Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Somayeh Akhavan ¹
• Mehdi Elyasi ²
• Soroush Ghazinoori ²
• mehdi goodarzi ²

¹ PhD. Candidate in Technology Management, Research and Development Orientation, Department of Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allamah Tabatabaei University Tehran, Iran

² Professor, Department of Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allamah Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Innovation in the food industry is increasingly dependent on networked interactions among firms, universities, and other innovation actors. However, in emerging economies, the formation and sustainability of these networks face multiple institutional and cultural challenges. This study aims to develop a conceptual framework for the formation and sustainability of innovation networks around food industry firms in Iran, with a focus on the mediating role of technology. The research adopts a qualitative approach within an interpretivist paradigm, and data were collected through 31 semi-structured interviews with academic experts, industrial managers, and intermediary actors. Data analysis was conducted using multilevel thematic analysis (open, axial, and selective coding). The findings indicate that innovation networks in Iran's food industry are predominantly informal, short-term, and fragile, influenced simultaneously by weak collaboration culture, organizational logic imbalances, secrecy regimes stemming from low technological levels and ease of copying, as well as political instability and low institutional trust. Results also show that technological intermediaries, despite their potential to reduce transaction costs, build trust, and align actors, play an unstable and marginal role due to weak network governance and the absence of sustainable credibility mechanisms. Based on the extracted mechanism chains, the study proposes a phased, trust-based conceptual framework for developing innovation networks, emphasizing the implementation of low-risk pilots, professionalization of intermediaries, institutional transparency, and the design of mutually beneficial mechanisms. be in past tense.)

Keywords

• Technology intermediation
• innovation network
• Iranian food industry
• open and networked innovation
• innovation

Main Subjects

• Management approaches in the field of smart