Nona Hosseini, Nusratullah Shadnoush, Zahra Abedi,
Volume 21, Issue 1 (10-2023)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Probiotics, or useful microorganisms tobtained from beneficial microorganisms, have attracted the attention of the world community, especially the health sector, in recent years. The reason is that probiotic products can help in treating diseases and strengthening the human body without any side effects, unlike drugs which may usually have many side effects. Considering the importance of these products, this study was conducted to find and explain the drivers of probiotic industry development in Iran's food industry.
Materials and Methods: Data were collected, using the thematic analysis method, on the views of the experts of the probiotic industry in Iran, including experts in nutritional and medical sciences and probiotic producers, concerning the most important driving forces in the development of probiotic industry businesses in Iran. Based on the data the effects of the variables obtained were investigated using the structural equation modeling method with a partial least squares approach.
Results: Analysis of the data showed that the development of probiotics industry was statistically significantly related directly both to macro-environment (coefficients T=3.13, p=0.033<0.05; 95% confidence level) and micro-environment (coefficients of T=2.13, p=0.001<0.05; 95% confidence level).
Conclusion: It can be concluded that the development of the probiotic industry in Iran is influenced by both the macro-environment and the micro-environment. What can provide the basis for the development of this industry in the macro-environment and the micro-environment sectors is the political forces such as governments and the private sector, respectively.
