The image of a brand is the first word or image that is evoked in the mind of costumers immediately after hearing the brand name. The purpose of paying attention to the brand image is to ensure the proper mentality of consumers toward the brand. The components such as suitability, services, brand, variety, quality, and atmosphere form the brand image. The relationship between the brand image and other fields such as brand trust has been considered by researches and can play an effective role in improving the behavioral tendencies of costumers. This study is aimed to examine the relationship between foreign brand image and brand trust among buyers of foreign sports brands. The statistical population of this study consisted of 279 male and female athletes in city of Qom who were buying foreign sports brands. The data collection tool was brand image questionnaire and brand trust questionnaire with Cronbach's alpha of 0.87 and 0.88, respectively. The results of Pearson's correlation test showed a significant relationship between image and brand trust (r=0.68). The components of brand image (brand, services, suitability, variety, quality, and atmosphere) with the coefficients of 0.39, 0.53, 0.45, 0.55, 0.51, and 0.54, respectively, had significant correlation with brand trust. The results of simultaneous regression analysis demonstrated that the components of services, variety, quality, and atmosphere could predict the significance of the brand trust among the buyers of foreign sports brands. Based on the results of this study, it seems that the focus on improving the components of services, variety in sale, attention to the quality of products and services, as well as developing a positive atmosphere for customers in providing sale services can have an effective impact on increasing brand trust and improving the behavioral tendencies of costumers.

Background. Today, all the fields, including science, business, industry, and sports, are influenced by the profound and sustained changes. New rules arise every day; organizations, especially sports clubs, are in an endless struggle to gain competitive advantage in the battle for survival and power stealth. The main function of competitive advantage is to guarantee the survival of organizations, so that they can succeed in their path to developments. Objectives. This study is a field research aimed to model the competitive advantage of Iranian Soccer Clubs based on the team reputation considering the satisfaction level of fans. Methods. The statistical population of the study included the fans of the teams of Iranian Premier League (2017-2018), among which 384 fans were selected as the sample. The measurement tool included the questionnaires of the public relations, brand image and identity, satisfaction, team reputation, and competitive advantage. Validity and reliability of the questionnaires were confirmed by experts using the Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) and Cronbach's alpha test. The descriptive statistical tests including the central tendency, dispersion, and inferential statistics (the structural equation test) were used for data analysis. SPSS software version 19 was used for the descriptive analysis and LISREL software for the analysis of the structural equation modeling. Results. The variables of public relations, brand identity, and brand image have a positive and significant effect on the team reputation. Also, satisfaction level of fans has a positive and significant effect on the competitive advantage of soccer clubs. Conclusion. The findings confirmed the significance of the conceptual model of the research. However, more studies should be conducted to identify other dimensions influencing the competitive advantage of teams.

Although studies around Sport Diplomacy (SD) are expanding rapidly, there is no specific agreement on the outcomes of SD initiatives. The purpose of this study is to identify the conceivable diplomatic outcomes of SD from the perspective of international public diplomacy and sport experts. Researchers used a fuzzy Delphi method, which is an advanced version of the qualitative Delphi method that employs statistics to determine the distance between the levels of consensus within the expert panel. Thirty online surveys were completed by the experts, who were selected through targeted sampling. The statistical population included public diplomacy and sports scholars, and the researchers identified about 200 individuals who qualified for the sampling population because of their academic studies in the fields of public, cultural, and sport diplomacy. After running two rounds of fuzzy Delphi, the SD outcomes were classified into two categories of explicit/specific outcomes and implicit/general outcomes. The results showed that the outcomes of “cross-cultural communication,” “mutual understanding,” “trust building,” “nation branding,” “country reputation,” “attraction,” and “co-option” were the most possible explicit/specific outcomes of SD initiatives undertaken by countries’ ministries of foreign affairs and related agencies. “Sport industry development,” “sport tourism development,” and “socio-economic development” were the most possible outcomes of the implicit/general efforts of SD initiatives undertaken by the sport federations, private sector, NGOs, and other institutions outside the formal diplomacy system. Co-option-A term derived from Nye's theory of soft power as the ultimate goal/outcome of SD endeavors is manifested in “Peace Building (Conflict Conciliation)” between hostile states/nations and “Peace Development” between friendly states/nations.

El objetivo del presente estudio fue diseñar un modelo de ventaja competitiva para los clubs de fútbol iraníes basado en la reputación de los equipos. Para explorar los componentes del modelo, se realizaron dos rondas de Fuzzy Delphi por medio de un cuestionario semiabierto elaborado por el equipo investigador. Los resultados del análisis de datos de las dos rondas Fuzzy Delphi indicaron que, en opinión de los expertos, los componentes más importantes de la reputación del club eran las relaciones públicas (medios y relaciones sociales), la identidad e imagen de marca del club, el rendimiento, la tradición, la responsabilidad social, la orientación de los fans, la calidad de la gestión y la salud financiera del equipo o club de fútbol en cuestión. ventaja competitiva a través de la satisfacción de los aficionados. Además, la ventaja competitiva más importante basada en la reputación del equipo, según los expertos, incluye los componentes de eficiencia, receptividad, innovación, calidad y lealtad de los fans. El modelo también demostró que la reputación del club generará una ventaja competitiva a través de la satisfacción de los fans. The objective of the present study was to design a competitive advantage model for Iranian football clubs based on teams’ reputation. In order to explore the components of the model, two rounds of Fuzzy Delphi staged by a half-open researcher-made questionnaire. The results of data analysis of two Fuzzy Delphi rounds indicated that, in the experts’ views, the most important components of club reputation were public relations (media and social relations), identity and brand image of the club, performance, tradition, social responsibility, fan orientation, quality of management and financial health of the team or football club. Furthermore, the most important competitive advantage based on team reputation in terms of experts includes the components of efficiency, responsiveness, innovation, quality and loyalty of fans. The model also demonstrated that the club reputation will lead to a competitive advantage through the fans’ satisfaction.