An Explnation of Entrepreneurship Drivers and Rural Competitiveness Functions

Entrepreneurship and competitiveness are inevitable for the dynamism and dynamism of the space in the age of globalization. This issue  is very important in rural areas. Rural Entrepreneurship and competitiveness - Considering the importance of cities as the focal points of development and evolution of space in the era of globalization -are considered as an effective solution to prevent stagnation and spatial isolation of rural areas. This research is applied in terms of purpose and "descriptive-analytical" in terms of methodology. In this study, the drivers of entrepreneurship and the functions of rural competitiveness as drivers of space development in rural areas have been explained and recognized. The case study is Cheshmeh Saran rural area of Azadshahr county in Golestan province in Iran. The method of data gathering is survey and documentation. The data includes both quantitative and qualitative categories. The sample population in the qualitative part of the research was members of the Islamic Council of the villages and the manager of the villages of Cheshmeh Saran rural area. The analysis is done in two steps. First, entrepreneurial drivers are determined using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). In the second step, correspondence analysis is used to identify the competitiveness functions of rural areas. The results show that the drivers of rural entrepreneurship in Cheshmeh Saran are five economic drivers, entrepreneurship contex, infrastructure, social capital and knowledge. These five factors together explain 74% of the variance. At this stage, it was found that the drivers of entrepreneurship contex with a score of 0.88 has a prominent role in explaining entrepreneurship in rural areas of Cheshmeh Saran. Entrepreneurial history, the existence of actual demand, were the explanatory variables of these drivers. Infrastructure drivers were next with a score of 0.75, which was explained in terms of infrastructure facilities, market access and access to traffic routes. Economic drivers in rural entrepreneurship Cheshmeh Saran was the third driver, which is explained in terms of variables such as income, risk-taking, employment, variety of activities, tourism opportunities, access to scarce natural resources and access to technology. The drivers of social capital were the fourth drivers of entrepreneurship in rural areas of Cheshmeh Saran, which was explained by variables such as capital and social trust, and finally the drivers of knowledge-based rural entrepreneurship in Cheshmeh Saran with variables such as training courses and literacy level. The results of factor analysis showed that four villages of Farsian, Kashidar, Vamnan and Vatan are identified as villages with entrepreneurial capacities. Entrepreneurial fields and opportunities in these villages are different from each other. Competitive functions in rural areas of Cheshmeh Saran include saffron and medicinal plants, poultry, wood industry and tourism. Based on the results of the correspondence analysis, it was determined that the villages of Vamenan, Farsian and Sosra are competitive villages of Cheshmeh Saran rural area. In Vamnan, saffron and medicinal plants, mountain products are considered as a competitive advantage. Medicinal plants conversion industries have been formed in Vamenan. Farsians have an advantage in terms of road services, natural tourism and ecotourism, historical tourism. Sosara is highly competitive in terms of wood industry.  Finally, it should be said that due to the existence of entrepreneurs in the villages of Vamnan and Farsian, the capacity to promote competitiveness in these villages is more than the villages of Sousra and Vatan.