Core Content, Experience and Enlightenment of CSR in the J-League

Abstract

In comparison with European and American countries, the CSR of professional sports in Asian countries is affected by many factors due to differences in management system, social environment, etc. At present, the research on CSR of professional sports in Asian countries is very limited, and the practice form of CSR under this special management system has great research space and value. For booming professional sports of China, neighboring Japanese professional sports system is similar to it, and has a more advanced level of professional sports CSR development, which is worthy of further learning and reference for Chinese Super League clubs. Therefore, this study combs the historical background, core content and governance experience of CSR of J League in Japan, and puts forward valuable enlightenment for Chinese Super League clubs. The results show that the CSR of J League in Japan has distinctive characteristics and times, and the Chinese Super League clubs need to combine their own development stages, Chinese national conditions and other factors for reference.

1. Introduction

With economic globalization, as a personalized organization, enterprises have the ability and responsibility to respond positively to the social environment in which they are located. This is the proper way for enterprises to realize sustainable development to actively undertake CSR [1]. In fact, CSR has become an important part of the development strategy of modern enterprises. It is reflected in all aspects of enterprise operation in formal or informal forms [2]. Moreover, due to the wide range of CSR, all kinds of corporate operations can be seen as measures to fulfill social responsibility [3]. Due to the important role and influence of sports in society, sports itself can be considered a governance model. CSR governance and sports enterprises are often closely integrated [4]. As an important commercial carrier for the development of competitive sports, the sports industry and mass sports, professional sports clubs need to actively carry out CSR governance to realize their diversified values in economy, culture and education. In recent years, Japanese J-League has developed rapidly, and League clubs have achieved good results in the CSR government, which has not only helped Japanese football become one of the most popular in Asia, but has also promoted the development of Japanese sports [5]. Professional football reform in China is similar to that in Japan, and the development mode is closely related. However, there is a large gap in the level of CSR governance of professional football clubs, and professional sports organizations only have a very low participation in social governance. This research summarizes the background, core content and experience of the CSR of J-League clubs and, based on the reality of China, puts forward useful perspectives on enlightenment for the CSR of Chinese Super League clubs, which not only helps to promote the improvement of the social responsibility governance level of China’s Super League clubs, but also provides a path of reference for Chinese professional sports organizations to participate in social governance. Therefore, we propose the following assumptions:

• The development of CSR of J league clubs in Japan comes from the dual promotion of domestic and foreign, and the development of sports plays an important role in this process;
• The J League club of Japan performs its CSR in a multi-dimensional way, and its specific content reflects the local characteristics and era characteristics of Japan;
• From the perspective of governance, the Japanese J League club has at least two experiences in governance structure and governance system that are worth learning;
• Although China and Japan almost started the reform of professional sports at the same time, due to the lagging development of Chinese professional sports, it may need to implement some more basic programs in the process of learning from experience of Japan.

2. Literature Review

In the past 50 years, CSR has triggered many discussions among scholars in theory and practice [6,7,8], which has mainly included the research on the content of CSR, the relationship between CSR performance and corporate performance, and the different practices of various types of CSR. In the discussion of the content of CSR, Carroll [9] believes that the social expectations of enterprises in terms of law, economy, ethics and charity are social responsibilities; on this basis, a CSR pyramid model is proposed [10]. Some scholars have explored the diversity of CSR content according to differences in time, social background and enterprise type [11]. In discussing the impact of CSR behavior on corporate performance, relevant research shows that the social contribution generated by CSR behavior increases the total assets of enterprises by improving the robustness of enterprises [12,13,14]. At the same time, some scholars believe that the impact of CSR on performance in less developed countries may show a “U” shape [15]. Long-term CSR behavior can increase the social embeddedness of enterprises and win the trust of consumers by improving goodwill and promoting the sustainable development of enterprises and society [16,17,18]. In summary, the relevant research carried out by scholars in the field of CSR has laid a foundation for the exploration of different types of organizational CSR.

Over the past decade, the concept of CSR has gradually spread to the sports field and has made considerable progress [19,20,21]. Professional sports leagues, clubs and other sports enterprises have gained a large number of fan groups through the production of event service products, the creation of star teams and athletes [22], and constantly expanding their influence in society [23,24]. However, due to the imperfect operation mechanism and lax management of athletes, sports enterprises have also been exposed to negative events, such as game manipulation and athletes violating laws and discipline, which have seriously damaged the public image of sports enterprises [25], for example, with the infamous “Auburn mountain palace incident” of the NBA. Under the double pressure of social expectations and trust crises caused by negative events, the CSR practices of sports enterprises have been fully carried out, and the government system of CSR has gradually improved. At present, scholars’ research on the CSR of professional sports organizations has mainly focused on the aspects of characteristics, contents and evaluation systems. The characteristics of professional sports organizations determine that they have multiple stakeholders and natural cultural transmission functions [26,27]. Specifically, Smith and others [28] believe that sports enterprises, such as professional clubs, have a positive impact on social culture, the environment, education and health issues through the donation of materials, marketing, sports sponsorship and voluntary services, and their CSR is highly efficient and diverse. For the content of the CSR of professional sports organizations, representatives such as Babiak and others [29] based on stakeholder theory the six dimensions of CSR for professional sports clubs, including labor relations, public welfare, racial integration and equality, community relations, environmental protection and management, and corporate governance. At the same time, some authors have explored the content of CSR according to the type and scale of professional sports organizations. In terms of evaluation systems, TIM and others [30] assigned the goals, evaluation indicators and completion status of the five dimensions of CSR of professional sports clubs and then realized the evaluation of the CSR activities of clubs in the form of scorecard scoring. Jung and others [31], through the design of a fan evaluation scale, evaluated the CSR of professional sports clubs. Irwin and others [32], through the empirical research method, evaluated the actual effect of the “get fit” fitness program for primary school students of the NBA Grizzlies. It is believed that the implementation of this program improves the eating habits of primary school students, enriches nutrition knowledge, and has a positive effect on alleviating obesity.

Existing research has played an important role in promoting the development of CSR theory and the practice of various professional sports organizations. However, generally speaking, most of the studies have been carried out for professional sports organizations in developed countries and regions, such as Europe and America, and there are few studies on professional sports CSR in Asian countries. Compared with European and American countries, for countries in Asia, the government and other subjects have played a very important role in promoting the reform of professional sports, making professional sports clubs subject to many factors when making decisions on social responsibility [33]. Even though, there are few studies involved, not to mention the relevant discussions on their social responsibility. CSR under this special management system has great research value, which fully demonstrates the necessity of this study. From the perspective of theory or practice, for the booming professional sports industry in China, Japan almost started the reform of professional sports at the same time and has a more advanced level of professional sports CSR development, which is worthy of further learning and reference by Chinese Super League clubs.

3. Method

This paper adopts the methods of literature, case analysis and expert interviews. This research takes “Japan J League club”, “Sports Social Responsibility”, “club Social Responsibility”, “Chinese Super League club” and other key words to collect, sort out and sort out relevant text materials in Chinese, English and Japanese databases, including government documents, newspapers, online information, books and publications, official website information, etc., providing necessary supporting materials for this research. For example, on the official website of “Yokohama F Marinos club”, we learned about its practice in revitalizing the development of its own location from the “Hometown Activities” section, and collected information related to social responsibility, social activities, etc.

Using the method of case study, this paper analyzes some notable cases of corporate social responsibility successfully carried out by J League clubs in Japan, including several clubs that are relatively ahead in the overall strength ranking of J League, such as FC Tokyo football club, Urawa Red Diamonds football club, Nagoya football club, etc. These clubs have carried out good social responsibility governance practices from multiple dimensions such as community development, education, environmental protection, etc. Their experience in the content and form of responsibility is worth learning. At the same time, we also analyzed the relevant cases of CSL football clubs’ social responsibility, objectively understood the actual situation of CSL football clubs’ social responsibility development from various kinds of cases, and provided supporting materials for the proposal of this research point of view.

In the process of using the expert interview method, semi-structured interviews were conducted with more than ten academic and industry experts in the field of Chinese professional football clubs, including experts from Chinese universities, directors of football associations, government officials of sports bureaus and club shareholders, to fully understand the development status of CSR of Chinese Super League clubs. It is mainly aimed at exploring “the similarities and differences between Chinese professional sports and Japanese professional sports”, “the internal management structure of Chinese professional sports clubs”, “the system supply of Chinese professional sports clubs” and other issues. It should be noted that before 2020, most of our interviews were conducted face-to-face. Since the beginning of 2020, due to the impact of the Corona Virus Disease 2019, we have added the form of telephone interviews to ensure the smooth progress of the research.

4. The Background of the CSR in J-League Clubs

4.1. The Widespread Use of the CSR in Japan

The embodiment of the concept of CSR in Japanese enterprises can be traced back to the “family motto” of family enterprises in the Edo period of Japan [34]. As employment methods, such as the “lifelong employment system” and “annual merit sequence system” were widely adopted, early Japanese enterprises paid more attention to meeting the rights and interests of internal stakeholders in production and operation, while ignoring the responsibilities of external stakeholders [35]. In 1953, Howard R. Bowen put forward, for the first time in his book CSR of businessmen: “enterprises should not only seek economic benefits but also bear corresponding social responsibilities”. This concept of CSR was widely recognized by academia and industry and quickly introduced to Japan. In 1956, the Japanese Economic Association officially announced the resolution of the operators’ awareness and practice of CSR, pointing out a series of ecological and social crises caused by the rapid development of Japanese enterprises. At that time, Japanese society had a heated discussion on CSR, laying a foundation for the dissemination of the concept of CSR. In the 1970s, the rise of land and oil prices in Japan triggered domestic inflation, which led to a national economic recession and social anti-business voices. To alleviate social contradictions and encourage enterprises to fulfill their social responsibilities, the Japanese government has clearly stipulated the principles, evaluation criteria and specific indicators of CSR through the publication of the Charter of action, the evaluation criteria of CSR contribution and the comprehensive CSR indicators [36]. At the beginning of the 21st century, there were frequent scandals in Japanese enterprises, such as rent-seeking behavior of enterprises, food poisoning endangering 14,000 people’s health, and manufacturers selling substandard food. These events triggered a crisis of trust in enterprises, forcing the Japanese government to make clear requirements for enterprises to participate in CSR. In response, many enterprises have set up CSR management departments, and various Japanese enterprise management associations have also put forward a more systematic CSR content system and evaluation indicators, effectively promoting the practice of CSR in Japan.

4.2. The Revitalization of Japanese Professional Football

In the 1950s, Japanese enterprises began to set up football teams to improve the popularity of the enterprises and enhance the recognition of employees through broadcasting the football events led by the enterprises on TV to increase sports consumption among the public. With fierce market competition of rugby, baseball, sumo and other sports, Japanese professional football relies on the support framework of enterprise teams to survive. In 1968, the Japanese national football team won a bronze medal in the Mexican Olympic Games, which led to the rapid growth of the Japanese football population. However, due to the low level of cognition and the imperfect system, Japanese professional football not only failed to achieve improvement in this period, but also faced new development problems. On the one hand, Japanese professional football started relatively late and was seriously suppressed by the first professional Korean football teams in terms of competitive level; on the other hand, due to the limitations of the enterprise team management mode, the operation and management of professional football clubs was limited, and the training of football players was not professional. The development of Japanese professional football was subject to multiple restrictions. Therefore, in 1988, the action committee of the Japanese Football League held a special meeting to discuss these three issues: (1) the gap between domestic players and foreign players in terms of salary and social status; (2) the declining number of football spectators; and, (3) the competitive level of Japanese football has seriously declined [37]. To solve the above problems, Japan has continuously sent officials to Europe, America and other developed countries for investigation. Japanese professional football has begun to transform from enterprise run teams to self-run teams. Professional football clubs are separated from their original parent companies and have formal legal person status. This series of reform measures promoted the formation of the market mechanism of the Japanese Football League, influenced the club obtaining great autonomy in management, and increased rapidly the commercial value of players. With the holding of the first professional football match in Japan in 1993, the status of football in Japanese sports culture has greatly improved. In the late 1990s, J-League clubs were also negatively affected by the economic depression of Japan and poor performance of the national team, but thanks to the successful application of the Japanese Football Association for the “World Cup” and the promulgation of the basic plan for sports revitalization, Japanese professional football has ushered in an unprecedented development opportunity. The gradual expansion of the development scale prompted the J-League club to participate in CSR to realize its important responsibilities in improving the level of Japanese football competition, meeting national sports needs and revitalizing the Japanese national spirit.

5. The Core Content of CSR in J-League Clubs

5.1. Community Development

League J stipulates in its club access conditions that each club must select a stable club home and must actively participate in and organize local sports activities in the community. This means the community is the center of the development of many clubs, and the development of clubs is based on the mutual benefit and trust of residents. Ruolin Shimin, press officer of FC Tokyo football club, once introduced his club’s construction concept: to establish a cooperation mechanism between the club and local communities, governments and enterprises in a modern way and to build a top-level league team loved by Tokyo citizens [38]. While professional football clubs continue to promote the responsibility for community development, local governments, football associations and shareholders of professional football clubs in Japan have raised funds to support the operation and development of local community football, campus football and other amateur football clubs. In the process of interaction, clubs and communities have formed an embedded development model [39]. The social responsibility and sense of belonging of players has greatly improved. When they participate in professional competitions, they represent not only their own clubs and teams but also the local community image. The guidance which is a result of this kind of thinking effectively controls the irresponsible behavior of the players, such as playing with fake balls during matches [40].

5.2. Flourishing Culture

At the beginning of the revitalization of Japanese professional football, J-League clubs learned from others in Japanese national culture to internalize and innovate European advanced football culture, including football venues, football products and other implements, and the system culture of system construction, operation and management [41]. At the same time, in the process of development, football clubs actively inherited and improved upon the national spirit of Japan, realizing the organic integration and vitality of foreign football culture with Japanese national culture. However, relying on only one-way cultural input is bound to make the national culture fall into a “narcissistic” situation. The external cultural output of Japanese football clubs is an important way to promote their football culture to achieve integration in the world. In this regard, all clubs give full play to their autonomy and actively use social resources to carry out relevant activities at home and abroad. This not only promoted the exchange and integration of football culture between clubs, but it also expanded the overseas influence of Japanese football culture. For example, Urawa Red Diamonds club has held football culture publicity lectures and other activities in Asia through cooperation with government, enterprises, social institutions and nongovernmental organizations [42]. This practice not only expanded the social influence of the club but also effectively spread the Japanese national culture.

5.3. Education

J-League clubs perform educational responsibilities, which mainly include football education and moral/ideological education. In terms of football education, before 1993, all youth football activities in Japan were carried out in schools, which made it difficult for children and teenagers outside of school to participate in football, and it was thus difficult for football to be widely popularized in Japanese society. However, after the first season of the J-League, all clubs have set up youth training institutions to provide local communities with sports education based on football. The FC Tokyo club has set up 11 youth football training bases in Tokyo to provide free guidance services, publicize the monthly training plan to the public, and organize coaches and staff to serve their communities free of charge to improve the popularity of football. At the same time, the clubs not only realized the connection and training of football players of different ages but also strengthened the communication of youth football competitions among regions through horizontal interaction among clubs. In terms of moral education, the clubs of League J use football to integrate the education and cultivation of excellent ideological quality among teenagers into t daily football training and competition. For example, by sharing their experiences of becoming professional players, the players of Nagoya club encouraged teenagers to establish a strong fighting spirit and a correct concept of sports.

5.4. Environmental Protection

The development of sports activities is based on the ecological environment [43], which means that sports and the environment are closely linked. Sports organizations have a responsibility to protect the environment [44]. J-League clubs practice their environmental protection responsibilities in two ways. The first is through the green operation of venues. By participating in Kyoto City’s “do you Kyoto” carbon credit plan, Kyoto Sanga FC club optimized its daily operation and increased the carbon offset of its football venues from 31.1 tons in the 2012 season to 77.1 tons in the 2019 season, effectively reducing the negative impact of venue operation on the environment by saving competitive power, encouraging employees to travel green and reducing waste incineration. Second, environmental protection-themed activities should be held. From a practical point of view, due to the shortage of funds and technical constraints, professional sports organizations are slightly “weak” in their environmental responsibilities. In this regard, J-League clubs actively seek social cooperation and achieve the purpose of fulfilling environmental protection responsibilities through various channels. For example, Shimizu S-Pulse club takes building a “carbon offset” club as its development concept, builds a trinity pattern of “industry, scientific research and administration” by strengthening cooperation with local governments and enterprises, carries out activities to enhance environmental awareness during home games, and encourages spectators to travel green and use recyclable goods [45].

5.5. Economic Attributes

Economic attributes, as the basic attributes of enterprises and economic development, also provides a strong driving force for enterprises to carry out CSR. The practice of the J-League club of economic responsibility is mainly realized in the following two ways: first, by increasing economic income. Each club is committed to improving the team’s competitive level and improving the income of game tickets by contributing high-quality matches for the fans. At the same time, the aggregation effect of football competition performance is used to narrow the distance between the public and bring football sports into the public’s life to lay a foundation for the public’s participation in football sports and sustainable football consumption. By increasing the investment proportion of enterprises and individuals, the J-League club can diversify its capital sources and avoid the financial risk caused by the rupture of capital sources under a single investment structure. Second, regional economic development should be actively promoted. The Hokkaido Sapporo club has established a “project 179” alliance with social forces in the region to sell various clothing and gifts of the club as part of the income of the project to the Hokkaido region through youth education and sports training classes. Some clubs have made targeted investments to expand social benefits. A quantitative study on the social contribution of Matsumoto Mountain Deer football clubs shows that the social value generated by the club’s investment in the target community football school in the 2019–2020 season was approximately $54,160, while the total investment of the club was only $10,134, which means that the investment in the community football school has produced more than five times the social benefit [46].

5.6. Politics

At the end of the last century, the economic status of Japan in the world rose rapidly. However, due to historical reasons, its political image has not significantly improved. The Japanese appeal to improve its international political status has become increasingly strong, and professional football has become an important carrier to improve the political image of Japan [47]. The J-League club mainly performed political responsibilities in terms of serving the construction of the Japanese national football team and cultural exchanges with foreign countries. On the one hand, actively learning from the advanced experience of Europe and America improves the internal management of the club from the aspects of football concept, technical school, team discipline, organizational system, etc., to greatly enhance the competitive strength of the club. Against this background, Urawa red diamond and Kajima antler won the 2017 and 2018 Asian champions league championships, respectively. On the other hand, the J-League club has established a platform for the training and exchange of young players through cooperation with foreign clubs to encourage young players in foreign clubs. For example, the Urawa red diamond club signed an agreement with the Bayern Munich club in Germany to promote the exchange of football competitions between clubs and enable Japanese rookies to receive professional training from first-class clubs in Europe. In addition, to reshape the international image of Japan and expand its international influence, the Japanese government, the football association and the J-League club jointly launched the “contribution to Asia” project, giving full play to the role of clubs in cultural exchanges with foreign countries [48]. Similar measures have not only made important contributions to promoting the development level of football in Asia, but have also enhanced the cultural integration and political mutual trust between Japan and other countries.

6. Experience of CSR of J-League Clubs

The research study shows that there are three driving forces for the development of CSR of Japanese J-League clubs from the perspective of governance.

6.1. Multi Subject Structure with Clear Responsibilities

There is no separate national sports governing body within the Japanese government. Rather, the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Culture (MEXT), which is in charge of education, science and culture, is responsible for promoting the development of sports in Japan. It plans the development of the J-League and clubs and embeds the requirements for the social responsibility of professional sports organizations in various sports policies and systems. Based on the concept of “creating a rich sporting culture through soccer and contributing to the development of physical and mental health and social progress”, the Japan Football Association (JFA) integrates social resources and strengthens the operation and management of leagues at all levels to ensure the successful implementation of the social responsibility of J-League clubs.

The J-League is nominally part of the Japan Football Association, but it is independent in terms of operation and management and has the right to manage and organize the league. The league’s board of directors includes a majority of club representatives, some of whom are JFA representatives, in addition to government officials, economics experts, accountants, sports experts, manpower agents, JSA officials and community representatives. This configuration of board members not only ensures the actual control of J-League clubs over the Japan Professional Football Council but also better balances the interests of various parties, such as government, business and society, which in turn provides a strong guarantee for the council to make socially responsible decisions. The internal governance structure of a J-League club consists of a Board of Directors, a supervisory board and an executive department. The Board of Directors is the highest authority of the club and consists of a few to a dozen directors, including full-time and part-time directors, with the part-time director group consisting of members from the club’s local government, corporate and community organizations. The Supervisory Board, with the exception of the club’s shareholders, is composed of part-time accounting firm professionals, which effectively enhances the professionalism of audit supervision. The executive departments mainly include the General Affairs Department, the Business Division, the Operations Department, the Media and Publicity Department, and the Reserve Talent Development Department, which are responsible for maintaining the basic operations of the club and implementing the social responsibility decisions of the Board of Directors. In short, the multiple subjects involved with social responsibility of the J-League clubs are clearly defined in terms of authority and responsibility and collaborate with each other, laying a good organizational foundation for the scientific implementation of the club’s fulfilment of responsible practice.

6.2. Internal and External Compatible System

A systematic external institutional environment and internal institutional constraints constitute the institutional guarantee of social responsibility of J-League clubs. In terms of the external institutional environment, the relevant policies enacted by the Japanese government have generated good institutional pressure. On the one hand, Japanese business management organizations make regulations and initiatives on CSR, such as the Action Charter formulated by the Japan Keidanren, which clearly puts forward seven principles for the fulfillment of CSR and provides a macro-guidance role in the development of social responsibility of J-League clubs. On the other hand, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has issued targeted policies to guide Japanese professional soccer clubs, such as the “regional confinement” policy, which promotes the localization and community development of clubs and accelerates the communication and integration between clubs and fans. The government governance mode thus formed is not only effective to the club but also conducive to the social supervision of the club. In the case of the JFA and J-League, both are defined by Japanese law as civil society organizations for the public good, their development and operation must balance economic and social benefits, and both the JFA and J-League have embedded the practice of social responsibility for clubs in their various operational systems. For example, the Japan Football Association (JFA) has established “five codes of conduct” for soccer players, including taking responsibility for oneself, following rules and regulations, respecting each other, thinking rationally, and maintaining a positive attitude, to build an image of high-quality athletes and serve as a good example. The J-League actively optimizes league operations and scientifically distributes league revenues to ensure the coordinated and sustainable development of clubs at the economic level. It also makes entry regulations for clubs, such that they must be evenly distributed, developed and integrated into the community and must be equipped with a corresponding youth training system. For example, in Kashima Antlers’ “Sports for Society” campaign: the club uses its strong economic power to mobilize social resources and adopt advanced information technology to bring children a better soccer learning experience [49]; Kyoto Sanga FC has launched unique social contribution activities with the themes of “orange, pink, purple and green” for child abuse, female diseases, social violence and environmental protection, etc. In addition, clubs actively train players in ethical literacy and media relations to create a good social atmosphere and setting an excellent role model image in education, training, promotion and other thematic activities, as well as competitive performances. It is true that a well- systematized and internally and externally compatible governance system provides a solid guarantee for J-League clubs to steadily carry out social responsibility practice activities under the premise of legal compliance.

6.3. Scientific Information Disclosure Management and Supervision Feedback Mechanism

In the 1990s, against the background of the Japanese sustainable development strategy, the government issued laws and regulations, such as the Basic Law of the Environment and the Environmental Impact Assessment Law, which increased the punishment for enterprises that caused environmental pollution, made their environmental pollution costs far higher than the environmental protection costs, and required enterprises to issue annual CSR reports. Although these initially focused on corporate environmental responsibility, they created a good social environment for Japanese sports enterprises to widely carry out social responsibility information disclosure. The social responsibility information disclosure of J-League clubs shows three characteristics. The first is the diversity of participants. The Japanese Football Association, J-League and clubs at different levels release news reports or social responsibility reports according to their own functional attributes and actual participation. The football association and the league are responsible for publishing relevant information based on social responsibility plans and financial reports. The second is the diversification of the types of information disclosed. It is divided into environmental governance information, youth education information, community construction information and operational management information. For example, Hokkaido Sapporo club publishes its social responsibility content, club operations and holdings on its official website in the form of annual reports. Third, the richness of information content. Most J-League clubs have set up a separate “social contribution” section on their official websites, which makes detailed reports on the time, place, participants, specific contents and plan of the activities. Through information disclosure management, the social benefits of the club’s practice of performing its responsibilities are improved, and favorable conditions are created for it to accept multiparty supervision.

Scientific supervision is an important guarantee to promote the development of CSR. In 1974, the Japanese government promulgated the Evaluation standards of CSR contribution and comprehensive social responsibility indicators, which not only pointed out the direction for the practice of CSR but also provided a basis for the Football Association, the league, the media and the public to participate in the supervision of the social responsibility practice of J-League clubs. With regard to the supervision of club performance, the Japanese Football Association has taken measures, such as establishing a football integrity committee and establishing a sports dishonesty early warning mechanism in cooperation with illegal sports betting early warning companies to prevent illegal enterprises from infiltrating professional football leagues. League J directly supervises the club’s performance practice, and the League audit committee carries out economic supervision on the club in the implementation of social responsibility projects and financial revenue/expenditure. In addition, the Japanese media platform comprehensively reported on the club’s social responsibility and timely disclosed irresponsible corporate behavior. In short, scientific information disclosure management and supervision feedback mechanisms have greatly improved the social responsibility of J-League clubs.

7. Enlightenment of Chinese Super League Clubs

Based on the development experience of Japanese J-League clubs’ social responsibility and the actual situation in China, this paper puts forward four suggestions for the development of Chinese Super League clubs’ social responsibility.

7.1. Deepening the Understanding of the Club’s Duty Performance

Compared with Japan, CSR is not widespread in Chinese sports enterprises. The public has low expectations of the performance of sports enterprises, and the club’s performance awareness needs to be improved. In this regard, an atmosphere for the industry to fulfill its responsibilities and enhance social expectations should first be created. On the one hand, the dissemination and internalization of the concept of CSR should be widely spread in the sports industry. In addition to strengthening the requirements for sports enterprises to participate in social responsibility, the government can also improve the social responsibility atmosphere of the sports industry by guiding the media to increase the coverage of sports enterprises’ performance of responsibilities and incorporating the practice of social responsibility into the regulatory standards of sports enterprises. On the other hand, various news media are encouraged to establish special columns to popularize and publicize the political, economic, cultural and other diversified missions that sports enterprises undertake through the internet, books and newspapers to encourage the public to establish correct values, enhance the expectations of the government, communities, consumers, residents and other stakeholders on the performance of the club, and provide an external impetus for the implementation of the League club’s performance practice. Second, the club’s understanding of social responsibility is deepened. At present, the social responsibility level of Chinese professional sports clubs is relatively low, largely because club managers have cognitive biases on social responsibility and fail to properly handle the relationship between “visible” and “hidden” in the management and operation of the club. It is urgent to urge club management to abandon utilitarianism and use the market logic of putting economic interests first by carrying out themed educational activities and issuing social initiatives, establishing a correct social ethics and sustainable development concept, guiding clubs at all levels to carry out appropriate social responsibility practice activities according to their own strength, and ensuring that they do not blindly carry them out, nor they are cautious and slow.

7.2. Promote the Collaborative Governance of Multiple Subjects

First, the State Administration of Market Supervision and Environmental Protection and other departments should put forward the requirements of social responsibility practice for sports enterprises and provide corresponding guidance. In practice, the government can formulate relevant reward and punishment systems, such as appropriately reducing the collection tax rate for the clubs that perform their duties well, alleviating economic pressure and achieving positive incentives for the clubs. The clubs with poor performance shall be notified regularly to guide the society to strengthen supervision of their performance. Second, as far as the China Football Association is concerned, it should assist the government in completing the implementation of various policies and provide timely feedback about the relevant needs of the clubs, simultaneously playing the role of a coordination hub. At the same time, on the basis of ensuring the effective supervision of the league and the club, the football association should gradually expand the autonomy of the club and stimulate its initiative and enthusiasm to perform social responsibilities. Third, as the direct management body of clubs, the professional union should establish a sound CSR management department to implement full-time management of club social responsibilities and directly guide and supervise these activities. Meanwhile, attempts can be made to increase club representativeness and add social representatives to the CSL Board of Directors to appropriately increase the voice of clubs and social forces, thus increasing the rationality and science of management decisions and avoiding unnecessary disputes from conflicts of interest during implementation. Fourth, clubs should carry out socially responsible activities under the leadership and regulation of the government, associations and leagues. Clubs should not only reach deep into the community, actively cooperate with enterprises and social organizations, and provide financial guarantees for the implementation of social responsibility practices, but also scientifically plan the schedule and division of tasks for players’ social responsibility practices to ensure the orderly implementation of practices without affecting the normal training and other players. In terms of information disclosure, clubs should report to the FA and the Union in the form of submitting financial statements and progress reports and disclose social responsibility information to society through joint efforts with higher authorities or their own media campaigns. Fifth, they play the role of public supervisors. The public is guided to continuously raise awareness of their rights and actively use legal weapons to defend their legitimate rights and interests, while giving feedback to the club through official contacts, microblogs, public numbers and other channels. For example, for irresponsible behaviors, such as club teams playing fake football and players injuring others off the field, the public can be exposed through the internet platform to achieve effective supervision of clubs in fulfilling their responsibilities.

7.3. Improving the Legal System

Although some Chinese Super League clubs have been gradually carrying out social responsibility practices under the guidance of the Football Association and the League, on the whole, the level of fulfillment of responsibilities by the clubs is low, and the inadequacy of the relevant legal system is one of the reasons for this. As a result, the following aspects can be considered for improvement: at the government level, the improvement of laws should be promoted, such as the Company Law, the Environmental Protection Law, the Labor Contract Law and the Sports Law to raise the cost of illegal and undisciplined behavior in the operation of club organizations; normative policy documents can also be issued to guide the fulfillment of responsibilities, such as promulgating the Guidelines for the Development of Social Responsibility of Professional Sports Organizations to clarify the requirements for fulfilling their responsibilities and providing direction for professional sports organizations, such as Chinese Super League clubs. It also releases social responsibility initiatives to encourage other stakeholders to jointly participate in club social responsibility practices and promote the government’s transition to service-oriented governance with macro regulation as the main focus. At the association level, while assisting the government in formulating relevant policies, the FA can also issue specific regulations, such as the Implementation Standards for Club Social Responsibility in the Chinese Super League or the Management Measures for Club Social Responsibility in the Chinese Super League, to guide and regulate the practice of club social responsibility. Moreover, it will actively cooperate with other associations, enterprises and institutions and other social forces to guide clubs to carry out various forms of social responsibility activities. For example, the “Dream China” campaign organized by CFA in cooperation with AFC is a powerful initiative to promote the fulfillment of social responsibility by clubs. At the league level, social responsibility activities are planned for clubs to fulfill their responsibilities, with specific details on how to carry out the activities, the types of activities and the target groups to guide, regulate and monitor the clubs’ fulfillment of their responsibilities. At the club level, they should actively cooperate with the various social responsibility programs of the FA and the league and fully consider the social resources of their regions to develop regional and unique social responsibility programs to guide their staff and players in their responsibilities, such as cooperating with local primary and secondary schools to promote the “Football in Schools” program, renting stadiums to carry out “Football for All” activities, and cooperating with neighborhood committees to arrange community visits for players. At the same time, we have institutionalized education and training for club employees to enhance their sense of social responsibility and overall quality, and thus improve the effectiveness of social responsibility governance.

7.4. Carry out the Practice of CSR Scientifically

In the process of performing its responsibilities, the Chinese Super League club should scientifically carry out social responsibility practices according to the development level of the city and the actual situation of the club. First, social investment and an increase in the funds for the club’s practical activities should occur. The development experience of the J-League club shows that the joint-stock system and diversified investment forms can provide the club with sustainable financial guarantees. In view of the current situation, the financial deficit of some Chinese Super League clubs continues to expand, and the funds for social responsibility practice are insufficient. The club can try to introduce investment from local urban enterprises, organizations and individuals to increase the source of funds for the club, which provide stable financial support for the operation and development of the club and also consolidate the ties between the club and various stakeholders, creating the conditions for carrying out various social responsibility practices. Second, based on the long term, the implementation of education and training responsibilities should be strengthened, while cultivating the national spirit and correct youth values combined with advanced football culture. Local football coaches and social sports instructors are regularly trained in primary and secondary schools and communities to promote the development of local level football. At the same time, the club can also create more opportunities for them to participate in sports by organizing public welfare competitions for vulnerable groups, such as elderly individuals, women and the disabled, to convey humane care and improve public opinion. Third, regional and characteristic social responsibility activities should be carried out and sports should be integrated into residents’ lifestyles. Clubs located in more developed cities or with strong economic strength can actively use emerging technologies, such as digital information, to set up VR football or interactive physical football experience areas where there is a lot of traffic, such as shopping malls and parks, to increase participation in football. For clubs with relatively weak economic strength, players and managers can be guided to participate in community volunteer activities to increase the sense of belonging and public identity of players to serve and give back to society.

8. Conclusions

Based on the comprehensive analysis and exploration of the CSR of J league clubs, this study verified the following contents:

(1)

The formation of CSR atmosphere in Japan originates from the spread of international social responsibility concept and domestic social responsibility tradition. Under the premise of the rapid development of Japanese professional football, Japanese J league has welcomed the revitalization.

(2)

Based on the actual situation in Japan, J League club has six dimensions: community development, cultural prosperity, education, environmental protection, economy and politics. For example, community development responsibility comes from the social level, and political responsibility comes from the national level.

(3)

In addition to the governance structure and governance system, the experience of Japanese J League club in information disclosure and supervision feedback mechanism is also very instructive. Obviously, in order to shoulder the responsibilities and obligations to multiple stakeholders, J League club of Japan has built a more comprehensive multi-level governance system, which is very necessary for the sustainable development of CSR.

(4)

The experience of J League club in Japan has a strong reference value for the development of CSL clubs’ CSR, mainly focusing on the manager’s cognition, governance structure, governance system and supervision mechanism. In the process of reference, CSL clubs need to face up to the lagging status quo of their own development, and choose a scientific and distinctive way of CSR development in combination with the reality of China. For example, managers should improve their understanding of CSR, and combining the “five in one” overall layout of China’s national modernization drive with the content of CSR.

In fact, compared with previous studies [50,51,52,53], the topic of this study, which is based on the experience of Japanese J league clubs, is novel. At the same time, different from other studies, this study is based on the perspective of governance, which makes the discussion on “experience” more focused and easy to understand, and makes the relevant enlightenment put forward more valuable for reference.

9. Application Value and Limitations of Research

9.1. Application Value

By collecting and sorting out relevant examples and interviewing relevant experts and scholars, this study investigated the development of CSR of professional football clubs in Japan and China. By combining the experience of Japan, we can give some inspiration to Chinese developing professional sports organizations’ CSR practice, such as what the content of CSR includes and how to carry it out. From a more macro perspective, sports participation in social governance has been a hot topic in academic circles in recent years, and CSR involves many stakeholders. This issue has a natural fit with sports governance, which increases the scalability of the application scope of this study.

9.2. Limitations

Although this study has carried out some research, the research object group is small. Therefore, follow-up researchers can interview different groups (players, coaches, community residents, etc.) to fully understand the current situation and problems of CSL clubs’ CSR development. In addition, there are many factors that affect the development of CSR of professional sports clubs, such as the wishes of managers and athletes, the level of funds of the club, the size of the club, etc. This study is difficult to achieve full coverage. Therefore, the scope of application of the research conclusions needs to be further refined and clarified. Future research can establish a more specific content system and evaluation system of CSR of Chinese professional football clubs by investigating the views of multiple stakeholders, which will enrich the theoretical of sports CSR and better guide the practice of sports CSR.