Motivations and Strategies of Sport-Based Corporate Social Responsibility: Multiple Case Studies of Taiwanese Enterprises

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Presenting motivations and strategies of sport-based corporate social responsibility may be of importance to the industry. The study seeks to examine this in Taiwan and present possible strategic directions for its advancement. For this purpose and to emphasize a possible added value, it is recommended to refer to the following comments.

1.      Introduction.

A. The study notes that "Given the future demand for and importance of CSR, it is imperative to conduct broader research to clarify the mainstream development of sport-based CSR activities. From an industry perspective, exploring the motivations for and strategies of sport-based CSR in the context of sustainable corporate development processes is essential", but it is not clear why it is necessary to refer specifically to these corporate responsibility activities and why the examination is essential. It is recommended that the authors explain what makes this corporate responsibility unique, as a background to the research question, its importance, while explicitly stating the gap they are trying to bridge.

B. The study notes the cooperation of the Taiwanese government with organizations to support the development of the sports industry through the continuous implementation of the certification program for sports organizations. As the corporate responsibility examined relates specifically to Taiwan, it is recommended that the authors expand on this beyond the introduction to ground the results in the local context.

2.   Methodology. The study seeks to present an examination of sports-based social responsibility in certified organizations but appends a list with almost no direct reference to sports organizations. Since the selection of the representatives and the presentation of the data used in the study are not clear, it is recommended that the authors explain the relationship between the representatives and the data in the list to the field under review and emphasize the importance of their selection in order to answer the research question

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Today, sport is much more than a "game" and it is an increasingly serious industry that drives many branches and economic activities. As the author well notes, “s, such as events, facilities, media, suppliers, sponsors, and sports professionals”. This especially applies to professional sports, which long ago surpassed the interests of local interest and became a business. In this sense, the Sport-Based Corporate Social Research Responsibility (CSR), as a topic, is completely justified and expedient.

Particularly interesting are the 3 questions posed at the beginning of the article, which are essentially hypotheses but posed in a different way. These questions are:

1. What are the motivations and future development directions of enterprises that have received Sports Enterprise Certification in utilizing sports to fulfill CSR over the years?

2.  How do different industry categories practice sport-based CSR?

3.  What are the main types of sport-based CSR practices in general enterprises?

The research was done very correctly in the duration of 6 months approximately. The interviewees included individuals with experience drafting corporate ESG reports. A special value of the accuracy and reality of the research results is given by the fact that execution process and methods were reviewed and approved by the ethics committee and prior to each interview, participants were required to sign an informed consent form, and data processing was conducted in strict accordance with confidentiality principles to protect participants rights. This paper based conclusions using in-depth interviews and multiple case studies to collect data, but without using. mathematical or mathematical statistical data processing methods, which somewhat reduces the credibility of the statements made in the conclusion, but this does not reduce the importance of the contribution of this paper in the research of relationships between Motivations and Strategies of Sport-Based Corporate Social Responsibility.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper is a qualitative study and lacks data support. My review comments are as follows:

1. Motivation: Specific examples from different companies should be provided. For instance, describe in detail how senior management's positive attitude towards sports enhances corporate culture, particularly in terms of CSR.

2. Research Framework: It is recommended to include a research framework or methodology to enhance readability for the readers.

3. Research Data: It is suggested to provide the research questionnaire or interview topics, as well as relevant statistics gathered during the research process to enhance the credibility of the study.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1.      This is a well-written paper, but it could be further improved.

2.      The literature review includes a significant number of influential papers on the discussed concepts, reflecting academic thoroughness. However, considering additional sources that offer nuanced perspectives could further enhance the literature review. They include but are not limited to:

1.1.   Carlini, Joan, Adele Pavlidis, Alana Thomson, and Clare Morrison. "Delivering on social good-corporate social responsibility and professional sport: a systematic quantitative literature review." Journal of Strategic Marketing (2021): 1-14.

1.2.   Pfister, Matthias. "Exploring Social Responsibility in Sports Management: A Comprehensive Literature Review." Journal of Knowledge Management Practice 24, no. 2 (2024).

1.3.   Zhao, Liming, and Chenli Yin. "Driving corporate social responsibility to be innovative: Insights from a systematic literature review." Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management (2024).

3.      The paper indicates that the study is "inherently exploratory and qualitative". Given that the data analysis commenced deductively and then transitioned to an inductive approach for recording and analysis purposes, it is recommended that the author capitalize on the full range of possibilities enabled by qualitative data and tools like NVivo. This could entail employing visualization techniques as an initial step prior to identifying key themes. Such an approach would facilitate immersion and the detection of significant patterns, themes, and interrelationships. Moreover, the adoption of visualization would offer a more holistic perspective to comprehend the phenomenon as a complex system with interconnected components that cannot be examined in isolation. Considering additional sources that offer nuanced perspectives could further enhance the data analysis. They include but not limited to

3.1.   Maher, Carmel, Mark Hadfield, Maggie Hutchings, and Adam de Eyto. "Ensuring rigor in qualitative data analysis: A design research approach to coding combining NVivo with traditional material methods." International Journal of Qualitative Methods 17, no. 1 (2018): 1609406918786362.

3.2.   Rouder, Jessie, Olivia Saucier, Rachel Kinder, and Matt Jans. "What to do with all those open-ended responses? Data visualization techniques for survey researchers." Survey Practice (2021).

3.3.   Spencer, Stephen. "Visual Analysis." In Visual Research Methods in the Social Sciences, pp. 194-236. Routledge, 2022.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

To improve your paper, please include specific examples from different companies to show how senior management's positive attitude towards sports enhances corporate culture, especially in terms of CSR. Additionally, adding a clear research framework or methodology will help readers understand your study better. Providing the research questionnaire or interview topics, along with the relevant statistics, will also strengthen the credibility of your research.

However, in this version, you have responded to my review comments in the first round. This may be a shortcoming of qualitative research. It is recommended to strengthen the detailed description and uniqueness of the cases so that it can highlight the characteristics of qualitative research before it will be accepted.

The main issue is the lack of detailed data and evidence to support your findings, making it difficult to verify your conclusions. Therefore, I must reject your manuscript in its current form.

 

Author Response

Comment 1:

To improve your paper, please include specific examples from different companies to show how senior management's positive attitude towards sports enhances corporate culture, especially in terms of CSR. Additionally, adding a clear research framework or methodology will help readers understand your study better. Providing the research questionnaire or interview topics, along with the relevant statistics, will also strengthen the credibility of your research.

However, in this version, you have responded to my review comments in the first round. This may be a shortcoming of qualitative research. It is recommended to strengthen the detailed description and uniqueness of the cases so that it can highlight the characteristics of qualitative research before it will be accepted.

The main issue is the lack of detailed data and evidence to support your findings, making it difficult to verify your conclusions. Therefore, I must reject your manuscript in its current form.

Response 1:

Thank you for your valuable feedback. The analysis in our manuscript is primarily based on qualitative data derived from in-depth interviews and sustainability reports of sport-certified enterprises. Given the complexity and length of the interview transcripts, we have categorized and summarized the content to present the findings in a clear and concise manner within the research results section. Including all detailed data directly in the text would make the manuscript excessively lengthy and cumbersome.

To address your concern about the lack of detailed data, we have provided a separate document containing tables that concisely summarize the key points from the interviews. This approach ensures that the detailed data is available for review without overloading the main manuscript.

We hope these revisions meet your requirements and sufficiently address the concerns raised. Thank you for your consideration.

 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 3

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I think this Manuscript is suitable for publication.