Innovation Ecosystem in Iran’s Automotive Industry; What it has, What it Lacks

Abstract

Innovation is one of the missing elements in the Iranian automotive industry and there are several reasons for it. In this article, however, we look at innovation through the lens of related concepts of innovation ecosystem, a concept that has previously been less used by researchers in this industry. To do so, the theme analysis method was used in interviews with 20 experts active in the country's innovation ecosystem. The results show that within the framework of innovation ecosystem of this industry, which consists of 9 main elements including "Internal innovation environment", "External innovation environment", "Innovation platform", "Innovation users", " "Innovators", "Innovation beneficiaries", "Brokers", "Innovation facilitators" and "Value and Knowledge flows"; Weaknesses such as "missing chains", "lack of institutional harmony", and "bureaucracy and high complexity of some executive processes" are the most important deterrents to innovation.

Keywords

• ecosystem
• automotive industry
• innovation
• policy making