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Constructing a social responsibility system for professional sports clubs based on the perspective of China

Author

Listed:
  • Xiannan Yang
  • Hongyu Lu
  • Junren Cai
  • Shaojie Zhang

Abstract

The development of CSR reflects the level and characteristics of professional sports organizations, and the CSR of professional sports clubs varies among different countries and regions. In order to explore the content of the CSR of Chinese professional sports clubs in a more comprehensive and systematic way, this study organizes previous studies on the CSR of clubs in different countries and regions, and analyzes the differences between Chinese professional sports clubs and clubs in Europe, North America, Japan, and other countries and regions. We collected the opinions of 20 experts through semi‐structured interviews and combined them with the “Five in One” overall layout to construct and explain the CSR system of professional sports clubs in China in the new era, filling the gaps in research on this topic. Research suggests that social economic responsibility, social political responsibility, social cultural responsibility, social construction responsibility, and social ecological responsibility constitute the CSR system of professional sports clubs in China. Within a certain range, the larger the scale and stronger the comprehensive strength of a club, the stronger its ability to fulfill its responsibilities, the more targets it fulfills, and the richer its content. The institutional environment and social awareness may account for this difference, and in a government‐led social environment or in the case of nationalized club ownership, the Chinese plan may be more applicable. Our research not only provides theoretical reference for subsequent research on the CSR content of professional sports clubs but also helps guide the CSR practice of clubs of different sizes, thereby promoting the exploration of diversified CSR development patterns of professional sports clubs in the academic community.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiannan Yang & Hongyu Lu & Junren Cai & Shaojie Zhang, 2025. "Constructing a social responsibility system for professional sports clubs based on the perspective of China," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(2), pages 528-540, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:buseth:v:34:y:2025:i:2:p:528-540
    DOI: 10.1111/beer.12664
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hela Sheth & Kathy Babiak, 2010. "Beyond the Game: Perceptions and Practices of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Professional Sport Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(3), pages 433-450, February.
    2. Stephen F. Ross, 2003. "Competition Law as a Constraint on Monopolistic Exploitation by Sports Leagues and Clubs," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 19(4), pages 569-584, Winter.
    3. 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.
    4. David Murillo & Josep Lozano, 2006. "SMEs and CSR: An Approach to CSR in their Own Words," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 227-240, September.
    5. François Aurélien & Emmanuel Bayle & Jean-Pascal Gond, 2018. "A multilevel analysis of implicit and explicit CSR in French and UK professional sport," Post-Print hal-02366607, HAL.
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