IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/jfr/ijba11/v15y2024i4p22-38.html

The Role of ESG Performance in Enhancing Intellectual Capital and Sustainability in European Football Clubs: A First Empirical Application

Author

Listed:
  • Alberto Manzari

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance and intellectual capital (IC) in professional football clubs. Using a quali-quantitative approach, the research analyzes secondary data from ESG scores and IC metrics of 17 European football clubs. Pearson correlation coefficients are employed to assess the links between ESG performance and IC dimensions, including player market value (human capital), social media engagement (relational capital), and stadium ownership (structural capital). The findings indicate that ESG practices positively influence intellectual capital, especially when IC components are considered collectively, demonstrating a stronger positive association than individual components. This underscores the synergistic effect of integrating intangible assets into a sustainability framework. The study contributes to theoretical understanding by linking ESG practices to value-creation strategies in professional sports. Practical implications highlight how football clubs can align ESG initiatives with recruitment, fan engagement, and infrastructure investments to enhance financial and social outcomes. Policymakers can use the results to promote ESG adoption in sports, while investors may view ESG performance as a marker of long-term stability and growth. This research empirically explores ESG and IC interplay in football, offering actionable insights and a framework for future studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Alberto Manzari, 2024. "The Role of ESG Performance in Enhancing Intellectual Capital and Sustainability in European Football Clubs: A First Empirical Application," International Journal of Business Administration, International Journal of Business Administration, Sciedu Press, vol. 15(4), pages 22-38, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:jfr:ijba11:v:15:y:2024:i:4:p:22-38
    DOI: 10.5430/ijba.v15n4p22
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.sciedu.ca/journal/index.php/ijba/article/view/27130/16684
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.sciedu.ca/journal/index.php/ijba/article/view/27130
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.5430/ijba.v15n4p22?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Melanie L. Sartore-Baldwin & Brian McCullough, 2018. "Equity-based sustainability and ecocentric management: Creating more ecologically just sport organization practices," Sport Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(4), pages 391-402, October.
    2. Sartore-Baldwin, Melanie L. & McCullough, Brian, 2018. "Equity-based sustainability and ecocentric management: Creating more ecologically just sport organization practices," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 391-402.
    3. Sylvia Trendafilova & Kathy Babiak & Kathryn Heinze, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability: Why professional sport is greening the playing field," Sport Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 298-313, July.
    4. Martin Carlsson-Wall & Kai DeMott & Hamza Ali, 2023. "Scaling and controlling talent development in high-intensity organizations: the case of a Swedish football club," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 37(2), pages 480-501, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jae-Gu Yu & Yunduk Jeong, 2025. "Enhancing Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices in Professional Sports Clubs: A Delphi Study Approach," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. George Cunningham & Brian P. McCullough & Shelby Hohensee, 2020. "Physical activity and climate change attitudes," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 61-74, March.
    2. Orr, Madeleine & Inoue, Yuhei, 2019. "Sport versus climate: Introducing the climate vulnerability of sport organizations framework," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 452-463.
    3. Jae-Gu Yu & Yunduk Jeong, 2025. "Enhancing Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices in Professional Sports Clubs: A Delphi Study Approach," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, November.
    4. Iva Glibo & Laura Misener & Joerg Koenigstorfer, 2022. "Strategic Sustainable Development in International Sport Organisations: A Delphi Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-18, August.
    5. Ngwakwe Collins, 2022. "Top Management Background and Corporate Green Energy Investment," HOLISTICA – Journal of Business and Public Administration, Sciendo, vol. 13(1), pages 133-142, July.
    6. Brian P. McCullough & Jamee A. Pelcher, 2021. "Instructor–Student Mentoring: Strengths of Transformative Sustainability Learning and Its Direct Application to Impact Industry and Curricular Refinement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-15, September.
    7. Nuno Loureiro & Luís Calmeiro & Adilson Marques & Diego Gomez-Baya & Margarida Gaspar de Matos, 2021. "The Role of Blue and Green Exercise in Planetary Health and Well-Being," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-12, September.
    8. Casper, Jonathan M. & McCullough, Brian P. & Pfahl, Michael E., 2020. "Examining environmental fan engagement initiatives through values and norms with intercollegiate sport fans," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 348-360.
    9. Gord Watkin & Cheryl Mallen & Craig Hyatt, 2021. "Management Perspectives on Plastics Free Sport Facilities’ Beverage Service," Journal of Management and Sustainability, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(1), pages 1-1, June.
    10. Shaojie Zhang & Xiannan Yang & Junren Cai, 2022. "Core Content, Experience and Enlightenment of CSR in the J-League," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-15, October.
    11. Shetu Ranjan Biswas & Md. Aftab Uddin & Swadip Bhattacharjee & Mouri Dey & Tarek Rana, 2022. "Ecocentric leadership and voluntary environmental behavior for promoting sustainability strategy: The role of psychological green climate," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1705-1718, May.
    12. Wangsung Myung, 2024. "Conceptualization of ESG Management Values of Professional Sports Clubs: From Consumers’ Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-17, August.
    13. Luiz Diego Vidal Santos & Francisco Sandro Rodrigues Holanda & Catuxe Varjão Santana Oliveira & Alceu Pedrotti & Pedro Vinícius Bertulino Menezes & Ana Paula Schervinski Villwock, 2023. "Purchase intention of Amazon sustainable brands: a hybrid approach of structural equation modeling and Rasch model," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(12), pages 1-29, December.
    14. Ine Hugaerts & Jeroen Scheerder & Kobe Helsen & Joris Corthouts & Erik Thibaut & Thomas Könecke, 2021. "Sustainability in Participatory Sports Events: The Development of a Research Instrument and Empirical Insights," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, May.
    15. Jed J. Cohen & Levan Elbakidze & Randall Jackson, 2020. "Solar Bait: How U.S. States Attract Solar Investments from Large Corporations," The Energy Journal, , vol. 41(2), pages 167-190, March.
    16. Virginia S. Harrison & Michail Vafeiadis & Joseph Bober, 2022. "Greening Professional Sport: How Communicating the Fit, Proximity, and Impact of Sustainability Efforts Affects Fan Perceptions and Supportive Intentions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-21, March.
    17. Mariana Dubravská & Martina Marchevská & Petra Vašaničová & Rastislav Kotulič, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management Linkage: An Empirical Analysis of the Slovak Republic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-18, July.
    18. Schyvinck, Cleo & Willem, Annick, 2018. "A typology of cause-related marketing approaches in European professional basketball," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 347-362.
    19. Rosa M. Muñoz & M. Valle Fernández & Yolanda Salinero, 2020. "Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Performance in the Spanish Wine Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    20. Kinga Banucha & Katarzyna Szopik‐Depczyńska & Giuseppe Ioppolo, 2025. "Game Plan for the Planet: A Systematic Look at Sustainable Development in Sports Organizations," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(6), pages 8479-8498, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:jfr:ijba11:v:15:y:2024:i:4:p:22-38. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Jenny Zhang (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://ijba.sciedupress.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.