A Study on Perceptions of ESG Management in Professional Sports Through Social Big Data Analysis

Purpose: This study systematically investigates public perceptions and discourse regarding the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management activities of professional sports clubs through social big data analytics. The findings are intended to provide strategic insights for sports organizations and to serve as foundational data for the practical implementation of ESG initiatives in the field. Method: The study employed text mining, term frequency–inverse document frequency (TF-IDF), semantic network analysis, and convergence of iterated correlations (CONCOR) analysis. Online data, including news articles and blog posts, were collected from January 2022 to December 2025. These data were analyzed to identify core keywords, relational structures, and thematic clusters within the ESG-related discourse. Results: Frequency analysis identified “professional sports,” “ESG management,” “club,” and “local community” as the most prominent keywords, with “golf” and “professional baseball” emerging as the primary sports contexts. TF-IDF analysis highlighted specific entities such as “Jeju,” “SK Telecom,” and “Hana Bank,” indicating their significant influence despite lower overall frequencies. CONCOR analysis classified the discourse into six distinct thematic clusters: (1) local community contribution, (2) eco-friendly uniforms, (3) ESG implementation leadership in the K-League, (4) club brand innovation, (5) corporate-linked club cases, and (6) ESG-driven marketing strategies. Conclusion: This study confirms that ESG management in professional sports clubs extends beyond supplementary corporate social responsibilities and functions as a core strategic framework for brand equity development, fan relationship enhancement, and long-term sustainability of the sports industry. Future research should empirically investigate the structural relationships between perceptions of ESG activities and behavioral outcomes such as attendance intention, repeat visiration, and club loyalty. Furthermore, comparative studies on league-wide ESG policies and institutional support systems are also warranted.