Hiwa Bahramfard, Ghodratallah Bagheri, Asadullah Kordnaeij, Ali Saberi,
Volume 15, Issue 29 (4-2025)
Introduction and Purpose: Given the rapid pace of technological changes, any business that fails to adapt to environmental changes will undoubtedly fall behind in the competition. Therefore, in order to take advantage of emerging opportunities, entrepreneurs must make decisions in the shortest possible time. This makes entrepreneurial decision-making more complex and challenging. Accordingly, the present study aimed to investigate opportunity exploitation decisions with an emphasis on the role of entrepreneurial personality in sports businesses.
Methodology: This research employed a mixed-methods approach and is classified as developmental-applied in terms of its objective. In the first step, through meta-synthesis of 32 scholarly articles, 36 indicators were identified. In the second step, using thematic analysis of interviews with academic experts, 36 indicators were extracted, of which 27 were confirmed through the Delphi method. In the third step, narrative inquiry was used to explore the lived experiences of six entrepreneurial leaders in the field of sports, leading to the identification of 34 themes.
Findings: Based on the results, after integrating the three stages, 44 indicators were classified into seven dimensions. The validity and appropriateness of these dimensions were confirmed using the t-test and the four criteria of coherence, comprehensibility, generalizability, and control.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that entrepreneurial personality significantly contributes to improving decision-making regarding opportunity exploitation in sports and reducing environmental risk. This is achieved through the development of seven key roles: self-efficacy, autonomy, risk-taking, personal traits, creativity, perseverance, entrepreneurial networking, and entrepreneurial skills and experience.
