The role of brokerage in green partnership formation in professional sport

Although scholars have argued for the importance of interorganizational collaboration in advancing environmental sustainability, there is a lack of research on green partnership formation in sport. With a social network theory lens, this study examined how brokers (or intermediaries) facilitate partnerships around environmental sustainability in professional sport. We used a qualitative, case study approach, centered on the Green Sports Alliance, an environmentally-focused trade organization in the U.S. Data came from 30 interviews conducted in 2022–2023 with representatives of the Green Sports Alliance and members, including professional sport organizations (i.e. teams, leagues, and venues) and partners (e.g. corporate vendors, government agencies, and nonprofits), as well as documents and observations. Our thematic analysis revealed three key themes about how a broker fosters green partnerships in sport: convening, referring, and knowledge sharing. These activities, aligned with conduit and tertius iungens brokerage, enabled sport organizations to meet, identify, access, and vet potential partners; motivated and inspired partnerships; and offered approaches to, and support around, collaboration. This study contributes to the literature on environmental sustainability and interorganizational relationships in sport by shedding light on how certain organizations acting as brokers in the network can facilitate connections between sport organizations and those offering expertise and resources to further green initiatives.