Designing a Model for Providing Banking Credits in the Development of Sports Businesses

The aim of this study was to design a model for the provision of bank credit to support the development of sports businesses. This research employed an exploratory mixed-methods design (qualitative-quantitative). In the qualitative phase, the research population consisted of university professors, managers and sports entrepreneurs, as well as staff and heads of public banks and private financial institutions. For conducting interviews, a purposive judgmental sampling method was used. In this phase, 20 interviews were conducted with experts familiar with the research subject. The data collection tool in the quantitative phase was a questionnaire derived from the qualitative findings. In the qualitative phase, coding methods were used to analyze the collected data. In the quantitative phase, the statistical population included all managers of sports businesses operating in both the production and service sectors (such as sports manufacturers, sports club managers, sports shop managers, and managers of sports-oriented knowledge-based companies) in Golestan Province. Based on Cochran’s formula, the sample size was determined to be 384 individuals. Descriptive statistics were used to describe demographic characteristics and research variables, and data analysis was performed using SPSS version 25. To examine the research model and test the hypotheses, Smart PLS software was used (significance level 0.05). The results of the qualitative coding revealed that the factors related to designing a bank credit model for the development of sports businesses include 16 axial codes (credit capital, economic stability in the sports industry, general environment, specialized environment, attitudinal, legal, economic, regulatory, types of bank credit, methods of granting bank credit, managerial, evaluation, social outcomes, developmental outcomes, and financial outcomes) and 91 open codes. In the quantitative part, the findings indicated that causal factors (such as the profitability of the sports industry) have a positive and significant effect on the provision of bank credit for the development of sports businesses. Additionally, the results showed that contextual factors (such as governmental support for sports) positively and significantly influence the provision of bank credit. Another finding revealed that intervening factors (such as strict banking regulations) also have a positive and significant effect on the provision of bank credit. Finally, the research demonstrated that the impact of strategies on the outcomes of bank credit in the development of sports businesses is positive and significant. The results confirmed that the proposed research model has a good overall fit.