Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Department of Geography and Rural Planning, Faculty of Planning and Environmental Science, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
2 Department of Economical Science, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
Abstract
Keywords
Main Subjects
Extended Abstract
Objectives
One of the important and critical factors for the development of organic agricultural products is branding. Because due to the variety of products and their more and more expansion, the market is a scene of confrontation and struggle of commercial brands, which have emerged as a powerful tool to carry out and promote various products and activities. Tabriz County has many capabilities in terms of agriculture, especially in type of healthy and organic one; these advantages can be achieved and invested under the condition of cultural development. Currently, most agricultural products of the Tabriz County, has no image and brand identity, which, in addition to the loss of opportunity-cost due to lack of branding, it has caused the villagers and farmers, as well as the responsible institutions, to act without a specific plan and strategy instead of presenting a clear, precise and consistent image of organic products, it leads to confusion in this field. Accordingly, the current research was conducted with the aim to investigate and identify the drivers of branding healthy and organic agricultural products in Tabriz County.
Methods
The current research is applied in terms of purpose and mixed, based on the strategy, and is considered a quantitative-qualitative according to research method. The population of the research included specialists, experts, and experts, who initially used targeted sampling, followed by semi-structured interviews with 17 people using the snowball method until reaching theoretical saturation. Each interview lasted between 30 to 55 minutes, and all of them were recorded and noted. In the present study, first, qualitative content was collected based on the foundation's data approach. In this method, data classification was done in three ways: open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. To check the reliability, transferability, conformability and validity criteria, were used. The quantitative part of the research was done based on the results of the qualitative stage; after identifying the drivers of branding, and a questionnaire was prepared in the framework of the matrix of cross effects between the factors. The basis of this questionnaire is on the degree of influence and effectiveness between the variables respondents with numbers between 0-3.
Results
In the present research, based on the foundational data theory, the data from the interviews were analyzed, and in the open coding stage, the text of the interviews was examined and concepts were identified. Based on the concepts relationship and similarity, classification and primary codes were identified; in total, 236 primary codes were extracted. Among the codes extracted at this stage, the most frequent ones are related to the codes for creating an organization and a single window. Evaluation and monitoring, Marketing and information, Mutual trust between producers and consumers and policy-making and financial and credit support. In the next step, with axial coding, similar 34 categories were identified. Followed by selective coding based on the purpose considered in the research, all discussions were conducted in connection with the drivers of branding of organic agricultural products. This phenomenon was categorized in the form of 7 selective categories. In this research, a 34x34 matrix was prepared to analyze the issue and identify the drivers of organic agriculture products branding. The results after three times of data rotations of cross-effects were 100% favorable, which indicates the reasonable validity of the questionnaire. The filling rate of the matrix is 84.17%, which shows that in more than 84% of cases, the factors have influenced each other. For calculations of direct effects, the software exponentiates the matrix several times. Among the selected factors, 16 factors were selected as the key factors of organic agriculture product branding after scoring and analyzing by the MicMac model. The results show, among the 16 extracted factors, the role of different media, the existence of an organization and a single window, financial and credit support, provision of support facilities, public sector foundation, process control from production to product presentation, legal support and facilitation of branding processes, the presence of expert forces, social networks, holding exhibitions, technology, and innovation, the economic status of people, etc. were more important and they had a high impact among direct and indirect influence.
Discussion
Export development capability of organic products in the world markets can lead to an increase in the country's foreign exchange earnings. Therefore, paying enough attention to international standards, the structure of the system and marketing and having a coherent organization, can cover and monitor all stages of production, marketing and export. Branding of organic agriculture products has no trustee, and the executive bodies have never worked under a common and comprehensive program, including all sectors and dividing duties in a clear, controllable, and reviewable manner. Therefore, creating a single organization and window or re-engineering existing organizations can solve the existing problem. Another driver was the holding of national and international festivals and exhibitions, which play an important role in creating opportunities for marketing, sales, branding, networking, and the gathering of production units at a specific time and place from all over the country, in addition to the prosperity of the local economy, causes the prosperity of production, job creation and self-sufficiency in it will be different fields. In the branding of organic agricultural products, attention to export, proper packaging, international standards, and finally, marketing are important factors in the field of organic agricultural products. By identifying the well-known strategies of this sector, the villages can promote the county's position in addition to economic development and job creation, as well as the prosperity of the export sector.
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