an Investigation on Magnitude of Drivers and Barriers Affecting Development of Yazd Textile Cluster Using FCM Model

Document Type : Research Article (Original Article)

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

2 PhD candidate of Management, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Managing Director of Yazd Textile Cluster Development, Yazd, Iran.

Abstract

Industrial clusters development is known as an approach to growth of small businesses in a determined geographical zone in dynamic and competitive markets. Developed and developing countries’ researchers and policymakers have noticed different aspects of this approach for the complementary and fundamental role of small businesses on economic growth. In this study, barriers and driving factors affecting development of textile cluster in Yazd is extracted by focused group interviews. Moreover, formation and evolution of textile industry is reviewed briefly. Converting the magnitude of effective factors to quantitative values and evaluating them are challenging tasks. Therefore, finding a mechanism to formulate the types and effects of these factors on each other and on cluster development is important. In this article, a fuzzy model for assessing the factors interaction and their impact on cluster growth is developed. A questionnaire with likert scale, considering experts opinions of this cluster is used. At the end, a fuzzy cognitive map of factors is developed via semi-automated method, and analysis of the relation network of factors is performed.

Keywords