National pride by improving franchise development in the country's sports industry with fuzzy Delphi approach and structural-interpretive modeling

Subject Areas : Sociological studies of sports

Reza  Mahdian ¹ (Ph.D. Student in Sports Management Faculty of Sports Sciences, Isfahan(Khorasgan) branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran)
Mohammad  Soltan Hosseini ² (Associate professor in sport management, Sport sciences Faculty, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.)
Ghasem  Rahimi Sarshebsderani ³ (Assistant Professor of Sports Management Faculty of Sports Sciences, Isfahan (Khorasgan) branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan,Iran.)

Received: 2023-02-21 Accepted : 2023-06-24 Published : 2023-12-22

Keywords: Sports, Franchise, Industry, development,

Abstract :

Franchising is an innovative business method in which people behave according to quality and improvement (Guo, 2023). Franchise is a new entrepreneurial method in the market (Rosado, 2023). Franchise is a system and business relationship between franchisor and franchisee under a brand name. In exchange for money, the owner of the brand and business model gives the franchisee the right to use the said brand and business model, including all related trademarks, goods, systems, etc. (Abdul Ghani, 2022). To provide ongoing service and support, franchisors must generate revenue and profit. Franchise franchise guarantees require the franchisor to invest in the success of the franchisee and guarantee the flourishing of the brand. However, fundamentally, franchising is about the franchisor's relationship with its franchisees (Rye, 2021).Compared to other types of business, franchising will be less risky than starting an independent business, because franchisees benefit from the brand recognition and knowledge of their franchisor. This also makes young franchisees successful because they follow exactly the franchisor's instructions (Le Bot, 2022). In contrast, franchisees provide financial capital for the franchise system, knowledge of geographic areas and labor markets, and management of their workforce (Cook, 2021). Although franchising allows franchisees to own, manage, and operate their own businesses without assuming all of the associated risks, franchise growth is becoming more widespread in response to the changing competitive environment because franchise products are more stable and Their quality is known, which leads to national and local trust in the products and services provided (Sun, 2021).MethodologyAccording to the obtained results, it is clear that 10 factors are related to the first level. Creating commercial leverage, increasing production in sports, franchise preliminary training, platform modifiability, platform and legal support, participant attraction structure, workforce participation, sustainable business, strategic policies, and support policies. Also, two factors are on the second level. These two factors include creating financial concentration and creating government policies. The only factor related to the third level is the semiotics of employee experience. The factor of national pride remains in the model, which is related to the fourth level of the modelFindingsAccording to the obtained results, it is clear that 10 factors are related to the first level. Creating commercial leverage, increasing production in sports, franchise preliminary training, platform modifiability, platform and legal support, participant attraction structure, workforce participation, sustainable business, strategic policies, and support policies. Also, two factors are on the second level. These two factors include creating financial concentration and creating government policies. The only factor related to the third level is the semiotics of employee experience. The factor of national pride remains in the model, which is related to the fourth level of the modelConclusionFranchise as a market entry strategy can be an advantage for the state sports of our country and many countries benefit from this system. Therefore, considering that the strategy of expert human resources is an important thing in improving the business of sports products, it is suggested that they pay attention to this matter and help by taking measures to develop better and more marketing strategies. For this purpose, they can get help from management consulting companies in the field of formulation and implementation of various franchise strategies. It is also appropriate for sports businesses to increase the recognition of the abilities, weaknesses and strengths of human resources by formulating appropriate strategies, which will allow sports product businesses to gain a competitive advantage. It is suggested to institutionalize the sale of sports products by adopting policies and determining appropriate structures, as well as providing favorable environments and platforms. It is suggested that by holding educational workshops for sports businesses, they provide business development with a franchise approach. Also, among the limitations of the present research, it can be stated that the data collection coincided with the spread of the corona virus, which caused problems in physical access to the research samples. Also, this research has been done cross-sectionally. Because of this, it makes it difficult to draw conclusions about causality. And the issues related to coordination with the respondents were among the other issues that faced problems and delays in the research implementation process.