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Ethical Code Effectiveness in Football Clubs: A Longitudinal Analysis

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Abstract

As football (soccer) clubs are facing different ethical challenges, many clubs are turning to ethical codes to counteract unethical behaviour. However, both in- and outside the sport field, uncertainty remains about the effectiveness of these ethical codes. For the first time, a longitudinal study design was adopted to evaluate code effectiveness. Specifically, a sample of non-professional football clubs formed the subject of our inquiry. Ethical code effectiveness was assessed by the measurement of the ethical climate. A repeated-measurements ANOVA revealed a positive evolution of the ethical climate within the studied football clubs. This evolution could not be ascribed to the mere presence of an ethical code. However, several potential code effectiveness determining characteristics were also included in the research design. Some of these accounted partly for the evolution of the ethical climate of the football clubs. Results suggest that football clubs should incorporate their ethical code into a broader ethical programme, with attention for professionalization initiatives, stakeholder management, ethical leadership, and whistle-blowing protection.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank their colleagues Delfien Van Dyck and Maïté Verloigne for their advice regarding the data analysis.

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  1. Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Watersportlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Bram Constandt, Els De Waegeneer & Annick Willem

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  1. Bram Constandt
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  2. Els De Waegeneer
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  3. Annick Willem
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Correspondence to Bram Constandt.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Constandt, B., De Waegeneer, E. & Willem, A. Ethical Code Effectiveness in Football Clubs: A Longitudinal Analysis. J Bus Ethics 156, 621–634 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3552-0

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