The Compilation of Strategic Plan for Advanced Textile Industry of Iran

The emergence of the new generation of fibers and textiles and the use of modern technologies in the textile industry have created a significant change in this ancient industry. The general trend of the global textile industry is to move towards the production of textile products whose design parameters are not limited to their aesthetics, but the primary purpose is to produce products with special functions. Different types of advanced textiles have been developed, included civil textiles, agricultural textiles, industrial textiles, medical and healthcare textiles, sports textiles, smart textiles, nano-textiles, and military textiles. Today, these advanced textiles used in various fields such as transportation, filtration, electrical and electronic industries, and composite materials. Hence, advanced textiles are a strategic and essential part of the textile industry, which must always be up-to-date with the emergence of new threats. This is not possible without having a strategic plan and appropriate strategies. In order to present a strategic plan for advanced fibers and textiles, the current situation of this industry   properly clarified in the first stage, and its strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities identified. Also, the current and future needs of the country should be carefully assessed. Then according to the upstream documents and opinions of experts, the development strategies of this industry in the next decade should be determined. The present study aims to compile a strategic plan for developing the advanced textile industry of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The main purpose of the present work is to formulate appropriate strategies for developing Iran's advanced textile industry. This study is applied research based on the aim and descriptive-survey research based on the data collection method. The methods of interviewing and questionnaire from academic and industrial centers used, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated using SPSS software to confirm the reliability of the questionnaire. Two external factor evaluation matrices and internal factor evaluation used to evaluate the effective strategic factors. Then the SWOT analysis method used to determine the appropriate combined strategies. Finally, the quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) used to prioritize Iran's advanced textile industry strategies.

The results indicated that the total score of the internal factors matrix is more than 2.5 (i.e., 2.58), which means that the strengths outweigh the weaknesses. Also, the final score obtained from the external factor evaluation matrix, i.e., 2.37, indicates that this industry is faced with threats in terms of external factors.  In the next step, the internal and external factors entered into the SWOT matrix from external factor evaluation, and internal factor evaluation matrices and combined strategies were determined. The quantitative strategic planning matrix used to prioritize the selected strategies for Iran's advanced textile industry. The results showed that strategies of enhancing the interaction and relationship of the defense industry with universities and research centers active in the field of the textile industry as well as creating knowledge-based industries are among the strongest strategies for developing the advanced textile industry.

This research aims to formulate desirable strategies for developing the advanced textile industry in the Islamic Republic of Iran. For this purpose, this strategic industry considered, and its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats identified. Then, by evaluating the influential factors and their combination, aggressive, conservative, defensive, and competitive strategies were determined. The results show that the state of the industry in terms of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is in the area of competitive strategies. The strategies in this area they prioritized by using a quantitative strategic planning matrix. The results indicated that the enhancing interaction and relationship between the defense industry and universities and research centers active in the textile industry and establishing knowledge of the country's textile industry are the most robust strategies for developing the advanced textile industry. To achieve this strategy includes identifying leading universities and scientific centers in the field of advanced fibers and textiles, establishing a database of researchers and scientific elites, establishing a database of research projects and dissertations of universities and research centers, and finally using the capability of the identified centers and elites to produce the required advanced fibers and textiles.