HamidReza Mahmoodi; Mohammad Hassanzadeh; Atefeh Sharif
Abstract
This study identifies and analyzes barriers to knowledge value creation in Iran’s higher education system. Given its critical role in economic, social, and cultural development, the research examines individual, organizational, structural, economic, social, political, and technological barriers. ...
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This study identifies and analyzes barriers to knowledge value creation in Iran’s higher education system. Given its critical role in economic, social, and cultural development, the research examines individual, organizational, structural, economic, social, political, and technological barriers. The ultimate goal is to enhance knowledge value creation in universities. This research follows interpretivism and positivism paradigms using an exploratory mixed-methods approach. First, thematic analysis identified barriers, which were then ranked using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The study's population includes students and faculty members in Iran’s higher education system, with a purposeful sample of 40 participants. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, and a hierarchical questionnaire facilitated pairwise comparisons of barriers. Infrastructural barriers (0.21) have the highest impact, followed by organizational (0.175), technological (0.145), individual (0.12), economic (0.095), political (0.085), social (0.08), and managerial (0.05) barriers. Key obstacles include weak university-industry collaboration, insufficient funding, lack of supportive policies, social inequalities, and gender and racial discrimination. Addressing these barriers is crucial for improving knowledge value creation in higher education. Enhancing university-industry collaboration, strengthening educational and research infrastructures, and aligning academic efforts with societal needs can significantly boost the higher education system’s role in Iran’s economic and social progress.
Information and Knowledge Economics
Ehsan Parvin; Mohsen Nazarzadeh Zare
Abstract
1.IntroductionUniversities play a pivotal role in advancing knowledge and fostering societal progress. However, their ability to align research with real-world challenges remains a critical global concern. In Iran, this issue is particularly pressing. Despite significant achievements in quantitative ...
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1.IntroductionUniversities play a pivotal role in advancing knowledge and fostering societal progress. However, their ability to align research with real-world challenges remains a critical global concern. In Iran, this issue is particularly pressing. Despite significant achievements in quantitative scientific output, ranking 15th and 16th globally in Scopus and Web of Science in 2022, Iranian research often fails to address pressing national problems. This paradox highlights systemic inefficiencies, including institutional misalignment, fragmented innovation ecosystems, and policies prioritizing publication metrics over societal impact. National frameworks, such as Iran's Fifth Development Plan (2010), emphasize the need to direct research toward addressing societal needs, yet implementation gaps persist. This study examines the institutional, organizational, environmental, and individual barriers that prevent Iranian universities from translating academic research into practical solutions, aiming to propose reforms that bridge the gap between scholarly output and societal relevance. Based on this framework, the present study, considering the aforementioned challenges and issues in academic research and its qualitative development about society and its needs, seeks to answer the following key question:2.Literature ReviewThe disconnect between academic research and societal needs has been widely debated in global scholarship. Universities worldwide are increasingly encouraged to adopt a "third mission" focused on social responsibility, integrating community engagement and problem-solving into their core activities. Scholars such as Jones et al. (2021) argue that universities must evolve from isolated knowledge producers to active contributors to societal development, emphasizing collaborative frameworks that connect academia with industry and policymakers. In emerging economies, this challenge is exacerbated by structural barriers, including rigid funding models, bureaucratic inertia, and a lack of institutional incentives for applied research. In Iran, studies critique the predominance of "scientific formalism," where procedural rigor and publication metrics overshadow practical relevance. Researchers like Shafiei et al. (2020) highlight the disconnect between academic output and industry demands, attributing it to weak collaboration mechanisms and a cultural preference for theoretical over applied studies. Similarly, Ghoreishi et al. (2021) identify systemic flaws in promotion policies that reward quantity (e.g., article counts) over quality or societal impact, discouraging faculty from undertaking time-intensive, problem-driven projects. Farastkhah (2016) further critiques the erosion of universities’ core mission—science for societal advancement—due to bureaucratic pressures and misaligned institutional priorities. Globally, similar trends exist. For instance, Shaffer et al. (2018) note that academic systems prioritizing high-impact journals often neglect local problem-solving, while Makhatini et al. (2022) highlight demand-supply mismatches in innovation ecosystems. Existing literature, however, tends to focus on isolated challenges (e.g., funding or industry collaboration) rather than systemic analyses. This study addresses this gap by taking a holistic approach to examining multidimensional barriers that hinder impactful research in Iran.3.MethodologyIn the study, a qualitative research design by content analysis was used to investigate the challenges of academic research in solving Iran's issues. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 Iranian expert academics who are senior faculty members, research directors, and policymakers. The participants were selected according to purposive sampling because of their experience in applied research. Data collection stopped when theoretical saturation had been achieved, with interviews taped and analyzed through Granheim and Lundman's (2004) inductive content analysis approach. This included the identification of meaningful units, coding for emerging themes, and categorizing results under institutional, organizational, environmental, and individual problems. Rigor was ensured through triangulation, member-checking, and peer-checking, with ethical considerations being the anonymizing of participant data and seeking informed consent.4.ResultsThe analysis of study data identified four interconnected forms of challenges:Institutional barriers include promotion systems that prioritize publication volume over societal impact and the absence of national accreditation frameworks to ensure research quality and relevance.Organizational challenges involve structural inefficiencies, such as faculty-student imbalances, non-performance-based funding models, and recruitment practices misaligned with national priorities.Environmental barriers highlight fragmented innovation ecosystems characterized by weak linkages between academia, industry, and policymakers, as well as low demand from the private sector for collaborative research.Individual challenges primarily consist of motivational gaps among faculty, driven by institutional incentives favoring easily publishable topics over complex, problem-driven projects.These factors collectively divert academic efforts from addressing societal needs, perpetuating a cycle of non-impactful research.5.DiscussionThe findings underscore the systemic misalignment between Iran’s academic ecosystem and societal needs. Institutional policies, such as promotion criteria favoring publication volume, mirror global "publish or perish" cultures but lack compensatory mechanisms for applied work. Organizational challenges, including overcrowded supervision roles and rigid funding structures, reflect broader governance issues observed in other contexts, such as India and Brazil. Environmental barriers, particularly weak industry-academia linkages, highlight the need for ecosystem-level reforms to foster demand-driven research. At the individual level, faculty motivations shaped by institutional incentives perpetuate the cycle of non-impactful output. Addressing these issues requires integrated reforms, including policy revisions to reward societal impact, funding models tied to performance, and capacity-building initiatives to enhance problem-solving skills.6.ConclusionThis study highlights the urgency of realigning Iran’s academic research ecosystem with national priorities. Key recommendations include revising promotion policies to incentivize applied research, establishing national accreditation systems, and fostering industry partnerships through targeted grants. By addressing institutional, organizational, environmental, and individual barriers, universities can transition from passive knowledge hubs to dynamic contributors to societal development. Future research should explore the socioeconomic impacts of these reforms and benchmark progress against international models, such as South Korea’s integrated innovation ecosystems.
Azam Mousa Chamani; Saeid Ghaffari; Soraya Ziaei; Afshin Mousavi
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to determine the status of knowledge management in the titles of specialized doctoral courses in the humanities of higher education. The present study is a type of mixed exploratory research project. Hence, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods has been used. ...
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The purpose of this study is to determine the status of knowledge management in the titles of specialized doctoral courses in the humanities of higher education. The present study is a type of mixed exploratory research project. Hence, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods has been used. First, the components of knowledge management were extracted by content analysis method with an inductive approach and based on that, a questionnaire in the form of 9 main components and 44 questions was prepared and provided to the experts. In addition, the checklist was prepared in the form of 442 sub-items. In the content analysis of 2250 specialized courses in 11 humanities disciplines in the doctoral program, 3260 identifiers were extracted. This study showed that knowledge sharing 25.46%, knowledge application 17.48%, knowledge change 12.73%, knowledge creation 11.75%, knowledge identification 9.97%, knowledge organization 7.73%, knowledge development 6.23% knowledge presentation, 4.97%, and knowledge protection obtained 3.68% of the data. In order to prepare graduates as capable future leaders, higher education needs to play a pivotal and effective role in teaching knowledge management to students. Utilizing knowledge management-based curricula facilitates the skills needed to apply and rely on knowledge. Applying standard methods in education and research prepares future managers to present and share knowledge in organizations. Knowledge management promotes a comprehensive approach to identifying, capturing, retrieving, sharing, and evaluating the knowledge capital of organizations.
Tahereh Salamati; Ehsan Vaezi; Mehdi Memarpour; Ali Rajabzadeh
Abstract
The growing importance of commercialization and special attention paid to this topic of discussion at global university level makes the study on this matter justifiable. On basis of this assumption the commercialization which has been named as the connection link between universities and industries or ...
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The growing importance of commercialization and special attention paid to this topic of discussion at global university level makes the study on this matter justifiable. On basis of this assumption the commercialization which has been named as the connection link between universities and industries or (market) must become operational in the frame work of a practical and effective model.The study and evaluation of the practical models widely used in the world reveals that, the environmental factors play an important role in the process of commercialization. Therefore, the model to be designed and chosen must be indigenous and suitable for domestic conditions of the country. In other words, it should applicable to and practical for the use in Iranian organizations. In this study, it has been tried to present a comprehensive model. By designing a comprehensive model in this connection, this significant matter has been fulfilled in this research. Also, in line with the nature of the design of this model the major roles of the fundamental researches has been examined and an algorithm suitable for the country research environment which can oversee the innovative activities of commercial firms (with special emphasis on academic innovation) has been prepared which is more appropriate for the ideas coming out from the heart of university researches that is most proper for the use in academic firms and institutes and also to can be used in incubators and development centers. Of course, this algorithm and procedure with slight changes can also have a general application.
Mohammad Taban; Ali Yasini; Ardeshir Shiri; Isfandiar Mohammadi
Abstract
This study aimed to design and explain the process model of scientific authority in Iran’s higher education. Mixed-Method has been the methodology used in this research in two phases: the first, qualitative using Grounded Theory, and the second, quantitative (descriptive, survey). Research orientation ...
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This study aimed to design and explain the process model of scientific authority in Iran’s higher education. Mixed-Method has been the methodology used in this research in two phases: the first, qualitative using Grounded Theory, and the second, quantitative (descriptive, survey). Research orientation has been basic, descriptive and functional; the research approach has been deductive in the first phase and inductive in the second one. The population, in the first phase, was 15 persons possessing the authority’s conditions in Iran’s scientific past released from purposive sampling method; the population, in the second phase, was the higher education’s professors and experts including all members of the active scientific committees in Ministry Of Science, Research and Technology. These members were 176 persons who were studied through stratified random sampling. In the first phase, the research’s reliability has been observed by the researcher, and in the second one, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated. Qualitative findings including four stages were identified as nascent stage with five dimensions, development stage with six dimensions, interaction stage with four dimensions and evolution stage with five dimensions. Finally, the process and dimension stages were tested by LIZREL software. It was found that the most impact related to education and research area and experiencing scientific environment, and the least related to the political factors.
Kamal Dorrani; Hashem adiban
Abstract
The present study is going to evaluate the relation between knowledge management processes and job performance of employees in university of Tehran. The research’s sample includes 105 employees of Tehran university (21 men and 84 women) using the random sampling and applying the Cochran formula. ...
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The present study is going to evaluate the relation between knowledge management processes and job performance of employees in university of Tehran. The research’s sample includes 105 employees of Tehran university (21 men and 84 women) using the random sampling and applying the Cochran formula. Besides, research’s data was gathered through performance appraisal checklist and knowledge management questionnaire. The analysis of information was done by using statistical methods (T -test, Anova , U Whitney, mean and Pearson correlation coefficient). The findings of the study showed that the status of knowledge management among employees is lower than the supposed mean and that the job performance is above average. Evaluation of knowledge management and job performance among demographic variables: gender, age, educational level and history of serving demonstrated that only the age with knowledge management and also age, sex with job performance showed a significant difference. The results of the correlation coefficient between the components of the knowledge management and those of job performance indicated that the only significant correlation was found between the components of knowledge acquisition and the components of job performance (task and context performance) and among other variables no significant correlation was discovered.
