Rasoul Azadi - Ph.D. student, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz
Fariba Askarian - Associate Professor, Department of Sports Management, University of Tabriz and University of Tehran, Tabriz, Iran.
Fatemeh Abdavi - Associate Professor, Department of Sports Management, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
Hamid Ghasemi - Associate Professor, Department of Sports Management, Payam nour university, Tehran, Iran

Purpose: This research aimed to design a model for the role of social media in developing sports businesses.Method: This research has a qualitative approach, and the Grounded theory method of Strauss and Corbin has been used. The data collection method was in-depth interviews with ۱۷ sports management professors and sports business owners after reaching theoretical saturation. The validity of this research was confirmed by the expert professors; and, to calculate the reliability, the intra-subject agreement method was used, which got ۸۲%. To analyze the data, the coding method was used in three stages, open, Axial, and selective coding.Results: In the analysis of qualitative findings, ۳۲۴ Open coding and ۳۷ Axial coding, and ۱۹ selective codes were extracted, in which the causal conditions include (features of nature, management factors, facilities, financial), contextual conditions (structural, financial elements), legal protection, cultural factors), intervening conditions (legal obstacles, political factors, infrastructural factors, cultural obstacles), strategies (economic support, managerial policies, culture building, legal protection) and consequences (consequences economic, employment generation, income generation, business prosperity) were categorized. Conclusion: Considering the importance of businesses in the current economy and job creation, it should pay special attention to removing obstacles in the development of businesses; therefore, sports business owners are advised to use the model identified in this research to develop their businesses.

Social media, sports business, Sports Industry, Coronavirus