The Emerging Ethical Profile of Mega-Events


(Part of the CARNiVAL project)

This research is supported by a Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange Scheme Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme and Faculty of Business and Law, Coventry University.

€1,044,149 

Centre for Business in Society

Coventry Business School

Dr Alessandro Merendino

Dr David Bek

Dr Jill Timms

Dr Eva Kipnis

Dr Ian Brittain


  • To explore the emerging ethical profile of mega-events, their potential use for improving international norms and standards of business behaviour and role of critical voices claiming unethical practice
  • To investigate who controls the controllers, investigating the governance composition and connections of mega-event managers, sponsors and auditors, and how self-interested directors can impact legacies (corporate governance).
  • To compare the business legacies of mega-events in two host nations and the role of campaigners and protests in effecting CSR procedures and policies at national and international event levels
  • To explore the sustainability legacy of mega-events.

Dr Alessandro Merendino has conducted over 40 in-depth interviews to directors and top-managers of RIO 2016, the Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, in order to analyse RIO 2016 corporate governance, in terms of relationships, behaviour, leadership strategies. Furthermore, interviews have been conducted to explore the sustainability legacy of RIO 2016 and how directors and managers have been working on it.

The project is designed to deliver impact to a number of interested parties, namely academics, those researching Olympic Games, governance and legacy, the organising committee of Olympic and Paralympic Games and the IOC (International Olympic Committee). Findings of this study will be presented to different international conferences and eventually published in high-quality international scientific journals. Furthermore, a non-academic report will be produced in order to make results available to stakeholders, including directors and managers of RIO 2016, and the IOC.

Further updates will be disclosed on this web page.

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