Introduction
The tourism industry is an attractive sector for job creation, known as a powerful tool to combat poverty. Entrepreneurship in the sustainable rural tourism sector helps the government strengthen small and medium industries. Consequently, the unemployment and poverty rates among the local community decrease. Strategic management in entrepreneurship can lead to market share growth, cost reduction, customer retention, and other financial and non-financial benefits of organizational performance. Therefore, strategic orientation is considered one of the most important intangible resources and assets of rural tourism entrepreneurial companies. In a knowledge-based economy, attention to intellectual capital is necessary to remain competitive. The formation and development of entrepreneurial activities in sustainable rural tourism, focusing on strategic orientation, green intellectual capital, and environmental management programs, provide favorable conditions for all stakeholders in sustainable rural tourism. This research aims to evaluate the entrepreneurship environment of rural tourism in the villages of Shahroud Township concerning strategic orientation and intellectual capital.
Material and Methods
This qualitative research utilized the systematic Grounded Theory method. It is exploratory and considered basic applied research. Given the qualitative approach, this research is interpretive. The study population includes activists and experts in rural tourism entrepreneurship. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 experts and activists to explore their perceptions regarding the impact of strategic orientation and intellectual capital on sustainable rural green tourism entrepreneurship development
Results and Discussion
During the initial coding stage, key points from the interviews were titled. The interviews focused on factors influencing the strategic orientation of rural tourism entrepreneurial units with respect to intellectual capital and environmental preservation. The main categories identified werelearning-orientation, market-orientation, domination-orientation, futurism, branding-orientation, entrepreneurship-orientation, cost-orientation, innovation-orientation, and formal-orientation. The axial coding process related sub-categories to each other, highlighting the importance of foresight in creating market-orientation and sustainable competitive advantage.
Conclusions
The sustainability of rural tourism entrepreneurial units emphasizing green practices relies on their ability to create superior value in the market. Strategic orientation and intellectual capital are crucial intangible assets for entrepreneurial units. Market orientation and green intellectual capital contribute to superior performance, especially in environmental protection. These strategic orientations lead to sustainable competitive advantages in the long term.