Applying a Communicating Vessels Framework to CSR Value Co-creation: Empirical Evidence from Professional Team Sport Organizations

Citation

Kolyperas D, Anagnostopoulos C, Chadwick S & Sparks L (2016) Applying a Communicating Vessels Framework to CSR Value Co-creation: Empirical Evidence from Professional Team Sport Organizations. Journal of Sport Management, 30 (6), pp. 702-719. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2016-0032

Abstract
Despite the increasing number and significance of charitable foundations in various business sectors, their role in co-creating corporate social responsibility (CSR) value remains unclear. This paper identifies CSR value co-creation in professional team sport organizations (PTSOs) and answers three key research questions: 1) Why have PTSOs developed charitable foundations as their means toward CSR value co-creation? 2) What CSR-related resources do PTSOs and their charitable foundations integrate? and (3) How do they manage, share and transfer such resources in order to co-create CSR value? Drawing theoretical insights from Service Dominant Logic (SDL) and consumer culture theory (CCT) - and using empirical data from 47 semi-structured interviews of UK-based professional football (soccer) clubs - this study develops a communicating vessels (CV) framework to illustrate the role of charitable foundations in the CSR value co-creation process. Through four tentative CSR value co-creation levels of relationship (bolt-on, cooperative, controlled, and strategic) the study suggests several internal strategies that can enhance the level of collaboration between founders and foundations. These include information-sharing through CRM systems and social media platforms; staff-sharing or flexible movement across the organizations; quality assurance agreements; flexible team cooperation; partnership protocols with social, media, cultural, and commercial stakeholders; and co-training of personnel.

Keywords
CSR value; service dominant logic; consumer culture theory; sport; football; charitable foundations; value co-creation

Journal
Journal of Sport Management: Volume 30, Issue 6

People

Dr Dimitrios Kolyperas

Lecturer, Marketing & Retail

Professor Leigh Sparks

Deputy Principal