Document Type : Original
Authors
1
Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran
2
Associate Professor of Sport Manegement, Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran.
3
Associate Professor of Sport Management, Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran
4
Department of Sport Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran (First affiliation) Piranshahr Education Department, General Directorate of Education of West Azerbaijan Province, Piranshahr, Iran (Second affiliation)
10.22108/asml.2026.147276.1119
Abstract
This study aimed to develop a grounded theory model explaining crisis management processes within Iranian sports organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using Strauss and Corbin's (1990) grounded theory approach, qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 senior sports managers and sport management academics directly involved in decision-making during the pandemic. Data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding using manual coding supported by Microsoft Word. The analysis yielded a six-dimensional paradigmatic model. The model identifies six interconnected dimensions rather than a single cause. Managerial weaknesses and health-psychological vulnerabilities constituted the causal conditions. Managerial weaknesses and health-psychological vulnerabilities constituted the causal conditions. These operated within economic and infrastructural constraints and were shaped by legal and cultural-political intervening factors. Crisis response strategies were categorized as cultural, structural, and health-psychological. These strategies contributed to improved organizational resilience, health protection, and adaptive capacity. This study is limited by its focus on managerial perspectives and the specific Iranian context, which may restrict transferability. Nevertheless, the findings provide a context-sensitive framework to support future crisis preparedness and policy development in sport organizations.
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