Through Sport to Innovation: Sustainable Socio-Economic Development in European Countries

Using clustering and principal component analysis, we demonstrate that—at the national level in Europe—innovativeness correlates strongly to both social capital and participation in sport. In this aspect, countries such as the Scandinavian countries and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe differ visibly. Referring to prior empirical research, we claim that a causal relation between sports, through social capital, and innovativeness can be established. In the context of social capital accumulation, we further discuss the role of sports clubs, often perceived as a socially intensive form of participation in sport, but most likely diminishing in this respect lately.