Multi-criteria evaluation of agro-processing industries for sustainable local economic development in East of Iran

Abstract

This study investigates the agro-processing industries potential to develop the local economic in the east of Iran as a developing country based on the sustainable development criteria including economic, social, environmental, and managerial indices. For this purpose, a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making model based on fuzzy SWARA and fuzzy EDAS technique is developed to determine the global weights of the criteria and prioritize the agro-processing industries as alternatives. Moreover, a conceptual analytical model based on the Porter’s diamond is utilized to evaluate the state of active firms in high-priority agro-processing industries, with the aim of providing the best applicable management insights. According to the findings, the most important sub-criteria are including “income growth by creating value-added”, “payback period”, and “number of jobs created per firm activated”. These sub-criteria are known as one of the most prominent managerial concerns in the local economic development area in Iran as the case study. Focusing on the prioritization results, the agro-processing industries for barberry and saffron products are identified as first-priority industries, while those related to the processing and packaging of medicinal herbs and production of jams and extracts of horticultural crops are ranked as second and third-priority alternatives, respectively. Based on the sensitively analysis, it can be inferred that the final result of selecting the best agro-processing industry is highly robust to the changes in the weight of the most influential sub-criterion. Moreover, Porter model showed that new entrants are not considered as a serious threat. Contrary to the buyers, the suppliers do not have a bargaining power because of the current market condition. Finally, barberry and saffron products have a great competitive rivalry in the national and international markets.