Payame Noor University Journals of Environmental Education and Sustainable Development 2322-3057 13 1 2024 09 22 The Impact of Ports’ Social Responsibility on the Development of Coastal Cities: A Study with a Mixed Approach The Impact of Ports’ Social Responsibility on the Development of Coastal Cities: A Study with a Mixed Approach 73 90 11218 10.30473/ee.2024.60240.2404 FA Naji Raoufi Maram Ph.D. Student, Department of Public Administration, Shoushtar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shushtar, Iran Ghanbar Amirnejad Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Foad Makvandi Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, Shoushtar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shushtar, Iran Vahid Chenari Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, Shoushtar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shushtar, Iran. Journal Article 2021 08 14 This study aims to investigate the impact of the social responsibility of ports on the development of coastal cities. In terms of purpose, this study is applied research that has been conducted with a mixed (qualitative-quantitative) approach in terms of its nature and implementation. The statistical sample in the qualitative section includes 13 university experts and senior managers of the Ports and Maritime Organization, and the quantitative section includes 300 employees of the Ports and Maritime Organization. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data in the qualitative and quantitative sections, respectively. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by face validity, content validity, and convergent validity, and its reliability was confirmed by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient and combined reliability. To analyze the data in the qualitative part, the content analysis method was used, and in the quantitative part, the partial least squares technique was applied. Based on the results obtained in this study, it was found that the social responsibility of ports from four perspectives—improving the livelihood of coastal residents, tourism development, empowerment of local communities, and providing a platform for sustainable development—affects the development of coastal cities. Validation of the model obtained in a survey study showed that the proposed model has good validity. At the end of this article, in addition to discussing the research findings, practical guidelines are provided. This study aims to investigate the impact of the social responsibility of ports on the development of coastal cities. In terms of purpose, this study is applied research that has been conducted with a mixed (qualitative-quantitative) approach in terms of its nature and implementation. The statistical sample in the qualitative section includes 13 university experts and senior managers of the Ports and Maritime Organization, and the quantitative section includes 300 employees of the Ports and Maritime Organization. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data in the qualitative and quantitative sections, respectively. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by face validity, content validity, and convergent validity, and its reliability was confirmed by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient and combined reliability. To analyze the data in the qualitative part, the content analysis method was used, and in the quantitative part, the partial least squares technique was applied. Based on the results obtained in this study, it was found that the social responsibility of ports from four perspectives—improving the livelihood of coastal residents, tourism development, empowerment of local communities, and providing a platform for sustainable development—affects the development of coastal cities. Validation of the model obtained in a survey study showed that the proposed model has good validity. At the end of this article, in addition to discussing the research findings, practical guidelines are provided. https://ee.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_11218_3a708b1df65a0f62edcacc4cc5c05597.pdf