Identification and Development of Financial Resource Mobilization and Sponsorship Methods in Sports Competitions and Marketing
Subject Areas : Economic
Siavash Khodaparast
1
,
Azim Salahi Kojour
2
,
Mozhgan Tavakoli
3
1 - Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, La. C., Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran
2 - Department of Sports Management, Shafagh Tonekabon Institute of Higher Education, Tonekabon, Iran
3 - Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, La. C., Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran
Keywords: Student Sports Financing, Sponsors, Sports Marketing, Local Capacities, Inter-organizational Collaboration.,
Abstract :
The present study aimed to identify and develop a comprehensive model for methods of attracting financial resources and sponsors in sports competitions and sports marketing within the education system of Gilan Province, Iran. This applied research employed a sequential exploratory mixed-methods approach, conducted in two qualitative and quantitative phases. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 experts in the fields of sports, sports marketing, and financial management of the education system in Gilan Province. The data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis. In the quantitative phase, the extracted conceptual model was validated by 12 experts using the Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI). Subsequently, the model was tested using data collected from 371 managers, coaches, physical education teachers, and active sponsors in the province, through structural equation modeling with the partial least squares approach using SmartPLS 3 software. The qualitative findings led to the identification of 194 meaning units, 54 open codes, 18 sub-themes, and 6 main themes, including: methods of attracting financial resources, sponsors and sponsorship, sports marketing strategies, financial challenges and barriers, inter-organizational collaborations, and local and regional capacities. The quantitative results indicated that all structural relationships in the model were significant at the 0.001 level. Among the model's dimensions, financial challenges and barriers (path coefficient = 0.901) and local and regional capacities (path coefficient = 0.898) showed the strongest relationships with the core construct of attracting financial resources and sponsors. In contrast, sports marketing strategies (path coefficient = 0.708) demonstrated the weakest, yet still significant, relationship. This pattern suggests that attracting financial resources in student sports in Gilan Province is a multidimensional phenomenon most strongly linked to the intensity of financial barriers and the ability to leverage local and regional capacities. Alongside these, sponsorship, inter-organizational collaborations, and marketing strategies also play significant roles in explaining the model.
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