Volume 3, Issue 10 , February 2012, , Pages 65-102
Abstract
The remoteness, marginality and lack of stability in border regions of our country are situational factors that have detrimental effect on the development of these regions. The strategic significance of these regions necessitates the intervention of an external factor to guarantee their development as ...
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The remoteness, marginality and lack of stability in border regions of our country are situational factors that have detrimental effect on the development of these regions. The strategic significance of these regions necessitates the intervention of an external factor to guarantee their development as well as the exploitation of their situational potentials. Cooperatives of border dwellers can have a major role in the stable land development of the border regions. Southern Khorasan, as a border province, has paramount security and strategic importance in providing national security; however, it is one of the least developed regions in our country and to develop it, we can focus on the potentials of the cooperatives section. This province has more than 430 kilometers common border with Afghanistan and has twelve such cooperatives.
The present study is a library research and based on field survey. For the field survey, field observation, interview with the managers and authorities and questionnaires were used. At macro level, all the cooperatives of the border dwellers in the province and at micro level, all the families who were members of these cooperatives in Darmian made up the population of the research. At macro level the unit of analysis was the cooperatives and the managers of all cooperatives in the province (12 cases) received a pre-structured questionnaire. From among these twelve, six cooperatives were selected as the sample of the study based on the availability of their managers, activity level, date of establishment and number of members. At micro level, based on the spread of the member families (in 25 villages), the sample was drawn using stratified sampling and the result was a total number of 140 families. The collected data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. It was revealed that the selected cooperatives, in spite of marginal factors like long draught in the region, have had a positive impact upon the reduction of immigration, increase of income, economic welfare and development of the region and the research hypotheses were confirmed. In the qualitative analysis, using the strategic planning method of SWTO, some suggestions were given for increasing the efficacy of the cooperatives; these suggestions include more investment on the part of the government, and reduction of legal and functional restrictions of the cooperatives.
Regional Innovation System (RIS) is a new approach formed in the 1990s following the evolution of the approaches and theories of regional development. It encompasses a system where the firms have interaction with regional actors in order to achieve interactive learning and innovation. This assists to ...
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Regional Innovation System (RIS) is a new approach formed in the 1990s following the evolution of the approaches and theories of regional development. It encompasses a system where the firms have interaction with regional actors in order to achieve interactive learning and innovation. This assists to the dynamic regional development and competitiveness by promoting the innovative capacities of the firms in the region. This article aims to analysis the role of intra-regional networks in promoting innovation capacities of the firms in Tabriz Metropolitan Region. In order to achieve such goal, a survey method was employed. A documentary and librarian method was also applied for studying the existing theoretical principles and approaches in this field. Besides, stratified sampling method was used for determining the sample size.
Findings show that the intensity of intra-regional networking has a significant role on the interactive learning and innovation of the firms. In addition, proximity to the customers and suppliers network is one of the determinant factors in the promotion of innovation capacities of the firms in the region. Whilst institutional environment and supporting resources of knowledge such as universities and R&D institutes have minimal impact on innovative capacities of the firms. Finally further studies for deeper understanding of the subject are recommended.