Aim: To remain competitive in the sports industry, enhancing brand equity has become a crucial issue for private sports clubs. Accordingly, understanding the causal relationships of the determinants of enhancing brand equity in private sports clubs is essential.
Methods: The method of this research is mixed (qualitative and quantitative). In the qualitative section, the research strategy is grounded theory with an emerging approach, and in the quantitative section, it is interpretive structural modeling. The participants in this research consisted of experts in the field of marketing and sports marketing. A purposive sampling method was used for sampling, and based on this, 15 people were selected. The data collection tool in the qualitative section was a semi-structured interview, and in the quantitative section, it was a 10×10 square matrix. The qualitative data were analyzed with three stages of open, selective, and theoretical coding, and the quantitative data were analyzed with the interpretive structural modeling method and MICMAC analysis.
Result: The findings showed 10 general determinants related to enhancing brand equity in private sports clubs.
Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that enhancing brand equity in private sports clubs is a complex and multidimensional process, shaped by multiple factors operating at different levels. To effectively strengthen their brand equity, clubs must adopt a comprehensive approach that considers these factors and develop appropriate strategies tailored to each of them.
