Developing a Competitive Advantage Acquisition Model for By-Products of the Sugar Industry
Keywords:
By-products, Competitive Advantage, Competitive Intelligence Network, Networking, Entrepreneurship, Governance, Sugar IndustryAbstract
The present study aimed to develop a model of the factors influencing the achievement of competitive advantage for by-products of the sugar industry. The research was conducted using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. In the qualitative phase, a combined content analysis method (inductive–deductive) was employed, while the quantitative phase utilized a causal-correlational design. The statistical population in the qualitative phase consisted of 20 participants, including senior managers and industry researchers, who were selected through purposive non-probability sampling. In the quantitative phase, 151 experts participated through a complete census approach. The findings of the qualitative phase indicated that competitive intelligence, organizational resources, entrepreneurship, governance, and networking play significant roles in achieving competitive advantage for sugar industry by-products. Subsequently, the causal relationships among these factors were analyzed using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM). The results revealed that governance serves as the primary driving factor and exerts influence on both networking and entrepreneurship. Networking and entrepreneurship mutually influence one another, and both affect organizational resources. Organizational resources, in turn, act as a driver of competitive intelligence and competitive advantage. These relationships were further examined through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results demonstrated that governance directly and strongly supports networking and entrepreneurship. However, the relationships between networking and entrepreneurship, as well as between networking and organizational resources, were not confirmed. Organizational entrepreneurship was found to have a direct and positive effect on organizational resources. Competitive intelligence was directly and positively influenced by organizational resources. Ultimately, organizational resources were shown to exert a strong and direct positive effect on enhancing competitive advantage. The measurement model was validated through the assessment of convergent validity (AVE), discriminant validity, and reliability indicators, including factor loadings, Cronbach’s alpha, and composite reliability. Furthermore, the adequacy of the structural model was confirmed using the coefficients of determination (R²), predictive relevance (Q²), and goodness-of-fit (GOF) indices. The findings indicate that the role of government in the development of by-products is highly significant and serves as the primary driving force. In addition, within organizations, competitive advantage depends on marketing strategies and competitive dynamics. Organizational resources can support market development by providing high-quality products at lower production costs.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Morteza Norozi (Author); Younos Vakil Alroaia; Ali Faez, Ali Akbar Amin Beidokhti (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
