Sport as a vehicle for deploying corporate social responsibility

Stakeholder theory suggests that corporate social responsibility (CSR) should require organisations to consider the interests of all stakeholders including investors, suppliers, consumers, employees, the community and the environment in discharging their profit-directed activities. Implicit in this perspective is the assumption that both sport and corporate influence on social trends must be considered from multiple angles. Such a viewpoint encourages an examination of the overlaps between the social responsibilities of the sport and corporate worlds. This paper explores the role that sport can play as a vehicle for deploying CSR. It exposes the social responsibilities implicit in sport as well as those found in the corporate world. An opportunity lies at the intersection of these mutual responsibilities in the combination of the financial leverage available to corporations and the distributive/symbolic power inherent in sport. We argue that sport offers a bridge across social and economic gaps, an opportunity to improve the quality of life, and a stimulus to encourage large and profitable businesses to share a little of their prosperity.