Components of Entrepreneurial Behavior Development in Agricultural Cooperatives in Kermanshah Province: Application of Grounded Theory

One of the main problems of agricultural cooperatives in Kermanshah province is the weakness in the development of entrepreneurial behaviors. If these entrepreneurial behaviors develop in agricultural cooperatives, it can be expected that their innovative products and services be developed and expanded. These can pave the way to raise of rural agricultural development programs in Kermanshah province. Present study focused on analyzing components of entrepreneurial behavior development in Kermanshah province's agricultural cooperatives using inductive approach of grounded theory. Required information was obtained through semi-structured interviews with a selected sample of entrepreneurship experts in agricultural cooperatives of Kermanshah province (n= 30). The samples were selected using purposive snowball sampling technique. The written texts obtained from the interviews were analyzed using the conventional coding process of grounded theory. Thus, the findings included different open (49 codes), axial, and selective codes. Based on axial classified codes (15 codes), the main axes of entrepreneurial behavior development in agricultural cooperatives of Kermanshah province were divided into two categories of factors promoting and inhibiting the development of entrepreneurial behavior. Promoting factors were including economic benefits, personal incentives, financial and human support, management support, diversified fields of work, development of new markets, and the level of cooperation and involvement of institutions with the cooperative. Inhibiting factors were including cultural factors, internal conflicts, insufficient knowledge, inadequate financial support, administrative bureaucracy, sanctions, market volatility, and climate change. Finally, conceptual axes were identified and merged to develop the entrepreneurial behaviors of agricultural cooperatives in Kermanshah. Through this process, a model was developed for entrepreneurial behavior development in agricultural cooperatives of Kermanshah province. Therefore, based on the findings, it is suggested to increase the awareness of managers and members about promotion of entrepreneurial behavior in agricultural cooperatives through educational and extensional courses.