Identifying Factors Affecting the Reputation of Iranian Football Clubs from Experts’ and Fans’ Viewpoints Using the Fuzzy Delphi Method

Organizations, especially sports clubs, are in an endeavor to promote their reputation to be able to reach the peak of success. Despite the existence of research that has been done on organizational reputation, there is still no comprehensive and complete scale in this regard. Therefore, the present study aims to identify the factors affecting the reputation of Iranian football clubs from experts’ viewpoints by using the Fuzzy Delphi method and also confirm the found factors based on fans’ opinions.

This research follows a purpose-oriented approach and was carried out in two independent and consecutive stages to achieve the desired goals. In the first stage, according to the opinion of 25 sports experts and using the two-stage fuzzy Delphi method, research indicators were identified, and in the second stage, these indicators were given to 384 selected fans of the Premier Football League teams in the season (96-97) in the form of a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire.  The sampling method in this research was available and the second-stage questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS.v19 and AMOS software.

The results of the confirmatory factor analysis in the second stage of the study showed that nine components of public relations (media and social relations), the identity and image of the club brand, team performance, team tradition, team social responsibility, team orientation, team management quality, and the financial health of the team, theoretically and practically, are confirmed as components of the club's reputation.

Based on the nine factors affecting club reputation, the results of this research suggest that multiple and multilateral indicators should be considered in the evaluation of the organizational reputation of the Premier Football League teams and a comprehensive approach should be used for this purpose.