Designing a Conceptual Framework for Innovation Capability Development in Iranian Football Premier League

Purpose: Innovation is a critical factor in the success of football clubs. The use of innovation in organizations leads to the development of competitive advantage and sustainability. Innovation is the source of competitive advantage in the public and non-profit sectors by improving efficiency and effectiveness. This article aimed to design a framework for developing innovation capability in Iranian Premier League Clubs. Methodology: The participants were 16 management and sports management professors. The sampling strategy was purposeful. To analyze the interviews, we used content analysis based on the Grounded Theory. Findings: We extracted seven elements base on the interviews. They included financial infrastructure resources, transformational leadership, strategic thinking, innovative marketing, human resources capacity, knowledge process, and institutional environment. The results showed that financial infrastructure resources as the tangible resources and institutional factors combined with a kind of transformational leadership and strategic thinking of board members in terms of innovation, innovative marketing, and effective use of knowledge could enable football clubs to innovate. Originality: The new capabilities of the Premier Football League clubs have been less discussed. In this study, we introduced the financial independence groundes, competitive advantage, value creation through innovation and supportive approaches of clubs in Iran.