The role of institutional capacity in the competitiveness of middle cities of Iran (Case: Sanandaj and Zanjan cities)

 Studies by the World Bank and the United Nations emphasize the importance of capacity building and institutional capacity, development based on competitiveness requires the existence of efficient institutions, And argue that urban levels lacking efficient and appropriate institutions demonstrate low competitiveness to achieve a reasonable level of development, And in the absence of appropriate institutions, even the most appropriate and reasonable policies of competitiveness would not yield desirable results. Today, in the context of institutional capacity and institutional approach to development in the general notion and urban competitiveness in a particular sense, significant importance has been valued to the institutional capacities existing at these levels. Focusing on capacity building and institutional capacity discussions within an institutional approach can play an important role in cities, especially the central cities of the country, By enhancing their competitiveness, they will eliminate many existing and future issues in metropolises and major cities of the country. And by redistributing pressure on the metropolitan system of the country, it will reduce urban issues. The present study aims to explain the role of institutional capacity in the competitiveness of the central cities of Zanjan and Sanandaj in order to determine in the first stage the status of both Zanjan and Sanandaj in terms of institutional capacity in urban competitiveness, and Then to evaluate the effect of institutional capacity on urban competitiveness in the studied cities using the structural equation models Therefore, the purpose of the study raised the following questions: • What is the level of institutional capacity in the competitiveness of the central cities of Zanjan and Sanandaj? • Which of the components of institutional capacity has the most impact on the competitiveness of the central cities of Zanjan and Sanandaj? • How effective is institutional capacity in the competitiveness of the central cities of Zanjan and Sanandaj? Method The present research is based on the objective, applied and in terms of method and nature, an analytical descriptive. The data collection method was based on a survey method (questionnaire). Validity and fit of the questionnaire were done using a confirmatory factor analysis in lisrel software. The statistical population of the study consisted of two groups of authorities and people (referring to municipal offices) in Zanjan and Sanandaj. Using the Cochran formula, the population size of the sample is 760 people (380 questionnaires for each city). Also, the statistical community for the group is 260 people, each with 130 people. Sampling method of the citizens group, random sampling and the authorities was non-random and purposeful. Data analysis was performed in SPSS and Lisrel softwares. In the first stage, to clarify the status of institutional capacity indicators in urban competitiveness, the data was analyzed and the status of each indicator of institutional capacity in different cities of Sanandaj and Zanjan and for both the specified respondents and authorities were determined. In the next step, the most important factor influencing institutional capacity in urban competitiveness was defined. Finally, to investigate the effect of institutional capacity on urban competitiveness, it has been evaluated by the triple and quadruple components of urban competitiveness. Discussion In the research findings, descriptive findings were first analyzed and factors such as age, gender, education, employment rate and residence were investigated. In the next step, in order to investigate the current status of cities in Zanjan and Sanandaj in terms of institutional capacity, the average was used which indicate mentioned cities were not in desirable condition. It is important to determine which institutional capacity factors could play a very important role in urban competitiveness. and accordingly. it was determined that institutional capacity is the most important factor in this case. To investigate and answer to the third question, the impact of institutional capacity on urban competitiveness was measured in a structural equation model, and the model showed a very favorable fit, so that its significant confirmation of effect was appropriate. Result The results show that the status of institutional capacity in urban competitiveness in both Sanandaj and Zanjan does not show acceptable status; the Zanjan city with a value of 2.87 and Sanandaj with a numerical value of 2.91 are considered to be lower than the average in terms of institutional capacity in the general level. In both cities, the index of "human capital" has the highest numerical value, and subsequently, the intra-institutional relationships (Zanjan) and the collective capacity of institutions (Sanandaj) have the lowest possible mean. In relation to the population questionnaire, the total institutional capacity for Zanjan city was 3.02 and for Sanandaj 2.82, and it has not been evaluated at acceptable level. The results of structural equation model showed that institutional capacity indices in each group have a significant but different relationship; As the relationship has a negative impact level and in some other factors, it tends to be negative in the remaining cases, indicating a lack of positive impact on institutional capacity indicators. The results of measuring the impact of institutional capacity components on urban competitiveness showed that in Zanjan only the component of institutional capability (3.02) and in Sanandaj, the institutional capacity components (3.08) and appropriate legal arrangements (3.02) have been above average. Assessing the impact of institutional capacity on the competitiveness of the central cities of Zanjan and Sanandaj in the structural equation model, in addition to the significance of the relationship between institutional capacity and urban competitiveness, The impact of the variable institutional capacity on urban competitiveness is accepted at a high level with a numerical value of 11.98 and reflects the "very high institutional capacity on urban competitiveness Following the conclusion of the high impact of institutional capacity on urban competitiveness, World Bank Studies, the Asian Development Bank and the UN Program also emphasize the existence of efficient, capable and diverse institutions, especially executive agencies, to advance the competitiveness of cities and development.