Professional Sports Teams, CSR and Community Development: An Examination of the Montreal Canadiens Bleu, Blanc, Bouge Project

It is paradoxically observable, in this era of hypermodernity characterized by an expansion of individualism, capitalism and economic, political and cultural globalization, an increasing importance of the concept of community. It is necessary to understand the relationship between corporations and communities, mainly in a market-led world. While corporations have been gaining power since the advent of modern society, communities have been losing their autonomy and becoming more and more dependent on exogenous actors such as state and corporations. This dissertation has four objectives. It allows the examination of the relationship between the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation’s Bleu, Blanc, Bouge (BBB) program, CSR and: 1) the three environments that constitute a community (i.e. cultural, social and spatial); 2) social identity; 3) solidarity; 4) agency. From a theoretical point of view, this research is important because it responds two criticisms that can be made in the areas of CSR and community development. Unlike studies in the area of CSR, this research does not aim to understand the impact of these programs on business, but rather on the community as a whole. From a community point of view, this study goes beyond the bottom-up paradigm and critical theories towards the private sector in an attempt to understand the influence that this sector can have on the community and its development through CSR initiatives. In order to meet the initial objectives, this research is based on a qualitative case study methodology: the BBB program. Three communities having obtained this program will be studied. Data collection was done through a method of semi-structured interviews with local actors and administrators of the foundation. The questions were about the development of the BBB project and its acquisition process by the communities, the cultural, social and built environments of the communities, and about the management strategies of the facility. Findings allowed us to understand that the Montreal Canadiens Children’s foundation is positively perceived by the local communities because of its closeness with the professional hockey team that is an important figure in the social landscape of Montreal and that was helping local communities long before the creation of its foundation. As for the BBB program, results show that its success is reliant on the fact that it follows the proven strategies of community development such as answering a local need and mobilizing multiple local actors. However, findings also put forward that some negative impacts can occur from this project such as the enhancement of resources in order to manage the facility. With regard to the cultural, social and spatial environments that constitute a community, findings show that the BBB program easily integrates the local cultural environment, but also provokes some changes in the local cultures. As for the spatial environment, the BBB program allows the receiving communities to propose a high-quality equipment to their population that they could not afford alone. Moreover, the BBB rinks reinforce local leisure accessibility, become a development driver for the entire park in which they are located and seem to have a large effect on the neighbourhood. Finally, in regard to social environment, the BBB program participate in the inclusion of vulnerable populations, becomes a gathering spot for youth, enhances local pride, contributes to the revival of the neighbourhood, and helps the creation of new partnerships. However, it can also create a financial burden that communities can hardly bear. This research demonstrates that the relationship between a CSR initiative and the community and its development can be positive at some level. It shows that CSR carried out by professional sport teams and based on proven community development strategies has more chances to succeed. However, such initiatives will always have negative effects on communities. In order to deepen our understanding of the relationship between CSR and communities, future studies should explore how other types of CSR initiatives interact with the identity, solidarity and agency of a community, how CSR initiatives enter into relationships with communities having different cultural and socio-political contexts and how such initiatives impact the communities on the long-term.

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