Sponsors’ CSR strategies in sport: A sensemaking approach of corporations established in France

Mathieu Djaballah, Christopher Hautbois and Michel Desbordes

Sport Management Review, 2017, vol. 20, issue 2, 211-225

Abstract: This paper explores the perceptions and strategies of corporate sponsors established in France and involved in sport-related corporate social responsibility (S-CSR). Based on the theoretical framework of strategic sensemaking, interviews were conducted with sponsorship managers from 23 corporations involved in S-CSR partnerships with various sports properties. Each phase of the strategic sensemaking process was analyzed, resulting in the identification of three levels of ambiguity in the interpretative process: namely, perceived links between sports properties and CSR, links between S-CSR and sponsors’ own CSR, and links between S-CSR actions and the main sponsorship objectives. We described and gave evidence for seven strategies, highlighting the diversity of S-CSR rationales among sponsors. Other factors were found to influence the sensemaking process, namely sponsorship managers’ knowledge of their company's own CSR, collaboration between sponsorship and CSR departments, and the role of sports properties as sensegivers in S-CSR actions. Finally, we summarize our results in a process model of S-CSR strategic sensemaking in order to provide both sponsors and sports properties with a better understanding of the multiple possibilities for CSR leverage.

Keywords: CSR; Sports sponsorship; Sensemaking; Sporting ethics; Sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1441352316300328
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:spomar:v:20:y:2017:i:2:p:211-225

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/716936/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 716936/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.smr.2016.07.002

Access Statistics for this article

Sport Management Review is currently edited by Tracy Taylor

More articles in Sport Management Review from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().