The Framework for Manager Selection Based on Sustainable Governance Using Political Marketing

Introduction
The emergence of the theory of political marketing can be seen as the result of combining the knowledge of marketing and politics. Since the main goal of political marketing is to facilitate exchange and create benefits for political groups, in this process, special tools and approaches are considered, the effective use of which makes political marketing different from other areas, such as product marketing. By reviewing the governance literature as well as the sustainability literature, it is clear that the role of managers in the realization of sustainable governance and specifically the antecedents of the selection of managers in this form of governance has been largely ignored. Meanwhile, managers play one of the most key roles in realizing sustainable development. Therefore, in the present research, this issue is discussed and explained. On the other hand, as mentioned above, the process of selecting senior managers in organizations includes a set of political behaviors that are carried out by interested parties; From this point of view, political marketing actions can have a potential impact on the selection of the manager; A category that has been less discussed in previous researches. By entering the mentioned field, this article provides new insights and perspectives regarding the effects of political marketing on sustainable governance through the selection of managers. This research has been done with the aim of providing a framework for manager selection in line with sustainable governance using political marketing.
 
Methodology
Considering that the main purpose of this research is to provide a model for the selection of managers in line with sustainable governance by using political marketing, it can be said that the current research is in the scope of developmental research. In terms of approach, this research is under exploratory studies. Based on this, using the qualitative approach, dimensions, components and indicators affecting the selection of the manager in line with sustainable governance are identified using political marketing and a research model is designed. In the following, partial least squares method is used to validate the model. In the qualitative phase of the research, a group of public administration experts were selected and interviewed. The selected samples had at least two of the following four criteria: have a doctorate degree with at least ten years of work experience and experience in the field of research objectives. have the necessary knowledge and mastery regarding political marketing and the tools and techniques of its application in the field of organization management. Have authorships, articles, research and educational activities, relevant education and experience related to the field of political market. Sampling has been done using the snowball method. The sampling of experts in this research has continued until the discovery and analysis process reaches the theoretical saturation point. This research has reached theoretical saturation by conducting 15 interviews. The statistical population in the quantitative section includes all employees of the Ministry of Interior (N=226). Using Cochran's formula, a sample size of 143 people is selected. Sampling is available. In order to collect data in the qualitative part, a semi-structured interview method was used, and in the quantitative part, a questionnaire based on a 5-point Likert scale with six dimensions and 33 items was used (the dimensions of the questionnaire were determined based on the components identified in the qualitative part). In order to determine the validity and reliability of the interviews, two methods of retesting and double coder agreement were used. In this research, thematic analysis method was used to analyze qualitative data. Data analysis has been done in the qualitative section using Maxqda software. Also, Smart PLS software was used for validation with PLS method.
 
Findings
Based on the results obtained in the qualitative phase, overarching themes including relational factors, socio-cultural factors, legal factors, marketing factors and financial factors were identified. Based on the results obtained from the validation of the model in the quantitative part, while confirming all the research hypotheses, it was found that the model proposed in this research is valid.
 
Discussion and Conclusion
Relational factors were identified as one of the factors influencing the selection of managers in the direction of sustainable governance using political marketing. The result shows that the ability to establish a relationship with decision-making groups and interest groups has a great impact on the selection of managers. In fact, the process of selecting a manager as well as political marketing, both are basically based on establishing a relationship with the target groups, which is done either through trust building or through attractiveness (promising and creating expectations in the audience). As stated earlier (Radnitz, 2011), a large part of political behavior in an organization is done to form a network of relationships between different groups. Socio-cultural factors are another group of factors whose influence on the choice of manager in line with sustainable governance has been confirmed by using political marketing. In this regard, categories including education and learning and organizational culture are involved. In this regard, it has already been mentioned that the realization of sustainable governance largely depends on the culture of the organization (Del Giso et al., 2024; Bandelov et al., 2022). Legal and regulatory factors are another group of factors that influence the choice of managers in line with sustainable governance using political marketing. The realization of sustainable governance - or the selection of a manager who steps in the direction of sustainable governance - partly depends on the laws and regulations supporting sustainable development. For example, in the political marketing campaigns that have been launched in the United States since the beginning of the 21st century, part of the candidates' promises have been directed to environmental issues (Sherman et al., 2016). Similarly, Masilo et al. (2018) have also introduced political marketing strategies as an essential factor to strengthen the sustainability of private organizations. In addition to the above, political marketing measures in themselves also have an impact on the selection of managers in line with sustainable governance. This finding shows that political marketing measures should have maximum appeal, logic and effectiveness in order to put a candidate in the management seat. Sophocles et al. (2024) point out in their study that political marketing is more effective when it can present its messages in an "audience-friendly" way to the target community. In the study of Stromer-Gali et al. (2021), the positive relationship between the creation of appropriate advertising content and the attraction of votes in the US presidential elections is also mentioned, which is consistent with the findings of the present study. Finally, financial factors were identified as another factor influencing the selection of managers in the direction of sustainable governance using political marketing. Advertising campaigns, especially those defined under political marketing, need a lot of financial support in order to attract a larger part of influential people (voters or people involved in the process of selecting the manager). For example, Henison (2010) conducted a case study in Ghana's presidential election and concluded that financial shortages are one of the reasons for the failure of political campaigns. Similarly, in the study of Newman et al. (2022), financial factors have been introduced as a key factor in the success of political marketing, which is consistent with the results obtained in this study.