Public Administration Perspective

Implementation of Interpretive Structural Modeling to Determine The Role of Free Zones in The Iran's Economic Development

Document Type : Based on PhD Thesis

Authors

1 Doctoral student of Public Administration, Kish International Campus, University of Tehran

2 Professor, Faculty of Management, Department of Management, Tehran, Iran

3 Associate Professor Faculty of Management, University of Tehran

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to implement interpretive structural modelling to determine the role of free zones in the country's economic development. The necessity and importance of conducting research is that considering the role of free zones in the economic development of most countries, our country has taken noteworthy measures with the establishment of the first free zone in 1369 until today, but unfortunately, these zones are due to various reasons. , including the structure of the government administration, lack of requirements and conditions for commercial-industrial activities, inappropriate location, lack of proper implementation of related laws, lack of necessary guarantees for foreign investment, and most importantly, legal obstacles related to the structure of the administration, redundant investment procedures, and  Due to severe bureaucracy, the free zones of our country have not yet reached their true position and have not been able to play a significant role in the economic development of the country, and this research seeks to identify the factors that affect the promotion of the role of free zones in the economic development of the country and provide a model in this regard.
Design/ methodology/ approach:  In terms of method, this research was qualitative-quantitative research that was conducted in the qualitative part with interpretive structural modeling. The intended statistical population is made up of experts familiar with the subject of the research, including university professors (experts in the economic field) who are among the scientific experts and officials in the field of free zones and the economic field (in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, the Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Commercial and Industrial Free Zones and the Free Zones faction of the Islamic Council), as well as legal experts in the free zones. And the data was collected and sampled theoretically through scientific interviews with 15 of these experts. In the second step, in order to validate the model obtained from the first step, a questionnaire was designed and distributed in the target statistical community, and after data collection, the validity of the model was investigated using statistical analysis.
Research Findings: The results of the current research show that the status of all indicators except the reform and communication index and the risk reduction index are favorable in the model; According to the influence-dependence diagram, the variable "implementation of policies and knowledge-orientated" has a high influence and has little influence and is placed in the independent variables area. "Development of special advantages of free zones" variables have a high influence and dependence; therefore, they are linked variables. The two variables of "facilitating the process of affairs" also have high dependence but little influence; therefore, they are considered dependent variables. The variable "economic functions and capabilities" is also placed in the first quadrant, which is the autonomous region.
Limitations & Consequences: It was not possible to include other important intervening variables in the research due to their great complexity; also, the information was obtained from a single source and it is prudent to generalize it to other areas.
Practical Consequences: The implementation of an interpretative structural model to determine the role of free zones in the country's economic development leads to a better understanding of the decision-making environment by managers.
Innovation or value of the Article: Despite the great importance of free zones in the economic development of the country, no research has been done on the implementation of interpretive structural modelling of the role of free zones in the economic development of the country. The current research is the first step in this field.
Paper Type: Original Paper
 

Keywords

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Public Administration Perspective
Volume 15, Issue 3 - Serial Number 59
2024
Pages 155-175