واکاوی عوامل بازدارنده توسعه کارآفرینی در مناطق روستایی با رویکرد فرا تحلیل

A B S T R A C T
The present study was carried out to quantitatively combine the results of the studies conducted in the field of the factors that inhibit rural entrepreneurship. Using the meta-analysis method and CMA3 software, this research examined 29 domestic and foreign studies from 2010 to 2023, whose information was extracted through reliable scientific databases. Based on the results obtained from the total information of 444 variables entered into the meta-analysis software, 67 variables were repeated 354 times in the reviewed articles. The variables of financial weakness and lack of liquidity, lack of training related to entrepreneurship, weak physical and infrastructure in rural areas, lack of necessary coordination and cooperation between the custodian organizations, and low level of skill and capability have the highest degree of repeatability. The effect size value showed that out of 67 variables, 61.95% had a small effect size, 28.16% had a medium effect size, and 9.89% had a large effect size. The variables of lack of access to the appropriate market, numerous village challenges, and the fear of failure have the most significant effect. Also, among the factors, there are infrastructural factors with an effect size of 0.372, policy making with an effect size of 0.349, educational with an effect size of 0.334, social with an effect size of 0.314, economic with an effect size of 0.308, environmental with an effect size of 0.287, and institutional with an effect size of 0.283, and individual with an effect size of 0.277 were identified as the most important barriers to rural entrepreneurship, respectively. Finally, based on the obtained results, the barriers to entrepreneurship were extracted and prioritized with a comprehensive approach, and based on that, the model of barriers to rural entrepreneurship was drawn.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Addressing the issue of rural entrepreneurship in order to identify the factors hindering its development is very important and should not be neglected. Therefore, it is necessary to study and examine the challenges and obstacles to its development so that it can be developed through accurate scientific knowledge. This research was conducted to investigate and analyze the barriers to entrepreneurship development in rural areas with a meta-analysis approach. Many studies have been conducted in line with the barriers to rural entrepreneurship. Since several factors create an inhibiting role in entrepreneurship and the relationships between them are complex and heterogeneous, it is necessary to investigate these structures, deficiencies, and bottlenecks with a special methodology that can define the context better and more precisely. In the meta-analysis method, we first reach beyond the primary whole by breaking the components of the whole, and then the primary analysis takes place. Finally, the combined secondary analysis shows the information the primary data does not. In other words, in the meta-analysis, the information is first extracted from the primary sources, then combined with each other, and finally, a new whole is obtained. In the meta-analysis method, the basic principle is to combine different results and, extract new and coherent results, and remove what causes exploitation in the final results. Considering the mentioned cases, this research aims to take an effective step to extract and categorize the obstacles of rural entrepreneurship by reviewing and meta-analyzing the research findings conducted in different time frames.
 
Methodology
The present research was carried out using a meta-analysis method. The meta-analysis method is one of the new methods in conducting research, which combines the results of previous studies on a subject statistically. In order to carry out the research, all the studies conducted concerning the obstacles of rural entrepreneurship in Farsi and English were searched in various publications through databases. The keywords studied were entrepreneurship, rural entrepreneurship, obstacles to rural entrepreneurship, new and innovative rural businesses, and entrepreneurial challenges. From the total of 100 studied articles, the information from 29 domestic and foreign articles that included a large number of variables was included in the meta-analysis. For meta-analysis calculations, CMA3 software, which is the latest version of meta-analysis, was used, and the data obtained from previous studies were converted to effect size using the software.
 
Results and discussion
The findings showed that infrastructural factors with an effect size of 0.372, policy and legal with an effect size of 0.349, technical-educational with an effect size of 0.334, cultural-social with an effect size of 0.314, financial-economic with an effect size of 0.308, environmental with an effect size of 287 0.0, managerial-institutional with an effect size of 0.283 and individual with an effect size of 0.277 were identified as the most important obstacles to rural entrepreneurship. According to Cohen's effect criterion, 5 factors (infrastructural, policy, educational, social, and economic), i.e., 61.95% have an effect size greater than 0.3, and 3 factors (environmental, institutional, and individual), i.e., 38.05% have an effect size less than 0.3 have been assigned to themselves. For each factor, a total of 67 variables have been extracted according to the effect size, Z value, and P significance level. The total degree of repeatability of these variables was 354 times. The variables are the lack of necessary coordination and cooperation between the organizations in charge of rural development in the field of entrepreneurship, the theoretical nature of people's knowledge, the lack or shortage of training related to entrepreneurship and self-employment in the village, the low level of skills and comprehensive rural capabilities, financial weakness and lack of liquidity of people for starting a business, little support from the government and officials for rural entrepreneurs, weak information and communication technology, lack of suitable physical and infrastructure, and lack of access to production factors have been the most frequent concepts. Also, the components of lack of long-term planning in the field of rural development, inappropriate laws in the field of export and import, lack of familiarity with accounting and financial planning, fear of failure and bankruptcy, weak technical requirements to achieve added value, weak marketing and sale, limited opportunity to repay the loan, non-payment of loans on time by the government and the existence of various challenges in rural settlements, based on meta-analysis calculations, have the most significant effect.
 
Conclusion
As stated in the current research, the most important obstacles to rural entrepreneurship are caused by infrastructural factors. This result is consistent with the results and findings of Mendi et al. (2021) and Smith et al. (2024). The second case is the barriers to rural entrepreneurship and policy and legal factors consistent with the results of Sheikhi et al.'s research (2023). Educational factors are also one of the barriers to rural entrepreneurship, which is consistent with the study's results by Virginia et al. (2017). Another critical obstacle to rural entrepreneurship is the economic factor. This is consistent with the research results of Qadiri Masoom et al. (2014), Jomini et al. (2015), Farahani and Alvandi (2018), and Hosseini Kahnuj et al. (2021). Another obstacle to entrepreneurship is the environmental dimension, which aligns with the results of Watankhah et al.'s research (2022). Considering that the villages of our country are full of new and undiscovered opportunities, entrepreneurship can guarantee the continuity of life and the survival of villages. Unfortunately, entrepreneurial culture has not penetrated as much as it should in rural areas, and its obstacles can be found in the structural model of research. Therefore, in order to develop entrepreneurship in rural areas and encourage entrepreneurs and the private sector to invest and start new businesses in rural areas, suggestions were made in accordance with the results of this research.
 
Funding
There is no funding support.
 
Authors’ Contribution
All of the authors approved the content of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none.
 
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
 
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.