Determinants of Success in the Freelancing Sector of the Football Industry
Keywords:
Freelancing, Soccer, Job Creation, Employment, Sports Entrepreneurship, BusinessAbstract
The purpose of this research is to identify the key determinants of success in the freelancing sector of the football industry. This research is applied in terms of purpose and was conducted qualitatively in terms of strategy. The statistical population of this study includes 20 experts in the field of sports entrepreneurship and football management. In-depth and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Grounded theory and Glaser's emergent approach were used to analyze the data. Coding was done in two stages of actual and theoretical coding, and three stages of open, axial, and selective coding, and the research components were identified. In the open coding stage, 124 codes were identified, in the axial coding stage 28 codes were identified, and in the selective coding stage 8 main categories affecting the development of freelancing in football were identified Which include: structural enablers, institutional dynamics, cultural capital, regulatory environment, learning and competency systems, networking mechanisms, market orientation, and psychological and behavioral skills were divided into three levels: macro (policy and structure), meso (organizational and network), and micro (individual). According to the research findings, the presented model can be used as a basis for necessary measures in the development of freelancing in football by policymakers and decision-makers in the field of employment in football.
Downloads
References
[1] A. Khaledifard, S. N. Shetab Bushehri, A. Khatibi, and S. Heydarinejad, "Identifying and analyzing the context and intervening factors affecting the sustainable employment of Iranian sports science graduates," Strategic Studies on Youth and Sports, vol. 22, no. 61, pp. 297-318, 2023.
[2] F. Saeedi, N. Benar, and S. R. Miraskari, "Three Decades of Research on Employment in the Iranian Sports Labor Market: A Look at Micro, Meso, and Macro Barriers," Human Resource Management in Sports, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 449-487, 2024.
[3] A. J. Wood, V. Lehdonvirta, and M. Graham, "Workers of the internet unite? Online freelancer organisation among remote gig economy workers in six asian and african countries," New Technology, Work and Employment, 2018, doi: 10.1111/ntwe.12112.
[4] M. Man, "The future of sports tech: Here's where investors are placing their bets," ed, 2019.
[5] A. Ahonen, "Entrepreneurial growth in elite team sport SMEs in Finland," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, 2019, doi: 10.1108/JEPP-03-2019-102.
[6] V. Ratten, "Sport Startups: What are Thay?," in Sport Startups: New Advances in Entrepreneurship, 2017.
[7] M. Ghorbani and M. Vahadani, "Designing the competency model of entrepreneurs in Iran's sports industry," Sports Management Studies, vol. 39, pp. 149-168, 2016.
[8] M. Ehsani, H. Kuze Chian, H. Henry, and Z. Mandalizadeh, "Identifying dimensions of social entrepreneurship in sports," Sport Management, vol. 4, pp. 599-616, 2016.
[9] M. Ghorbani, J. Safari, and M. Esmaili, "Sustainable development through sports: obstacles and strategies," Sports Management Studies, vol. 60, no. 12, pp. 83-102, 2019.
[10] T. Ashuri, M. Dosti, S. M. Razavi, and A. Hosseini, "Identifying entrepreneurial opportunities in the sports industry with the approach of championship sports," Strategic Quarterly of Sports and Youth, vol. 38, pp. 85-102, 2022.
[11] N. Afshari pour and M. Hakak Zadeh, "An Entrepreneurial Capacity Model in Iran Sports Industry with a Combination of Design Approaches," Scientific quarterly of strategic studies of sports and youth, vol. 53, no. 10, pp. 193-209, 2021.
[12] S. Razavi, M. Broumand, and A. Azimi Dalarstaghi, "Designing the employment system for graduates of physical education and sports sciences with a privatization approach," 2014, vol. 8.
[13] S. Rezaei and M. Salehipour, "Analysis of factors affecting the development of Iran's sports industry with the foundation's data approach," Journal of Human Resource Management in Sports, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 89-107, 2017.
[14] E. Munirovich Akhmetshin, J. Eduardovna Mueller, and A. Khamitovich Khakimov, "Freehancing as a type of entereneurship: advantages, disadntages, disadvantages, disadvantages and development prospects," Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 2018.
[15] T. Shirvani, M. Ismaili, and A. D. Ferdowsi, "A qualitative study of the positive consequences of using sports marketing in Iran's premier football league clubs," Scientific Quarterly of Applied Research in Sports Management, vol. 6, no. 11, pp. 15-30, 2024.
[16] R. Khujasteh Iqbal, M. Jalali Farahani, and A. Alidoost Ghafarakhi, "Investigating the state of basic football development in the country based on the grassroots football program," Scientific quarterly of strategic studies of sports and youth, vol. 6, no. 56, pp. 91-109, 2023.
[17] H. Ansari Samani and M. Mirzapour, "The effect of political risk on entrepreneurship: Evidence from selected countries of the world," Eco-economic studies of innovation, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 13-63, 2024.
[18] M. Rahmaty, A. Alvandi, and S. Hosseini, "Presenting a Development Model of Sport Entrepreneurship in the Professional Clubs of Premier Football League," Entrepreneurial Development Quarterly, vol. 2, no. 15, 2022.
[19] P. Niazi, R. Nazari, and M. Azim Zadeh, "Presenting the sustainable development model of Iran's sports entrepreneurship from a strategic perspective based on the data theory of the Foundation," New Approaches in Sports Management, no. 29, p. 224, 2019.
[20] A. Zivari and M. Mohammadi Khayareh, "A systematic review of economic factors affecting entrepreneurship," technology Growth Quarterly, vol. 16, no. 62, pp. 32-43, 2019, doi: 10.52547/jstpi.20815.16.62.32.
[21] D. Pierce, "Analysis of sport sales courses in the sport management curriculum," Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.jhlste.2018.10.001.
[22] A. Imani and A. Hosseinifar, "The impact of social networks on digital entrepreneurship in knowledge-based companies," Smart Business Management Quarterly, vol. 6, no. 22, pp. 1-22, 2016.
[23] D. Nasr Esfahani and M. Ashrafi, "Presenting the Freelancing model in Iran's sports industry," Sports Marketing Studies, vol. 6, no. 2, 2025.
[24] F. Sharififar and F. Mohammadian, "Factors of the organizational era affecting the entrepreneurship of sports organizations: a meta-analysis," Contemporary researches in sports management, pp. 53-64, 2016.
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Siavash Kianmehr, Davood Nasr Esfahani (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
