Title: CSR communication in the outdoor sports industry: a content analysis of CSR disclosures by seven international corporate brands

Authors: Aurélien François; Benjamin Harant; Natacha Heutte

Addresses: Laboratoire Cetaps (EA 3832), University of Rouen, Boulevard Siegfried, 76821 Mont Saint Aignan, France ' Kedge Business School, Domaine de Luminy, 13009 Marseille, France ' Laboratoire Cetaps (EA 3832), University of Rouen, Boulevard Siegfried, 76821 Mont Saint Aignan, France

Abstract: This article investigates how CSR and sustainability are communicated in the outdoor sports industry by seven brands (Rip Curl, Millet, Burton, Vans, Salomon, Patagonia, Decathlon). The data were collected from company's official website and annual CSR/sustainability reports. Content analysis was performed to categorise these data into the seven CSR categories of the ISO 26000 standard by counting the number of times a category was referred to. At the sample level, our findings show the prevalence of environmental issues on the other categories. At the brand level, results are more contrasted in three cases where the environment is not significantly the most communicated category. From a practical perspective, this article offers insight into CSR communication as a new line of research by providing new perspectives on the under-studied outdoor sports industry. It also encourages practitioners to reflect on how well align their CSR communication with their practices.

Keywords: CSR communication; ISO 26000 standard; strategy; outdoor sports industry; international outdoor brands.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2021.120184

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2021 Vol.21 No.5/6, pp.313 - 335

Accepted: 23 Jul 2021
Published online: 10 Jan 2022 *

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