javad mashayekh

Iran’s full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an important milestone and introduce this country as the ninth member of the largest regional cooperation organization. The transformation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization from an institution focused on security to an institution that includes economic, industrial, educational, and technological cooperation brings many opportunities and challenges for Iran. This article examines how Iran can use its membership in the SCO to enhance its scientific and technological capabilities in the post globalization era characterized by technological nationalism and geopolitical competition.

Research question: 

How Iran can use the capabilities of the SCO to promote its scientific and technological development?Research hypothesis: Iran’s membership in the SCO, despite existing political, institutional, and cultural challenges, strengthens its technological capabilities and self-sufficiency through regional cooperation.

This research uses a qualitative method, including an extensive review of theoretical foundations, document analysis, and a combination of relevant studies and literature. The analysis focuses on opportunities and potential challenges associated with Iran’s integration within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and examines both historical contexts and contemporary developments.

Iran’s membership in the SCO provides significant opportunities for scientific and technological progress. The key areas of these potentials are:Development of emerging technologies: Iran can benefit from joint efforts in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, Nano-Technology and renewable energy. Joint research projects with SCO member states can accelerate technological innovations and increase Iran’s global competitiveness. For example, partnering with countries like China that have advanced capabilities in AI and biotechnology, can give Iran access to advanced technologies and expertise.Access to joint financial resources: The SCO framework facilitates access to pooled financial resources and enables Iran to finance large-scale research and development projects. Joint financing mechanisms can support the development of advanced research infrastructure and technology parks. Such financial cooperation can reduce the financial burden on individual countries and promote joint technological advances.Enhanced international competitiveness: Regional cooperation can enhance Iran's international competitiveness by promoting the export of advanced technological products. Integration in regional value chains can improve product quality and competitiveness in high-tech sectors. Cooperation with SCO members can help Iran reach wider markets and facilitates economic and industrial growth.Reduction of dependency on foreign technologies: Iran can reduce its dependence on Western technologies and increase its self-sufficiency by using the capabilities of the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Collaborative efforts can foster the development of indigenous technologies, reducing the cost and complexities associated with technology transfer. This self-sufficiency is very important in the context of technical nationalism, where countries seek to minimize reliance on foreign technological inputs. Despite these promising opportunities, several challenges must be addressed:Political conflicts among member states: The longstanding rivalry between China and India, as well as other political conflicts, poses significant obstacles to effective cooperation. Such conflicts can lead to mistrust and decrease willingness to share knowledge and resources. For Iran, navigating these political dynamics requires skillful diplomacy and strategic engagement to mitigate the impact of regional tensions on joint efforts.Institutional and legal disparities: Differences in intellectual property laws, bureaucratic procedures and research governance among SCO members require coordination to ensure smooth collaboration. Iran should harmonize its intellectual property regulations with international standards to facilitate technology transfer and joint research initiatives. Harmonization of legal frameworks can facilitate cooperation and protect innovation and create a more favorable environment for scientific and technological progress.Cultural and logistical challenges: Cultural differences, time zone differences and different national holidays can disrupt coordinated efforts. Effective cooperation requires cultural sensitivity and logistical planning to accommodate diverse work practices and schedules. Educational and awareness programs can bridge cultural gaps, foster mutual understanding and cooperation between researchers from different countries.

Iran’s membership in the SCO is a unique opportunity to leverage regional cooperation for scientific and technological progress. By addressing institutional, legal, cultural, and political challenges through strategic policy interventions, Iran can maximize the benefits of SCO membership. Strengthening research and development infrastructure, harmonizing intellectual property laws, implementing educational initiatives and developing common technological standards are essential steps. These efforts can improve Iran's regional and global position in science and technology and cause sustainable technological growth and economic development.To take full advantage of the opportunities offered by SCO membership, Iran should adopt a multi-faceted strategy that includes following policy recommendations:Strengthening research and development infrastructure: Investing in advanced research facilities and establishing joint research centers with SCO member countries to foster joint innovation. This includes the establishment of technology parks and incubators that facilitate the growth of start-ups and small and medium enterprises in the high-tech sectors. Harmonization of intellectual property laws: Aligning Iran’s intellectual property regulations with international standards to facilitate seamless technology transfer and protection of innovations. This will help build trust among SCO members and encourage more collaborative projects. Educational initiatives: Implementing programs to enhance cultural understanding and logistical coordination between researchers from different countries. Exchange programs, joint workshops and conferences can help bridge cultural gaps and foster a spirit of cooperation.Development of Common Technological Standards: Work with SCO member states to develop common standards and regulations. This simplify technology transfer, increases compatibility and ensure that collaborative projects are mutually beneficial. Strategic diplomacy: Engage in strategic diplomacy to navigate political conflicts in the SCO. Building strong bilateral relations with key member states and participating in multilateral dialogues can help reduce tensions and promote an atmosphere of cooperation.The integration of Iran into the SCO brings important opportunities and fundamental challenges. The SCO provides a strong platform for strengthening regional cooperation in science and technology, which can drive innovation and economic development. However, realizing these benefits requires addressing political conflicts, institutional inequalities, cultural differences and logistical challenges. Through strategic policy interventions and joint efforts, Iran can maximize the benefits of SCO membership, foster sustainable technological advancement and enhance its global competitiveness.

The real estate market is one of the largest economic sectors in Iran, which has always been the focus of the government, this market is considered one of the main wheels and engines of the Iranian economy, the stagnation of this market has harmful effects on people's lives and various sectors of the economy. On the other hand, the growth and development of the real estate sector causes economic growth and the growth and development of other industries related to real estate.Since the real estate sector and everything that happens in this market has a significant impact on the state of the country, the issue of proper management of this market is very important. This research deals with the future forecasting of the presence of new technologies (block chain) in this field and how to transition from traditional management to modern management of this market in the future.In this research, based on the opinions of the elites, the effective factors in real estate management were extracted, and then, using the cross-analysis approach, the data was entered into the MicMac software, and the important and key drivers were identified. In the next step, based on the questionnaire that was entered into the scenario wizard software by the elites, the possible scenarios were expressed based on the key drivers, and in the last part, opportunities and challenges and the model proposed by the researcher were discussed.

Succeeding at new product development (NPD) is a major challenge for businesses today. So, identifying and categorizing the performance success determinants of new product development is a crucial issue that requires deep research. In this paper, we tried to provide a comprehensive conceptual model for categorizing the determinants of NPD performance success.

The adopted research method is a qualitative meta-study or meta synthesis and based on the seven-step process proposed by Sandelowski & Barroso (2007). The statistical population of the research is all scientific documents, research reports and articles indexed in domestic and foreign journals related to the performance and success of new product development in the period from 2010 to 2021. The three-step coding method was used to analyze the qualitative data.

Originality:

 By analyzing the 32 selected articles, finally 96 initial codes were identified and reported in the form of 24 sub-categories and 6 main categories. The findings of this paper show that numerous factors determining the success of NPD can be classified into six categories, including: product marketing management, project cost and financial management, strategic business management, supportive context and enablers, project strategic capabilities and inclusive learning. The careful attention of business managers to these issues can greatly guarantee the success of NPD.

The new technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and robotics, are changing the way we live, learn and do business at a rate unprecedented in human history. This seismic shift is playing out in a world characterized by unreliable political landscapes and increasing environmental instability. It shows that today, more than ever, leaders need tools to understand the future and plan for it beyond short-term periods. In this research, which has been written with document analysis method and relying on the future mapping report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) and several future research reports, a complete report for future study as a practical and strategic field has been started. It shows a spectrum of possible (probable) futures for tomorrow's organization based on investigation of past, present and socio-economic trends through a new foresight model. In the following, by examining the spectrum of foresight with the help of exponential trend lines, focusing on informational, location, economic and educational Lens, and looking at the past, upcoming technologies and possible future developments in each field, it predicts the future and tells the leaders of tomorrow and organizations in choosing their plans for survival, it provides useful information so that they can smooth the way ahead and avoid future risks by drawing of the future.

One of the relevant topics in the field of science, technology and innovation policy is international S&T cooperation. This study proposes a framework for ranking these institutions focusing on a clear example of international S&T cooperation; cooperation in the context of multilateral international institutions, in order to decide on the membership and better utilization of their capacities. Seeing deficit in the history of the assessment of countries’ performance in these institutions, the research has suggested a function-oriented framework based on nine functions to rank these institutions. These functions are as follows: form and support of interaction, communication and networking at the level of individuals, organizations and governments; legitimacy and proper visualization in regional or international level; making regulation and international standards in the field of science and technology; production, processing and distribution of information; monitoring and enforcing international regulations; allocation and sharing of resources; cooperation and joint action; arbitration and resolving international challenges; training, empowerment and capacity building. Then, using the proposed framework, forty-six international active institutions in the field of S&T policymaking were ranked in six categories. The result shows that the Islamic Republic of Iran almost poses the membership of those institutions placed second to fourth categories. Finally, some recommendations about the revision of the Islamic Republic of Iran's membership in these institutions as well as the efficient use of their capacity have been proposed.

The various factors affecting the firm’s innovation performance are strongly influenced by the contextual factors. Considering the economic and strategic importance of the Advanced Materials Sector in Iran, this paper attempts to model the factors influencing the innovation performance of the firms in this sector. For this purpose, a survey was carried out with participation of 169 companies as a statistical sample and the obtained data were modeled by structural equations modeling through the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method. The findings showed that although both internal and external determinants have a meaningful effect on the firm’s innovation performance, the effect of external determinants is higher. In addition, it was revealed that among the external determinants, characteristics of the business environment, characteristics of the science and technology environment and characteristics of the sector, respectively, have the greatest impact on firm innovation performance. Also, among the internal determinants, organizational competencies, strategic characteristics, and demographic characteristics of the firm have the most impact on the firm’s innovation performance. As the external determinants are mostly out of the control of the firms and their managers, and are more influenced by government policies, the high impact of these factors confirms the important role of the policymakers. The policy makers are able to have a significant impact on the firm’s innovation performance by designing and implementing effective policies.

Intellectual property system (IPS) can be defined as the set of institutions and rules involved in the design, implementation, and enforcement of intellectual property in a national economy. Intellectual property system as a main subsystem of the national innovation system potentially is a powerful tool for innovation policies in every country with different developmental level. However, due to differences in the nature and function of the national innovation system in developing countries vs. developed countries, intellectual property system must be proportionate to the developmental level and innovation capacities in these countries. In this paper, after reviewing the history of the evolution of intellectual property system in Iran and describing its main components, SWOT method has been used to analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the current intellectual property system. Finally, policy suggestions for further conformity between the intellectual property system and the national innovation system in Iran are presented and discussed in detail.