Corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability: Why professional sport is greening...

Sport Management Review 16 (2013) 298–313

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Sport Management Review

jo u rn al h om ep age: w ww.els evier .c o m/lo c ate /s mr

Corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability:Why professional sport is greening the playing field

Sylvia Trendafilova a,*, Kathy Babiak b, Kathryn Heinze b

a University of Tennessee, USAb University of Michigan, USA

A R T I C L E I N F O

Article history:

Received 26 March 2012

Received in revised form 11 December 2012

Accepted 15 December 2012

Keywords:

Corporate social responsibility

Environmental sustainability

Institutional pressures

Professional sport

Sport organizations

A B S T R A C T

In this study, we explore institutional forces affecting environmental sustainability in

professional sport teams and leagues in North America. Interviews with sport executives

and executives from partner groups, 122 websites and organizational documents, and 56

media reports were examined. Data revealed how environmental management practices

are being diffused in professional sport organizations. Evidence indicated associative

behavior among sport organizations with respect to environmental management. Data

also illustrated that media played a role in driving and defining the type and extent of

involvement in professional sport teams’ environmental sustainability efforts. We discuss

environmental sustainability as it affects a team’s or league’s CSR related initiatives (i.e.,

averting legal recourse, saving money, as well as building stronger relationships with

stakeholders (e.g., customers, fans, local communities, federal governments and corporate

partners)), and speculate how these efforts might evolve and inform the development of

environmental sustainability in organizations in the sport, service and entertainment

sectors.

� 2012 Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand. Published by

Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) represents behaviors that have strategic importance to many companies. CSR hasbeen defined as a company’s commitment to minimizing or eliminating any harmful effects on society and maximizing long-term beneficial impact (to both the company and the community in which it operates) (Mohr, Webb, & Harris, 2001). OneCSR area that is growing in practice and academic interest is environmental sustainability. In recent years, issues around theenvironment have earned a place on the agendas of most firms (Bird, Hall, Momente, & Reggiani, 2007; Kassinis & Vafeas,2006; Welford, Chan, & Man, 2007). In particular, in the professional sport industry, where businesses and teams may imposeadverse effects on the environment (and also be impacted by environmental changes), professional teams and sport leaguesare turning their attention to environmental CSR.

Although CSR practices have drawn substantial interest by practitioners and academics, the institutional forces drivingthese practices have received little attention in the academic literature, especially examining the adoption ofenvironmentally sustainable initiatives. Institutional forces are external pressures on organizations (also reflected throughinternal social controls) that can ultimately shape organizations’ practices. In adapting to outside forces and satisfyinginternal interests, organizations follow a process of institutionalization, ‘‘becom[ing] infused with value as they come tosymbolize the community’s aspirations’’ (Selznick, 1957, p. 19). Those aspirations may include a desire for organizations to

* Corresponding author at: Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies, University of Tennessee, 1914 Andy Holt Ave, HPER 349, Knoxville,

TN 37996, USA. Tel.: +1 865 974 8891.

E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Trendafilova).

1441-3523/$ – see front matter � 2012 Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2012.12.006


mailto:[email protected]

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/14413523


S. Trendafilova et al. / Sport Management Review 16 (2013) 298–313 299

behave in socially responsible ways. Thus, a better understanding of the institutional forces and internal interestssurrounding the adoption of environmental CSR can help clarify why organizations, such as professional sport teams, areengaging in this behavior.

Major league professional sport is an industry in which CSR is playing an increasingly important role (Babiak & Wolfe,2006, 2009; Brietbarth & Harris, 2008; Sheth & Babiak, 2010; Smith & Westerbeek, 2007; Walker & Kent, 2009), and sportteams and leagues have begun to turn their attention to the impact of sport on the natural environment (Babiak &Trendafilova, 2011). Many teams have adopted environmental CSR initiatives that attempt to mitigate the adverse effects ofsport on the environment. These sport organizations operate in a similar institutional environment, made up of a variety ofcommon stakeholders. Thus, major league professional sport is an appropriate context in which to look at the nature of thesebroader pressures and interests surrounding CSR practices. By looking at the role of these forces, we can learn more aboutwhat is driving the adoption of environmental CSR in the sport industry.

Like most institutional environments, within broad trends of adoption, there is variation among professional sportorganizations in terms of the extent to which they are embracing and enacting environmental CSR. For example, teams maydo a few cursory activities (e.g., planting trees, encouraging public transportation, collecting gently used athletic shoes) or aseries of large-scale, integrated initiatives (e.g., forging partnerships with environmentally focused vendors, utilizing solarand/or wind power, renovating their facilities). Increasingly, the institutional theory literature recognizes and examines thiskind of heterogeneity within institutional constraints (e.g., Dacin, Goodstein, & Scott, 2002; Greenwood, Raynard, Kodeih,Micelotta, & Lounsbury, 2011; Kraatz & Block, 2008). However, we know less about institutional pressures andorganizational responses in the context of CSR in professional sport. In this paper, we will focus on exploring the institutionalforces leading to the broad adoption of environmental CSR in sport, but also acknowledge heterogeneity in the extent ofadoption by highlighting a few cases that illustrate this variation. Our central research question is: how are institutionalconditions leading professional sport organizations in the US to address environmental sustainability as a priority? Inaddressing this question, we employ a semi-inductive approach within the framework of institutional theory and look at therole of interactions between teams and leagues and other stakeholders, and the influence of the regulatory environment. Wealso consider whether there is any resistance to, or constraints around, adopting environmental CSR initiatives and how thisaffects variation within the trend.

1. Literature review

1.1. Corporate social responsibility and institutional theory

In the past decade, efforts have been made to link CSR and more traditional corporate objectives (Margolis & Walsh, 2003;Porter & Kramer, 2006) including the link between these actions and strategic responses to pressures in the externalenvironment such as consumer demand, regulation, and changing societal norms and expectations about the role of businessin society (Beliveau, Cottrill, & O Neill, 1994; Hess & Warren, 2008; Hess, Rogovsky, & Dunfee, 2002; Marquis, Glynn, & Davis,2007). The focus of much of this academic research is on the link between an organization’s financial and social performance(Margolis & Walsh, 2003). As Campbell (2006, 2007) argued, however, there are a number of other factors in the relationshipbetween organizations and society that can help shed light on why companies behave in socially responsible ways. Inparticular, as others have noted, we need to pay more attention to the institutional forces driving CSR (Campbell, 2006, 2007;Doh & Guay, 2006; Matten & Moon, 2008).

Organizations are shaped by their institutional environments which provide general rules for organizing, andcorresponding meanings, values, and behaviors (Barley & Tolbert, 1997; Meyer & Rowan, 1977). In order to be legitimatewithin a given environment, organizations follow these ‘‘rules’’ and norms and, over time, their structures and practicesembody and perpetuate institutional characteristics (Haveman & Rao, 1997; Selznick, 1957); consequently, organizations inthe same environment become isomorphic with each other (DiMaggio & Powell, 1991; Meyer & Rowan, 1977; Scott, 2008).Thus, in the context of CSR, institutional theory suggests that organizations adopt CSR practices, not necessarily because theyguarantee an increase in efficiency, but because they are deemed appropriate and/or legitimate. Legitimacy, in turn, can leadto the acquisition of important resources.

In striving for legitimacy, institutional theory suggests that there are three main forces driving organizational actions:coercive, mimetic, and normative. Together, these forces lead to isomorphism by constraining organizations in a populationso that they resemble other organizations that face the same environmental conditions (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983).Additionally, institutional forces are reinforced by mechanisms that create individual commitment to the institution,including identities, ideologies, and incentive systems (Thornton, Ocasio, & Lounsbury, 2012). Others have theorized aroundthese institutional forces in the context of CSR (Campbell, 2007); we consider how these pressures might lead, in actuality, toenvironmental CSR in sport.

Coercive pressures are one type of force that may be driving CSR (Campbell, 2007). This force includes formal and informalpressures exerted by other organizations (on which the focal organization may be dependent) in the form of persuasion, force,or an invitation to change or adopt a new plan (Slack & Hinings, 1994). Often, this form of institutional pressure comes from theexternal regulatory environment that drives isomorphism through codified rules, norms, or laws that assign legitimacy tocertain organizational practices, such as CSR. In other words, regulatory organizations may scrutinize, foster and encouragesocially responsible behavior; responding to these pressures, organizations may develop explicit CSR policies in order to be

S. Trendafilova et al. / Sport Management Review 16 (2013) 298–313300

legitimate in the eyes of constituents and continue accessing important resources. The media can also serve as a vehicleimposing coercive pressures through scrutiny and through communicating about other regulatory and monitoring groups andforces. We will consider these coercive forces as potential drivers of environmental CSR and shed more light on how theyoperate in the professional sport context, including offering a better understanding of which ones are central to this context.

In addition to coercive forces, imitating other organizations perceived as successful may lead to the adoption ofenvironmental CSR practices (Campbell, 2007). Institutional theory suggests that when organizations are faced withuncertainty and ambiguity, they look to other organizations that have adopted successful practices (DiMaggio & Powell,1983). Mimetic isomorphism ensues with the spread and awareness of the ‘‘practices’’ of the field, or effective policies andstrategies based on management concepts, ideologies, and technologies. These ideas may spread through sharing and dialogsbetween organizations in the field; or by organizations and their leaders looking to key, individual role models (in the sportcontext examples include Green Sports Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council) (Campbell, 2007). Building on theseideas, we look at the role of mimetic forces as potential drivers of environmental CSR and, specifically, how they operate inthe professional sport community.

Finally, institutional theory suggests that normative pressures may lead to isomorphism around CSR. In particular, thesepressures come from educational and professional authorities who set standards for ‘legitimate’ organizational practices; aswell as from the media that communicates and reinforces desired and expected practices (Campbell, 2007). Constituents ofsimilar professional groups might interact through professional meetings and conferences, business coalitions, alliances,partnerships and other collaborations that further diffuse ideas and practices in a given organizational field (Mizruchi & Fein,1999). These communications and interactions between members of a profession serve to foster shared value and meaningaround CSR, and may help to develop and guide behavior in organizations (Meyer & Rowan, 1977). In other words, widelyunderstood and accepted norms about engaging in socially responsible behavior may take root in the professionalcommunity or industry. Particular conditions, and forces or groups that scrutinize or observe the behavior of a company orteam, may help to reinforce and ensure norms around responsible behavior are followed (Campbell, 2007). In addition,internal forces such as employees’ own norms, values and beliefs play a role in the corporate culture and could influence CSRbehavior (Hemingway & Maclagan, 2004). The question is: are normative pressures driving environmental CSR inprofessional sport, and if so, which ones?

A number of institutional thinkers (Campbell, 2007; Doh & Guay, 2006; Galaskiewicz & Burt, 1991; Matten & Moon, 2008;Scott, 2008) argue that the institutional forces discussed above may be at play in determining whether a company behaves ina socially responsible manner. These forces lead to the distillation of activities, forms and practices that the ‘newinstitutionalism’ (DiMaggio & Powell, 1991; Scott, 2008) argues points to increasingly uniform institutional environments.In other words, broad trends in the adoption of environmental CSR activities may be driven by organizations or teamsexperiencing these institutional pressures, and attempting to conform to the institutional environment to gain legitimacy.This process, however, needs to be unpacked and better understood in the context of professional sport.

Within broad trends around the adoption of organizational practices, like CSR, in institutional environments, there isoften variation in how these practices are enacted (Lounsbury, 2001). In other words, organizational responses toinstitutional pressures can differ. For example, organizations (or sport teams) may fully embrace new practices around CSR,or they may adopt a few cursory practices simply to demonstrate conformity with the institutional environment. Previouswork suggests this variation in organizational behavior may be due to a variety of factors, including temporal or spatialdifferences in institutional processes (Davis & Greve, 1997; Thornton & Ocasio, 1999); idiosyncratic characteristics ortechnical demands of organizations (Kraatz & Zajac, 1996; Westphal, Gulati, & Shortell, 1997); or the influence of field-levelorganizations, such as social movement organizations (Lounsbury, 2001). In the environmental CSR context, in particular,studies indicate that top management’s green commitment could be a factor influencing the formulation of different types ofcorporate environmental practices (Lee & Ball, 2003; Matten & Moon, 2008).

Although the main focus of the current study is on the institutional forces leading to broad trends in adoption, werecognize variation exists in how organizations respond to these pressures and enact environmental CSR. To that end, we useseveral examples of professional sport teams to highlight heterogeneity within CSR practice, and provide a useful jumping offpoint for further research into the dynamics of both institutional homogeneity and heterogeneity.

1.2. CSR in sport

Sport is an industry in which a variety of stakeholders in the institutional environment are involved in shaping sportorganizations’ behavior. Scholarly work indicates that over the past twenty years, there has been a growing adoption andimplementation of CSR related practices in major league professional sport in the US (Babiak, 2010; Robinson, 2005; Sheth &Babiak, 2010). This institutionalization of CSR in professional sport is reflected in some initiatives becoming increasinglyformalized, strategic, and integrated into core business functions. In fact, almost every professional sport team in NorthAmerica has either a community outreach department or a foundation (Babiak & Wolfe, 2009; Robinson, 2005) associatedwith, and responsible for, overseeing the delivery of socially responsible initiatives. Teams are incorporating strategiccorporate partnerships into their CSR programs; and they are using CSR initiatives to generate favorable brand imaging, fanloyalty, sport development, and ticket sales (Sports Philanthropy & Project, 2007).

Despite this limited, but growing, work on CSR in professional sport, we know little about the institutional conditionsleading to these CSR behaviors. And while there is growing research on CSR in general, the nature and role CSR plays in a sport


organization may be different than the way CSR operates in other businesses (Babiak & Wolfe, 2006, 2009; Smith &Westerbeek, 2007; Walker & Kent, 2009). Therefore, we must consider the differentiators and institutional conditions of thesport industry to understand how and why CSR practices are being adopted – and in particular in the case of this study,environmentally oriented CSR.

1.3. CSR, sport and the environment

There has been a growing academic interest in the phenomenon of sport and the environment recently with a burgeoningliterature examining and describing practices in a variety of contexts. For instance, McCullough and Cunningham (2011)investigated the recycling intentions of fans in a youth baseball setting. Both Babiak and Trendafilova (2011) and Pfahl (2010)considered strategic and efficiency elements of the adoption of environmentally oriented CSR in sport organizations,concluding that these types of CSR practices can have both economic and legitimacy benefits for sport organizations.Similarly, recent work by McCullough and Cunningham (2010) drew upon institutional theory, upper echelon theory, andidentity theory to examine how and why sport organizations might engage in environmentally friendly business practices.Their conceptual model posited that functional, social, and political pressures might be likely to direct environmentalbehaviors in sport. Casper, Pfal, and McSherry (2012) also offer insights into the adoption of environmentally oriented actionin the setting of NCAA athletic departments. The increasing emphasis on the link between the environment, CSR, and sportorganizations is being reflected in the growing body of academic work in this area.

Other research has explored environmental CSR as a function of employing sustainable building products and facilitymanagement (Leonardsen, 2007; Lippiatt, 1999; Loland, 2006; McNamara & Gibson, 2008; Pfahl, 2010; Suggett, 2001). Inaddition, environmental sustainability has been discussed in the context of the Olympics (Belli, 2008; Lenskyj, 1998;Leonardsen, 2007), emphasizing the complexity of the relationship between sport and the environment and the challengesassociated with this relationship. The nuances of the issues and pressures faced by sport organizations in regard toconsidering and implementing environmentally oriented initiatives are still unclear.

Sport has unique imperatives in the realm of environmental responsibility given its demands on the environment(Smith & Westerbeek, 2007). For example, sport facilities and sport events concentrate large numbers of people in aconfined space over a relatively small period, and as a result can pose risks to the natural environment within which theyoperate (Chernushenko, 1994). Some sports are affected by the environment – and thus view it as their responsibility toimprove environmental damage that affects their sport. Hockey for instance is affected by environmental issues related towater. ‘‘Water is in the DNA of the NHL. Many of our players grow up skating on frozen ponds. Freshwater scarcity affectstheir opportunity to learn and play the game outdoors.’’ (NHL Green, 2012). The NHL is focusing on reducing waterconsumption in team facilities. The League has developed and implemented NHL Metrics, ‘‘. . .an online tool designed forall 30 teams’ venues to track and analyze data specific to waste output, energy usage and water consumption. NHL Metricsencourages a behavioral change in NHL venues across North America, reducing hockey’s environmental impact byincreasing awareness of the resources used and the financial costs incurred’’ (NHL Green, 2012). The regular efforts ofmaintaining and managing a sport facility and team are resource intense and require substantial use of energy inparticular related to the power needs of a venue, team travel, and field maintenance (Covello, 2008). Smith andWesterbeek (2007) argue that ‘‘socially responsible sport acknowledges this burden and develops policies to avoidenvironmental damage’’ (p. 25).

Heeding this call, many sports organizations and venues are now implementing environmental initiatives. Inparticular, mega-events, such as the Super Bowl, the Olympics, and World Cup soccer tournaments have environmentalprograms or guidelines. These include efforts such as tree planting to offset carbon emissions of spectators traveling toevents, in-stadia recycling initiatives, recovery and distribution of ‘prepared food’, and environmental guidelines for useby vendors and contractors (Babiak & Wolfe, 2006; Global Forum for Sport & the Environment, 2008; Mallen, Stevens, &Adams, 2011; Paquette, Stevens, & Mallen, 2011). Examples of environmental practices by sport teams include theincorporation of energy efficient photovoltaic solar panels, ‘green roof’ on facilities, water-conserving-fixtures, recycledbuilding materials, bicycle parking, and convenient access for public transit users and pedestrians (Green SportsAlliance, 2012). There appears to be growing agreement among sport practitioners that environmentally responsiblemanagement practices can make a substantial positive impact both on the environment and on cost savings for theorganization.

Given these changing trends in sport practice, this paper will focus on CSR in professional sport, and, in particular, onunderstanding the nuances of the institutional forces and pressures leading to environmental initiatives and programs. Itwill extend the work of Babiak and Trendafilova (2011) and McCullough and Cunningham (2010) by offering depth in theexploration of trends toward homogeneity in environmental CSR efforts as well as variations in rates of adoption, including aconsideration of factors which may lead sport organizations to resist efforts to adopt environmentally focused initiatives. Indoing so, this paper makes several contributions. First, it provides a better understanding of institutional factors central tothe professional sport industry that can constrain organizational behavior and lead to the adoption of practices such as CSR.Second, it illustrates how institutional forces around CSR work in a real world setting (beyond theorization) and in real time,rather than retrospectively. Finally, in general, we can learn more through this work about how industries respond toexternal and internal pressures in various ways, how they adapt their CSR-related practices to institutional forces, howvalues shift, and the conditions necessary for CSR behaviors to become institutionalized.


2. Methods

Given that this research begins with the broad theoretical categorizations of institutional theory, we employ a semi-inductive approach to our analysis. We start from the framework of the institutional forces and from this, we use aninductive approach to gain a clearer understanding of the specific elements of the institutional forces leading to the adoptionof environmental CSR practices in sport; as well as a better understanding of variation in the adoption of these behaviors.Below we describe in more detail our methodological approach.

2.1. Participants

We investigated the factors leading to the adoption of environmental practices within four major professional sportleagues in the U.S. These include: National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), Major LeagueBaseball (MLB) and the National Hockey League (NHL). The sport leagues for this study were chosen based on the rationalethat NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL are the four North American leagues with the most media attention and the largest attendancenumbers, which potentially leads to environmental impact that is much bigger than the impact from leagues such as theNational Soccer League (NSL) and the National Lacrosse League (NLL). Also, as the leagues with the largest attendancenumbers, they are most likely to drive changes in regards to the environment, considering the size of their fan base and thenumber of individuals that could be exposed to environmental awareness messages. In addition, those leagues have league-wide green initiatives established in partnership with the Green Sports Alliance and the National Resources Defense Council,the focus of which is on an inter-league alliance between sports teams and associations to place the spotlight on the sportsindustry’s responsibility for taking care of the environment. Lastly, NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL are the top revenue earnersamong the sport leagues in North America.

2.2. Data collection

We used three primary approaches to data collection that provided for a source of triangulation (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005).First, we examined media coverage of professional sport team and league involvement in issues related to the environment.We included media reports related to professional sport and their environmental initiatives from 2000 to 2011. We explorednewsprint, magazine, and periodicals from national sources. The media reports were reviewed by year to identify any growthin media attention to this issue in general. The media can be a source of institutional pressure, since the media communicatesand helps reinforce accepted practices (Barley & Tolbert, 1997). In addition, media data sources have been found to offer richinsight into institutional matters such as legal violations and sanctions, the adoption and implementation of new initiatives,and the formation of partnerships which can be useful for studying institutional processes (Barley & Tolbert, 1997).

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 team and league senior executives and partner/consulting executives.Table 1 indicates the breakdown of team/league executives and partner participants in this study. These individualsrepresented the most senior executives in their organization responsible for creating, designing and implementing theirorganization’s environmental efforts. Many of them were intimately involved in their organizations’ environmentalinitiatives and were knowledgeable about the history and future plans for their environmental CSR programs. Their positionsranged from VP of Facilities, to Environmental Coordinator of a league, to Sr. VP of Community Relations. Our sampleincluded an array of representatives from sport organizations ranging from those that demonstrated higher and morefocused commitment to the environment and those that were either just beginning to engage or who had not widely adoptedenvironmental CSR as part of their portfolio of socially responsible initiatives.

Each interview ranged between .5 and 1.5 h and was conducted over the phone or in person. Respondents answeredquestions pertaining to the reasoning and justification behind their organization’s involvement in environmental initiatives.We asked in depth questions not just about the pressures they faced to engage in environmental CSR, but about the extent ofthe organization’s commitment to the environment, the factors that inhibited their engagement in environmental CSR, andtheir intentions to engage in the future and what form this might take. Follow up questions developed from the broadtheoretical framework of institutional theory and the associated forces were then posed in order to uncover the impetus toengage and adopt environmental practices, the perceived pressures and expectations from stakeholders, the stakeholdersthat had legitimacy in this conversation, and the decision drivers regarding the nature and focus of their sustainabilityrelated efforts. We encouraged participants to discuss the benefits, unique challenges, and obstacles that they perceived

Table 1

Overview of Informants.

Type of organization # of respondents

NBA 5

NFL 4

NHL 3

MLB 6

PARTNER 5

TOTAL 23


regarding the implementation and execution of their organizations’ environmental efforts. Probes requesting clarificationand/or examples, based on the interviewee’s responses, followed. The data obtained from the interviews provided a uniqueand in-depth understanding of what pressures executives are facing with respect to the environment, and how thesepressures influence sport organizations’ involvement in and commitment to environmental initiatives. The choice ofconducting interviews instead of other methodological approaches was justified on the base that qualitative methodsaddress the ‘‘how’’ and ‘‘what’’ questions and are great for ‘‘understanding the world from the perspective of those studiedand for examining and articulating processes’’ (Pratt, 2009, p. 856). Since our research questions are framed as ‘‘how’’ and‘‘what’’ questions, we found conducting interviews as the most appropriate research method to answer those questions. Theinterviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and reviewed by the authors and in most cases the participants themselves foraccuracy and clarity and content.

Finally, we analyzed organizational documents. These texts provided further support and clarification in some cases, of theinformation gathered during the interviews. In addition, the organizational documents provided a more detailed content ofthe nature and types of efforts and initiatives professional sport teams and leagues are addressing regarding environmentalsustainability. We analyzed all team and league web pages for self presentation of environmental involvement/awarenessprograms as well as for descriptions and statement regarding the team’s commitment and focus on the environment. Thereare a total of 122 professional teams in each of the four leagues examined in this research. All team and league websites wereexamined at 6-month intervals (over one year period) to identify any changes/shifts occurring in reported involvement inenvironmental matters over this period of time.

Taken together, these sources of data help to frame and understand how institutional pressures might driveenvironmental behavior in the professional sport setting.

2.3. Data analysis

Media data were analyzed to identify the key issues of concern in the media, the key stakeholders involved in the publicdiscussion of environmental sustainability in professional sport, and to assess whether the media may be a source ofpressure to adopt CSR. Fifty-six articles were collected from the top 20 U.S. daily newspapers by circulation (NewspaperAssociation of America, 2009). We then plotted the dates of publication of the articles to examine any changes in scrutiny onthe topic between 2000 and 2011. The media information also provided context regarding the type and extent to whichparticular teams and leagues are engaging in environmentally friendly practices.

All relevant organizational document passages and interview transcripts were analyzed using Atlas.ti, a qualitativesoftware analysis program. Initial coding was derived from the CSR, environmental management, and institutional theoryliterature. Given the semi-inductive nature of this study, a coding scheme was developed employing open coding where weidentified consistent and recurring themes related to institutional forces underpinning the adoption of environmentallysensitive management efforts in professional sport; the codes and themes were then reviewed, confirmed, and if necessaryrevised by the authors. All textual data was then analyzed once again with the revised codes. Any questions or issuesregarding coding were discussed, debated and agreed upon by members of the team during research meetings. During theanalysis process, the themes which emerged represented a number of perspectives which were found to be particularlylinked to the broad institutional pressures; a number of sub-themes also emerged linked to the main categories. Uponcompleting the first phase of analysis and establishing a finalized list of codes and themes, a working code book withinstitutional criteria was created. We then reanalyzed all the transcripts and organizational documents and media sourceswith the updated codes. Team members then conducted a final review for consistency and accuracy of the coding system.

3. Results and discussion

This section presents results that support the argument that a variety of institutional forces are directing professionalsport teams and leagues to address the environment. Before delving into the forces, we provide evidence from websitereports that supports the notion that teams and leagues are increasingly attending to environmental CSR.

3.1. Website reports

One indicator that professional sports teams and leagues are paying more attention to environmental CSR is if they areincreasingly communicating these efforts on their websites. Esrock and Leichty (1998, 1999) noted that corporate websitesallow companies to engage in multi-stakeholder dialog and to promote a socially responsible image to consumers, a practicalchallenge of CSR communication. Given the strong allegiances of fans and the connection between team and community,websites are a particularly appropriate vehicle for a team or a league to promote their environmental efforts. Notably,websites do not provide unbiased evidence of the extent of CSR adoption, but in examining them, we can ascertain whetherorganizations want to communicate that they are doing some form of environmental CSR. Our initial team web page analysissuggested that 5 NBA, 6 NHL, 7 NFL, and 11 MLB teams were profiling their environmental initiatives on their companywebsites; a year later, these numbers rose to: 8 NBA, 10 NHL, 9 NFL, and 19 MLB teams (see Table 2). Some teams highlightedtheir environmental efforts directly on their community relations section of the company web page, while others outlinedefforts in this area in press releases, or in annual reports. The presence of environmental CSR content on team websites

Table 2

Breakdown of environmental initiatives in professional sport teams at 6-month intervals.

League Total #

of Teams

# of teams with

environmental

messaging T1

# of teams with

environmental

messaging T2

League wide

environmental

initiative T1

League wide

environmental

initiative T2

NBA 30 5 8 No Yes

NHL 30 6 10 Yes Yes

NFL 32 7 9 No No

MLB 30 11 19 Yes Yes


indicates a desire to communicate these activities to stakeholders, perhaps in response to pressures from the institutionalenvironment; and an increase in messaging suggests these pressures may be growing in influence. These results also reflectadoption rate differences amongst the four professional sport leagues, with some – such as the MLB and the NHL reflectinghigher levels and quicker relative rates of adoption. The question now is: what are the particular pressures leading to theadoption of environmental CSR?

3.2. Institutional forces

Three themes around the institutional forces and CSR behaviors in sport emerged from our data analyses: (i) the scrutiny/monitoring/regulation of a team’s behavior, (ii) the perception of shifts in normative standards of stakeholders, and (iii) theinteraction and collaboration between organizations in the sport sector.

3.2.1. Scrutiny, monitoring, regulation in the external environment

A world-wide call for green sport has led to sport organizations being more closely examined in relation to theirenvironmental efforts. The United Nations Environmental Program is actively involved in these efforts and is responsiblefor organizing global forums for sports and environment, focusing in particular on ‘‘Corporate Environmental Responsibility’’(United Nations Environmental Program, 2008). These pressures and scrutiny on sport and the environment coming frominternational bodies such as the UN has led to several watchdog groups now monitoring how sport organizations areaddressing the environment. One such organization is the Global Sports Alliance, a ‘‘global network of environmentallyaware sports enthusiasts‘‘, that reports on the impact of sport events, organizations and policies on the environment.Another sport and environment-focused organization, established by professional sport team owner Paul Allen, is theGreen Sport Alliance (launched in March, 2011). Environmental sports blogs (e.g., ‘Play it Green’, 350.org, weplaygreen.org)also monitor, report and provide an outlet for commentary on the environmental practices of sport organizations, events,and athletes. While some of these interest groups are still at the early stages of development, together they are contributingto an institutional environment surrounding sport organizations that monitor and put pressure on greening initiatives insport.

In addition to (and in combination with) watchdog groups, our analysis suggests that media scrutiny is a driver ofenvironmental CSR. The media and professional sports have a close relationship and the press pays a lot of attention to thebehavior of teams and leagues (Babiak & Wolfe, 2009; Smith & Westerbeek, 2007). We find that the media are increasinglyfocused on environmental CSR in sport. For example, between 2000 and 2011 the number of media reports on the topic hasgrown considerably. Table 3 reflects the increase in the number of articles written about the environment and professionalsport.

By reporting on environmental CSR in sport, the media directs society’s attention to these practices and shapesindividuals’ and groups’ attitudes, beliefs and behaviors toward sports organizations (e.g., fan and community expectations).Therefore, the media can put pressure on teams and leagues to behave in ways to avoid negative press and acquire positivepress, but it can also be harnessed as a communication tool. Our interview respondents indicated that the media plays a rolein their environmental efforts from both perspectives: averting image issues by avoiding activities that will make them lookbad; and using their media ‘scrutiny’ as a resource to both enhance their reputation and image, and educate their customersand stakeholders at the same time about their commitment to the environment. In support of the first perspective, some ofour interview respondents shared:

We did not want to promote something that we could not deliver on. . .we do not want to be too bold. We were carefulthat we were not in the position where we could be open to scrutiny. We did not want to leave ourselves open andmake all these proclamations that we were being so green and initiating all this change. In sport especially, peoplereally look at it under a microscope and have no problem criticizing what we do. (NHL executive)

In (city), we are usually watched very closely by the media. . .Because we are so closely watched by the media, weknow there are expectations yet we wanted to begin with a goal around sustainability and meet the goal. . .I think whatis important is that we didn’t want to promote something that we couldn’t deliver on. We were careful that we weren’tin the position where we could be open to scrutiny by the media. We operate under a (media) microscope and wedidn’t want to leave ourselves open while we were going to make all these proclamations that we were doing,

Table 3

Breakdown of media reports on professional sport and environmental management in top 20 US newspapers.

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Total

The Wall Street Journal 1 2 2 5

USA Today 3 3 0 1 7

The New York Times 1 5 1 1 1 9

Los Angeles Times 1 2 0 3 0 6

The Washington Post 1 1 1 1 0 1 5

Daily News, New York 1 2 0 1 4

Chicago Tribune 1 1 1 0 0 0 3

Newsday 1 2 1 4

Houston Chronicle 1 3 1 1 1 7

Chicago Sun-Times 1 1 2

San Francisco Chronicle 1 3 2 2 8

The Dallas Morning News 3 1 1 1 6

The Boston Globe 1 1 4 6

The Arizona Republic 1 2 3

New York Post 1 1 4 6

The Philadelphia Inquirer 1 4 3 2 2 3 15

The Star-Ledger, Newark 1 2 3

Star-Tribune, Minneapolis 1 1 1 3 1 5

Detroit Free Press 1 4 5

The Plain Dealer, Cleveland 2 2

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 1 1 2 4

Total 0 0 0 1 2 3 6 17 27 19 22 20 117


initiating all this change and you know how people really look at it under a microscope and say well you’re not. (NHL

Team)

In support of the second perspective, some of our respondents pointed out:As far as someone benefiting, it is simple, it is the right thing to do, but we also get fantastic publicity out of this. Wehave been featured in a number of national publications, national TV, local TV, local publications, it is great freepublicity that the (MLB team) are a leader in green energy. (MLB executive)

That’s the fun part about it. Knowing that fans and the media have got their eyes on us and they’re watching whatwe’re doing and having that chance to be the example that other businesses or other people want to follow. It’s kind ofneat of how we’ve got the ability to impact a family in house and the decisions that they make but also affect thecorporate culture for another business. (MLB Executive)

The use of media scrutiny as a resource was further supported by our content analysis of the nature and focus of the mediareports. We found that 69% of the articles focused on facilities and their green design, construction, or operation; and 31%focused on outreach/awareness initiatives. Thus, even though the media is a source of pressure to engage in environmentalCSR, it can also be used as a vehicle to communicate an organization’s environmental activities and commitment tostakeholders.

The media also communicates whether organizations are following rules and regulations, another source of institutionalpressure. We found that external communications about professional sport team’s CSR activities can demonstrate a sort ofself-policing. According to Kampf (2007), businesses in the US can publicly communicate their CSR efforts in order todemonstrate self-policing, and thus avoid legislative control from outside. In this case, self-policing may help curb someregulations; but we found some evidence that there are government regulations (primarily state and local) that influencedthe extent and direction of CSR activities in the area of sport and the environment. Specifically, a recent trend is theinvolvement of state and local government in mandating that newly constructed sport facilities include green features.Given the fact that over $5 billion in public funds has been invested in the construction of new sport stadia/facilities in the USsince 2000 (National Sports Law Institute, 2007), governments are requiring that new facilities meet specific environmentalstandards. One such mandate is the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for facilities,established by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Several teams have obtained LEED certification for thefacilities in which they play. The Orlando Magic, an NBA franchise, was the first new arena in the NBA to be LEED certified.‘‘Magic COO Alex Martins said that the cost of building a green arena is 10[%] higher compared to one that is not taking thesteps to be certified. But it is an expense the city deemed worthwhile, considering it put in the requirement that the building needed

to be green.’’ (Sports Business Daily, 2008, emphasis added). Similarly, the Washington Nationals of the MLB are playing in anew green stadium, LEED Silver certified, that the DC Metro Council required as part of their financial involvement (Phillips,2008). The press reports we analyzed indicated that a number of additional sport facilities (existing and planned) will beseeking environmental standard certification in the upcoming years and that local and state governments are including thisrequirement as part of their funding involvement. Therefore, we suggest that government regulation is becoming animportant institutional pressure in the greening of professional sport in North America.


Our findings also indicate that the media is both a source of pressure in and of itself, but also through communicatingabout and perpetuating other institutional pressures like government regulations and watchdog groups; this is particularlythe case in the sport context where the media is so intimately connected with professional sport. Together, these entities –the media, government, and watchdog groups – scrutinize, monitor, and regulate sport organizations’ behavior; and thusserve as coercive pressures on teams and leagues to conform to the institutional environment and adopt environmental CSR.

3.2.2. Shifts in normative standards

A number of normative forces are also leading professional sport leagues to address the environment. Increasingattention and expectations from different stakeholders on the topic of environmental sustainability seem to determine themagnitude and the scope of the teams/leagues efforts. For example, fans of sport teams and consumers of sport products areplacing more demand on the type of activities and programs teams are committed to as illustrated by the following interviewexcerpts:

What we’re seeing in the market overall is that people are increasingly aware and interested in environmental efforts –particularly young people . . .generationally it’s being embraced more and more, but I will say that it’s not justexclusively about a young demographic, instead actually we really have seen fantastic support from baseball fans inevery market really across the board and I think there’s real potential there. (MLB Executive)

There is a huge amount of consumer research out there showing the trend line going sharply north in terms of whatpeople expect of corporate stewardship and what they want in terms of environmental commitments from thecompanies they support. The whole consumer piece is a very powerful motivator. Consumers have an increasinginterest in seeing better corporate sustainability and more proactive legislation and public policy. (Partner)

As these quotations illustrate, we found that consumer demand for stewardship is a normative force in that it createslegitimacy around engaging in environmental CSR: fans and consumers help infuse value into environmental CSR. Thesepractices are now expected and desired, putting pressure on the professional sport industry to adopt them. Normativeexpectations around environmental CSR thus come from outside the organization (e.g., consumers), but we also found thatthey can operate from the inside via employee pressures. In particular, employees’ interest and willingness to adopt newinitiatives is a source of motivation and pressure in the organization to commit to and execute on environmental initiatives.Notably, this eagerness to contribute on behalf of employees likely makes environmental CSR initiatives more successful. Theinternal driving force of employees is expressed below:

We formed a green committee, and our general manager and I are part of that and we have arena folks involved. It is agroup of people that came together from each department because they are passionate about it. It is great because weare all really into the environment. (NBA Executive)

The expectations of employees and fans stem from, and are part of, overall societal pressure to address the environment.We found that this general societal normative force is felt by teams and leagues that are striving to meet social attitudesabout the right thing to do:

MLB is focusing on the environment because we see our reach and the potential of what we can do in terms of makingan impact in the marketing area, and it’s tremendous, and part of our commitment to being a social institution is to usethose assets and audience to show an important environmentally responsible message. Our customers and fans andpartners expect it from us. (MLB Executive)

We worked with baseball in putting together public opinion information on the issue of the environment and it wasclear that a very, very strong majority of Americans felt that global warming was real and that something needed to bedone. (Partner)

We found that these societal expectations are starting to be incorporated into the processes and procedures ofprofessional sport bodies and authorities, such as leagues, that set standards for legitimate organizational practices. Inparticular, professional leagues partnered with the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to initiate the ‘GreeningAdvisors’ program in order to explore and implement systems, structures and processes by which to engage in greeningactivities. The Greening Advisors programs were initiated and designed by senior level executives at the league level with theintent to direct and support the teams in each league regarding environmental policies, to be more socially responsible andto provide efficiencies in facility and team operations. As one of the partners indicated:

We launched a program in MLB to help harmonize the messages to the marketplace. So we created this environmentalresource called the ‘greening advisor’, which we got an award for doing from the US EPA. We put it on the web and wedid it location specific to each team. There are a lot of guidelines in there that are similar for all teams. (Partner)

The partnership between the professional leagues and the NRDC is one example of how the leadership bodies ofprofessional sport are developing and setting normative standards for the industry around environmental CSR practices. Inaddition, we found that leagues are training and educating executives in the area of the environment, and thus furthercommunicating and reinforcing expectations around environmental CSR practices. For example, during the events of the


2009 NHL All Star Game, a ‘Green Symposium’ was held for owners, players, league officials and facility managers to betterprepare them for the actions they can take to make their teams and arenas greener (Fink, 2008). These interaction settingsalso provide an opportunity to develop shared understandings around CSR and spread ideas and practices across key actorsin the sports industry. ‘‘Ideas from the symposium, along with recommendations from GreenLife (the NHL’s greenconsultant), will be passed on to all the teams. Also in the offing are green-based public service announcements the leaguewill send out to TV partners’’ (Fink, 2008, p. 13).

Our findings indicate that normative pressure from different stakeholders (e.g., employees and customers) may beshaping the degree to which sport organizations operate in socially responsible way. These normative pressures, comingfrom internal and external sources, also have the potential to play a monitoring role and force sport organizations to sustaintheir environmental practices. This dual role of social pressure, expressed through a shift in normative standards andmonitoring functions, illustrates the complexity of the relationship between different institutional forces.

3.2.3. Mimetic and associative behavior

Associative behaviors and interactions between and among sport executives and partner organizations were majorpressures reported in the data (i.e., interviews, documents, and media reports). We found that teams’ behavior was shapedby what other organizations were doing with respect to environmental initiatives. Some interview respondents reportedthat they were influenced by management practices from entities around the world:

There were many facilities around the world, and even in the United States, that were doing something. Some hadsmall amounts of renewable energy such as in the Sydney Olympic Games. It was common for demolition debris to beutilized in the case of the New England Patriots stadium. Bob Kraft, the owner, put in a gray water feature in thatfacility. A number of soccer stadiums in Asia, Korea, China, Japan, particularly were incorporating water efficiency,recycling, re-use of demolition debris, more efficient building materials into their construction. (Partner)

Thus, as this quotation suggests, teams felt pressure to adopt given other sport organizations’ initiatives. At the sametime, given that there is some ambiguity and uncertainty around adopting new practices, teams looked to these leaders inthe field and imitated them in some ways. We also found that teams’ and leagues’ green management practices wereinfluenced by their business partners and collaborators. For example, MLB’s main concessioner, Aramark, implemented anew program to green food-service operations and introduced it at MLB ballparks around North America. Thus, MLB’s ownenvironmental practices were shaped by their partner Aramark.

Most of our respondents suggested that partners were initiating activities, or providing the teams and leagues withvaluable resources (i.e., expertise and knowledge) that they themselves did not have yet. The following interview excerptillustrates this point:

One reason we are into this now is because our partners are interested in being eco-friendly. From what I have seen,they are not moving forward alone in this area. The world is turning greener by the moment in really exciting ways.There are a number of opportunities that partners bring to propose products and services that are even more eco-friendly. We are aware that that is the way businesses move forward and we are very excited about it because there is alot of potential when we work together. (MLB executive)

The data also indicate that there is substantial collaboration and interaction between teams within each league regardinggreen management in sport. Team executives share practices regarding environmental activities with other teams in theirown league:

There is sharing from team to team. One team might say we just introduced this fantastic water-saving measure andbecause of equipment sharing and things like that of working in the same field, there is the ability to share bestpractices, and that is happening both informally and formally. (MLB executive)

We also found that mimetic influences were coming from other professional sports as well. For instance, one executivestated that ‘‘We do work with colleagues at the various leagues on our efforts – specifically community work such as ourgreening programs’’ (MLB executive). Similarly, several other executives shared that their environmental efforts wereinfluenced by what teams in other leagues were doing:

Our managing partner was at a conference and there was some talk about the Philadelphia Eagles being the firstprofessional sports team that publicly made an effort to go green. Their Go Green program was featured during atelevised game and it highlighted everything they were doing from their beer cups to their recycling program. It wasreally a full blown effort and I think that opened a lot of eyes for us and probably all of the major sports. It then becamesomething our managing partner decided that we needed to do something about. That is what really spurred ourefforts on in this area. (NHL executive)There is always a little bit of friendly competition where the leagues look at each other. So if baseball is doingsomething, the NFL, and hockey, and basketball all make sure they are doing something. If one takes the lead the otheris going to try and follow and top it. I think the competition factor actually helps create programs and positive results.The NFL is taking a lead in certain areas, and baseball is taking a lead in other areas. As a team the (NFL team) havetaken a huge lead in the environment because we were doing things before a lot of the other leagues decided to dothings. (NFL executive)


Due to this sharing and emulating, we see some similarities across teams and even across different sport leagues in thepractices in which they engage. For instance, one practice that is spreading is having ‘Green’ or ‘Carbon Neutral’ games for thepurpose of offsetting carbon emissions from team travel. These similarities should be expected due to the mimetic andassociative forces described above and due to the fact that some teams and leagues may be involved in a partnership with thesame organization. However, it is imperative to note that variations will exist due to differences across teams and leagues aseach team and league has unique resources and culture, as we discuss below. It is also important to note that theinterconnectedness of the organizational field has an impact on practices adoption and diffusion (Oliver, 1991). In otherwords, the stronger the relationships and dependencies a firm has with those in its field, the more likely practices and sharedunderstandings will be transferred among firms (Hess & Warren, 2008). This has further implications not only for the futureof strategic planning of any corporate social responsible initiatives but also for the successful adoption of environmentallysustainable practices within the sport industry. Thus, the results from this study suggest that associative and mimeticbehaviors in relation to the environment demonstrate another institutional force that impacts the way sustainabilitypractices are adopted in professional sport.

3.3. Constraints

While the CSR behaviors outlined in this research do not represent radical structural or strategic changes, theydo represent shifts in values and attitudes toward business practices. As in much of the literature on organizationalchange reports, early phases will have resistance (Johnson-Cramer, Parise, & Cross, 2007; McCormick, 2007). We foundsome ambiguity and ambivalence associated with environmental business practices in sport from a number ofperspectives. Specifically, the data showed that leagues and teams might be hesitant to adopt an environmentallyoriented stance too quickly, and given the media focus on them wanted to take it slowly as the following statementsillustrate:

We wanted to be careful that we do not look foolish and we did not want to look like we were taking a challenge onthat we really knew nothing about. I could see that as people move down this path and try to develop a green programwhere that could be a considerable roadblock or something that would intimidate them from going further or morelikely, turn them on to something that somebody else has already done and duplicate it. (NHL executive)

We have looked at other teams in baseball and other teams in sport as jumping the gun and saying they are doingsomething and they have got a slogan for it and a branding package for their recycling programs or their greeninitiatives, but a lot of it to me seems very transparent where it is a PR stunt, or making it look like they are doing morethan they really are. (MLB executive)

Bird et al. (2007) identified that overemphasis on environmental/sustainable issues might contribute to negativeperceptions from investors and other stakeholders. Thus, they argue that there needs to be a middle ground in whichcompanies operate in this sphere of social responsibility, and this may be one reason for the resistance of some executives toadopt environmental management efforts in their organizations.

Other executives reported that sport teams and leagues do not have appropriate expertise in the area of the environmentyet. In other words, they do not have staff that has been trained or educated to address environmental concerns:

Right now it is not an area that sports teams would employ an expert in. In house, we have legal people, marketingpeople, we have broadcasters, we have a television production group, community relations, but nobody knowsanything about the environment. (NHL Executive)

Additionally, it was perceived by several executives that an environmentally friendly CSR focus might displace some ofthe traditional sources of income that sport teams and leagues rely upon, for example:

Green practices take time and human resources. We have dedicated a fair amount of our broadcast and websiteadvertising to our green program, but there is an opportunity cost associated with it. We are giving support to thegreen program which takes away inventory that we could be using to sell to a sponsor and promoting something else.We are at capacity with just about everything whether it is ticket sales or television inventory or things for promotingon the website so that in itself is a significant contribution because, as I said, the opportunity cost there is fairlysignificant given the demand to be associated with the team. (NHL Executive)

This logic of instrumentality (i.e., maximizing profit) appears to be institutionally constrained by a logic ofappropriateness (i.e., it is the right thing to do) (Campbell, 2006) and clearly highlights the paradox of socially responsiblebehavior. These constraints may lead to variation in the extent to which teams adopt environmental CSR.

3.4. Variation in adoption

Within the broad trend of adoption of environmental CSR activities, we found that there is variation in the extent to whichteams are embracing and enacting environmental CSR. All teams face the institutional pressures discussed above, but somego above and beyond what the institutional environment expects of them. For instance, the Philadelphia Eagles is one team


that has led the way in terms of their environmental initiatives among sport organizations. Their owner has publiclyarticulated a priority for environmental concerns and has instilled a focus on the environment as a core organizational value.This has resulted in a broad and deep scope of adoption and integration of the environment into what the team does. Moststrikingly, their stadium is the first in the US capable of generating 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources: acombination of solar panels, a biodiesel/natural gas generator and soon, 14 wind turbines (NRDC, 2012). The Eagles also havea comprehensive recycling program: they recycle plastic, aluminum and paper products; they only use recycled paperproducts for their publications and guides; and the paper products in the stadium are made from corn based products thatbiodegrade quicker in the landfills. Internally, the Eagles have a number of employee engagement activities, includingreimbursing employees who convert their electronics at home to wind and opportunities for employees to recycle items inexchange for more energy-efficient ones (e.g., light bulbs). The team has even adopted a forest in Pennsylvania. Thus, theEagles’ approach to environmental CSR is comprehensive, addressing a wide range of operations and organizationalpractices. Their activities are also coordinated and evaluated for their effectiveness by an internal committee that includesthe CFO and the owner. Thus, their commitment appears to go beyond legitimacy-seeking. In the words of one member of thecommittee:

We evaluate the programs we are doing and make sure they’re effective. We discuss new programs that are potentiallyviable for us. We talk about things that we can do on a business level but also areas where we can educate our fans,build awareness, interact more with our partners. We do kind of take a multi-pronged approach to this program.

Many teams are catching up to the Eagles and expanding their environmental initiatives, but there are other teams thathave only adopted what may be considered the bare minimum expected by the institutional environment. For these low-adopters, their environmental CSR has not evolved beyond cursory recycling programs. Although recycling programs are alegitimate environmental CSR activity, the potential exists for a much deeper and more comprehensive approach toenvironmental engagement. Thus, one question that needs to be addressed by scholars moving forward is: what leads tovariation within the broad institutional trend of environmental CSR? In particular, why are some teams or organizationshigh-adopters and others low-adopters?

Given our data, we can speculate about some of the factors leading to variation in environmental CSR adoption. One factorthat appears to be significant is leadership and the commitment and desire to address environmentalism. In particular, in thesport context, owners’ goals and values often have a strong effect on CSR activities. The important role of leadership wasexpressed by one of our interviewees:

Well it really started with our owner her and her husband on the team and it was something, I think early on, that sheidentified as one of our missions for the organization to make sure that we are giving back to the community not justthrough the traditional relations programming activities but also a way to give back from what we take and that isfrom the environment as well. I think she was kind of a visionary in identifying that area for our organization early onin the process right after building the new stadium.

Part of this desire and commitment on behalf of owners may come from their networks and relationships with individualswho bring knowledge about these practices and the motivation to innovate around them. This is reflected by oneinterviewee:

She [the owner] had the relationship with [a key individual]; I think that really helped develop really some groundbreaking concepts in the sports world of how to embrace some of these green business practices and really kind of be, Iguess, the beta test for a lot of things in the sports world from a stadium perspective, from a team perspective, andthings that you can do to adopt those practices.

Finally, teams (and organizations in general) that have made a strong commitment to environmental CSR seem torecognize the beneficial effects of engaging in this type of CSR for their business. They believe that an initial investment isworth it in the long run. As one interviewee expressed, ‘‘So when you can reduce your energy use by making an investmentup-front, over the long run, you are going to save money.’’ Thus, future research should look at the role of leadership values,goals and networks in shaping environmental CSR programs and policies; as well as beliefs about the long-run value of CSRfor the business. This will increase our understanding of variation in practices within institutional environments, andprovide more insight into environmental CSR in sport in particular.

4. Conclusions

We argue in this paper that institutional forces are leading organizations in the professional sport industry to increasinglyaddress environmental CSR. In particular, the findings from this research suggest that scrutiny and regulation, and normativeand associative pressures play a role in sport organizations’ adoption of environmentally friendly behaviors. These forcesseem to be working together and reinforcing one another, and often through the vehicle of the media, to create a broad trendaround this form of CSR. Some participants expressed a rather optimistic view on the future of those environmentalinitiatives and programs, for example: ‘‘This is not a fad. The leagues and teams who are pursuing sustainable practices are inthe minority right now, but they will be the norm in five years.’’ (Partner) Others expressed the complexity of the ventureundertaken by (not only) the sport industry: ‘‘It is going to be millions of decisions by millions of companies and billions of


consumers over decades that will move us in the better direction’’ (Partner). This illustrates the challenges with CSR behavioras Campbell (2006) argues ‘‘. . .the emergence and institutionalization of a new management practice (is) driven by a varietyof struggles, conflicts, and negotiations. . .’’ (p. 925).

Although environmentally sustainable practices are not entirely taken for granted as a way of operating as yet; wefind, in line with institutional theory, that environmental practices contribute to the legitimacy of sport teams andleagues (Greenwood & Meyer, 2008; Schmidt, 2006). These practices are now not only acceptable, but expected in thesport industry by both internal and external stakeholders, including employees, customers/fans, professional bodies, andsociety at large. Thus, teams and leagues, in an effort to accrue or maintain legitimacy with constituents and stakeholders,are communicating a focus on the environment. This can lead to brand and image enhancement, and thus attract morefans and potential employees. At the same time, sustainable development efforts allow sport organizations to reduce theecological footprint of sport and associated activities and use sport as a means to raise environmental awareness to abroad audience.

Given the benefits of environmental CSR for both the sport organization and society, this type of CSR is in line with thestrategic CSR described by Porter and Kramer (2006). In order to reap the benefits of this strategic CSR, we find that sportorganizations can, and do, leverage key stakeholders in this process, including: (1) the media to communicate a focus on theenvironment and to educate fans and (2) partnerships with suppliers and others who can provide knowledge about andsynergies around environmental practices. Both of these groups are relevant to other contexts, but perhaps they areparticularly central to the sport industry context, where the media, for example, is intimately connected with sportbusiness.

Although all teams and leagues are subject to the institutional forces in the environment and thus engage with this formof CSR in some capacity, there are variations in the extent to which sport organizations embrace and adopt environmentalCSR practices. We suggest that variation in teams’ environmental activities may be due to both constraints (e.g., time, money,knowledge, etc.) and enablers (e.g., leadership values, vision, and networks). These enablers are more speculative, but theyare in line with what others have suggested in terms of leadership’s commitment to CSR as an important factor (Lee & Ball,2003; Matten & Moon, 2008). An identification and recognition of these sources of variation builds on other work thathighlights temporal and technical factors leading to variation within institutional environments (e.g., Davis & Greve, 1997;Kraatz & Zajac, 1996; Thornton & Ocasio, 1999; Westphal et al., 1997). Fig. 1 illustrates these different elements: theinstitutional forces in professional sport in the US that push environmental CSR forward; as well as constraints that temperorganizational responses and may limit the adoption for some organizations.

The findings of this study have some practical implications for sport leaders and managers. In general, leaders need to beaware of the various forces and develop strategies for addressing them. For example, considering the growing governmentintervention and mandatory requirements for certain certifications (e.g., LEED), it would be beneficial for sport leaders tomake themselves familiar with and continually monitor mandates in order to be proactive and avoid penalties. In addition,

Drivers Con straint s CSR Focus In Sp ort Actio n

Ability to be impactful

Sociall y

Responsible

Cor por ate Action /

Behavior

Scope / extent

Nature / type

Scrutiny / Reg ulat ion:

Medi a

Watchdog groups

Government

regulation

Normative St anda rds :

Customer demand

Societal Exp ectati ons

Employees

Partners

Mimet ic /Ass ocia tive:

Bus iness practice s /

trends

Experts / consultants

Costs

Experti se /

knowledge

Awareness of not

overpr omi sing

Evalu ating out comes

Lack of momentum /

pass ion fo rmai ntaining effo rts

Perce ive d

incompati bility of

economi c

organi zati onal /

environmental roles

Organizati onal inertia

Sport re lated uniq ue

resource s:

Access to medi a

Iconic facili ties

Celeb rit y cachet ofath letes / co aches

Brand ima ge /

recognition

Corporate partners

Variation in Rate

of Adoption

Fig. 1. A model for CSR adoption in professional sport.


sport managers overseeing environmental initiatives will likely need to establish non-traditional partnerships to collaboratewith organizations from various sectors and be a part of the process of designing and establishing rules and regulationsassociated with environmental practices. In relation to some of the constraints identified, we recommend that sportadministrators strive to expand the network of existing partnerships in order to gain more knowledge and understanding ofthe best and most financially efficient environmental efforts that the organizations should consider implementing. Workingmore closely with the other teams in the league and outside the league would also provide for developing a data base withenvironmental practices and for sharing successful performance. Finally, teams can leverage the media as a resource tocommunicate a commitment to the environment.

Although the findings reported in this study indicate that environmentally focused CSR behaviors are becoming moreprevalent, there are limitations to this work. In particular, some authors have called for longitudinal studies to ‘‘consider thedynamic nature of organizational environments and the process by which isomorphism occurs’’ (Slack & Hinings, 1994, p.804). Our efforts to examine the institutional forces leading to CSR do not fully explain or describe the process, as it is stillearly in the development of these types of socially responsible behaviors in sport. Therefore, further long term studies arenecessary to gain these understandings and to better understand the complexity of variables influencing institutionalchanges.

From an academic perspective, we suggest that the findings from this study may lead to further questions regardinginstitutional forces influencing CSR behaviors. As Campbell (2007) pointed out economic factors such as the focus onmaximizing profit could in fact prevent corporations from acting in socially responsible ways. This study exploredinstitutional conditions leading sport companies to adopt socially responsible corporate behavior, however, a line of researchexploring the economic conditions under which CSR activities occur could shed some light on additional forces leading to (orconstraining) those behaviors. Findings from such research could contribute to the design of strategic CSR practices forachieving short- and long-term organizational benefits.

We also suggest that future research might address questions explaining how the processes of homogenization andinstitutionalization actually occur and how, why and which organizations respond in particular ways to institutionalexpectations. Of particular interest would be to understand how forces intermingle in this process and how they ‘‘accelerateor slow each others’ effects, or even tug in different directions’’ (Greenwood & Meyer, 2008, p. 262). This line of questioningwould illuminate the degree to which some organizations choose (or choose not) to engage in CSR behaviors.

In conclusion, this study brings attention to one aspect of CSR that has received very little attention in the academicliterature, but should be considered by managers and leaders, particularly with the emerging emphasis placed onenvironmental awareness in society as of late. More importantly, the results of this empirical examination contribute toinstitutional applications of CSR as posited by Campbell (2007) and validate institutional theory as an appropriate lensthrough which to view CSR practices. Examining CSR behaviors focused on the environment and the institutional pressuresleading to the adoption of these efforts in major league professional sport uniquely contributes to the academic literature onCSR.

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