Value co-creating synergies in the football industry. A theoretical framework of primary and secondary stakeholders

Football has become a business that supports a multifaceted and dynamic multi-billion industry, affecting and being affected by a plethora of stakeholders. This phenomenon of multi-stakeholder envelopment inevitably entails a wide range of challenges and considerations for all the industry actors, driving them to develop the necessary strategies to identify, interrelate, and ultimately balance the value exchanges involved in the pursuit of a business and socially sustainable future. Sharing values and aligning interests with each other is like putting together a partnership where, in the end, every party wins. The stakeholders should identify and comprehend the collaborative value and align interests and strategies that will allow them to measure and manage the direct and indirect relationships and synergies within the industry. This process demands a rigorous analysis of the industry in order to first map, evaluate and delineate each stakeholder, and then identify the values they hold.