1. An Examination of Sport for
Development Stakeholder Relationships:
A Preliminary Analysis of Carroll’s Four
Categories of Social Responsibility
By: Abbi Hill MA Candidate
Cheri Bradish & Lucie Thibault
Brock University
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 1

2. Introduction
“I think that people are generally good people,
and I think specifically athletes are amazing
people. I think that most people have to grind it
out and work hard to achieve their sport success
and therefore are going to be more successful in
their personal life, and they’ll never forget what
sport did for them.”
- NSO Stakeholder of the Small SFD Organization
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 2

3. Introduction
• Defining Sport for Development (SFD)
• Current athlete involvement with SFD
organizations
– Johann Olav Koss
– Clara Hughes
• Small vs. Large
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 3

4. Literature
• Carroll’s (1979) Four Categories of
Social Responsibility
• Funding and resources for
SFD organizations (Coalter, 2010;
Darnell, 2007; Kidd, 2008; Levermore,
2008)
• Stakeholder theory (Donaldson &
Preston, 1995; Freeman et al., 2010;
Friedman & Miles, 2002)
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 4

5. Defining Stakeholder
• Individuals and/or groups that can affect a
business’ actions or be affected by the
business’ actions and achievements (Freeman
et al. 2010; Roberts, 1992)
• A person or organization that has a vested
interest in another organization.
– Can be personal and/or professional
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 5

6. Major Stakeholder Groups
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 6

7. Athletes as Stakeholders
• Individual athletes
• Sport teams
• Sport communities
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 7

8. Carroll’s (1979) Four Categories of SR
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 8

9. Modified Version of Carroll’s Four
Categories of SR
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 9

10. Motives of Athlete Stakeholders
• Economic
• Brand Awareness
• Ethical
• Engagement
• Discretionary
*Legal was not identified
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 10

11. Economic:
Fundraising Tool
“I’ve tried to be in line all the time with the idea of any fundraiser
I do will be geared to sport…it’s all stuff kids can do. So I have
tried to maintain my integrity and philosophy even with the
fundraisers I do.”
– Individual Donor of Large SFD Organization
“Like our annual rugby tournament, it’s become kind of like a
fixture in the rugby season a little here in Ontario, there’s a
weekend in August when there’s no rugby on the weekend and
that’s when our tournament is.”
– Founder of Small SFD Organization
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 11

12. Brand Awareness:
Identity & Exposure
“The men’s national team wearing our laces at the World Cup in
2010 was like a huge thing, you know, it brought us a lot of
attention and those guys speaking out about [Small SFD
Organization] got a lot of people interested in what we do and
potentially getting more involved so that was a good in.”
– Founder of Small SFD Organization
“I think all of the athletes who have been identified to represent
them, be ambassadors, I felt we were really committed to that. I
still wear my [Large SFD Organization] t-shirts and sweaters, and
I still feel like when they contact me I want to be in that athlete
role.”
- Athlete Ambassador of Large SFD Organization
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 12

13. Ethical:
Impact of Sport in Their Lives
“I’ve kind of been there and done that. And yet I have such
tremendous admiration for what I know [sport] has done to
impact the lives of the people who are on that board, or who
volunteer to go to Uganda and do the work.”
“I think fundamentally what sports meant to me in my life and
what I think it does in all those areas, is that you need to be
disciplined, be able to work independently, also as part of a team,
and it takes a tremendous balance and work ethic...I just think it’s
an amazing tool, and I don’t know that there’s too many other
things that do that.”
- NSO Stakeholder of Small SFD Organization
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 13

14. Engagement:
Athletes & Community
“We are reaching out to a lot of [sport] teams and clubs
across Canada. Yah, like the sports culture in general has a
kind of community feel so I think that helps us as well.”
– Employee of Small SFD Organization
“The [sport] community here in Canada is very close and
very tight. So [NSO Stakeholder], once they were on
board, they were extremely supportive but they can’t
support us financially, they can support us through
resources and access to other people.”
- Founder of Small SFD Organization
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 14

15. Discretionary:
Levels of Involvement
“I think there’s different athletes who are involved, and some get
involved in more ways than others, and different ways; some are
involved with fundraising, some are involved with outreach,
some are involved with strategic planning or research, so I think
they do a nice job integrating the athletes into the organization.”
– Athlete Ambassador of Large SFD Organization
“And one of the first stories [National Team Athletes] wanted to
tell and one of the things you could tell was so sincere, they said
it really opened up their eyes about how important it is as an
athlete, as a member of a national team, as someone who is in the
public eye like that, to give back.”
- NSO Stakeholder of Small SFD Organization
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 15

16. Implications & Conclusions
• Athletes contribute to SFD organizations in
multiple ways
• Capacity of athletes to lead in international
development initiatives
– Leadership vs. Supportive Role
– Sport status of the athletes
• Small vs. Large SFD Organizations
– Levels of commitment
– Long-term vs. Short-term
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 16

17. Questions?
For further information or questions please email:
Abbi Hill or Cheri Bradish
ah07ok@brocku.ca or cbradish@brocku.ca
March 29th, 2013 Hill, 2013 17