The Role of Customer Knowledge Management in Creating Competitive Advantage from Tractorsazi Tabriz Fan's Viewpoints

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of customer knowledge management in creating competitive advantage from the perspective of Tractorsazi Tabriz fans. Method was descriptive - correlation. Cluster random sampling method was used to select sample. 450 questionnaires were usable after collection. Sharon Lawson (2003) Knowledge Management Questionnaire and Hoseini (2010) Competitive Advantage Questionnaire were used. The validity of these questionnaires were determined by sport management experts and their reliability was obtained by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient as 0.81 and 0.79 respectively. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was utilized to analyze data. The output of AMOS software showed the fit of the structural model (GFI = 0.91, AGFI = 0.91, NFI = 0.92, CFI = 0.97, RMSEA = 0.041). The results showed that the knowledge organization (beta coefficient = 0.41) was the strongest predictor of competitive advantage of this club among fans. Also, application of knowledge, knowledge creation, knowledge attraction, save and dissemination of knowledge (beta coefficient of 0.23, 0.21, 0.18, 0.13 and 0.07) were good predictors of competitive advantage from fan's perspective, that is to say those clubs which manage their customer's obtained knowledge increase their competitive advantage compared with other clubs.