Organisational factors for corporate social responsibility implementation in sport federations: a qualitative comparative analysis

Research question: Understanding corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation requires identifying factors that contribute to the ability of a sport organisation to develop CSR. This paper examines the complex combination of organisational factors associated with CSR implementation in a sport federation (SF) setting. Thus, this study identifies organisational factors of professionalisation for CSR implementation and different configurations associated with CSR implementation. Research methods: The study adopted a comparative approach combining a survey, interviews, and organisational documents in a sample of 19 Belgian SFs. A crisp-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (csQCA) was carried out to identify the combination of organisational factors associated with CSR implementation. Results and Findings: This study identifies four configurations associated with high CSR implementation and three configurations with low CSR implementation. Innovation capacity is a necessary organisational factor for CSR implementation that should be combined with financial autonomy, knowledge and human resources. The study reveals that organisational size is not a key condition associated with CSR implementation. The latter does not necessarily require a significant number of professional staff as long as the organisation is innovative and financially autonomous.