Resources

Freely Available

Feeling Good about Giving: The Benefits (and Costs) of Self-Interested Charitable Behavior

http://ow.ly/oOBR
Published: September 10, 2009;  Paper Released: August 2009
Authors:  Lalin Anik, Lara B. Aknin, Michael I. Norton, and Elizabeth W. Dunn

To Buy


“Making the Most of What We Have: Corporate Giving in the New Economy,”
is available for $19.95 at www.lbgresearch.org/8.php, or by calling 203-240-5766.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Sports Sponsorship: How sport helps business fulfill CSR obligations. March 2009. 73 pages.  http://imrpublications.com/dwagu_includes/csr-report.php

Report Summary:

Corporate Social Responsibility and Sports Sponsorship
Businesses today are expected to look beyond their bottom line and most companies
accept that they have a social responsibility to the health and the well-being of the
communities and societies in which they operate. The term corporate social
responsibility (CSR) relates to this ethical and legal behaviour by companies in the
workplace and in the wider community. Typically such programmes include how
products are sourced, manufactured, promoted and distributed.

A strong CSR strategy can counter negative perceptions, enhance reputation and
also prove profitable for a company over the long term.

For years businesses have spent their CSR budgets mainly on supporting
environmental, social, arts and culture-based causes, but increasingly sport is being
seen as a way to meet social and community obligations.

Sport is an effective CSR medium because it boasts values that any socially responsible
business should be striving for. These include fair play to everyone
involved, including employees and suppliers, transparency and opportunities for
everyone to succeed, as well as good community relations. Sport is also a good way
in which to reach all sections of the community at either local or global level.

Rights owners are now viewing the corporate-world’s added focus on CSR as a
possible route to additional funding at a time when traditional sports marketing
budgets are under pressure because of the economic downturn.
But all businesses, including rights owners, must ensure that their CSR sports
programmes are seen as strategic, relevant to their core activity and are run with
integrity. CSR is about involving all stakeholders and identifying how the organisation
can make improvements.

A major challenge for sponsors linking CSR to sport is research and measurement.
This is a relatively new area and organisations are struggling to budget effectively
and remain unsure about how best to assess their return on investment.

Investing in CSR is a business decision like any other, and the objective must be to
see a return from any activity. This might be in terms of improved brand image,
employee communication or the development of third party relationships. Those
benefits tend to come to organisations that think and act strategically and commit
fully to their programmes.

Journal of Sport and Social Issues (The Official Journal of Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society).  http://www.sagepub.com/journalsProdDesc.nav?prodId=Journal200897

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*