Explaining the Strategic Precedents of Home Base Business Development

Given the diversity and limitations of resources, as well as the increasing complexity, dynamism, and changes in the business environment, the development of home-based businesses can be considered as one of the most effective strategies for governments to create jobs, generate wealth, and fight poverty. However, the development of home-based businesses is currently facing many obstacles and challenges, which has made it necessary to identify the main actors and the relationships between them. Given the importance of home-based business development and the role of this type of business in sustainable development, the ultimate goal of this study is to provide a framework for identifying and explaining the strategic antecedents of home-based business development. Therefore, the main question of the research is what factors and actors play a role in the success of home-based businesses and what are the relationships between these factors and what are the appropriate strategies for the development of these types of businesses and finally what is the appropriate framework for home-based business development.

The approach of the present research is qualitative, in terms of purpose is applied and in terms of nature and method is descriptive-analytical. The statistical population of the study is composed of activists, specialists, and experts in the field of home-based business, especially those who have written and researched in this field. Using the snowball sampling method, selected samples were identified and data were saturated in the interview with the 13th person. In this study, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, and Brown's and Clark's (2006) six-step content analysis was used for analysis. To check the validity of the research tool, the interviews were carefully recorded and after coding, some qualified experts who had the necessary capability and competence were asked to re-examine and comment on the constructed concepts, and finally, the interviews were re-coded by a person familiar with the research literature. To calculate the reliability of the interviews, the method of calculating the agreement between the two coders has been used. Also in this study, to validate the research findings, the first four interviews were randomly given to a colleague and he/she was asked to encode the text. Kappa coefficient was then used for the reliability of the findings. The value of the kappa coefficient obtained (0.860) indicates that there is a high agreement between browsers and is approved by experts in terms of the quality of the calculated indicators.

The analysis of the findings based on the content analysis, finally, 35 codes were labeled as primary contents, four codes as organizing contents, and two codes as comprehensive contents. The results of data content analysis show that the strategic antecedents of home-based business development can be classified into two categories, whose dynamic interaction with each other can lead to a kind of common synergy. The first category called “predisposing” and has an exogenous nature and facilitating role, is under the control of the environment and home-based businesses must manage and control these factors by adopting active measures and strategies. The second category, which is called "empowerment", has an internal nature and is controlled by companies, and is a motivating factor. This factor in its structure creates the necessary bedrock and motivation for the success of home-based businesses. The interaction of empowering and predisposing factors requires a strong and effective flow that can simultaneously connect these elements to create effective shocks in home-based businesses. In this study, the connection and co-creation of these two factors are defined as "common synergy". Given the complexity, dynamism, and ongoing mobility of the home-based business environment, "common synergy" also requires other interactive flows that can build innovation and trust within home-based businesses; in this study, the term "dynamic capacity building" has been used for interactive flows, which includes "social capital" and "open innovation".

The results show that for the development of home-based businesses, both internal and external factors must be emphasized simultaneously, which means common synergy. External factors, in turn, are tools and strategies that provide the right conditions and contexts to facilitate the development of home-based businesses that include creating permanent markets for home products, access to distribution channels and target markets, improving the business environment, legal protection of home-based businesses, elimination of cumbersome administrative rules and regulations, and decentralization of the decision-making process and greater delegation of authority to local institutions, the use of social networks and media, and the development of e-commerce. internal factors are also empowering tools, motivators, and incentives for the development of home-based businesses, in this regard, provided various, continuous, and professional training, market type and segmentation, attention to branding, competitive pricing training, familiarity with different marketing methods, especially media marketing and Social networks, the development of risk-taking, work commitment and job independence can be mentioned. In addition to common synergy, multiple interactions between actors that foster innovation and creativity, and factors that build trust and lasting relationships, lead to dynamic capacity building and, consequently, the development of home-based businesses. Meanwhile, one of the interactive tools for home-based business development is a focus on innovation, especially open innovation, which focuses on technology purchasing and patenting, take licensing and common ventures, give licensing and licensing purchases, and the creation of common ventures. Meanwhile, social capital also plays an important role in the capacity building and development of home-based businesses. Social capital, by creating interactive and continuous relationships with trust based on a common vision, causes a kind of culturalization in the field of knowledge exchange and sharing, and in addition to flexing the boundaries of enterprises, facilitates the flow of knowledge entry and exit. In this regard, developing social justice, creating a common vision and insight, as well as creating networked relationships between home-based businesses can provide the basis for the reproduction of social capital in this type of business and thus the development of home-based businesses.