Relevance and drivers of sustainability in the sponsorship of major sporting events

Moesch, Christian; Maurer, Martina; Piller, Sarah; Stegmann, Pascal (September 2023). Relevance and drivers of sustainability in the sponsorship of major sporting events. In: 1. Sustainable Sports Symposium. Bayreuth. 24.-26. September 2023.

[img]
Preview
Text
SuSpoSym_Abstract_Sustainability_SponsoringSportevents.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License BORIS Standard License.

Download (150kB) | Preview

The awareness of sustainability has increased by current developments (e.g., climate change) and companies have located sustainability topics as fields of profiling (Trail & McCullough, 2020). Concurrently, sustainability considerations are becoming increasingly important for the organizers of sporting events (Moesch, Nagel & Lamprecht, 2022). Since, especially elite sport is no longer automatically associated with positive effects, both, organizers and sponsors, are required to emphasize sustainability in sponsorships (Putzing & Menn, 2014). Therefore, this study analyses the relevance of sustainability in sponsorship commitments and its drivers. In so doing, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five event organizers and five sponsors of major sporting events. The findings show that sustainability is relevant for all analyzed sponsorship engagements. While larger sponsors rather tend to introduce the sustainability issue, the initiative more likely stems from the organizers’ side for smaller sponsors. Furthermore, sustainability efforts of the organizers are strongly influenced by requirements from the public sector. The interviewed stakeholders agree that sustainability in sponsorships adds value for both sides. While the organizers profit from securing event financing and fulfilling public sector requirements, the sponsors may improve their image through social responsibility efforts. The study demonstrates major sporting events stakeholders’ drivers to implement sustainability measures, which may help to shape incentives for future sustainable sponsorship commitments.

Item Type:

Conference or Workshop Item (Abstract)

Division/Institute:

07 Faculty of Human Sciences > Institute of Sport Science (ISPW)
07 Faculty of Human Sciences > Institute of Sport Science (ISPW) > Sport Sociology and Management

UniBE Contributor:

Moesch, Christian, Piller, Sarah, Stegmann, Pascal

Subjects:

700 Arts > 790 Sports, games & entertainment

Language:

English

Submitter:

Edith Desideria Imthurn

Date Deposited:

25 Mar 2024 08:41

Last Modified:

25 Mar 2024 08:41

Uncontrolled Keywords:

major sporting events, sports sponsoring, event sponsoring, sustainability, corporate social responsibility

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/194419

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/194419

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item
Provide Feedback