Interpretive Structural Model (ISM) for Factors Affecting the Development of The Export of Dairy Products

Trade internationalization and companies' turn to the global market have become more apparent in recent decades. An increasing number of companies in this space have found an excellent opportunity to expand their international activities to achieve growth, profit and sales, diversity for business risks, and even to compensate for the presence of foreigners in their market. The aim of this study is the identification and prioritize the factors affecting dairy export development. The present study has a mixed and combined approach. In the qualitative section, 18 vital and practical factors of export development were identified through semi‐structured interviews with 18 academic experts, export experts, managers, and experts of the studied companies. In the quantitative part, the opinions of 11 industry and university experts have been used by interpretive structural modeling (ISM) to prioritize the factors. Factors were plotted at six levels. Findings from the research process show that economic sanctions and government role‐playing factors are recognized as the most important and influential factors, and economic growth, production, and employment prosperity, and economic resilience as the most dependent factors in dairy export development.