Identifying Institutional Factors Influencing the Exploitation of Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Health-Tourism in Iran: a qualitative study of Tehran province

Despite many potentials in health tourism in Iran, few entrepreneurial behaviors tried to use them. The nexus theory of actor-opportunity suggests that entrepreneurial behaviors result from a suitable combination of actors and the supporting environment. Institutional factors are among the important elements of a supporting context for entrepreneurship. This qualitative research aimed to identify institutional factors that influenced the exploitation of health-tourism opportunities in Tehran province. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs and health tourism experts. Interviewees were selected using targeted and snowball methods. This study took place in Tehran, April to July 2015. We introduced four categories of institutional factors: regulatory, normative, cognitive and supportive. These categories form the essential factors for exploiting entrepreneurial opportunities in health tourism in Iran focusing on the capital city of Tehran.