فصلنامه بهبود مدیریت
پیاپی 53 (پاییز 1400)

Endless arguments can be made on history and its importance, perhaps this is one of the reasons why history, in addition to literature, are recognized as key and fundamental disciplines in the humanities. In order to expand and promote the historical approach in the analysis of technology and technology development and in line with historical approach in the Management Improvement Quarterly, a call for paper was received on historical analyses of technology and innovation development in the winter of 1399. Out of more than 30 abstracts received, 10 articles were accepted in five categories of technology and innovation management community, technology and innovation policy, industrial policy, industry level, organization/ firm level. This special issue is an effort to acknowledge the historical approach and understanding technology and innovation development. I hope readers find articles in this issue useful and interesting and they would promote historical approach in other journals and scientific publications of technology management as well as science and technology policy.

The Iranian Technology Management community is a young society that is gradually handing over the management to the second generation of graduates in this field. The third generation of these graduates are now rapidly advancing in the fields of technology management in the country. Although the attention to science and knowledge in this country is as old as the history of this land, but the formal and extensive education in the field of management of science and technology and a serious movement in the formation of this scientific community has begun in the early 2000s. In this article, with a historical review of the formation of the technology management community, an attempt to examine the performance of the pioneers of this field, to examine the most important measures affecting the birth of this scientific community. Opportunities and challenges facing the scientific community of technology management and innovation of the country and mapping the way forward of this young, professional and promising community is one of the most important findings of this article. This paper provides implications for acquainting young professionals in this field of knowledge with the roots and genuine currents that shape the community of experts in the field of technology management in Iran. I hope this paper would be an effort to improve convergence and intellectual cohesion between three generations of pioneers, developer and future makers of this field in our country.

One of the important issues of industrial and technology policy is the position of the policy-making institution in the structure of the political system and its role in relation to the traditional policy-making structure. The experience of Iran's entry into nanotechnology policy-making deserves special attention, both in terms of specialized entry into a technological as well as the impact of nano-related policies on the country's industrial and technological policies. First it is noteworthy that the experience of the Nano Council has historically preceded the formation of the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology and other technology development councils. It is also important to pay attention to the impact of the policy infrastructure of the Nano council on other industrial and technological policy such as the Iranian Making Exhibition (iranlabexpo), the Patent Office, Elites Federation and the national laboratory network. Therefore, this article delves into the historical experience of Iran over past two decades in nanotechnology policy (since the beginning of the 2000s), focusing on the formation and development of the Iran Nanotechnology Council. Accordingly, while collecting and analyzing written data such as reports, news and public interviews, we conducted semi-structured interviews with the founders and key people engaged in the formation and development of the council. Core categories in the historical analysis of nanotechnology policy-making experience are training policy-making experts, creating institutions for implementing specialized programs, managerial stability and flexibility in operations and supports. In other words, the success of the Nano Council, has to do with the support of high-ranking officials and the presence of related institutions as a supporting and strengthening structure along with conflict management with stakeholders.

Knowledge- and technology-based firms (TBFs) have driven economic development for the past half-century, and supporting these firms is a major issue of focus in national innovation policies. In Iran, developing a coherent policy package to support TBFs took place after nearly three decades of evolution in the country's science, technology and innovation policy-making system. This study examines why and how policy package, entitled “the Law for supporting Knowledge-based firms” was formed. This paper uses a historical approach and adopted the theory of policy-cycle. Data was collected with literature review, empricial evidences and policy documents. The findings show how institutional and historical contexts (such as the gradual shift in focus from science policy to technology and innovation policy, and the formation of a systemic understanding of innovation and the role of firms in the innovation system) interact with political and governance drivers (Such as technological sanctions, the establishment of specialized institutions supporting technology and innovation, redefine the roles and responsibilities of the MSRT and Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology) to form a policy mix to support TBFs in an independent and coherent law. The results indicate the need to pay attention to the demand-side innovation policies, tax credit, and protection of intellectual property to complement the tools of the law.

The role of public procurement for innovation as a demand-push policies has been considered by policymakers in recent decades, especially in developed countries. In order to study the historical analysis about the evolution of these policies in Iran, several cases of horizontal and vertical policies are studied and compared in this research. The most important policy of these has been implemented and evolved since 1996 with the approval of the law on maximum use of local production and services capacity. In this study, for horizontal policies, law on maximum use of local production and services capacity (approved in 1996, 2012 and 2019) and law of foreign financing facilities (approved by the Economic Council in the period 2011 to 2020); And from the vertical perspective, the program of supplying 10 basic equipment in Oil Industry (implemented in 2015) and the exhibition made in Iran (beginning of implementation in 2012) are selected. These four policy programs are analyzed and compared based on the framework of PPI. Examining the evolution of this policy tools shows that demand transparency based on the priorities of different sectors, identification, evaluation and promotion of internal capacity, intermediary institutions (for exchange cost management) and governance system, to develop sector innovations are the four most important common challenges. The findings of this study indicate the repetition of policy challenges and shortcomings in the process of diversification and the evolution of horizontal and vertical policy programs of public procurement supporting innovation in Iran, which is suggested to be considered in future policy efforts.

Industrial policy is among instrumental programs and interventions that governments pursued proactively for at least a couple of decades in almost all the current industrialized nations. Iran, since the Pahlavi era, has adopted industrial policy with import substitution approach. Except a short period in 1960s, not much success is apparent from industrialization efforts. From 1990s, industrialization is in the public agenda by formulation of national industrial policy documents. Aside from the differences of four enacted industrial policy documents until March 2021, not much industrialization outcomes are evident. In this regard, this paper identifies and proposes industrial policy challenges and requirements by a qualitative and historical research in Iran. Data are gathered through 9 semi-structures interviews and secondary data including industrial policy documents, reports, briefs, news and papers. My results suggest that the future industrial policy documents need to put technological and production capability building at center and take into account alignment with key national policies, providing temporarily supports based-on merit and performance, creation of dynamic technological comparative advantage, sound prioritization of few high-potential sectors, export-oriented approach and enhancement of firm’s international competitiveness. Besides, a powerful organization in charge of industrial policy implementation, coordination and its continuous evaluation, beyond a thematic line ministry such a Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, is a key institutional requirement.

The large set of development projects of Pars Energy Region of Iran is the first integrated national experience to create upstream and downstream infrastructure focused on the oil industry, which faces a huge amount of delay. Historical analysis of the development path of this set of projects with the aim of explaining the occurrence of failure, discovering its causes and extracting lessons learned can lead to a new vision for success in other oil industry development projects. In this regard, the present study with a qualitative approach based on narrative strategy and data collection through semi-structive interviews with managers and professionals active in these projects consisting of clients, contractors and engineering consulting firms identified four periods in the process of developing industrial projects in the Pars Energy Region, Assaloyeh, between 1998 and 2021. The results show an outward look at the development process in the first period. Failure to use the capacity of competent managers due to frequent changes in the political arrangement of the main decision-makers of the Ministry of Oil during the second period; Attention to the issue of increasing oil sales in the face of development-oriented Industry during the third period and the escalation of sanctions, along with the massive migration of skilled manpower abroad in the forth period, are studied as the most important delay causes in the development process of projects. The historical course of development of the oil industry indicates the need to create a fundamental change at all macro and micro levels with the aim of efficient planning, increasing technological capability, localization of technical knowledge, self-sufficiency in equipment construction and project implementation by Iranian contractors.

Despite the long history of studies on change and innovation within defense industries, little research has been done on the dynamics and evolution of such studies and their corresponding policies. To cater an answer to this question in the present study, all research reports and notified policies in the field of defense change and innovation studies are reviewed and analyzed. These analyses were validated via conducting 20 interviews in three levels: a) research project managers, b) policy makers, and c) managers of firms and research centers. The results of this research depict that these studies can be divided into three historical periods, in each of which a dominant discourse has determined the orientation of innovation and change policies. The first discourse has focused on highlighting the significance of innovations and changes in the defense sector and the introduction of tools and policies employed in other countries for 30 years. They paid less attention to recommendations and prescriptions. The second one has targeted alternation in micro and meso levels by two interdependent policies, excellence model for firm and nucleus and network policy for industry levels. The third discourse has entered the realm of prescribing more seriously and its policy recommendations have been formulated and implemented in the form of executive instructions and procedures under the title of Defense Innovation System.This study also proves that all three levels have neglected social and economic aspects of change and innovation. They all tend to focus more on redesign and reengineering of organization than other affecting factors. However, the short gap between research and implementation and the feedback loops that have led to the reform of these policies indicate the maturity of these studies in recent years.

In response to various financial, managerial, structural, and marketing challenges, technology commercialization researchers and policymakers have proposed and implemented solutions to overcome the Death Valley challenge. The case study describes an experience of using Technology Holding Company as a structural response in technology commercialization in a knowledge-based firm manufacturing Iranian medical equipment. Data were collected during six months (September 2020 to March 2021) by conducting semi-structured interviews with experts. The company's experience during its life cycle of more than five years to date (stages of birth, growth, maturity, and resuscitation) is described with a historical narrative approach. The results show that although institutional strategies such as establishing research and production units of the company in growth centers and financing before industrial production since 2017 and in the stages of birth, growth, and maturity were able to achieve success, the challenge of doing activities. The market questioned the effectiveness of these strategies in the recovery phase. Also, creating a technology holding company in the revival stage, the company has offered a new solution to overcome the Valley of Technology Death challenge in knowledge-based companies. In cooperation with large companies and the establishment of subsidiaries in the field of "design and construction" and "marketing and sales" and establishing research institutes for pre-clinical and clinical studies, the company focuses on the technical aspects of the innovation process and acquires specialized activities. Furthermore, it has entrusted the work to experts in this field and has succeeded in commercializing its products.

Technology and knowledge-based companies are one of the main axes of developing the knowledge-based economy in the country, and therefore the capabilities of these companies are important. In the last two decades, relatively large financial and legal support has been provided to these companies, but their managerial and organizational empowerment has often been neglected. Accordingly, the Innovation and Prosperity Fund (from 2015 to 2021) has provided empowerment services to knowledge-based companies. In this article, through a case study method and using the available documents, statistics and evidences and conducting 21 semi-structured interviews, the historical narrative of the formation and development of empowerment services, its patterns and limitations from the beginning to the present has been discussed. Based on the research findings, three factors: understanding the necessity of such services, the existence of similar structures and institutions at the international level and the emphasis of senior management of the fund on the importance and necessity of empowerment services have been effective in shaping these services. Also, the three shortcomings of non-synchronization of empowerment services with other financial services of the fund are the lack of capable companies and specialized personnel to provide empowerment services and concentration of services in the developed provinces are the challenges facing these services in the future. Findings of this article have policy implications for knowledge-based economy policymakers in developing empowerment services for knowledge-based companies.

One of the best methods to understanding our historical failures and successes in technological and industrial cooperation is focus on the lived experience of individuals and organizations that are directly involved in an event or the formation of events related to that field. Accordingly, in this research by semi- unstructured interviews, we have been attempted to focus on the story of one of the former project engineers of the IDRO, Dr. Dariush Mahjoobi, in projects related to joint ventures, both in the pre-revolutionary period and in the post-revolutionary period and explain the differences of pre and post revolution era. The research results show that the kind of insight on the concept of technology is very important in the technological cooperation and the aim of policy-maker from cooperation with foreign (development of internal technological capabilities or local content requirement). So, when our focus instead of equipment and machinery, concentrates on achieving the knowledge of relationship in production procedure and flowsheet of necessary requirement in one manufacturer and at the end lead to layout design, the results of the cooperation are more effective. Accordingly, in the food industry, the turn-key approach before the revolution had turned Iran into an importer of equipment. But the experience of Sanandaj Milk Project after the revolution and mastering the Functional design allows the project to be managed according to local needs.