Sustainable performance of sports business: The role of technological intelligence and the mediating effects of organizational agility and customer agility capabilities

In today's highly competitive sports environment, where businesses compete without regard to geographical boundaries, achieving and maintaining a leading position in the industry has become a challenge. Value creation in sports organizations based on knowledge entrepreneurship has become increasingly important due to the necessity of coping with various changes, especially in the technology domain that has emerged in the sports and technology environment. Organizations and businesses in sports, particularly with increasing competition in the sports market, play a crucial role in their success through productivity and efficiency. Therefore, this research examines the impact of technology intelligence on the sustainable performance of sports businesses, as well as the mediating roles of organizational agility and customer agility in realizing the full potential of technology intelligence as influential background factors. This research employed a quantitative research method based on a descriptive-survey approach for the research model examination. The statistical population of this study consisted of all managers and individuals engaged in sports businesses. To determine the minimum sample size in PLS-SEM, the rule of thumb of 10 times was applied. Accordingly, due to the improvement of research reliability, a sample size of 250 individuals participated in the study through online convenience sampling. The sports businesses investigated in this research comprised three main sectors. The first section included sports service clinics (such as sports massage, corrective exercises, and rehabilitation), and fitness clubs (sports consultancy, private and general coaching, fitness clubs, virtual sports services, sports performance analysts, and sports camps). Finally, the third section encompassed sports goods manufacturing companies and sports goods stores. A questionnaire with two sections was used to collect research data. The first section included participants' demographic information, while the second section was used to collect data on the four main variables of the research (technology intelligence, sustainable performance of sports businesses, organizational agility, and customer agility). All questionnaires in this study utilized a 5-point Likert scale. The questionnaire was sent to sports management professors for face and content validity confirmation. Thirteen of these professors provided their feedback to the research group, which was incorporated into the questionnaires. Furthermore, the reliability of the research structure was confirmed through Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the demographic characteristics of the population using SPSS version 27 software, and for hypothesis testing, PLS-SEM and Smart PLS version 3.2.8 software were utilized. Additionally, statistical tests including path coefficients, importance of path coefficients, and variance explained by the inner constructs were employed, as well as the Sobel and Goodman mediation tests for hypothesis testing. This study was conducted on sports businesses, focusing on analyzing the effect of technology intelligence on the sustainable performance of sports businesses with the mediating roles of organizational agility and customer agility. The results showed that the effect of technology intelligence on the sustainable performance of sports businesses was not significant (β = 0.073), but technology intelligence had a positive and significant impact on organizational agility and customer agility (β = 0.66; β = 0.604). Furthermore, the effects of organizational agility and customer agility on the sustainable performance of sports businesses were positive and significant (β = 0.318; β = 0.513). Ultimately, the effect of technology intelligence on the sustainable performance of sports businesses with the mediating roles of organizational agility and customer agility was positive and significant (β = 0.210; β = 0.310). The application of information technology enables organizations to maximize their investments and use of technology, leading to increased agility and competitive advantage. Technology intelligence also influences various aspects of agility in sports businesses, such as human resource agility and innovation agility (Jinkins, 2021). Another study by Olan et al (2022) found that "implementing artificial intelligence technologies alone is not sufficient to improve organizational performance", therefore, it can be acknowledged that the mediating role of organizational agility can be instrumental in creating competitive advantage with value creation capability and formulating sustainable strategies for sports businesses. Sports businesses, due to their highly dynamic market and intense competition, strive to enhance their agility. Organizational agility and customer agility are two important factors that can help sports businesses compete effectively (Hu and Kee, 2022). Improving the performance of sports businesses and utilizing innovative technologies, including technology intelligence, can enable them to achieve optimal performance in a dynamic and competitive business environment. The use of technology intelligence allows sports businesses to utilize their data and respond to the needs of their customers through data analysis. This enables sports businesses to improve their products and services, increase customer satisfaction, and find the best solutions for enhancing their performance with organizational agility. In essence, technology intelligence helps sports businesses stay up-to-date and quickly adapt to environmental changes and customer needs. Moreover, with the use of technology intelligence, sports businesses can enhance their productivity and promptly respond to the needs of their customers. Technology intelligence helps sports businesses maintain their growth and development by utilizing innovative technologies and ensuring optimal performance in the competitive environment they operate in (Smith et al, 2004). Sustainable performance of sports businesses can be achieved through the mediating role of organizational agility and customer agility. By focusing on improving business performance, innovation capability, and leveraging new technologies, sports businesses can gain a competitive advantage in a dynamic business environment. In this regard, technology intelligence plays a crucial role in effectively using and deploying innovative technologies, identifying customer needs, and designing new products and services, leading to sustainable performance. This study confirmed that technology intelligence does not directly affect economic, social, and environmental performance, and organizational agility and customer agility play a mediating role.