) can be tested.

In terms of implications, this unique and influential SI will impact and contribute in several ways, especially to literature and theory, thus leading to new knowledge. For example, the first impact we see is on businesses. The CSR and EID arguments we make would be critical to all businesses, large, medium and small, as businesses are involved in many global/national and local sports-related initiatives. Learnings from these studies could lead to multi-level implications, e.g. at individual, team, corporate and business levels. Hence, businesses, leaders, and employees would have a huge impact. The subsequent impact of our studies would be on sports bodies, authorities, leaders and management. These three sub-groups of sports stakeholders would gain from the findings of our study so that they could be better involved in forming relationships and strategies with businesses and learning how to be fair in societies. Other stakeholder groups that would be impacted are several societal-level groups, initiatives, and activists such as NGOs. This stakeholder group are the gatekeepers to society, wherein they are on the lookout for damaging, unethical and illegal activities by both businesses and sports. The last stakeholder group that I claim would be impacted are national, regional and local governments. Health is a government responsibility, and so, on the one hand, it is the government’s responsibility to ensure infrastructure, investments, funding, training, etc., for sports persons and organizations. They are vital in intervening and negotiating between businesses, sports authorities/bodies/associations and their impact on society.

Thus, based on this vast interest in this particular topic, a workshop was held in May 2023 at Oxford University in the UK and in June at NEOMA Business School in Paris. After that, forthcoming in August 2024 (25th–27th August), between the summer Olympic and Paralympic games in Paris, we will hold in Reims (Champagne) in France, the largest-ever conference on business in sport and its impact on society. We look forward to participation from the sports and business fraternity, including colleagues from policy, industry and academic domains, at this conference.

Vijay Pereira
NEOMA Business School, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France
[email protected]