Sport Management Studies

Causal Relationship of Competitive Advantage with Conflict Sources and the Role of Mediator of Flexibility of Human Resources in the Sport Products Industry

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student of Sport Management, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor of Sport Management, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran

3 Associate Professor Sport Management, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract
The purpose of this study was causal relationship between competitive advantage and conflicting resources in the sport products industry. The research method was causal that was done in the form of field. A research sample was selected among managers and sport production units’ owners of Tehran. The instruments used in the research were Reyhani competitive advantage questionnaire (2015), Khapoor et al organizational conflict inventory questionnaire (2015) and Wright & Snell Human Resources Flexibility Questionnaire (1998) which after verifying its validity and reliability, was distributed among the samples. Descriptive statistics to analyze the data were used and for presenting the measurement model, SPSS and Lisrer softwares were used. The results showed that the model has a suitable fit and it has also been shown that the competitive advantage factor with influence coefficient 0.38 and influence coefficient 0.7 has a direct and significant effect on the flexibility of human resources and conflicting resources and also organizational flexibility factor with influence coefficient 0.27 has a direct and significant effect on conflicting resources. Therefore, considering results, it is suggested that managers and sport goods companies authorities try to consider intra-organizational issues such as the effectiveness of costs and time that causes to make the advantage competitive so that they can turn the company's temporary competitive advantage into a sustainable competitive advantage and for increasing the human resources flexibility of these companies, managers should try to employ staff who have the sufficient skills to do the job.

Keywords

Main Subjects

  1. Abbasali, R., Soltani, M., Farsizade, H., & Balochi, H. (2015). Explaining the effect of structural-organizational intelligence on competitive advantage: Mediating role of competitive intelligence. Journal of Research in New Marketing Research,7(10), 65-82. (Persian).
  2. Abbasi, M., & Rahimiklor, H. (2012). Designing structural equation modeling competitiveness at the level of staff departments of Tehran insurance companies. Marketing Management Journal, 7(14), 75-88. (Persian).
  3. Afza, S. (2013). Factors influencing successful brand extension into related and unrelated product categories. Asian Economic and Financial Review, 3(2),      216-26.
  4. Akbari, M., & Esmaelzade, M. (2013). The role of dynamic capabilities in creating competitive advantage, business management perspective, 15(4),       127-44. (Persian).
  5. Aligholi, M., Bazae, G., & Asgarimasole, S. (2011). The role of knowledge management and intellectual capital in gaining competitive advantage. Business Management, 2(9), 25- 48. (Persian).
  6. Ang, S.- H. (2008). Competitive intensity and collaboration: Impact on firm growth across technological environments. Strategic Management Journal, 29(10), 1057 –1075.
  7. Arbabian, S., & Mirzaee, M. (2011). The Effect of labor force flexibility on the competitiveness of industry with top technology in Iran. Quarterly Journal of Business Research, 60(13), 99-67. (Persian).
  8. Askariyan, F., Asgharpor, H., & Sarlab, R. (2016). Competitive hange, structural and national export of sporting goods in Iran. Sport Management Research Report and Motor Behavior, 12(23), 15-26. (Persian).
  9. Baraskova, J. (2010). Strategic positioning and sustainable competitive advantage in food industry. (Unpublished master`s thesis). Department of Business Administration, School of Business, University of Nairobi.
  10. Barney, J. B., 1991, Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantages, Journal of management, 17(1), 99-120.
  11. Beltran-Martin, I., Roca-Puig, V., Escrig-Tena, A., & Bou-Llusar, J. C. (2008). Human resource flexibility as a mediating variable between high performance work systems and performance. Journal of Management, 34(11), 1009-44.
  12. Bhattacharya, M., Gibson, D. E., & Doty, D. H. (2005). The Effects of flexibility in employee skills, employee behaviors, and human resource practices on firm performance. Journal of Management, 31(4), 622–40.
  13. Chew, D., Yan, S., & Cheah, C. Y. J. (2008). Core capability and competitive strategy for construction SMEs in China. Chinese Management Studies, 2(3), 203-14.
  14. Dehghan, N., Dehghan, F., & Fathi, S. (2012). Explaining and testing the strategy of interaction learning, innovation and sustainable competitive advantage. Strategic Management Studies, 9(4), 128-50. (Persian).
  15. Foong yee, W. (2008). Influence of brand loyalty on consumer sportswear. International Journal of Economics and Management, 2(2), 221-36.
  16. Fraser, K., & Hvolby, H. H. (2010). Effective team working: Can functional flexibility act as an enhancing factor? Team Performance Management, 16(1/2), 74-94.
  17. GHelichli, B., KHodadad hoseini, S., & Moshabaki esfahani, A. (2008). The role of intellectual capital in creating competitive advantage (Case study of two Iranian companies). Daneshvar Behavior, 15(33), 109-24. (Persian).
  18. Haraghi, M., Bahrynizade, M., & Haraghi, M. (2015). Presentation of structural model, knowledge management and human resource flexibility. Journal of Organizational Behavior Studies, 4(1), 147-77, (Persian).
  19. Jamshidi, O., Mehrzad, H., & KHabiri, M. (2015). Analysis of competitive situation of Iran's sportswear industry using porter's competitive model. Journal of Applied Research in Sport Management, 4(13), 105-15. (Persian).
  20. Jensena, J. A., Cobbsb, J. B., & Turnerc, B. A. (2015). Evaluating sponsorship through the lens of the resource-based view: The potential for sustained competitive advantage, Business Horizons, 59(2), 163-73.
  21. Juguna, J. I. )2009(. Strategic positioning for sustainable competitive advantage: An organizational learning approach. KCA Journal of Business Management, 2(1), 32-43.
  22. Kaveh, D., Moshkinasab Bamipour, E., Salari Far, M., & Salari Far, M. (2015). The relationship between knowledge management and competitive advantage: A case study in small and medium-sized companies in the packaging industry of Khorasan Razavi. Applied Research in Sport Management 4(1), 75- 87. (Persian).
  23. Ketkar, S., & Sett, P. (2010). Environmental dynamism, human resource flexibility, and firm performance: Analysis of a multi-level causal model. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(8), 1173-206.
  24. Malek Akhlagh, I., Moradi, M., Haghkar Ahmadi, N., Mehdi Zadeh, M. (2014). Strategic Entrepreneurship and Achieve Competitive Advantage: An Empirical Study on the Industrialization of the Building and Housing Industry in Iran, Management and Development Magazine, 26 (4), 25-48. (Persian).
  25. Masomi, O. (2011). Investigating the impact of human capital on bank competitiveness. Islamic Magazine and Management Researches, 1(2), 127-56. (Persian).
  26. Mazlomi, N., & Dadvand, S. (2012). Identification and ranking of effective factors in gaining the competitive advantage of insurance companies. Insurance Research (Insurance Industry), 27(2), 81-106. (Persian).
  27. Meihami, B., & Meihami, H. (2014). Knowledge management a way to gain a competitive advantage in firms (Evidence of manufacturing companies). International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 14(2), 80-91.
  28. Meriem Lafoua, B., Luc, M., Stéphane, P., & Marc, A. (2016). Manufacturing system flexibility: Product flexibility assessment. Procedia CIRP, 41(5),               99-104.
  29. Meutia, S., & Ismail, T. (2012). The development of entrepreneurial social competence and business network to improve competitive advantage and business performance of small medium sized enterprises: A case study of Batik industry in Indonesia. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 65 (7), 46-51.
  30. Motamedifar, M., & Salarzehi, H. (2011). Investigating the relationship between tactical factors of knowledge management and gaining competitive advantage in innovative organizations (Case study: Companies based at Kerman Growth Center). The First Student Entrepreneurship Conference in Iran, Tehran. (Persian).
  31. Mozafari, S., Rohi, H., Saatchian, V., & Kalani, A. (2012). The relationship between conflict management strategies and emotional intelligence of sport coaches in East Azarbaijan. Sports Management, 13(8), 99-113. (Persian).
  32. Nazaripor, A., & Rahimi, S. (2015). The relationship between organizational intelligence and human resources flexibility in knowledge based organizations. Public Administration, 7(2), 373-92. (Persian).
  33. Nemec, J., Nemec, M., & Pavlík, M. )2014). Public financing of sports in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic: Processes and their evaluation. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 11(12), 537-41.
  34. Ngoa, H.-Y., & Loi, R. (2008). Human resource flexibility, organizational culture and firm performance: an investigation of multinational firms in Hung Kong. The Journal of Human Resource Management, 19, 1654-66.
  35. Nicolai J. F., & Jacob, L. (2011). The emerging strategic entrepreneurship field: Origins, key tenets and research gaps. In D. Hjorth (Ed.), Handbook of Organizational Entrepreneurship Edward Elgar (1-25).
  36. Porzare, H., & Rahimi, F. (2016). Investigating the impact of human resource flexibility on competitive advantage. Quarterly Journal of Human Resource Management Researches, 8(3), 1-25. (Persian).
  37. Raduan C. R., Haslinda, A., & Alimin I. I. (2010). A review on the relationship between organizational resources, competitive advantage and performance. The Journal of International Social Research, 3(11), 488-98.
  38. Rahimi, F., & Hajikarimi, A. (2011). The role of human resources investment in achieving competitive advantage (Case study: Iranian pharmaceutical industry). Research on Managing Change (Management Research), 3(6), 138-57. (Persian).
  39. Rasooli, S. M., Saffchian, V., Mozaffari, A., & Ghanbarpour Nosrati, A. (2014). Relationship between Conflict Management Styles and Organizational Performance of Heads of Sports Federations of Iran, Two Research Papers on Sport Management and Motor Behavior, 4(8), 88-97. (Persian)
  40. Reyhani, M. (2015). Designing the competitive advantage model of sporting goods industry. (Published doctoral dissertation). University of Guilan, Guilan, Iran. (Persian).
  41. Sanae, E., & KHorshidi, M. (2012). The study of the effect of axial competencies on competitive advantage and organizational performance in the insurance industry of Iran. The Fifth Conference and Business Insurance Festival, Business Development Center of the Insurance Industry, Isfahan. (Persian).
  42. Soleymani, M. (2015). The relationship of conflict management styles with the effectiveness of employees of sports and youth departments of Hamedan. New Approaches to Sport Management, 3(9), 83-90. (Persian).
  43. Soleymani, M. (2016). The relationship between cultural intelligence and the ability to solve conflicts among managers in sport and youth departments of Hamedan. Organizational Behavioral Management in Sport Studies, 3(10), 91-8. (Persian).
  44. Wright, P. M., & Snell, S. A. (1998). Toward a Unifying Framework for Exploring Fit and Flexibility in Strategic Human Resource Management, Academy of Management Review, 23, 756–72.
Sport Management Studies
Volume 9, Issue 46
February & March 2018
January and February 2018
Pages 193-212

  • Receive Date 04 October 2017
  • Revise Date 06 December 2017
  • Accept Date 24 December 2017

Home

Publication Ethics

Submit Manuscript

News

Journal Metrics

Contact Us