A network perspective on cause-related marketing collaborations in professional sport

Although professional sport teams increasingly engage in cause-related marketing (CRM), implementation often remains ad-hoc and superficial. CRM managers fall short of establishing the needed inter-organizational collaborations to attain mutually beneficial outcomes for the organization and society at large. Little is known about the structures and underlying mechanisms behind these CRM collaborations. Network theory and the associated social network analysis was utilized to unravel and compare network structures and governance of two Belgian professional soccer teams with different CRM strategies (i.e., altruistic and integrative). Findings showed a smaller, more fragmented, and centralized network in the altruistic compared to the integrative CRM type. The community department dominated the flow in the altruistic network (i.e., lead organization-governed), while coordination was shared amongst stakeholders in the integrative network (i.e., shared participant-governed). Findings also indicated that both networks could be optimized to better resonate with the CRM strategy envisioned. This study goes beyond a dyadic view on partnerships and contributes to the CRM literature by revealing stakeholder structures surrounding the focal organization. Practically, it helps managers to develop, manage, and sustain partnerships that are supportive of their respective CRM strategies, resulting in more effective CRM approaches and lasting economic and societal impact.