Designing a Sustainable Model for the Entrepreneurial Opportunity Ecosystem in the Turkmen Sahra Thoroughbred Horse Racing Industry

Abstract

Sports events rooted in the cultural values of societies have become a potential capability for creating emerging businesses and achieving competitive advantages. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify entrepreneurial opportunities in the Turkmen horse industry in the Turkmen Sahra region. The present study is an exploratory mixed-methods research. In the qualitative phase, 15 experts participated in semi-structured interviews using the snowball sampling method. The study population included tourists, frontline and staff managers of horse racing courses, equestrian event judges, active traders in the horse industry, sales agents of horse-related tools and equipment, trainers and instructors of jockeys, jockeys, owners of equestrian clubs and horse breeders, agricultural experts specializing in nutrition, breeding, and lineage, human resources of equestrian stable complexes, local residents engaged in horse racing events, travel agencies, and veterinarians involved in horse racing events and equine health. A total of 150 participants were selected using purposive sampling. The research instrument was a questionnaire derived from the qualitative phase, including variables related to entrepreneurial opportunities in event organization, horse breeding, equestrian tourism, export activities, equine care, and agriculture and services. The reliability of the qualitative phase was assessed using the recoding method (α ≥ 0.73), while the reliability of the quantitative phase was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha (α ≥ 0.71). For data analysis, the partial least squares (PLS) technique was employed using SmartPLS-3 software and SPSS. The results of the data analysis indicated that entrepreneurial opportunities in equestrian tourism and entrepreneurial opportunities in event organization had the highest path coefficients. Therefore, it is recommended that the responsible institutions enhance economic efficiency in this industry by developing tourism infrastructure and expanding other sports disciplines within the horse industry.