State, institutional entrepreneurship and the creation of the biopharmaceutical industry in a developing country

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to explore the emergence and development of new industries, especially in the context of developing countries, by considering industry emergence and development as a large-scale institutional change or transition. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted an inductive case study research on the emergence of the biopharmaceutical industry in a developing country. The data on the emergence and development of Iran’s biopharmaceutical industry during 1990 and 2018 were collected through semi-structured interviews, participation in meetings, visits to companies and analysis of archival texts. The data analysis was an inductive and iterative process. Findings In the emergence and development of the biopharmaceutical industry, there have been a few key agents, institutional entrepreneurs (IEs), in both the state and private sectors, who played main roles. Moreover, the most important type of knowledge which has been crucial for the decision-making of IEs has been informal, tacit and institutional knowledge. Furthermore, the authors identified a mechanism, inter-institutional circulation, as being most effective in the transfer of institutional knowledge among IEs. Originality/value The originality of this study is applying insights from institutional entrepreneurship and knowledge management literature to the extant literature on industry emergence and development.