The role of entrepreneurial orientation and motivational factors for sport sponsors in strengthening the status of sports tourism

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of entrepreneurial orientation and motivational factors for sport sponsors in strengthening sport tourism status in Iran. This research is of practical purpose and in nature. The statistical population was all professors of sport and tourism management in all provinces of Iran. The statistical sample size was estimated 252 using G-POWER software and Cochran formula. The Hughes & Morgan (2007) questionnaire of entrepreneurial orientation the questionnaire of sport support motivation factors of Hematinejad et al (2016) and a questionnaire on strengthening sport tourism status were used. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Amos software. The KolmogorovSmirnov and Pearson's correlation test were used to determine the normality of the statistical population and to test the hypotheses and the structural equation modeling was used to investigate the effect of entrepreneurial orientation and motivating factors of sport sponsors on enhancing sport tourism status. The results showed innovation had the most impact on entrepreneurial orientation,facilities had the most impact on motivating sport sponsors and health requirements had the most impact on enhancing sport tourism. It is necessary to prioritize and invest in the factors that are most important to experts in strengthening the sport tourism.