Strategies for Attracting and Retaining Financial Supporters and Sports Philanthropists in Women’s Sports: A Case Study of Qazvin Province
Keywords:
Sponsorship, Sports philanthropists, Women’s sports, Structural equation modeling, Qazvin ProvinceAbstract
This study aimed to identify causal, contextual, and intervening factors and to design a localized model for attracting and retaining financial supporters and sports philanthropists in women’s sports in Qazvin Province. A sequential exploratory mixed-methods design was applied. In the qualitative phase, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 experts, including sports managers, club directors, sports department officials, and active philanthropists in Qazvin, and analyzed using grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin approach). Based on these findings, a researcher-made questionnaire with 105 items was developed and distributed among 245 respondents, including managers, experts, philanthropists, and corporate sponsors engaged in women’s sports. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling with SPSS 27 and SmartPLS 3. Results revealed significant effects of causal (β=0.912, t=43.584), contextual (β=0.590, t=40.622), and intervening (β=0.452, t=45.126) conditions on strategies, and strategies significantly predicted outcomes (β=0.929, t=29.048). The Coefficient of Determination (R²) values ranged from 0.796 to 0.863, and the Goodness of Fit (GOF) index was 0.734, indicating strong model fit. The findings indicate that improving infrastructure, enhancing managerial capabilities, adopting modern marketing and social branding, and fostering inter-organizational collaboration—alongside establishing clear legal and economic frameworks—play a critical role in attracting and retaining sponsors and philanthropists in women’s sports. The proposed model can support sustainable investment and promote the development of women’s sports in the province.
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