Investigating Networking Capability of Sports Clubs in Ardabil Province

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the networking capability of women’s sport clubs in Ardabil province in order to both benefit the clubs and promote the development of women's sports. It was a descriptive applied research. The statistical population of Ardabil sports club staff is 200 and based on Morgan table the sample size was estimated 120 people (n = 120). The data were collected through Business Networking Questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the reliability of the questionnaire. One-sample t-test and SPSS 20 software were also used to test the hypotheses. The results of this study showed that Ardabil women's clubs' product networking capability, processes, information system and organizational culture were significantly higher than the average (mean= 3 and significance level= 95%). Also, the networking of managers, staff and organizational structure were found to be significantly lower than the average. The results showed that by spreading culture of networking activities and changing the approach of managers and staff of women's clubs, new products can be developed for existing clubs. Also, standardizing processes and using new information systems can facilitate the networking process since existing clubs cannot  develop on their own because of their small size.