1
Coach Department of Physical Educaition And Sports Science, National University of Skills, Tehran , Iran.
2
Professor, Department of Sports Management, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The aim was to design and test an interpretive structural model of cultural factors affecting Iran's sports system using a three-phase hybrid approach (ISM-DEMATEL-SEM). This applied research employed a sequential exploratory mixed-method design. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews with 25 sports management experts were analyzed via Braun & Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis. In the quantitative phase, causal relationships and levels of factors were determined using ISM and DEMATEL. Then a researcher-developed questionnaire was distributed among 450 managers, coaches, and experts from 10 sports federations (412 valid returns). The model was validated using PLS-SEM. Findings: Qualitative analysis identified 92 open codes, 24 organizing themes, and 6 overarching themes (socio-cultural, political-legal, institutional-structural, managerial-executive, technological-media, economic-resource). ISM results showed socio-cultural factors at the most fundamental level (Level 1) and economic-resource factors at the most dependent level (Level 5). DEMATEL indicated that socio-cultural factors had the highest positive net effect (D-R = +0.524), while economic-resource factors had the highest negative net effect (-0.534). PLS-SEM results (GFI=0.93, CFI=0.94, RMSEA=0.052, SRMR=0.059) confirmed good model fit. Conclusion: Socio-cultural factors are the most fundamental and influential components of Iran's sports system; structural reforms are doomed to fail without attention to the cultural context. The proposed five-level model provides a comprehensive framework for cultural policy-making and planning in Iran's sports system.
Dastgerdi, M. , rezaeisoufi, D. M. and Ghasemi, D. H. (2026). Structural Equation Modeling of Cultural Interpretative Structural Factors in the Iranian Sports System (Combined ISM DEMATEL SEM Approach). Bi-Quarterly Journal of Cultural Guardianship of the Islamic, 16(35), 17-1.
MLA
Dastgerdi, M. , , rezaeisoufi, D. M. , and Ghasemi, D. H. . "Structural Equation Modeling of Cultural Interpretative Structural Factors in the Iranian Sports System (Combined ISM DEMATEL SEM Approach)", Bi-Quarterly Journal of Cultural Guardianship of the Islamic, 16, 35, 2026, 17-1.
HARVARD
Dastgerdi, M., rezaeisoufi, D. M., Ghasemi, D. H. (2026). 'Structural Equation Modeling of Cultural Interpretative Structural Factors in the Iranian Sports System (Combined ISM DEMATEL SEM Approach)', Bi-Quarterly Journal of Cultural Guardianship of the Islamic, 16(35), pp. 17-1.
CHICAGO
M. Dastgerdi , D. M. rezaeisoufi and D. H. Ghasemi, "Structural Equation Modeling of Cultural Interpretative Structural Factors in the Iranian Sports System (Combined ISM DEMATEL SEM Approach)," Bi-Quarterly Journal of Cultural Guardianship of the Islamic, 16 35 (2026): 17-1,
VANCOUVER
Dastgerdi, M., rezaeisoufi, D. M., Ghasemi, D. H. Structural Equation Modeling of Cultural Interpretative Structural Factors in the Iranian Sports System (Combined ISM DEMATEL SEM Approach). Bi-Quarterly Journal of Cultural Guardianship of the Islamic, 2026; 16(35): 17-1.