A process-based guide for international entrepreneurs while investing in the agrifood sector of an emerging economy

A multi-layer decision-making approach

Bibliographic Data

ID21296650
AuthorsH A Mahdiraji (0000-0002-8382-6603, De Montfort University), Moein Beheshti (0000-0002-4525-5029, University of Tehran), Seyed Hossein Razavi Hajiagha (0000-0003-2084-7244, Khatam University), Niloofar Ahmadzadeh Kandi (0000-0003-4576-2423, University of Wollongong), Hasan Boudlaie (0000-0002-9416-2806, University of Tehran)
Year2022
Volume124
Issue7
Pages1984-2011
Publication date2022-06-08
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Food Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-070X • E-ISSN: 1758-4108
PublisherEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/bfj-08-2021-0876
OpenAlexW3208661615
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited74

Purpose Due to the political, economic and infrastructure barriers and risks that international entrepreneurs (IEs) face when researching an emerging economy's agrifood sector, this research aims to identify the major barriers, analyse their relationships, quantify their importance, classify and rank them. Thus, the IEs will gain a better understanding and vision of their decision-making processes in this era. Design/methodology/approach To do this, the authors first created a list of barriers to entry for IEs into Iran's rising economy's agrifood industry. Following that, a multi-layer decision-making approach was developed and implemented to accomplish the research objectives. The first stage utilized a hybrid of interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) to depict the level-based conceptual model and classification of the IEs’ obstacles to entry into the agrifood sector. Following that, a hybrid decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), and analytic network process (ANP) called DANP was utilized to present a causal relationship between the barriers, identify their causes and effects, and also quantify the relevance of each barrier. Findings After employing the multi-layer decision-making approach, the results demonstrated that fundamental limitations, including infrastructure and technology limitations, are the most critical barriers alongside policy factors encompassing governmental support and access to global or regional economy/market. According to the results, innovation and economic sustainability of the agrifood supply chain also matter. All of these critical barriers are intertwined and should be planned and solved simultaneously. Furthermore, based on DANP results, the sustainability pillars (economy, environment, society), besides the low efficiency of the agrifood sector in Iran, should be investigated further for future policy makings. Originality/value A hybrid multi-layer decision-making approach has been used for analysing the barriers of investment in the agrifood sector of the emerging economy of Iran for the international entrepreneurs. Moreover, the authors provide implications and insights for IEs and officials for decision-making in the future

Business · Industrial organization · Political science · Process (computing) · Relevance (law) · Supply chain · Sustainability · Computer Science · Innovation and Socioeconomic Development · International Business and FDI · Marketing · Supply Chain Resilience and Risk Management

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