Sociological analysis of the reasons, contexts, and obstacles to the underdevelopment of the service sector (Case study: Zanjan Province)

Document Type : Research

Authors

Maryam Ahani ¹

Robabeh Pourjabali ²

¹ PhD student in Sociology, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran

² Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/social.2026.97742.1735

Abstract

This research is applied in terms of its purpose and qualitative in terms of its data collection method, and was conducted using the grounded theory method. The statistical population of the study was composed of experts and key informants in the service sector in Zanjan province in 1404. The sampling was carried out using a purposive and theoretical method until theoretical saturation, and finally, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data analysis was carried out using the systematic procedures of Strauss and Corbin in three stages of open, axial, and selective coding. The research findings indicate that the causal conditions affecting the underdevelopment of the service sector in Zanjan province are: sectoral centralization and lack of policy synergy, insufficient investment in the field of services, lack of institutional and financial support for service businesses, and dependence of services on the government and bureaucracy. The geography and location of the province, the consumer culture of the society, the low level of public awareness of the importance of modern services, the low level of technology, as background conditions and economic fluctuations and sanctions, migration of skilled workers to Tehran or abroad, frequent political and managerial changes, and rapid technological changes and inability to adapt, as interfering conditions and reducing the quality of life and social satisfaction, the continuation of regional development inequality in the country, and the province's continued economic dependence on traditional sectors have been identified as consequences of the underdevelopment of the service sector in Zanjan province.

Keywords

Development

underdevelopment

service sector

Zanjan province

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