رضا حیدری - PhD Candidate of Sport Management, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
محمد کشتی دار - Associate Professor of Sport Management, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
امین دهقان قهفرخی - Sport Management Department, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
مهدی اصفهانی - Sports Centre, Imam Reza International University, Iran
مارکو پریچ - University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Opatija, Croatia
فرزانه اویسی ثانی - Master’s Student in Sport Management, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

The purpose of this study is to examine the most important institutional factors that support the exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities within the sports tourism industry. The present study is a qualitative research based on data gathered from available documentary studies and semi-structured interviews conducted with ۳۵ experts in the field of sports tourism and sports entrepreneurship in Iran. The interpretive structural model (ISM) was used to analyze the data. According to the results of the research, ۷۴ indicators were identified and classified under ۱۱ institutional factors, including rule of law, government policies, social norms, social values, social beliefs, expert knowledge promotion, social knowledge promotion, public sector support, private sector support, complementary attraction, and information technology, at five hierarchical levels. Government policies and public sector support were identified as fifth-level factors that act as the model’s cornerstone. Finally, the research results suggest that for the growth of the sports tourism industry in developing countries such as Iran, other identified factors must also be involved in the growth of this industry. In this regard, the existence of an appropriate legal, normative, supportive, and educational environment will affect the ability and willingness of market participants to identify and take advantage of entrepreneurial opportunities in the emerging sports tourism industry.

educational and supportive factors, Entrepreneurship, legal factors, normative and cultural factors, Sports Tourism