Designing a Model for Creation of Export Consortiain Business Cluster

Today, small and medium enterprises are considered as one of the main components of economic development for various reasons. To name a few, job creation, resource efficiency, the ability to enhance local technology, the ability to meet new needs, quick decision-making, and training successful managers will all lead to the growth and economic development of countries. Despite these benefits, small and medium enterprises face restrictions in areas such as human resources, specialist forces, and market access. To address these challenges, strategies need to be adopted to support and reinforce the enterprises. Creating a network of export consortium is one of the strategies that help providing a better access to the target market. In this study, first, we identified various dimensions in creating export consortiums and ranked them for small and medium enterprises. Second, based on the grounded theory research methodology, we proposed a model by examining the dimensions, components and categories affecting the establishment of successful export consortia. Accordingly, 26 subcategories are categorized into 6 main categories. Then, their relative importance in the success of the export consortia is determined by identifying the weights of each category and using the Hierarchical Analysis Method (AHP).