designing a model for sustainable development of business clusters in iran

business clusters are known as a  new model of economic development throughout the world. in recent years, this model has also been noted by policy-makers in iran. accordingly, the present study aimed at proposing a model for sustainable development of business clusters in iran based on experience in this regard. a qualitative strategy (case study) is used as the research method. additionally, thematic analysis is applied in data analysis. the final research model is also drawn based on thematic network analysis. five business clusters were selected as the cases to be studied. these cases include shandiz’s furniture, mashhad’s shoes, khorasan razavi’s saffron, kerman pistachio and gorgan diary product. the results led to the identification of 24  basic themes. these basic themes were categorized into five organizing themes including effective government involvement, social capital and trust, cluster planning, behavioral and psychological considerations, and characteristics of cluster development agent. all five themes can be defined under one global theme known as sustainable development of business clusters. business companies and cluster development policy-makers can apply the proposed model in their cluster development processes and work together in order to gain a sustainable competitive advantage against their competitors.