Tim Breitbarth – EASM: CSR communication
Tim Breitbarth received his PhD from the University of Otago and in the past decade held positions as professional marketing director, principal academic at Bournemouth University, and visiting professor at the University of Cologne, for example. Strategic marketing and management, media and communications, CSR, and sport business are central to his research, publications and consultancy. Amongst other, he is a co‐founder of the German CSR Communication Congress series; scientific chair of the European Association for Sport Management; and has been a tutor in the professional development certificate course ‘CSR management in sport’ co-run by the DFL Foundation and the Nuremberg Chamber of Commerce.
An opportunity-driven approach to CSR in the sport context aims to maximise commercial opportunities and to leverage a sport organisation’s societal position. Views on CSR have moved from direct financial benefits derived from such activities towards reputational impact, stakeholder relationships and communication. Generally, CSR communication is crucial in order to develop internal and external “RESPONS(E)-ibility” and to achieve desirable outcomes.
First, the session focuses on differentiating between distinct CSR communication domains relating to processes (e.g. internal related to CSR implementation); disclosure/accountability (e.g. reporting towards interested expert stakeholders); and consequences/impacts (directly related to products/services and relevant for e.g. consumers/fans).
Second, social media is presented as a strategic listening tool. Insights and managerial implications are provided from the ongoing project “#SocialResponsibility in #Football: Mapping perceptions and expectations through social media conversations across Europe”, initially developed for the UEFA Research Grant Programme 2016/17.
