A Brief Review and Perspective on the Future of Corporate Social Responsibility Research in Sport

As demands on businesses to address and respond to social concerns have mounted, firms now face increasing pressure on various social obligations to their local communities and the environment. In response to these concerns, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has taken center stage and organizational executives are giving greater priority to CSR activities and their role in the viability and sustainability of their firm (Franklin, 2008; Quazi, 2003). The sport industry is no exception. Although research about CSR in a sport context is not as extensive other academic literatures, it has still grown to a point at which a concise review and evaluation of the contemporary literature would be beneficial to sport managers. Therefore, the purpose of this review is four-fold: (1) discuss the challenges of conceptualizing CSR, (2) examine several popular theoretical perspective used to explain the purpose of CSR activities by firms, (3) categorize and review contemporary studies (2000 – present day) about CSR in a sport context, and (4) provide recommendations for future sport-based CSR studies.