A Study on ESG Activities for Perception Shift in Professional Sports Teams

This study aims to propose ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) activities to shift perceptions within professional sports teams. Recently, there has been a notable increase in the ESG activities of professional sports teams, along with a diversification of these activities. However, existing ESG activities are primarily focused on social contributions, with some increase in environmental activities. Yet, there is criticism regarding the lack of a comprehensive approach to ESG initiatives.<br/> To achieve the research objectives, this study investigates the current direction of ESG activities in professional sports teams and employs in-depth interviews to address the established research questions. For the interviews, four experts, including professional sports team officials, and four sports fans who are directly engaged with the teams&quot activities were selected.<br/> The interviews were conducted in a mixed format of face-to-face and virtual one-on-one sessions. For the first research question, a literature review of previous studies and in-depth interviews were conducted, revealing issues such as the absence of established ESG management committees and the exclusive focus on social contribution activities. Additionally, problems related to the improvement of eco-friendly facilities were identified. For the second research question, a thematic analysis method was employed for the in-depth interviews. This process highlighted the necessity for a broader range of ESG activities and presented various ESG initiatives based on this need, along with suggestions for future research.