Analysis of Technology Learning Phenomenon in the National Metro Train Project: A Survey Approach

Public transport is considered as one of the criteria of development assessments of a country. Intracity rail transport (subway), one of public transport subcategories, plays a significant role in this assessment. According to the country’s needs and moving toward development, developing local capability for designing and creating products related to subway industry as a complex product is an issue that we must focus on. Complex products are of advanced technology and manufactured in advanced companies. Investment in production of such capital goods is considered as one of the significant indications of the strength of national economy. As these products considerably require capital and time, well-managed localization through technology learning must occur. In this paper, technology learning path and carried out attempts in national subway train were investigated based on phenomenological strategy. After reviewing evidence, field and literature studies and information of project management necessities and technology learning, the data was gathered through open interviews with high level managers of stockholder companies in subway projects and was analyzed with a critical view in form of a grounded theory roadmap through coding – open coding including basic, primary and categorization, and finally blocking and axial coding) by MAXQDA 2020 software. As each main supplier has a different way of learning and using the acquired technology, integration management is required to be taught and developed like engineering sciences. Technology ownership is one of the contractual voids in project implementation and implementing national subway train project led to localization and realization of goals such as national development, an increase in employment, a decrease in building costs, and an increase in localization share using abilities of local manufacturers’ knowledge and abilities.