CSR within the sport industry: an overview of an emerging academic field

This introductory chapter sets the scene for the textbook. It places corporate social responsibility (CSR) within its historical context, considering the emergence of CSR within organizations as well as tracing the development of academic literature around the subject. It then draws on recent academic research within business and management literature to set out managerial challenges that organizations face when addressing CSR. It is these challenges that are used to provide the framework for this handbook and the corresponding chapters deal with these issues. This introduction concludes by providing a background as to why CSR is a relevant issue for sport organizations.