Reimagining Sports Businesses in the Digital Realm: Exploring Transformative Indicators in the Era of Virtualization

This study aims to explore how sports businesses can be reimagined in the digital era by identifying key transformative indicators shaped by virtualization. The research is of mixed type (qualitative-quantitative). The statistical population of the qualitative section included all IT specialists in the sports industry and university professors with expertise in sports management and digitalization from executive and academic fields. Purposive sampling method was used to select the research samples. The sample size continued until theoretical saturation (15 people) was reached. In the initial stage, the data of this research were collected through semi-structured interviews with the selected samples. To ensure the validity, various methods such as tracking data over time (audit tracking) and consolidating the findings through repeated assessments of data and patterns were used. After the coding processes and identification of main themes and indicators, a questionnaire was developed to validate the extracted components. For qualitative data, content analysis was used, and in the quantitative phase, second-order confirmatory factor analysis was used using SPSS version 25 and Smart PLS version 3 software. Based on the findings, the foundations for developing digital business included business virtualization contexts, assumptions of the digital workplace in business; digital business processes included the efficiency of the virtual business system and business virtualization processes; digital business functions encompassed the development of digital business and the sustainability of the digital work environment. Also, the results of the validity and reliability analyses and confirmatory factor analysis of the research components indicated the appropriate validity of all items of the questionnaire obtained from the qualitative section. The examination of the indicators of the final research model also indicated the high validity of the model. According to other results, the desired model had appropriate fit indicators. This research provides a scientific and practical basis for policymakers and managers in the sports industry to better focus on advancing the virtualization and digitalization of sport businesses in their decision-making processes.