Structural empowerment of rural stakeholders for participation in entrepreneurship process through mediating role of perceived effects of entrepreneurship development

Today, entrepreneurship development is primarily influenced by rural stakeholders' structural empowerment.  Because structural empowerment process through changing knowledge, skills, attitudes, and feelings of stakeholders’ and strengthening and flourishing their capacities, inner talents, and improving their behavior and perception from the benefits of entrepreneurship development, leads to their greater involvement in rural entrepreneurship. Accordingly, powerful rural stakeholders are fundamental to innovation and the creation of a new mix of entrepreneurship. Their participation in the entrepreneurial process is a suitable basis for entrepreneurial success.
The present study was conducted to examine the effects of rural stakeholders' structural empowerment on their participation in the entrepreneurship process, through the mediating role of the perceived impact of entrepreneurship development on Tarom. In this descriptive-analytic study, the data collection was conducted using a questionnaire. The study's statistical population includes 95 inhabited villages of Tarom County, Iran, which according to the Census of 2016, has a population of 36817 people and 11412 households. In this study, 37 villages were randomly selected to complete the questionnaire at the village level.
The results showed a positive and significant relationship between the rural stakeholders' structural empowerment Index with the mediating variables, including perceived ecological-environmental, socio-cultural and economic effects of entrepreneurship development.  Additionally, the relationship between the structural empowerment of rural stakeholders and their participation in the entrepreneurship process through the mediating role of perceived socio-cultural and economic effects of entrepreneurship development, according to z value, was confirmed. However, the relationship between the structural empowerment of rural stakeholders and their participation in the entrepreneurship process through the mediating role of the perceived environmental-ecological effects of entrepreneurship development was not confirmed. In other words, the implementation of entrepreneurship programs and plans in the ecological-environmental field has not aligned rural stakeholders' participation in this field. In general, the results showed that rural stakeholders' structural empowerment had had a positive and significant impact on their participation in the economic and social-cultural dimensions of entrepreneurship, through the mediating role of perceived socio-cultural and economic effects of entrepreneurship development.
Structural empowerment is an essential step towards improving the potentials and talents of rural stakeholders. Paying attention to rural stakeholders' structural empowerment can provide the basis for environmental, ecological, social, cultural, economic, and physical stability and equilibrium of rural settlements at local and regional levels.