The Influence of Financial Performance on CSR in English League Football Clubs
Abstract
This research seeks to find out if there is a relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance as measured by return on assets, debt equity ratio, and the current ratio. The primary focus of this work is on the 25 English Premier League clubs that were registered with the Charity Commission UK from 2018 to 2021. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the independent (explanatory) variable, while Return on Assets (ROA), Debt Equity Ratio (DER), and Current Ratio (CR) are the dependent variables. Regression multivariate modeling is the technique of choice. DER and ROA are found to positively influence CSR, while CR is found to have no impact. The report asserts that stronger clubs have higher financial social responsibility expenditures than weaker clubs. This research contributes new content on the subject of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the field of sports with particular emphasis on football and provides important guidance to club managers on how to combine finance and CSR strategies.
References
Abbas, N. H. (2023). The impact sporting and financial performance of football clubs on their stock price: An analytical study of European clubs sample listed in the financial market. Review of Behavioral Finance, 15(3), 340–354. https://doi.org/10.1108/rbf-11-2021-0242
Acero, I., Serrano, R., & Dimitropoulos, P. (2017). Ownership structure and financial performance in European football. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, 17(3), 511–523. https://doi.org/10.1108/cg-07-2016-0146
Alaminos, D., Esteban, I., & Fernández-Gámez, M. A. (2020). Financial Performance Analysis in European Football Clubs. Entropy, 22(9), 1056. https://doi.org/10.3390/e22091056
Anagnostopoulos, C., Byers, T., & Kolyperas, D. (2017). Understanding strategic decision-making through a multi-paradigm perspective: The case of charitable foundations in English football. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, 7(1), 2–20. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBM-02-2016-0005
Bachmaier, B., Lammert, J., Plumley, D., Wilson, R., & Hovemann, G. (2018). Regulatory intensity in English and German professional football: A comparative analysis of national requirements for ensuring financial stability. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, 8(3), 276–297. https://doi.org/10.1108/sbm-02-2017-0012
Carroll, J. (2018). Watch: Liverpool Squad Spread Festive Cheer at Alder Hey. https://www.
liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/330235-video-alder-hey-visit
Chadwick, S., Burton, N., Widdop, P., & Bond, A. J. (2023). Networks, strategy and sport: The case of City Football Group. Journal of Strategy and Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/jsma-01-2022-0015
Dumortier, J. (2022). Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 on Electronic Identification and Trust Services for Electronic Transactions in the Internal Market (EIDAS Regulation). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800372092.00015
ECA. (2016). CSR in European Club Football 2016.
Freestone, C. J., & Manoli, A. E. (2017). Financial fair play and competitive balance in the Premier League. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, 7(2), 175–196. https://doi.org/10.1108/sbm-10-2016-0058
Hamil, S., & Morrow, S. (2011). Corporate Social Responsibility in the Scottish Premier League: Context and Motivation. European Sport Management Quarterly, 11(2), 143–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2011.559136
Handayani, S., Suhardjanto, D., Muhtar, E., & Honggowati, S. (2023). Analysis of Current Ratio, Debt Ratio, Net Profit Margin, and Total Asset Turnover Change in Income (Study of Multinational Companies Listed on the IDX for the 2020-2022 Period). Ilomata International Journal of Tax and Accounting, 4(4), 863–877. https://doi.org/10.52728/ijtc.v4i4.900
Holzmayer, F., & Schmidt, S. L. (2020). Financial performance and corporate diversification strategies in professional football – evidence from the English Premier League. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, 10(3), 291–315. https://doi.org/10.1108/sbm-03-2019-0019
Hyndman, N., & Liguori, M. (2024). ‘Be a game changer and keep the ball rolling’: Exploring linkages between football clubs, charitable foundations and doing good. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 37(2), 502–529. https://doi.org/10.1108/aaaj-06-2022-5876
Ika, S. R., Udin, K., Nugroho, J. P., & Koenti, I. J. (2020). Assessing the Financial Performance of English Football Clubs: Arsenal and Manchester City. Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research. The 3rd International Conference on Banking, Accounting, Management and Economics (ICOBAME 2020), Semarang, Indonesia. https://doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.210311.012
Karim, S., Abdul Manab, N., & Ismail, R. (2020). The Interaction Effect of Independent Boards on Corporate Governance-Corporate Social Responsibility (CG-CSR) and Performance Nexus. Asian Academy of Management Journal, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.21315/aamj2020.25.1.4
Kevser, M., & Doğan, M. (2022). Comparative Analysis of The Financial Performance of 5 Major Football Clubs In UEFA Ranking. Muhasebe Bilim Dünyası Dergisi, 24(2), 436–460. https://doi.org/10.31460/mbdd.984685
Kolyperas, D., & Sparks, L. (2011). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) communications in the G-25 football clubs. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 10(1/2), 83. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijsmm.2011.043612
Lewis, I., Siagian, H. L., & Siagian, V. (2024). Kinerja Keuangan Klub Sepakbola Manchester United Saat Pandemi dan Pasca Pandemi Covid-19. Jurnal Terapan Ilmu Manajemen dan Bisnis, 7(1), 38–57.
Liu, Y., Saleem, S., Shabbir, R., Shabbir, M. S., Irshad, A., & Khan, S. (2021). The relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance: A moderate role of fintech technology. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(16), 20174–20187. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11822-9
Malik, M. (2015). Value-Enhancing Capabilities of CSR: A Brief Review of Contemporary Literature. Journal of Business Ethics, 127(2), 419–438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2051-9
Miragaia, D., Ferreira, J., Carvalho, A., & Ratten, V. (2019). Interactions between financial efficiency and sports performance: Data for a sustainable entrepreneurial approach of European professional football clubs. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, 8(1), 84–102. https://doi.org/10.1108/jepp-d-18-00060
Morrow, S. (2015). Power and logics in Scottish football: The financial collapse of Rangers FC. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, 5(4), 325–343. https://doi.org/10.1108/sbm-08-2012-0029
Nurcan, E., & Erdo, M. (2016). Evaluation of Financial Performance of Football Clubs: An Application in the BIST. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 5(12).
Panda, B., & Leepsa, N. M. (2017). Agency theory: Review of Theory and Evidence on Problems and Perspectives. Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, 10(1), 74–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/0974686217701467
Pawłowski. (2020). Financial condition of football clubs in the Polish Ekstraklasa. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 2020(5). https://doi.org/10.7752/jpes.2020.s5385
Plumley, D., Serbera, J.-P., & Wilson, R. (2021). Too big to fail? Accounting for predictions of financial distress in English professional football clubs. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 22(1), 93–113. https://doi.org/10.1108/jaar-05-2020-0095
Premier League. (2019). Premier League Handbook 2018/2019. https://premierleague-static-files.s3.amazonaws.com/premierleague/document/2018/09/19/ef4c62c9-6b19-4189-a064-d212cbf68ce7/PL_Handbook_2018-19_Digital.pdf
Ribeiro, J., Branco, M. C., & Ribeiro, J. A. (2019). The corporatisation of football and CSR reporting by professional football clubs in Europe. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 20(2), 242–257. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijsms-05-2017-0039
Ruta, D., Lorenzon, L., & Sironi, E. (2019). The relationship between governance structure and football club performance in Italy and England. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, 10(1), 17–37. https://doi.org/10.1108/sbm-10-2018-0081
Scafarto, V., & Dimitropoulos, P. (2018). Human capital and financial performance in professional football: The role of governance mechanisms. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, 18(2), 289–316. https://doi.org/10.1108/cg-05-2017-0096
Su, W., Peng, M. W., Tan, W., & Cheung, Y.-L. (2016). The Signaling Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Economies. Journal of Business Ethics, 134(3), 479–491. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2404-4
Szortyka, K. (2020). Football Club as a Network Enterprise from The Perspective of The New Institutional Economics. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 2020(5). https://doi.org/10.7752/jpes.2020.s5401
Xiao, G., Yi, Q., & Zhou, J. (2020). How Individuals’ Characteristics Influence Their Wellbeing through Physical Activity and Sport: Motivated by the Signaling Theory. Symmetry, 12(5), 854. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12050854
Copyright (c) 2025 Adhityawati Kusumawardhani, Christian Hadinata, Nony Kezia Marchyta
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
