Causes and consequences of Iranian export saffron brands coalition

Iran is the largest producer and exporter of saffron in the world, but in recent years, Iran's share of the global market for this national strategic product has been declining. Currently, Iranian saffron export brands do not have a good competitive position compared to brands in other countries, which are mainly importers of Iranian saffron. According to most experts, one of the main reasons for this is the lack of attention to the branding of Iranian export saffron in both theoretical and practical areas. The present study aimed to identify the causes and consequences of the core phenomenon of the Iranian saffron export branding model. In the present study, data collection tool was in-depth semi-structured interviews and its statistical population included members of the Khorasan Razavi Saffron Exporters Union. Purposive sampling method was used at the beginning and theoretical sampling was used during the research process and sampling continued until the theoretical saturation was reached. The Grounded Theory approach and three steps of open, axial and selective coding were performed for data analyzing. The results showed that the category of "Iranian Saffron Export Brands Coalition" is the Core phenomenon of this model. The results showed that the category of "Iranian Saffron Export Brands Coalition" is the core phenomenon of this model, the causes of the coalition include four categories: self-sanction, macro decision-making system, Iranian saffron industry disease and self-harm of exporters and its consequences including three categories of synergy in branding, stabilization and value creation. The achievements of the present study can be used as an indigenous model in decision-making of all stakeholders and policy makers of the Iranian saffron industry in terms of maintaining and developing the competitive position of Iranian saffron and saffron export brands.