Designing a Model for Sustainable Development of Industrial Clusters

Subject Areas : Sustainable Development

Ahmad Jafarnejad ¹ , Mansour Momeni ² , Ali Morovati Shariabadi ³ , Mohammad Karimi Zarchi ⁴

1 - Professor, Industrial Management, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tahran, Iran
2 - Professor,Industrial Management, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tahran, Iran
3 - Associate Professor,Industrial management, Faculty of Management, Economic and Accounting, University of Yazd, Yazd, Iran
4 - Ph.D Student, Industrial Management, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran *(Corresponding Author)

Received: 2017-06-21 Accepted : 2017-10-18 Published : 2020-05-21

Keywords: Grounded Theory Method, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Industrial cluster, Sustainable development,

Abstract :

Background and Objectives:  The industrial clusters are a group of enterprises and related organizations in a particular area, which are geographically close and have relevance with each other. Industrial clusters have an important role in economic development both at the national and regional levels. This paper aims to present a native model for sustainable cluster development. Method: In this research, the "Grounded Theory" method has been used. The required data has been collected through a theoretical sampling method and a semi-structured interview with Cluster Development Agents (CDA(. Meanwhile, the number of research samples was 18. Findings: In this research, a native model is presented for the sustainable development of industrial clusters. After collecting the research data, three coding steps were performed including open coding, axial coding and selective coding. The proposed model has 7 main dimensions and 25 sub-dimensions, and their relationships in the model are based on causal relationships. Discussion and Conclusion: The results of research show that sustainable development of industrial clusters should be carried out continuously and comprehensively and in the process of development, in addition to economic factors, environmental and social factors must be considered. The proposed model has a multidimensional and multidimensional approach to the development of industrial clusters and can be used by development agents in order to achieve sustainable development. In developing the present model, the business climate and the conditions for the development of industrial clusters in Iran have been considered.

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