Designing a Value Co-Creation Pattern in the Iranian Women's Football Ecosystem

Background and Purpose
Value creation through co-creation has emerged as a critical factor for the sustainability and growth of organizations and institutions, especially in dynamic and competitive environments (Dziewanowska, 2018). This concept emphasizes active engagement and collaboration among stakeholders, leveraging organizational resources and capabilities optimally to generate mutual benefits. In the realm of sports, value co-creation involves attracting customers—such as fans, players, sponsors, and other stakeholders—in a manner that they perceive themselves as integral parts of the organization or ecosystem (Hosseini Nia et al., 2016).
Women's sports, in particular, face significant challenges in attracting financial resources beyond official budgets. The limited number of financial supporters and sponsors in women’s sports constrains growth and professionalization (Khatibi et al., 2020). Although Iranian women's sports have shown relative progress domestically and internationally, the level of planning, investment, and attention from officials remains insufficient compared to competitors and global standards. This gap underscores the necessity to focus on factors that can foster the development of women's sports, with value co-creation standing out as a promising perspective to enhance financial support and marketing efforts.
Ignoring the principles of value co-creation risks undermining the growth of women’s football and other women’s sports. There is a clear demand and potential to support women's football competitions, but it is imperative to avoid repeating governance mistakes that have hindered progress in the past. Managers can attract players and stakeholders to women’s football without incurring prohibitive costs such as exorbitant salaries by effectively engaging shareholders and collaborators. This approach can lead to a synergistic ecosystem where value is co-created among all participants, fostering sustainable development.
Given the lack of prior research focusing specifically on value co-creation within the ecosystem of women's football in Iran, this study aims to fill this gap by developing a comprehensive model that elucidates the components, conditions, strategies, and outcomes of value co-creation in this context. The central research question guiding this study is: How can a value co-creation model be conceptualized for the ecosystem of women's football in Iran?
 
Materials and Methods
This research is practical in purpose and qualitative in nature, employing the grounded theory methodology of Strauss and Corbin for data analysis. The statistical population comprised experts with extensive knowledge and experience in professional and championship sports within Iran.
A purposive sampling technique was used, guided by the criterion of theoretical saturation to ensure sufficient depth and breadth of data. Recognizing the novelty of the research topic and potential data limitations, a triangulation approach was adopted, incorporating multiple data sources: library and documentary research, expert group discussions, and in-depth interviews with specialists.
To ensure validity, the study employed several rigorous criteria, including prolonged engagement with data, stable observation, meticulous tracking of data acquisition, triangulation of sources, and continuous comparative analysis. Reliability was assessed via intra-subject agreement between two coders who independently analyzed three randomly selected interviews. The total number of codes identified was 75, with 34 codes overlapping between coders. The intercoder reliability reached 90%, exceeding the commonly accepted threshold of 60%, confirming the robustness of the coding process.
 
Findings
The analysis revealed that value co-creation in the ecosystem of women's football in Iran is influenced by several critical conditions and factors, which were organized into six key dimensions:

Essential Conditions:These include alignment with organizational goals, ensuring that all stakeholders share a common vision and objectives that drive collaborative efforts.
Value-Creating Capacities:The inherent abilities and resources within the ecosystem that enable stakeholders to generate value collectively, such as talent, infrastructure, and organizational competencies.
Environmental Conditions:External factors such as market dynamics, cultural attitudes, regulatory frameworks, and economic conditions that impact the feasibility and effectiveness of value co-creation.
Intervention Conditions:Factors that modulate the co-creation process, including stability in decision-making, cognitive resistance among stakeholders, and the centrality of the phenomenon within the organizational context.
Value Co-Creation Strategies:Practical approaches identified include enhancing program transparency to build trust and accountability, and fostering networking among stakeholders to facilitate collaboration and resource sharing.
Consequences:The outcomes of effective value co-creation encompass value integration across the ecosystem, sustainability of the value chain ensuring long-term viability, and marketing sustainability that supports continuous engagement and growth.

 
 
 
Discussion and Conclusion
This study presents a pioneering model of value co-creation tailored to the ecosystem of women's football in Iran. The six dimensions identified provide a comprehensive framework for understanding how value can be generated collaboratively among diverse stakeholders in a complex and evolving sports environment.
The essential conditions emphasize the importance of strategic alignment, ensuring that all participants work toward shared goals. Value-creating capacities highlight the need to leverage internal strengths and resources effectively. Environmental conditions remind us that external factors can either facilitate or hinder co-creation efforts, necessitating adaptive strategies.
Intervention conditions such as decision-making stability and cognitive resistance are crucial in managing change and overcoming barriers to collaboration. The strategies of program transparency and networking are actionable levers that organizations can use to foster trust, communication, and joint value generation.
The consequences of successful value co-creation—value integration, value chain sustainability, and marketing sustainability—are vital for the long-term growth and competitiveness of women’s football. These outcomes not only enhance the economic viability of the sport but also contribute to social and cultural development.
Based on these findings, it is recommended that organizations and relevant authorities in women’s football in Iran develop comprehensive programs and strategies that prioritize alignment with organizational goals, strengthen organizational infrastructure, and enhance communication channels. Increasing transparency and promoting networking will improve stakeholder engagement and ecosystem cohesion.
Furthermore, policymakers should focus on creating supportive policies that facilitate value integration and sustainability across the value chain and marketing efforts. Practical steps such as transparent planning, targeted support campaigns, and initiatives to boost customer satisfaction are essential to overcoming existing challenges and unlocking the full potential of women’s football.
This research contributes valuable insights that can inform decision-making and strategic planning in women’s sports. It also lays the groundwork for future studies aimed at refining and expanding the understanding of value co-creation in sports ecosystems.