Analysis of factors affecting the attraction of domestic and foreign investors in free trade zones (Case of study: Arvand Free Zone)

The present research is of a quantitative type that is objective, applied and in terms of nature, heuristic mixed method has been used to collect data. This research has been done in three stages. The first stage was to identify the effective factors in attracting domestic and foreign investors in the free zones, which was achieved through library studies. In the library studies section, specialized internal reports, similar projects done in other countries, and domestic and international articles have been used. Then, in the second stage, a research questionnaire is prepared and distributed among the Delphi group, including 3 experts from the free zone, 1 expert from the Khorramshahr Port Investment Unit, 1 expert from the Abadan Port Investment Unit, and 1 professor from the khorramshahr university of Marine Science and Technology has taken place. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by content and face methods and its reliability according to Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.971). According to the result of Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (abnormal nature of data), chi-square test was used in the inferential section and hierarchical technique was used to prioritize the factors. Findings showed that the Arvand Free Zone in the external dimension of the factors of the ability to transfer money and capital, exchange rate fluctuations and inflation and in the internal dimension of the cost of production in the Arvand Free Zone is associated with problems and weaknesses. The result of the hierarchical technique showed that the size of the local and regional market with a weight score of 0.156 was recognized as the main priority of domestic factors and exchange rate fluctuations with a weight score of 0.136 as the main priority of external factors.