Framework of Managerial Competencies in Sports Diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army: A Meta-Synthesis Approach

The purpose of the present study was to develop a managerial competency framework for enhancing sports diplomacy in the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (AJA) using a meta-synthesis approach based on the seven-stage model of Sandelowski and Barroso (2007). Following a systematic search in the Iranian databases Magiran, SID, and Noormags, and rigorous screening of 332 sources, 22 high-quality Persian-language studies (CASP score > 30) were selected and analysed. To ensure the dependability of the qualitative analysis, coding was performed independently by two coders; initial inter-coder agreement was 85%, which, after two rounds of joint discussion and revision, increased to 91% with a Cohen’s Kappa coefficient of 0.91, indicating excellent reliability. The findings revealed that managerial competencies can be classified into 12 main dimensions (technical/functional, behavioural/interpersonal, strategic/cognitive, diplomatic/international, organizational/coordination, ideological/revolutionary, digital/media, developmental/educational, economic/resource management, security/military, cultural/identity, and innovative/competitive), hierarchically distributed across four managerial levels (operational, basic, middle, and senior). The proposed 4×12 conceptual model possesses three distinctive indigenous characteristics: (1) a security-military hierarchy with decentralization of executive tasks to lower levels; (2) the central presence of ideological/revolutionary competency at all levels; and (3) a strong concentration of diplomatic, digital, and innovative competencies at the middle-management level. This framework represents the first comprehensive and indigenous model of military sports diplomacy in Iran and has the potential to transform AJA’s military sports activities into one of the primary pillars of the Islamic Revolution’s soft power.