Identification and Explanation of Effective Factors on Iran's Transition to Learning Economy

By emergence of endogenous growth theory, economists have pointed to the importance of knowledge as the main factor in sustainable growth and, as a result, concepts such as knowledge-based economy have been presented and discussed. However, another approach views transition to learning economy as the infrastructure of knowledge-based economy in developing countries. Because effective factors on transition to learning economy have not been investigated comprehensively, in this article we identify the effective factors on Iran’s transition to learning economy, according to the principles of evolutionary economics and with a science and technology policy approach. This research is exploratory in purpose and has a basic orientation. Research approach is inductive and qualitative and themes have been identifies based on grounded theory. Findings suggest the following items as noticeable in Iran's transition to learning economy: transitional thinking, political institution, collaborative learning, research and education system, macro-economic circumstances, ICT, social capital, institutions, GIU interaction, learning firms and regional development.