Presenting an Empirical Model for Identifying and Exploiting Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Sericulture in Northern Iran

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Roghayeh Rahimi
Fatemeh Ghorbani Piralidehi
Taher Azizi Khalkheili ‎
Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Faculty of Crop Sciences, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Sari, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Abstract
Given the importance of the sericulture in income diversification for villagers and the fluctuations in the number of sericulturists, the issue of sustainability of this agricultural activity should be seriously considered. This research seeks to design a model for identifying and exploiting entrepreneurial opportunities of sericulture activity in Iran. The present study was conducted with a quantitative approach and the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was used to analyze the research variables. Considering the number of sericulturists in Mazandaran province (2196 people), 327 sericulturists were surveyed using a random stratified sampling method. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by asking experts for their opinions, and the reliability was confirmed with the help of Cronbach's alpha. Identified factors (including individual, social, organizational, economic, and environmental factors) explain about 73% of the changes in the recognition of entrepreneurial opportunities in sericulture. Individual were the most effective factor and environmental factors were the last effective factor in identifying the entrepreneurial opportunity of sericulturists. Also, social and economic factors with a negative path coefficient had an inverse relationship with the recognition of entrepreneurial opportunities. Therefore, since individual and organizational factors play an important role in fostering entrepreneurial opportunities, while strong social ties and a false sense of security resulting from maintaining economic conditions have limited risk-taking and the expansion of entrepreneurship, issues such as reducing social barriers through digital integration, strengthening social networks, institutionalizing economic support and policy coordination, increasing market competitiveness and digital presence, and advancing longitudinal environmental research are suggested.
Keywords
Entrepreneurial opportunity
Rural entrepreneurship
Rural women's employment
Sericulture activity
Subjects
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Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 18 August 2026