Sports management, marketing
Zahra Sohrabi; Mehrdad Moharramzadeh; Rasool Nazari
Abstract
Adventure sports tourism has attracted the attention of the public as an important part of tourism. In addition to being effective in physical development, it also has a social function. There is not much comprehensive and applied research in Iran regarding adventure sports tourism, therefore the aim ...
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Adventure sports tourism has attracted the attention of the public as an important part of tourism. In addition to being effective in physical development, it also has a social function. There is not much comprehensive and applied research in Iran regarding adventure sports tourism, therefore the aim of the present study is to develop a model for the development of adventure sports tourism in Iran. The present study was conducted in a qualitative manner and by choosing a constructivist approach from a data-driven strategy. The data are exploratory-fundamental in nature in terms of purpose, and were collected through purposeful sampling with the snowball technique and based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 19 sports management experts familiar with the discussion of professional adventure sports tourism. After conducting the interviews, 1352 key words were identified, which were then grouped into 111 core codes and finally, in the theoretical coding process, were categorized into 16 subcategories and finally into 11 main categories: key stakeholders, enabling factors, strategic requirements, contextual factors, surprises, drivers, uncertainties, goals, key players, strategies, and possible outcomes of adventure sports tourism. In general, it should be acknowledged that increasing attention to adventure sports tourism in Iran will have important consequences, including improving the various conditions of the local community, promoting up-to-date knowledge, and improving the level of health and social vitality, and increasing the productivity of the local economy.
Sports management, marketing
Fatemeh Rafizadeh; Nooshin benar; Ali Nazarian; Sadegh Fatahi Milasi
Abstract
Nostalgic marketing has emerged as an effective strategy for establishing emotional connections with consumers. In the sports goods market, this type of marketing can encourage consumers to make purchases by stimulating a sense of nationalism and emphasizing specific cultural elements. Nevertheless, ...
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Nostalgic marketing has emerged as an effective strategy for establishing emotional connections with consumers. In the sports goods market, this type of marketing can encourage consumers to make purchases by stimulating a sense of nationalism and emphasizing specific cultural elements. Nevertheless, the mechanisms through which these factors influence consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions have not yet been comprehensively investigated. Accordingly, the present study seeks to examine the effect of nostalgic marketing on the intention to purchase sports goods, with consumer nationalism and consumer culture serving as mediating variables. This research is descriptive-survey in nature and applied in purpose. The statistical population consisted of all customers of sports goods in sports stores in Rasht city. A sample of 384 individuals was selected through convenience sampling. The research instruments comprised standard questionnaires on nostalgic marketing, consumer nationalism, consumer culture, and purchase intention. The validity of the questionnaires was confirmed by 11 experts, and their reliability was verified using Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability. Data analysis was conducted through structural equation modelling using Smart PLS software (version 3.3). The findings indicated that nostalgic marketing exerts a significant positive effect on the intention to purchase sports goods. Furthermore, consumer nationalism and consumer culture function as effective mediators in this relationship. Thus, the utilization of nostalgic marketing can serve as a powerful tool for enhancing the purchase of sports goods. Managers are advised to strengthen emotional bonds with consumers by incorporating cultural elements and a sense of nationalism into the design of marketing campaigns. Policymakers may also leverage this approach to support domestic production and reinforce national identity, particularly in the development of sports markets.
Sports management, marketing
Esmail Dolatyari; Farhad Kalantari; Hassan Gharehkhani; Hossein Poursoltani
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to compare the salary, facilities, and benefits paid to referees in the Iranian Premier League and selected countries around the world based on the Brady model. The research was qualitative with a comparative approach. Ten countries were purposively selected from ...
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The purpose of the present study was to compare the salary, facilities, and benefits paid to referees in the Iranian Premier League and selected countries around the world based on the Brady model. The research was qualitative with a comparative approach. Ten countries were purposively selected from all continents and geographically located, and were considered as the matching location based on their national standing and higher professional league level. Data obtained through content analysis of collected documents, as well as interviews via email and WhatsApp with experts in the target countries, were collected, categorized, and interpreted using George Brady's four-stage model. The research results showed that Iran pays the lowest and Spain the highest wages to their referees. Referees of all countries are covered by accident insurance. All countries (except Iran, Brazil and Morocco) pay monthly salaries for their full-time referees. The countries of Brazil, England and America consider different salaries for referees according to the levels of refereeing and also the level of experience of referees. The highest level of payment is related to America. The only Italian Serie A league where all referees and assistant referees are full-time. In general, Iran's referees in various sectors (such as salary, welfare support) do not have suitable conditions compared to other countries, and this issue can harm the growth process of refereeing. Therefore, it is necessary to follow the successful experience of those countries in order to overcome the prevailing problems and move towards professionalization in refereeing.
Sports management, marketing
Reza Mortazi; Azadeh Seyed Alinezhad; Mohammad Jalilvand
Abstract
This study aimed to elucidate the effect of agile marketing on behavioral intentions, with customer trust and the competitive advantage of sports products serving as mediating variables. For the qualitative component, the study population consisted of industry experts, sports business managers, and academic ...
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This study aimed to elucidate the effect of agile marketing on behavioral intentions, with customer trust and the competitive advantage of sports products serving as mediating variables. For the qualitative component, the study population consisted of industry experts, sports business managers, and academic faculty members well-versed in the relevant literature. A purposive snowball sampling approach was implemented until theoretical saturation was reached. Regarding the quantitative dimension, the study focused on sports consumers. To ensure sufficiency for Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) via PLS, a minimum sample of 384 was required; thus, 400 questionnaires were distributed to mitigate potential non-response or attrition. A convenience sampling method was applied. Data were collected using a researcher-developed agile marketing scale, alongside established instruments: Ballester’s (2004) customer trust scale, Hill and Jones’s (2010) competitive advantage scale, and Zeithaml and Bitner’s (2003) customer behavioral intentions scale. SEM analysis was performed using SPSS (v. 23) and PLS (v. 2), yielding a Goodness-of-Fit (GOF) index of 0.80. The results demonstrated that agile marketing exerts a significant influence on behavioral intentions, mediated by both customer trust and the competitive advantage of sports products.
Sports management, marketing
Javad Radanfar; Hossain Eydi
Abstract
Promoting entrepreneurial thinking among university graduates enables them to capitalize on their latent talents and develop into creative, creative, and entrepreneurial individuals. The purpose of this study was to develop a model for an innovative and entrepreneurial Faculty of Sport Sciences. The ...
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Promoting entrepreneurial thinking among university graduates enables them to capitalize on their latent talents and develop into creative, creative, and entrepreneurial individuals. The purpose of this study was to develop a model for an innovative and entrepreneurial Faculty of Sport Sciences. The research was conducted during the 2023–2024 academic period. A qualitative research design was employed, utilizing in-depth interviews with experts possessing substantial knowledge and experience in the field. Participants included individuals affiliated with science and technology parks, administrators of university innovation and entrepreneurship centres, representatives from the Faculty of Sport Sciences, entrepreneurship specialists, and faculty members. The participants were selected through purposive sampling using the snowball technique, resulting in a final sample of 13 interviewees. The interview data were analysed using the grounded theory approach. During the open coding stage, the identified concepts and indicators were extracted from the data. Through further analysis of the open coding findings, six principal categories were ultimately integrated into the axial coding paradigm. The findings indicated that the development of entrepreneurship programs, the establishment of innovation centres and business accelerators, increasing students’ awareness of entrepreneurial opportunities, fostering interdisciplinary interactions, and continuous evaluation were among the key strategic components of an entrepreneurial Faculty of Sport Sciences. In this regard, it is essential for policymakers, administrators, and stakeholders within the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, higher education institutions, and Faculties of Sport Sciences to create the necessary conditions for entrepreneurial transformation through alignment of attitudes and behaviours and the provision of appropriate institutional support. The novelty of this study lies in its emphasis on entrepreneurship within Faculties of Sport Sciences in response to the growing unemployment among university graduates and the vast economic and developmental potential of the sport sector. By highlighting entrepreneurship as a critical concern for students in this field, the study addresses an issue that has received relatively limited attention in previous research.
Sports management, marketing
Vajiheh Javani; Naser Dokhtbagher; Saeid Pashazadeh; Yaghub Badri Azarin
Abstract
Today, social media marketing has created a growing and remarkable trend in the marketing activities of football clubs, and a significant part of the exchange of sports goods and services has been transferred to electronic platforms. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify the functions ...
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Today, social media marketing has created a growing and remarkable trend in the marketing activities of football clubs, and a significant part of the exchange of sports goods and services has been transferred to electronic platforms. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify the functions of social media marketing strategies of Iranian Premier League football clubs. The research was applied in terms of purpose, and data collection and analysis were carried out using the fuzzy Delphi technique in three stages. The statistical population of the study consisted of 20 experts in the fields of sport management and sport marketing, who were selected purposively. In the fuzzy Delphi process, components and indicators were first identified, and then their importance was evaluated across several stages, leading to expert consensus. The findings of the research indicated that transactional marketing strategy, relationship marketing strategy, database marketing strategy, knowledge-based marketing strategy, and customer-oriented marketing strategy can have valuable functions in the effectiveness of social media marketing activities of Iranian Premier League football clubs. These functions are realized through creating customer loyalty and satisfaction, providing the groundwork for brand recognition and brand awareness in order to enhance brand identity, increasing market share and perceptions of product quality and relative price, developing new products, increasing sales, and reducing marketing costs. The results of the study also confirmed this issue. The achievements of this study can provide appropriate solutions for the development of social media marketing activities in the football industry.
Sports management, marketing
Amir Derakhshan; Mehdi Kohandel; Hossein Abdolmaleki; Seyed Nemat Khalifeh
Abstract
Excellence in the highly competitive sports industry requires appropriate marketing strategies. Marketing researchers have long identified brand authenticity as one of the key pillars of marketing and consider it critically important for consumers. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of open ...
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Excellence in the highly competitive sports industry requires appropriate marketing strategies. Marketing researchers have long identified brand authenticity as one of the key pillars of marketing and consider it critically important for consumers. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of open innovation and social media marketing on football clubs' brand authenticity, with value creation and brand mental image as mediating variables. In terms of objective, this research is applied, and in terms of strategy, it is descriptive-correlational, conducted using structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of fans of football clubs in the active leagues of the country. A total of 450 questionnaires were distributed, and 428 questionnaires were analyzed. To collect the required data, the following instruments were used: the Open Innovation questionnaire by Peter et al. (2016), the Social Media Marketing questionnaire by Kim et al. (2017), the Brand Authenticity questionnaire by Kadirov (2010), the Value Creation questionnaire by Zeinoddin et al. (2012), and the Brand Mental Image questionnaire by Ulrich (2009). The validity of the questionnaires was confirmed by 13 sports management professors, and the reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.88, 0.77, 0.89, 0.89, and 0.70, respectively. SPSS and SmartPLS statistical software were used for data analysis. The findings showed that open innovation and social media marketing have a positive and significant effect on brand authenticity, value creation, and brand mental image of football clubs. Furthermore, brand value creation and brand mental image have a positive and significant effect on brand authenticity. Therefore, it can be concluded that attention to factors such as innovation and social media marketing can strengthen a club's brand in terms of value creation, mental image, and authenticity.
