Analyzing the Barriers and Challenges to the Implementation of Automotive Industry Policies in Iran

Abstract

This study aimed to identify and analyze the barriers and challenges to the implementation of automotive industry policies in Iran based on the experiences and perspectives of experts in the field. This applied study employed a qualitative design grounded in an interpretive paradigm and an inductive approach. The participants comprised 15 experts selected from senior and middle managers of the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, members of the Industries Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, board members and senior managers of Iran Khodro and SAIPA, and university faculty members and researchers with relevant expertise. Purposive and snowball sampling were used, and data collection continued until saturation was reached. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews. Following complete transcription, the interview data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The analytical process involved familiarization with the data, generation of initial codes, comparison and refinement of codes, development of basic themes, review of the emerging themes, and their organization into broader organizing themes. The qualitative analysis generated 76 basic themes that were organized into six major organizing themes: weaknesses in governance and regulation; political interventions, conflicts of interest, and corruption; inefficient managerial structures and weak implementation capacity; weaknesses in technology development, research and development, and innovation; ineffective market, competition, and pricing policies; and institutional misalignment and failure of policy integration. The findings indicated that regulatory and policy instability, weak policy monitoring and evaluation, political intervention, insufficient separation between the state’s ownership and policymaking roles, managerial instability, inadequate merit-based appointments, limited implementation capacity, insufficient investment in research and development, weak technology transfer, noncompetitive market structures, administered pricing, and poor coordination among policymaking and implementing institutions constituted the main barriers to effective policy implementation. The findings indicate that barriers to automotive policy implementation in Iran are multidimensional, systemic, and interconnected rather than attributable to a single factor. Improving policy implementation requires greater governance and regulatory stability, reduced political intervention and conflicts of interest, professionalized management, stronger implementation and technological capacities, enhanced market competition, and effective mechanisms for interinstitutional coordination. Accordingly, meaningful reform of Iran’s automotive industry requires an integrated approach addressing governance, managerial, technological, market, and institutional dimensions simultaneously.