نشریه مطالعات کارآفرینی و توسعه پایدار کشاورزی
سال نهم شماره 4 (پیاپی 36، زمستان 1401)

Collaboration in the supply chain, especially the agri-food supply chain, is very important because of its impact on reducing costs, increasing profits, and implementing quality assurance standards. There are several factors related to collaboration in the supply chain. The purpose of this article is to identify and investigate the factors related to collaboration in the agri-food supply chain and finally to present a causal model of these factors. After studying the literature, 6 main factors were identified including, “collaborative activities”, “sharing of information and knowledge” , “ members relationships” , “financial performance” , “non-financial performance” , “supply chain disruptions” which include 43 indicators related to collaboration in the agri-food supply chain. By receiving experts' opinions and implementing the Fuzzy DEMATEL method, the relationships between the main factors were determined and a causal model was drawn. The statistical sample of this research includes 15 experts in the field of agriculture and food production, who were selected by snowball sampling. The findings showed that the most influential factor is the members relationships of the supply chain, which has an effect on five other factors, and the financial performance is strongly influenced by 5 other factors. Also, the smooth flow of information along with the joint efforts of the members has an effective role in raising the quality of members relationships and strengthens trust and the implementation of commitments, which will ultimately lead to the re-sharing of more accurate information.

Women need empowerment with an entrepreneurial approach to achieve success in economic Activities.This descriptive-correlational research was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of rural women's entrepreneurial abilities on their empowerment level. The statistical population was rural women, housewives and heads of households in Kermanshah Province (N=221,358). Sample members (n=354) were selected by multi-stage random sampling method. The research tool was a questionnaire with three parts including individual characteristics, the degree of empowerment with three dimensions of economic, social, and leadership, and entrepreneurial capabilities with four dimensions of independence, innovation, risk-taking and transactional acting. Validity and reliability of the instrument were confirmed by convergent validity, Cronbach's alpha coefficient and composite reliability. Based on the results, rural women were moderately capable in both economic and social dimensions and they had the desired ability in the leadership dimension. In terms of entrepreneurial ability, they were very weak in the innovation dimension, almost weak in the transactional dimension, and average in the independence and risk-taking dimensions. Entrepreneurial capabilities have had a significant positive effect on empowerment. Based on the results, extension programs should be developed to expand entrepreneurial activities for rural women.

The present research was conducted with the aim of identifying the factors inhibiting the development of the potato value chain in Hamadan province. This research was survey and descriptive. The participants of this study were potato growers from which 386 people that selected as a sample. The research tool was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed based on the opinions of the research team and its reliability was evaluated and confirmed by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.722. Data were analyzed with SPSS26 software and exploratory factor analysis method. The results showed that, six factors inhibit the development of the potato value chain in Hamadan province including, educational-promotional, infrastructural, input supply, managerial, economic and environmental problems and obstacles, and these factors, these factors explained 60.22% of the total variance. The most important barriers, in order of the highest average, include, the high price of fertilizer, the high price of seeds, the high cost of packaging, price instability, the high price of machinery, the decrease in soil quality and the presence of water problems in the region. Therefore, according to the obtained results, policymaking, planning, investment, monitoring the process of various activities and updating the technologies used in different links of the value chain, are among the mechanisms. which can accelerate the development of the value chain with the participation of the government and the private sector.

In order to interact with research institutes and centers, as one of the main components of the agricultural extension new system, "supportive researchers" were defined.The main purpose of this survey research was to validate the CIPP model in evaluating the effectiveness of supportive researchers.Statistical population of the study consisted of agricultural extension network (N= 9627),out of whom 566 people were determined as samples using Daniel's sampling formula and simple sampling technique.Data were collected through a questionnaire; validity of the questionnaire was approved by a panel of experts,construct validity and discriminant validity.Reliability of the questionnaire was approved by calculating the Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability.The collected data were analyzed by SPSS22 and Smart PLS3 software. Results of prioritizing indicated that, in the context dimension, “completeness of duties and responsibilities of supportive researchers”; in the input dimension, “technical ability of supportive researchers”; in the process dimension, “providing technical recommendations to the extension agents and farmers”; and finally, in the product dimension, “applicability of the recommendations to target users” were in the highest ranks. Also, results of prioritizing effectiveness evaluation dimensions of supportive researchers indicated that "context" was in the highest rank and "process" was in the lowest rank.Besides the confirmation of indicators’ homogeneity and reliability, the results of confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the effectiveness evaluation model of supportive researchers had four components (i.e. context, input, process and product).Considering the comprehensiveness of the CIPP model, therefore, it is recommended to use this model in evaluating the effectiveness of supportive researchers.

Today, the economic aspects of sports have expanded a lot in the world, and many investors are interested in starting a business in this sector. This research aimed to present a model of empowering students in entrepreneurship in sports businesses. This qualitative research was conducted with the grounded theory method. The target population in the qualitative section included experts in the field of sports management, educational management and entrepreneurship professors who are aware of the research topic. Using the snowball sampling method and the theoretical saturation technique, 12 interviews were conducted. In the quantitative stage, 150 items in the form of six main components were evaluated by 384 entrepreneurs, professors, students and also managers of sports businesses. The information extracted from the interviews was analyzed in a multi-step coding method. The findings were compiled in the framework of the paradigm model. Causal conditions including individual factors (including motivation, knowledge and awareness and psychological skills), educational system, organizational factors, financial factors and the role of the government, background conditions including those related to laws, facilities, human resources, organization custodians, educational and communication programs, intervening conditions including two facilitating groups (students, science/technology, facilities and infrastructures and successful examples) and destructive (supportive, educational performance, financial, managerial and legal), the strategies included educational, managerial, legal/legal strategies, and the consequences included employment, development of the sports industry, quality of education, financial and motivational. In the quantitative part, it was also determined that all the main components of the research have a suitable fit.

The life and atmosphere of rural society is full of work and employment, but the majority of people seeking work in cities are this group; Ecotourism can once again gather these people in the village environment. This research was also conducted with the aim of designing a model for ecotourism with emphasis on entrepreneurship and sustainable rural employment with two qualitative and quantitative approaches. The statistical population of this research in the qualitative phase were the managers and senior experts of the cultural heritage and tourism organization of Ardabil province, and in the quantitative phase, the employees of the cultural heritage and tourism organization. To determine the sample size in the qualitative stage, the snowball sampling method was used and 20people were selected, and in the quantitative stage, due to the use of the structural equation modeling method, the enumeration method was used instead of sampling, and finally 208 questionnaires were analyzed. The tool of data collection in the qualitative phase was an in-depth interview with experts, which was conducted in three rounds using the Delphi method, and in the quantitative phase, a researcher-made questionnaire resulting from the qualitative phase was used. Based on the results of the research, 40 indicators identified for the model, in 7 dimensions; Natural potentials, social and cultural factors, ecotourism infrastructures and facilities, educational and promotion factors, economic growth, policy and tourism potentials were classified. Confirmatory factor analysis using Amos software showed that all indicators of ecotourism construct have high factor loading and were confirmed.

Technological start-ups in the field of tourism are a new type of newly established companies or firms that try to help entrepreneurs and investors in the field of tourism achieve growth and sustainability based on new knowledge and technology. This research was conducted with the aim of analyzing the entrepreneurial value chain in ecotourism enterprises with the approach to technological startup. In this research, the components (dimensions of the development of technological startup infrastructures in the field of ecotourism) and research propositions (propositional topics of entrepreneurial value chain functions in this field) were identified with the participation of 15 experts in the field of entrepreneurship and tourism. In the quantitative phase, the identified components and propositions in the form of matrix questionnaires were interpreted by 18 key informants by interpretive ranking process. The results showed that the proposition of human resource function as the most effective theme of entrepreneurial value chain functions in ecotourism, which leads to the development of economic capacity as a main component of technological startups of ecotourism. This result shows that under the most influential proposition of the entrepreneurial value chain in tourism, explicitly, the functioning of human resources, the most probable scalable dimension of the infrastructure of technological startups in the area of ecotourism is economic capacity. In other words, with the development of human resources in technological startups in the field of ecotourism, it is possible to develop and exploit economic capabilities in the value chain of these enterprises .

Today, the development of business clusters plays an important role in the economic policies of many developing countries. The aim of this study was to design a growth model for start-up businesses through entrepreneurial networking. The study was the honey business cluster in Ardabil province. This qualitative research was conducted by grounded theory method. The target population of the study was the entrepreneurs of the studied business cluster, including entrepreneurs and producers, retailers and exporters of honey in Ardabil province. Purposeful sampling was performed and data collection was done through semi-structured interviews. The information extracted from the interviews was analyzed by multi-stage coding method. The findings were developed within the framework of a paradigm model. These include causal conditions (product innovation, advertising and marketing, education and promotion, area characteristic and customer satisfaction), intermediate conditions (financing and facilitation, planning and formulation of strategies, development and interaction of supported institutions, creation of domestic and foreign markets and holding events and festivals), background conditions (constructive communication and interaction of producers, infrastructure and human resource empowerment, exploiting competitive advantage, standard-based monitoring and sourcing), strategies (diversification and packaging, distribution and marketing, producers' union expansion, access to new services and technology) and consequences (development of honey business networks, development and promotion of beekeeping, transfer of new knowledge and technology, increase motivation and coherence in the business cluster .

The purpose of this study was to investigate the sustainable production requirements of urban agriculture in the form of green city entrepreneurship development by structural equation modeling. The statistical population of study was the 150 farmer of Green Garden project in the form of urban agriculture at Razi University of Kermanshah, 90 of whom were randomly selected as a sample size using Krejcie Morgan table. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. Based on the mean value of variance extracted (0.533 > AVE < 0.735) and combined reliability (0.703 > CR < 0.901), the questionnaire had convergent validity and proper reliability. SPSS21 and Smart PLS3 software were used for data analysis. The results of the study showed that social, environmental and economic requirements (with path coefficients of 0.377, 0.402 and 0.359, respectively), at the level of 99% confidence had a positive and significant effect on agricultural sustainability. Additionally, the social variables of satisfaction with authorities, executives, and stakeholder participation, the environmental component of collecting and using rainwater, and the economic element of having access to cultivation-related equipment and facilities performed better than others. In general, all three development structures (economic, social and environmental) have a significant effect on the sustainability of urban agriculture. The findings of this study can be used to design urban agriculture development strategies based on urban entrepreneurship. Therefore, utilizing urban lands' potential for social and economic empowerment of individuals as well as urban space regeneration can have a big impact on the advancement of modern agriculture.