A Case Study of Stakeholder Dialogue in Professional Sport: An Example of CSR Engagement

• Author: Lisa A. Kihl,Kathy Babiak
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/basr.12137
• Date: 01 March 2018
• Published date: 01 March 2018

A Case Study of Stakeholder

Dialogue in Professional Sport:

An Example of CSR

Engagement

KATHY BABIAK AND LISA A. KIHL

ABSTRACT

Many businesses, including professional sport teams, are

designing and engaging in socially responsible initiatives

which benefit stakeholders as well as the businesses

themselves. Gaining insight into stakeholders’ expecta-

tions regarding corporations’ corporate social responsibil-

ity (CSR) initiatives through dialogue is important as the

way a business is viewed and evaluated by stakeholders

underlies subsequent interactions. Based on semi-

structured interviews with 42 diverse stakeholders

involved in a professional sport team’s CSR initiative we

found that stakeholders’ expectations of the team’s

involvement in the community related to social and insti-

tutional norms, values, and benefits. The team also

appeared to be meeting stakeholder expectations about

being socially responsible in the community. This study

provides new insights into a firm’s CSR expectations

through engaging in stakeholder management and

Kathy Babiak is Associate Professor at the School of Kinesiology – Sport Management Depart-

ment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. E-mail: kbabiak@umich.edu. Lisa A. Kihl is Asso-

ciate Professor at the School of Kinesiology – Sport Management, University of Minnesota,

Minneapolis, MN. E-mail: lkihl@umn.edu.

V

C2018 W. Michael Hoffman Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University. Published by

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Business and Society Review 123:1 119–149

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interaction. Future research directions and practical sug-

gestions are offered for organizations attempting to

understand and meet stakeholders’ expectations in the

area of CSR.

INTRODUCTION

Companies (including professional sport organizations) are

implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) initia-

tives which involve and benefit both stakeholders and the

businesses themselves (Walters and Tacon 2010). Part of the efforts

involved in addressing the demands of CSR is the need to engage

with a wide range of stakeholders (e.g., customers, beneficiaries of

a program, sponsors, and other partners) by creating opportunities

for different forms of dialogue, interaction, and exchange (O’Rior-

dan and Fairbrass 2008, 2014). Stakeholder dialogue is one form

of socially responsible action that can be adopted by companies to

uncover the array of perceptions, expectations, and experiences

related to CSR. The growing body of literature on stakeholder dia-

logue within the greater stakeholder theory and CSR literature sug-

gests that communication with stakeholders should involve mutual

exchange and interaction (van Huijstee and Glasbergen 2008). Fur-

ther, this approach can be used strategically to create value by

supporting the evaluation of a particular initiative or program to

gain an understanding regarding the stakeholders’ expectations,

priorities, beliefs, attitudes, and experiences relative to the program

and the business (Dawkins and Lewis 2003; Waddock and Smith

2000). Engaging in stakeholder dialogue to gain an understanding

of different stakeholders’ perceptions, values, and views is thus

essential to understanding the problems and opportunities in the

development and effectiveness of CSR in businesses—and perhaps

particularly so in the business of professional sport.

While a growing body of academic literature on CSR and stake-

holders exists, this literature typically examines the relationship

between a company and one stakeholder group in particular (cus-

tomers or employees for instance) (Smith 2003). One of the chal-

lenges of managing a corporate CSR program, however, is the

struggle to satisfy the needs of diverse stakeholders who have

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