مطالب

Purpose- Protected Area Tourism, despite its economic potential, can pose threats to natural resources and disrupt the balance of rural regions if not properly managed. This study aims to propose strategies for achieving sustainable rural development through tourism while simultaneously conserving environmental values in the Khartouran protected area. The village of Qaleh Bala in Shahrud was selected as the case study. Design/methodology/approach- This research employed a qualitative approach using thematic analysis based on nine semi-structured interviews with tourism stakeholders. Participants were selected through purposive sampling until theoretical saturation was reached. Data analysis followed Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework, and the process was conducted using MAXQDA software. Findings- The results reveal that the impacts of tourism on rural development fall into three dimensions: economic, sociocultural, and environmental. Economically, tourism has contributed to diversifying the local economy, creating jobs, and increasing income. However, it has also raised the cost of living, generated unstable employment, and intensified the village’s economic dependency on nearby cities. In the sociocultural dimension, interactions between tourists and residents have revived handicrafts, strengthened local identity, and enhanced social interactions. Yet, they have also led to cultural clashes, lifestyle changes, and the weakening of traditional values. Environmentally, tourism has raised ecological awareness and reduced pressure on natural resources by decreasing reliance on agriculture and livestock. Nevertheless, the high volume of tourists has increased stress on water and soil resources, resulting in ecosystem degradation. For sustainable management of tourism in protected areas, effective strategies include developing comprehensive plans, educating local communities and tourists, enforcing strict environmental regulations, improving sustainable infrastructure, promoting ecotourism, diversifying rural livelihoods, and ensuring continuous monitoring of tourism activities. Originality / Value- By adopting a qualitative approach and focusing on one of Iran’s most ecologically sensitive regions, this study provides an in-depth, multidimensional analysis of tourism impacts in protected areas. Its innovation lies in simultaneously identifying both the positive and negative effects of tourism across economic, sociocultural, and environmental dimensions and in offering realistic, context-specific management strategies to foster sustainable rural development within the framework of environmental conservation.

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to develop a model of export market orientation based on competitive intelligence in the era of the digital economy. Method: This study employed a qualitative approach, utilizing grounded theory as the research method. Sampling was conducted purposefully and continued until theoretical saturation was achieved, involving a total of 15 managers and experts from selected exporting companies. The systematic research process comprised open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, facilitated by strategies such as analysis, questioning, comparison, reminders, schemas, and paradigms. During the coding process, revisions were made, and classifications were validated through feedback from the participants. Findings: The findings revealed the paradigmatic pattern of export market orientation based on competitive intelligence in the era of digital economy including six main categories of causal conditions, context, phenomenon or central category, intervening conditions, strategies and the consequences. Causal conditions have three sub-categories of learning abilities promotion of customer-oriented culture, knowledge of export technology and R&D processes and identification of export market needs; background conditions include three sub-categories of competitive thinking, competitive export processes (technical evaluation) and competitive governance; intervening conditions  include three sub-categories of market technical structure (new technologies), environmental uncertainty and global markets (export risks); the central phenomenon has three sub-categories of value chain (reward strategy), human resource empowerment and employee training (export intelligence); The strategies include three sub-categories of competitive value creation, development of export competitiveness and strategic evaluation of resources and competitive agility and strategic entrepreneurship; The results include three sub-categories of developing entrepreneurial activities, competitive advantage and promoting innovation and dynamic export capabilities. Conclusion: Based on the results, successful implementation of the export market orientation model, grounded in competitive intelligence, requires managers of exporting companies to develop a deeper understanding of the export market. This can be achieved by allocating greater effort to market-oriented activities. Furthermore, by emphasizing competitive intelligence, these companies can improve the perception of their services and create a positive association with their brand in the minds of international customers.