Reviving an obsolete innovation ecosystem: A case study of pottery-ceramic industry in Lalejin

Innovation ecosystems have two leading options in the last phase of their life cycle, usually associated with massive socioeconomic changes or emerging ecosystems: Either adapted to new conditions and continue to innovate, or fail to renew and eventually die. In the latter case, reviving of an obsolete innovation ecosystem can be important for policymakers and managers. The city of Laljin is the most important pottery and ceramic manufacturing center in Iran, where pottery industry has a history of at least 200 years. Despite the historical record of innovative activity in the form of an ecosystem structure, this industry now lacks the features of a dynamic and active innovation ecosystem. In this research, in-depth interviews were conducted with 50 people representing actors involved in this ecosystem as well as informed people of historical events. At first, the historical trend of the Laljin innovation ecosystem was studied from before 1936 until present, and then the status quo was described. In this research, the method of qualitative content analysis has been used to extract and categorize concepts from interviews and identify the main issues. Finally, the stimuli and barriers to innovation were identified and the ways to revive this ecosystem were presented. These approaches are summarized in a four-step pattern along with the role of each actor in this ecosystem