Explanation of the Dynamic Model of the Medicinal Plants Industry Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

Abstract

This study aims to explain the dynamic model of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the medicinal plants industry to enhance the understanding of the complexities and dynamics of this sector, identify existing entrepreneurial opportunities, create jobs, and improve the productivity of production factors, including arable land, water resources, and human capital. This research is applied-developmental in terms of its objective and exploratory in terms of the data collection method, using a mixed (quantitative and qualitative) approach. Initially, related variables were identified through a review of the literature. Subsequently, the relationships between the variables were extracted through an examination of prior research. In the next stage, semi-structured interviews with experts were conducted to complete the relationships between the variables in the model. Finally, based on system dynamics, a causal-loop diagram of this ecosystem was developed. The study's population consists of entrepreneurs in the medicinal plants industry within the entrepreneurial ecosystem framework. In the findings from the explanation of the causal model of the study, five subsystems of the entrepreneurial ecosystem were identified. The first subsystem focuses on medicinal plant production and development, which also examines the country's population. The second subsystem pertains to financing and investment in medicinal plant development, which considers their responsiveness to other variables, such as the exchange rate. The third subsystem addresses entrepreneurial ecosystem development, including supportive policies, entrepreneurial opportunities, and marketing. The fourth subsystem deals with the productivity of production factors, involving water resources, land, and human labor. The fifth subsystem, the cultural factors subsystem, addresses the cultural aspect and was added to the model to address the research gap that existed in this field. Then, the key variables in each subsystem and their causal relationships within the subsystems, as well as the interrelationships between the subsystems, were modeled in the form of a causal-loop diagram. Another gap addressed by this research is the investigation of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of medicinal plants, which has not been studied using system dynamics before. Additionally, presenting a new classification of subsystems is an innovation in this study. All five identified categories of factors have complex interrelations, typically of a direct nature. By establishing appropriate connections between the variables of this ecosystem, not only is an improvement in the productivity of production factors (including arable land, water resources, and human capital) achieved, but individual benefits for entrepreneurs and social benefits for the community are also realized.