Identifying the Components and Strategies of Entrepreneurship Development Among the Disabled (Case Study of Rural Areas of Kozaran District in Kermanshah Township)

Livelihood diversity with emphasis on the off-farm activities and expansion of employment opportunities for different active groups in rural communities has been a successful approach in rural development. Disability is a reality that human societies should accept and consciously manage and plan for it, especially in high-risk rural environments where it occurs more often. Disability increases the burden on communities and the cost of living for rural households. This pressure is doubled when disabled people who are able to work and create value are deprived of getting a suitable job and opportunities to participate in the economic cycle are not provided for them. In the research conducted in the field of entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurship of certain groups in rural communities has received less attention from researchers and managers of rural development projects. The rural disabled people of Kermanshah province constitute a significant part of the unemployed in the province, and only four percent of disabled people in the province are employed. Dealing with the entrepreneurship category of disabled people has multiple functions in economic, social and political dimensions. The aim of present research is identifying the factors affecting the entrepreneurship of rural disabled people in Kozran district in Kermanshah Township.

The general approach of research was mixed qual-quan method and data collection method was semi-structured interview. The participants in the qualitative part were 21 rural disabled people from Kozran district and 15 managers and experts of the welfare organization in Kermanshah province. The samples were selected using the purposeful sampling method and based on the rule of data saturation. The data of the qualitative section analyzed by the grounded theory coding method and using Maxqda software. At this stage, the validity and reliability of the research was investigated using four related concepts, including the concepts of credibility, transferability, verifiability, and reliability. The used method in the quantitative part was descriptive method of correlation. The statistical sample of this part was 130 rural disabled people with employability in Kozran sector. The research instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire. Convergent validity (mean variance extracted) and divergent validity (Fornell and Larcker criteria) approaches used to check the validity and reliability of the questionaire. SPSS22 software was used in quantitative data analysis. In order to investigate the relationships between the researched structures, the method of structural equation modeling with partial least squares approach was used in the SmartPLS version 3 software.

As a result of the research data analysis, 58 concepts related to the factors affecting the entrepreneurship of rural disabled people were identified. These concepts are in the form of 15 structures and 4 main categories. Thise categories consisted of 1) the entrepreneurial competencies of rural disabled people include: commitment competence, learning competence, communication competence, and strategic competence. 2) Individual factors include utility and social identity; sense of altruism; entrepreneurial awareness and entrepreneurial personality traits. 3) Contextual factors include perceived local support; turbulences and limitations; perceived support from the family and human capital and 3) structural factors includes infrastructural-environmental factors; administrative bureaucracy and measures of the welfare organization. Also, 27 concepts related to entrepreneurship development strategies of rural disabled people were identified, in the form of five educational-empowerment strategies; cultivation and change of public attitude towards entrepreneurship of disabled people; support and material-spiritual support; diversification of the field of employment and branding of disabled products and improvement of the quality and quantity of human resources were categorized. The results showed that learning competence, human capital, turbulences and limitations, perceived support from the family and commitment competence are the most important factors affecting the entrepreneurship of rural disabled people. The findings of the quantitative model indicated learning competence with a beta value of β=0.811; human capital with a beta value of β=0.679; And turbulences and restrictions with a beta value of β=0.672 respectively have the greatest impact on the entrepreneurship of rural disabled people had the greatest impact on the entrepreneurship respectively of rural disabled people among the 15 identified factors.

Entrepreneurship of rural disabled people as a forgotten dimension of rural employment can be effective in realizing integrated rural development. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to pay attention to factors that facilitate the process of spontaneous employment of employable rural disabled people. This research was conducted in a mixed manner in line with this goal, and the results showed that rural disabled people and related experts have pointed out the lag of the atmosphere of rural entrepreneurship and the need to address it. Creating the basis for employment and using the talents of rural disabled people firstly requires the authorities and the rural community to believe in the possibility of employment for disabled people. Secondly, it requires finding talents and empowering the disabled, and finally, it requires the three basic dimensions of this pyramid, namely the family, officials and the disabled, to play a role and take responsibility. In this regard, reforms and institutional development of the employment of rural disabled people are the basis for the successful performance of these three dimensions. Therefore, it is suggested to update and facilitate regional laws and circulars to support the investors of the ideas of rural disabled people with a supportive approach. It is suggested to provide self-employment for rural disabled people by identifying and concluding contracts with related and potential sectors, and in case of using the potentials of disabled people in private sectors, tax exemptions, low interest facilities and subsidies for energy carriers for employers should be considered. In addition, networking and introducing the capabilities of rural disabled people in supply networks and the value chain of agricultural and rural products can be effective in developing the employment of rural disabled people.