Strategic Marketing Capabilities in Adventure Sport Tourism: A Qualitative Model for Customer Engagement and Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Purpose: The rapid growth of adventure sport tourism, combined with intensifying competition and evolving tourist expectations, has increased the need for more strategic marketing approaches in this sector. Although previous research has examined various marketing practices in tourism and sport, limited attention has been given to marketing as a set of dynamic strategic capabilities. Accordingly, the present research aimed to identify strategic marketing capabilities in adventure sport tourism and develop a qualitative model explaining their influence on customer engagement and sustainable competitive advantage.Methodology: A qualitative approach based on thematic analysis was adopted. Data were collected through ۱۵ semi-structured interviews with tourism managers, tour operators, marketing specialists, and adventure guides. Interview transcripts were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis framework to identify major themes and conceptual relationships. Participants were selected through purposive sampling, and data collection continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. To enhance analytical rigor, independent coding, intercoder agreement, and triangulation techniques were employed.Findings: The analysis identified five interrelated strategic marketing capabilities: digital marketing capability, experiential value creation capability, sustainable brand positioning capability, niche market differentiation capability, and collaborative networking capability. These capabilities were derived from the thematic analysis of interview data and constitute the core dimensions of the proposed capability-based model for adventure sport tourism marketing.Originality: By proposing an integrated conceptual model, the research provides a deeper understanding of marketing in adventure sport tourism. The findings demonstrate that sustainable competitive advantage in this sector is not merely the outcome of promotional activities, but rather emerges through the integration of experiential orientation, digital engagement, sustainability, and collaborative networking. The research contributes to the sport tourism marketing literature.

کلیدواژه ها:

Collaborative Networking ، Digital Engagement ، Experiential Orientation ، Promotional Activities ، Sustainability