Abstract

This study is an exploratory qualitative analysis of the projection of images by organizations operating within the context of a professional sport league. The main objective of this research is to investigate differences and changes in organizational images as a function of the external environmental context of organizations. In doing so, it will examine how different environments may demand different images based on different stakeholder pressures. The research will use a professional sport league as the organizational setting (i.e. cultural industry) for investigating and analyzing the particularities of English football (soccer) clubs' images, operationalized as they are presented on club websites. This research will also establish relevant theoretical relationships between the identity of organizations, the images that these organizations project and the environment in which they operate. In doing so, the analysis will attempt to contribute to our understanding of what types of images professional sport organizations (PSOs) must manage in order to be perceived as attractive to different stakeholders that control the resources on which PSOs are dependent on for functioning.