International Journal of Sport Management

Prioritizing Environmental Impacts in Venues: The Manager’s Perspective

Walker J. Ross, Haylee Uecker Mercado

Abstract: This study explored how managers evaluate various demands in decision-making – particularly in the context of environmental sustainability in sport venue management. Previous research considered how managers prioritize environmental sustainability compared to other demands, but it was not understood where the various environmental impacts of sustainable venue operations compare to one another. A best-worst scaling survey of sport venue managers was used to gather data on prioritization of environmental impacts in decision-making. Findings suggest that managers prioritize environmental impacts mainly based on financial cost and environmental harm with those impacts falling into the following priority order from highest to lowest: waste, electricity, disposable product use, water, food, emissions, gas, chemicals, and oil. This study provides insight into the environmental impacts venue managers must weigh in operational decision-making and challenges the Sport Event Environmental Performance Measurement tool’s inputs and outputs.

Keywords: sport ecology, sustainability, facilities, decision-making, measurement

Citation: Ross, W. J., & Mercado, H. U. (2023). Prioritizing environmental impacts in venues: The manager’s perspective. International Journal of Sport Management, 24(2), 151-170.

References

  • Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of management, 17(1), 99-120.
  • Baumgartner, H., & Steenkamp, J. (2001). Response styles in marketing research: A cross-national investigation. Journal of marketing research, 38(2), 143-156.
  • Cachay, K. (1993). Sports and environment sports for everyone – Room for everyone? International review for the sociology of sport, 28(2-3), 311-323.
  • Chandon, P., Morwitz, V. G., & Reinartz, W.J. (2005). Do intentions really predict behavior? Self-generated validity effects in survey research. Journal of marketing, 69(2), 1-14.
  • Chard, C., & Mallen, C. (2012). Examining the linkages between automobile use and carbon impacts of community-based ice hockey. Sport management review, 15(4), 476-484.
  • Chrzan, K., & Golovashkina, N. (2006). An empirical test of six stated importance measures. International journal of market research, 48(6), 717-740.
  • Coast, J., Al-Janabi, H., Sutton, E.J., Horrocks, S.A., Vosper, A.J., Swancutt, D.R., & Flynn, T.N. (2012). Using qualitative methods for attribute development for discrete choice experiments: issues and recommendations. Health economics, 21(6), 730-741.
  • Dingle, G.W., & Stewart, B. (2018). Playing the climate game: Climate change impacts, resilience, and adaptation in the climate-dependent sport sector. Managing sport and leisure, 23(4-6), 293-314.
  • Dolf, M., & Teehan, P. (2015). Reducing the carbon footprint of spectator and team travel at the University of British Columbia’s varsity sports events. Sport management review, 18(2), 244-255.
  • Dolnicar, S., & Gruen, B. (2007). Cross-cultural differences in survey response patterns. International marketing review, 24(2), 127-143.
  • Flynn, T.N., & Marley, A. (2014). Best-worst scaling: Theory and methods. In S. Hess & A. Daly (Eds.), Handbook of choice modeling (pp. 178-201). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
  • Gavetti, G., Greve, H.R., Levinthal, D.A., & Ocasio, W. (2012). The behavioral theory of the firm: Assessment and prospects. The Academy of management annals, 6(1), 1-40.
  • Green Sports Alliance (GSA). (2018). Green Sports Alliance operations roadmap. Green Sports Alliance. http://greensportsalliance.org/resources/A_GSA_OperationsRoadmap.pdf.
  • Hein, K., Jaeger, S., Carr, B., &Delahunty, C. (2008). Comparison of five common acceptance and preference methods. Food quality and preference, 19, 651-661.
  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2014). Summary for Policymakers. In O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sakona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, et al. (Eds.), Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (11-25). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  • International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM). (2023a). Sustainability. International Association of Venue Managers. https://www.iavm.org/sustainability.
  • International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM). (2023b). About us. International Association of Venue Managers. https://iavm.org/about/.
  • Kellison, T.B., & Hong, S. (2015). The adoption and diffusion of pro-environmental stadium design. European sport management quarterly, 15(2), 249-269.
  • Lipovetsky, S., Liakhovitski, D., & Conklin, M. (2015). What is the right size for my MaxDiff study? Proceedings from Sawtooth Software Conference 2015. Orlando, FL: Sawtooth Software.
  • Louviere, J.J., & Flynn, T.N., & Marley, A.A.J. (2015). Best-worst scaling: Theory, methods and applications. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  • Louviere, J., Lings, I., Islam, T., Gudergan, S., & Flynn, T. (2013). An introduction to the application of (case 1) best-worst scaling in marketing research. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 30(3), 292-303.
  • Mallen, C. (2018). Robustness of the sport and environmental sustainability literature and where to go from here. In B.P. McCullough & T.B. Kellison (Eds.), Routledge handbook of sport and the environment (11-35). New York, NY: Routledge.
  • Mallen, C., Stevens, J., & Adams, L.J. (2011). A content analysis of environmental sustainability research in a sport-related journal sample. Journal of sport management, 25(3), 240-256.
  • Mallen, C., Stevens, J., Adams, L., & McRoberts, S. (2010). The assessment of the environmental performance of an international multi-sport event. European Sport Management Quarterly, 10(1), 97-122.
  • McCullough, B.P., Orr, M. & Kellison, T.B. (2020). Sport ecology: Conceptualizing an emerging subdiscipline within sport management. Journal of Sport Management, 34(6), 509-520.
  • McCullough, B.P., Orr, M., & Watanabe, N. M. (2019). Measuring externalities: The imperative next step to sustainability assessment in sport. Journal of Sport Management, 34(5), 393-402.
  • Melton, P. (2018, September 10). The urgency of emobodied carbon and what you can do about it. Building Green. https://www.buildinggreen.com/feature/urgency-embodied-carbon-and-what-you-can-do-about-it.
  • Mintzburg, H. (1975). The manager’s job: Folklore and fact. Harvard business review, 53, 49-61.
  • Mühlbacher, A.C., Kaczynski, A., Zweifel, P., & Johnson, F.R. (2016). Experimental measurement of preferences in health and healthcare using best-worst scaling: An overview. Health Economics Review, 6(1), 2.
  • National Hockey League (NHL). (2018). NHL sustainability report: Report at-a-glance. NHL. http://sustainability.nhl.com/report/#!/info/report-at-a-glance.
  • National Resource Defense Council (NDRC) Greening Advisor. (2019). Greener building. National Resource Defense Council. http://mlb.greensports.org/greener-building/leed/.
  • O’Reilly, N., & Huybers, T. (2015). Servicing in sponsorship: A best-worst scaling empirical analysis. Journal of sport management, 29, 155-169.
  • Orr, M., & Inoue, Y. (2019). Sport versus climate: Introducing the climate vulnerability of sport organizations framework. Sport management review, 22(4), 452-463.
  • Ross, W.J., & Mercado, H.U. (2020). Barriers to managing environmental sustainability in public assembly venues. Sustainability, 12(24), 10477.
  • Shepherd, M. (2022, June 8). Is Climate Pledge Arena a sustainability model for venues going forward? Forbes.com.https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2022/06/08/is-climate-pledge-arena-a-sustainability-model-for-venues-going-forward/.
  • Simon, H.A. (1977). The new science of management decision. Prentice-Hall.
  • Skelton, J., & Lockwood, D. (2019, November 13). How green are Premier League clubs? BBC. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/50317760.
  • Trendafilova, S., Babiak, K., & Heinze, K. (2013). Corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability: Why professional sport is greening the playing field. Sport management review, 16(3), 298-313.
  • Trendafilova, S., & McCullough, B.P. (2018). Environmental sustainability scholarship and the efforts of the sport sector: A rapid review of literature. Cogent social sciences, 4(1), 1-15.
  • USGBC. (2018, January 5). LEED v4 for building operations and maintenance. United States Green Building Council. https://www.usgbc.org/resources/leed-v4-building-operations-and-maintenance-current-version.
  • VanWynsberge, R. (2015). The Olympic Games Impact (OGI) study for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games: strategies for spot mega-events’ contribution to sustainability. International journal of sport policy and politics, 7(1), 1-18.
  • Walker, M., & Mercado, H. (2015). The resource-worthiness of environmental responsibility: A resource-based perspective. Corporate social responsibility and environmental management, 22(4), 208-221.
  • Walker, M., Salaga, S., & Mercado, H.U. (2016). Determinants of managerial engagement in environmental responsibility in the public assembly facilities sector. Management decision, 54(8), 2084-2102.
  • Wicker, P. (2018). The carbon footprint of active sport participants. Sport management review, 22(4), 513-526.
  • Xie, S., & Hayase, K. (2007). Corporate environmental performance evaluation: A measurement model and a new concept. Business Strategy and the Environment, 16(2), 148-168.
  • Zikmund, W.G., Babin, B.J., Carr, J.C., & Griffin, M. (2012). Business research methods. Nashville, TN: South-Western College Publishing.

Discover more from International Journal of Sport Management

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading