Investigating the impact and acceptance of blockchain in the ticket sale industry of the Premier Football League of Iran

Abstract

Background: Match ticketing is one of the most important sources of income for clubs, and managers seek to use new methods to provide better services and deal with the problems of this industry, including the secondary market, ticket forgery, and the lack of Transparent control of the ticket sales cycle. Blockchain, a decentralized platform with many advantages, is a suitable option for ticket sales. The present study aims to investigate the impact of blockchain on the ticket sales industry of the Iranian Premier League matches and how it is accepted by football spectators. Method: The research type was applied, and in terms of collecting data, it was a library and field study to prepare the questionnaire (interviews with club managers, marketing managers, and IT specialists). Sampling was done from 384 football spectators. After checking the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, the frequency percentage of each option was calculated, and the one-sample t-test and Friedman's test were used to analyze the variables using SPSS 23. Results: The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed with Cronbach's alpha of 0.942, and with the Pearson Correlation test, the correlation coefficient was found optimal (R=0.878). Among the nine factors identified by the experts after the frequency and Friedman test, the most optimal option was to deal with the waste of the audience's time for a higher cost, and in the next rank, considering the VIP points for the audience and the elimination of the black market, and the lowest rank was given to familiarity and lack of trust in the blockchain. Conclusion: The positive attitude of the spectators towards this method shows that due to the low familiarity and low trust in this technology, if the managers of the clubs implement the effective factors well, the spectators will be encouraged to buy tickets in this way.