ABSTRACT
In the last decade, questions have arisen about social inequalities, domestic violence, or natural disasters that devastate communities. From the complexity that results, together with the rapid development of globalization, the concept of Social Responsibility has emerged. Social responsibility itself is a very controversial concept and difficult to understand, as there is no stagnant definition. In this research, we will try to verify this and, in some way, to understand the role of marketing in the management of the resulting changes. In this sense, the research problem of the present study was developed: to understand how the solidarity campaigns carried out by Sporting Clube de Braga influence the perception of the supporters about the sports organization. In this way, the following objectives were elaborated: to perceive in what sense corporate social responsibility acts in sports marketing; to study the opinion of the consumers of sporting events on the practices of social responsibility of SC Braga, with respect to the perception of how much they should or should not support institutions or causes of social solidarity; to know better the opinion of individuals about the social responsibilities associated with the sports organization, in order to know if it is more favorable to the support of social causes and to see if the supporters are more likely to buy products of the sporting organization when they support institutions or causes of social solidarity. Regarding the selected methodology, this was based on individual and semi-structured interviews; nine interviews were conducted with supporters of SC Braga and a professional of the sports organization was interviewed. The results obtained led to the conclusion that, in fact, supporters are influenced by the club’s connection to causes and social institutions and that this improves the way they evaluate the club. They consider it important that there is such an association, and this gives rise to very positive feelings that, in time, allow for a stronger and more lasting connection with the club, since they are aware that there are concerns on the part of the club that go beyond what takes place within the sports organization. The present study can be a contribution to the area of study of corporate social responsibility, since there is not much updated information on the subject and what the reality of the same in organizations in Portugal is. Finally, some limitations and suggestions for future research are presented.
