Designing a Governance Model for State-owned Enterprises under General Policies of Resistance Economy

The purpose of this study is to design a model of corporate governance in state-owned enterprises (SOE) by meeting the requirements and following guidelines of the general policies on the economy of resistance (GPER). SOEs operate in critical, strategic, and infrastructure industries such as energy and transportation. Enterprise administration in SOEs should rely on a specified governance system; however, there is no specific model or system for governing them in Iran.

The present study applied a mixed methodology. To identify GPER requirements for the governance of SOEs, in the initial phase of the study, the related theoretical literature and 19 in-depth and semi-structured interviews with experts were analyzed using the thematic analysis method. In its second phase, i.e. the quantitative part, to assess the validity of the designed model, the obtained findings were formed into a questionnaire and then analyzed by the fuzzy Delphi method.

The data analysis carried out in the qualitative phase of the current study suggested that the corporate governance model based on the GPER should be designed based on four characteristics of "adaptability", "participation-oriented justice", "fight against corruption" and "Jihadi management". Next, the theoretical literature and interviews were analyzed to identify the requirements for the realization of these features. Subsequently, 103 concepts and 22 sub-themes were identified. In addition, the achieved sub-themes were validated as requirements for designing a good governance model, verifying that all these requirements, except for one case, were approved by the experts.

According to its obtained findings, this study suggests policymakers consider "complexity and diversification", "stakeholder approach", "information transparency" and "stewardship" in designing the desired model of a GPER-based corporate governance system.