Ranking the Methods of Financing Science, Technology and Innovation for Technology and Knowledge-based Units; A Case Study of Iranian Science and Technology Parks

Iran has seen significant growth in the amount and number of financing methods over the past few years. However, no significant research has been conducted on the differences in methods related to the financing chain of technology and knowledge-based units in the Iranian ecosystem. For this purpose, the present research has been carried out with the aim of developing a suitable model of financing methods and ranking its criteria in Iran. This study is a mixed-exploratoryinvestigation in terms of its nature and practical in terms of purpose. In the first step, semi-structured interviews with science and technology parks were conducted in order to identify the existing structures for attracting financial resources, and in the next step, using the hierarchical analysis process, these methods were ranked. For this purpose, questionnaires were distributed among entrepreneurs and experts who were active in the field of financing in 2021, and the obtained data were analyzed and the weight of each method was determined. The results support the main proposition that among the factors related to financing tools, smart money and future growth and development have the greatest impact on decision making. Also, entrepreneurs in Iran use facilities with hard commitments and supportive rates, and facilities with soft commitment and market rates as the first and second priority sources of financing. In addition, Equity-based financing has the lowest priority for financing.