Is CSR Important for All Types of Fans?: The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility in Sport

In the past years, corporate social responsibility gained a lot of popularity from researchers and managers around the world. Its influence on consumer behavior has made it an element of strategic importance for the diverse companies that compete on the market. This situation is not different for sport professional teams that are embracing a multitude of forms of socially responsible activities (Irwin et al. 2003). Professional teams leaders have built CSR strategies for both social and commercial purposes (Mintzberg 1984). Although CSR practices have been a growing part of marketing literature, investigation in relation with the sport domain is quite limited and recent. Given this perspective, this research examines the impact of the perceived social responsibility of a specific team on consumers’ responses. In addition, the authors want to demonstrate the moderating effect of the type of groups of fans on the benefits stimulated by a team’s CSR initiatives.