How are B2B sponsors impacted by sustainability when entering partnerships in international motorsport?

  • Julia Pachleitner

Studienabschlussarbeit: Bachelorarbeit

Abstract

This thesis aims to provide information about how sponsors are impacted by sustainability when they enter partnerhsips in international motorpsort. More precicely the focus will be on Formula 1 and Formula E. The research questions that will be answered are the following: ‘How are international motorsport teams affected by sustainability with regard to image, PR and positioning?’. It was found that especially fans of younger generations wish to support a team which is authentic in its positioning, so this suggests that the teams need to be fully committed to being sustainable. The next question is: ‘How important is it for B2B sponsors that the team they sponsor works towards sustainability goals?’. Here it can be suggested that in Formula 1 the sponsors have a higher importance on this, as they are aware of the negative implications if the team they sponsor is not actively working towards their sustainability goals. In Formula E, it does not seem as important, especially considering that the sponsors often do not address the conflict between the sustainability goals (Næss 2020). ‘How are B2B sponsors and international motorsports organizations collaborating in developing and achieving sustainability goals?’ is the third question which is discussed. It can be assumed that in Formula 1 the sponsors and teams are collaborating to a certain extent, as their sustainability goals are vastly similar. In Formula E however, it can be assumed that this is not the case, as there are major differences in the reports and goals. ‘What are the financial implications in regard to achieving sustainability goals due to the lack of information available and provided?’ is the last question which was discussed. It was found that there is not information provided in Formula 1 and in Formula E and there was no answer to the inquiries to the teams. Additionally, it can be assumed that the teams are using greenwashing techniques in order to appear more sustainable which then also suggests that they have to spend less money annually on achieving their set sustainability goals. It can be recommended that specifically in Formula E that the teams add more information within their sustainability reports, as there is a lack of information on how they wish to achieve their goals. Furthermore, it is important for teams that are active in more than one racing series, that they split their sustainability goals into the different racing series as well as that would make it more coherent. And lastly, for both the teams in Formula 1 and the ones in Formula E, it might be beneficial if they added financial information to the sustainability reports, as that would make them more believable and inherently better.
Datum der Bewilligung2024
OriginalspracheEnglisch
Betreuer/-inHarald Josef Hammer (Betreuer*in)

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