Designing the Sponsorship Pattern for National Public Sport using Grounded Theory

The purpose of this study was to design the sponsorship pattern of sport for all in Iran. The research was based on qualitative type with grounded theory approach. Theoretical saturation was achieved after 21 deep and semi-structured interviews with experts and managers of sport for all and sponsorship fields. Categories were identified after completion of coding and data abstraction processes. Purposive and snowball sampling continued to theoretical saturation. The model was designed according to systematic model of Strauss and Corbin (1994). Data analysis followed in three steps of open, axial, and selective coding by using MAXQDA software. During the open coding process, categories such as causal condition, contextual condition, intervening factors, actions and strategies, and outcomes of sport for all sponsorship were extracted. Then in the axial coding stage, the connection between these categories: causal condition (financial support infrastructure, economic factors, management factors, sponsorship culture, government factors, human resources, competitive advantage); contextual condition (social factors, legal factors, media factors); intervening factors (political factors, organizational factors); action & interaction strategies (sponsors attraction development, infrastructure to attract sponsors, improving rules for sponsors, benefiting from experts, interacting with the media, granting funds to sponsors); and the outcomes (benefits of financial support for the Federation, benefits of financial support for sponsoring companies) was determined in terms of coding paradigm in sports manufacturing corporations. Also, in the selective coding phases, each component of the coding paradigm was described, the story line was depicted and the theory was created.