Toward a Holistic Understanding of Sport Enterprise Sustainability: A Narrative Study in the Thai Fitness and Sport Service Industry

Abstract

This study examined how sport enterprises in Thailand conceptualized and advanced sustainability by focusing on trainer performance, business efficiency, marketing resilience, and innovation ecosystems. Employing a qualitative narrative inquiry design, it captured the lived experiences of fitness trainers, enterprise managers, and sport entrepreneurs. Data were collected through participant self-narratives and semi-structured interviews with 12 purposively selected key informants. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns, meanings, and interconnections across narratives.

The results indicated that trainer competencies formed the foundation of service quality, while business efficiency and marketing resilience strengthened organizational adaptability in rapidly changing environments. Simultaneously, access to innovation ecosystems and external support networks emerged as critical enablers of long-term sustainability. The narratives underscored that sustainability was not a fixed end-state but an evolving process shaped by the integration of human capital, organizational practices, and systemic support. The findings contributed to sport management scholarship by shifting attention from fragmented performance indicators toward a holistic, narrative-informed understanding. In practice, the study offered insights for managers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs seeking to enhance the resilience and sustainability of sport enterprises in emerging economies.