Why do football clubs commit to CSR, and how does that commitment impact their organizational resilience? : the case of “progressive” football clubs in Germany, Switzerland and the UK

Busch, Thorsten; Roth, Florian; Clemente, Marco

Publication type:	Conference paper
Type of review:	Not specified
Title:	Why do football clubs commit to CSR, and how does that commitment impact their organizational resilience? : the case of “progressive” football clubs in Germany, Switzerland and the UK
Authors:	Busch, Thorsten Roth, Florian Clemente, Marco
et. al:	No
Conference details:	39th EGOS Colloquium, Cagliari, Italy, 5-9 July 2023
Issue Date:	5-Jul-2023
Language:	English
Subject (DDC):	658.408: Security management, environmental management
Abstract:	As the COVID-19 crisis (Ahmed et al., 2022; Bancel & Philippe, 2021; Szymanski, 2021) and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar (Ward, 2022) have made abundantly clear, running a football club is a precarious enterprise in terms of both existential financial risk and ethical challenges. In an industry that is increasingly being perceived as scandalridden and “morally bankrupt” by the general public (BBC, 2021; Leeks, 2022; Magee, 2022; Zeidan & Fauser, 2015), a small set of football clubs in Germany, Switzerland, and the UK have been using strong sustainability and CSR (corporate social responsibility) language in order to establish an identity for themselves as socially progressive pioneers trying to stem the tide of ever-increasing commercialization and corruption in modern football. Our paper addresses this phenomenon in two steps: (1) We draw on debates around the “business case for CSR” (Carroll & Shabana, 2010), i.e., the conflict between intrinsic versus instrumental motivations for CSR (Scherer & Palazzo, 2007), to ask what motivates these specific football clubs to put such a strong emphasis on their CSR activities. In this context, organizational resilience is assumed to play a major role in motivating instrumental CSR strategies. Empirically, we will investigate this using data gathered from expert interviews with managers from five “progressive” football clubs in Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. (2) Given the many inherent sporting and business risks in football (such as relegation, loss of successful players and coaches, financial volatility, etc.), we will investigate how the above-mentioned clubs make use of their CSR activities in order to boost their organizational resilience. To that end, we will use a quantitative approach and analyze whether said clubs outperform their more conservative peers, comparing them along several sporting and financial criteria (such as average place in league standings, team value, reputation, etc.). The paper will thus, on the one hand, put into conversation the academic literature on instrumental CSR, CSR in football, and organizational resilience. On the other hand, it will address an empirical research gap by contributing data to the conversation on organizational resilience as capability in a highly competitive, precarious, and ethically challenged industry (Duchek, 2020).
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/29783
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	Licence according to publishing contract
Departement:	School of Management and Law
Organisational Unit:	Center for Corporate Responsibility (CCR)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen School of Management and Law

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Busch, T., Roth, F., & Clemente, M. (2023, July 5). Why do football clubs commit to CSR, and how does that commitment impact their organizational resilience? : the case of “progressive” football clubs in Germany, Switzerland and the UK. 39th EGOS Colloquium, Cagliari, Italy, 5-9 July 2023.

Busch, T., Roth, F. and Clemente, M. (2023) ‘Why do football clubs commit to CSR, and how does that commitment impact their organizational resilience? : the case of “progressive” football clubs in Germany, Switzerland and the UK’, in 39th EGOS Colloquium, Cagliari, Italy, 5-9 July 2023.

T. Busch, F. Roth, and M. Clemente, “Why do football clubs commit to CSR, and how does that commitment impact their organizational resilience? : the case of “progressive” football clubs in Germany, Switzerland and the UK,” in 39th EGOS Colloquium, Cagliari, Italy, 5-9 July 2023, Jul. 2023.

BUSCH, Thorsten, Florian ROTH und Marco CLEMENTE, 2023. Why do football clubs commit to CSR, and how does that commitment impact their organizational resilience? : the case of “progressive” football clubs in Germany, Switzerland and the UK. In: 39th EGOS Colloquium, Cagliari, Italy, 5-9 July 2023. Conference paper. 5 Juli 2023

Busch, Thorsten, Florian Roth, and Marco Clemente. 2023. “Why Do Football Clubs Commit to CSR, and How Does That Commitment Impact Their Organizational Resilience? : The Case of “Progressive” Football Clubs in Germany, Switzerland and the UK.” Conference paper. In 39th EGOS Colloquium, Cagliari, Italy, 5-9 July 2023.

Busch, Thorsten, et al. “Why Do Football Clubs Commit to CSR, and How Does That Commitment Impact Their Organizational Resilience? : The Case of “Progressive” Football Clubs in Germany, Switzerland and the UK.” 39th EGOS Colloquium, Cagliari, Italy, 5-9 July 2023, 2023.