Sustainable Sport Sponsorship – A Stakeholders’ Perspective

Aim and Research Questions: Sustainability has become an increasingly important theme in the sport management field and in academia in recent years. There is largely consensus in the sports business that sustainability will also continue to grow in relation to sports sponsorships, both from the sponsors’ and the sponsees’ point of view (Cornwell, 2023). While many sponsors and sport organisations have implemented measures to act in a more sustainable way, it is largely unknown what this means for sport sponsorships. A holistic consideration of the economical, ecological and social issues regarding sustainable sport sponsorships is missing to date. The present research aims to advance the knowledge of what characteristics are associated with sustainable sport sponsorship and what factors determine its success.

Theoretical Background and Literature Review: Sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have in common that both concepts build on the three pillars of environmental, economic and social aspects (Madzik et al., 2018). While there is some research on CSR and sponsorships in sport, which predominantly focuses on the social dimension (Walzel & Schubert, 2018), there is a very limited research on sustainability and sport sponsorship and more importantly, no clear understanding of what characterise sustainable sport sponsorships holistically in terms of environmental, economic and social aspects.

Research Design, Methodology and Data Analysis: Due to the exploratory nature of this study, we opted for a qualitative research approach and used semi-structured individual in-depth interviews, which facilitates an intensive discussion with the interviewees as well as grasping new aspects in this context. In total, we conducted 13 in-depth interviews with representatives from five different stakeholder groups: three individuals representing the sponsors from different industries (bank, automobile and supermarket chain), three representatives of sponsees (two sport clubs, one national sport federation), two senior managers from sponsorship service providers, four sport consumers with different sport backgrounds and one elite athlete.

Results/Findings and Discussion: We identified eight characteristics that describe sustainable sport sponsorships. Following the three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic, social), four characteristics can be summarised under the economic dimension of sustainability (long-term horizon / perspective, independency of individual sponsors, good governance practice, credibility and authenticity). Another three (promoting sport and its values, responsibility for sport and athletes, mutual partnership with benefits for society) fall under the social dimension of sustainable sport sponsorship and the environmental dimension is represented by one characteristic: ecologically friendly implemented sport sponsorship.

Conclusion, Contribution, and Implication: The present study explored the understanding of sustainability and sport sponsorship in a holistic way by considering a good number and variety of stakeholders involved. The results extent the knowledge what characterises sustainable sport sponsorships and what factors determine their success. While previous research focused on the social and environmental aspects of sustainability in terms of sport sponsorships (Cornwell, 2020; Close Scheinbaum et al., 2019), this study also identified relevant economic criteria.
For this study, we only invited sponsorship stakeholders from Germany to the interviews, which limits the generalisability of the results. Furthermore, the characteristics and criteria identified might not be relevant for all sponsors and sponsees or to different extent, because the sport sponsorship market is very diverse with a huge variety of sponsors and sponsees with different aims and objectives.
However, the results help sponsorship managers in companies with a sustainable oriented management approach to align their sponsorship activities in sport in a more sustainable way and to contribute to the company’s perception of a sustainable organisation. Additionally, they can use the findings to develop ideas how they can implement sponsorships in sport for contributing to the sustainable development goals. Furthermore, the findings are also important for sponsees in the way, what they can do to be attractive for sponsors which focus on sustainability and how they can increase sponsorship outcomes for the sponsors in times where sport consumers becoming more and more sensitive for sustainability themes.