Drawing a roadmap to facilitate and accelerate the occurrence of technological catch-up in the Iranian petrochemical industry

Today, the degree of economic efficiency is affected by the levels of technological capabilities,determines the position, level of competitiveness and differentiation of the economies of countries or two competing industrial sectors, Its effects are palpable in the extent of their integration into global value chains and market share. In this research, first the accumulation of technological capabilities of firms in advanced and latecomers has been studied and then studies have focused on explaining and analyzing the technological gap of Iran's petrochemical industry and providing a policy framework to fill this gap. A review of the research background shows that there is no comprehensive and integrated framework for identifying technological capabilities and firms in the catch-up process have used various models in accordance with their technological ecosystem.The knowledge-enhancing contribution of this research is the identification of technological capabilities and effective components in the catch-up stages of the petrochemical industry, which in this regard by examining, comparing and combining the findings resulting from the research background,and using case study method and theme analysis, an attempt has been made to identify the technological capabilities required in the steps of technological catch-up.Determining the extent of technological gap in the industry, typology of capabilities, comparing the catch-up process of latecomers chemical firms with leading ones, identifying the dimensions of required technological capabilities and policy factors and requirements affecting catch-up, and providing a policy framework to fill the technology gap are some of the achievements of this study.Policy-making to be used in petrochemical industry development plans.