Identifying the challenges and solutions of policy laboratories in the path of promoting industrial enterprises

Document Type : Original research

Authors

1 Master’s Degree Business Management, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran.

2 PhD Technology Management-Innovation, Faculty of Economics and Management University of Naples, Naples, Italy

3 PhD organizational Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iran.

4 Master’s Degree Industrial Management, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran. Email: motiehadi@gmail.com

Abstract

Policy labs play a pivotal role in economic development by promoting industrial enterprises. These labs seek to transform industries through data analysis, innovative policy design, and facilitating collaboration among stakeholders. However, the challenges facing policy labs in promoting industrial enterprises require a deep understanding of industry dynamics and the creation of flexible mechanisms to adapt to changes to ensure their success. The aim of this study is to identify the challenges and solutions facing policy labs in promoting industrial enterprise development. In this regard, after a systematic search of scientific databases and using relevant keywords, 468 primary sources were extracted between 2010 and 2025. After a careful assessment of the relevance of the abstract, title, and results of the articles to the research objectives, 52 articles were selected for final coding. The results of open and axial coding classified the most important challenges into 8 main categories, 17 concepts, and 81 codes. These categories include lack of clarity of goals and missions, limited financial and budgetary resources, lack of specialized human capital, lack of effective evaluation and monitoring mechanisms, insufficient interaction with key stakeholders, resistance of bureaucratic structures, disregard for innovation and new technologies, and lack of a culture of learning and continuous improvement. In this way, the results of the present study provide policymakers and managers of industrial enterprises with a correct understanding of the important challenges and existing studies in this field and provide efficient solutions to reduce these challenges.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Ahern, D. (2025). “The New Anticipatory Governance Culture for Innovation: Regulatory Frameworks in the Age of AI and Digital Policy Labs”. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 16(1), pp.193-214.
Alvani, Seyed Mehdi and Sharifzadeh, Fattah. (2024). “The Public Policy Making Process”. Allameh Tabatabaei University Press: Tehran, pp.1-208. [In Persian]
Amiri, B. J. (2019). “Iran's Political Establishment and the Challenges of Efficient Industrial Policymaking”, International Political Economy Studies, 3, 2, pp. 536-563. [In Persian]
Bailey, D., Labory, S., and Tomlinson, P. R. (2023). “Industrial Policy Beyond Market Failure: Structural Dyn, Amics, Innovation, and Economic Governance for Industrial Development”. In Handbook of Industrial Development, Edward Elgar Publishing.‏ pp.322-337.
Borhani, T., Monavarian, A., Pourezzat, A., and Ostadalidehaghi, R. (2024). “Presentation of the Public Policy Laboratory Design Model”. Sch J Econ Bus Manag, 2, pp. 52-62.‏
Bozeman, B. (2000). “Technology Transfer and Public Policy: A Review of Research and Theory”. Research policy, 29(4-5), pp. 627-655.
Carstensen, H. V., and Bason, C. (2012). “Powering Collaborative Policy Innovation: Can Innovation Labs Help? The Innovation Journal, 17(1), 2.‏
Fleischer, J., and Carstens, N. (2022). “Policy Labs as Arenas for Boundary Spanning: Inside the Digital Transformation in Germany”. Public Management Review, 24(8), pp.1208-1225.‏
Ghazi Nouri, S., Nasiri, H., Aghaei, P. (2020) “Policymaking Laboratories: Concepts, Tools and Applications”. National Institute for Science Policy Research: Tehran, pp.1-152. [In Persian]
Halpern, D. (2015). Inside the nudge unit: How small changes can make a big difference. Random House.‏
Hao, Y., and Xie, D. (2025). “A Multi-LLM-Agent-Based Framework for Economic and Public Policy Analysis”. Https: //www.researchgate.net/ publicatio n/11360892.
Hosono, A. (2023). “Industrial Policies for Learning, Innovation, and Transformation: Insights from Japan and Selected Countries. In Introducing Foreign Models for Development: Japanese Experience and Cooperation in the Age of New Technology”. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.‏ pp. 47-78
Islamic Republic of Iran. (2024). Law of the Seventh Five-Year Plan for Economic, Social and Cultural Development of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1403–1407). Tehran: Official Gazette of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Available at: https://shenasname.ir/barname7/7298. [In Persian]
Kamali Y., Sheikhzadeh Joshani S., Karimizadeh M. (2022) “Identifying and Classifying the Disadvantages of Industrial Development Policymaking in Iran (1370-1390)” Management and Development Process; 35 (1), pp. 163-202. [Persian in]
Kang, J., Han, P., Zhang, T., and Gong, L. (2025). “PolicySimEval: A Benchmark for Evaluating Policy Outcomes through Agent-Based Simulation”. ArXiv preprint arXiv, pp. 2502- 07853.‏
Khaki, G. R. (2021). “Policy Making Laboratories: A New Approach in Public Policy Making”. Strategy Quarterly, 30, pp. 95-112. [In Persian]
Kim, S., Wellstead, A. M., and Heikkila, T. (2023). “Policy Capacity and Rise of Data‐Based Policy Innovation Labs”. Review of Policy Research, 40(3), pp. 341-362.‏
Komatsu, T., Salgado, M., Deserti, A., and Rizzo, F. (2021). “Policy Labs Challenges in the Public Sector: The Value of Design for More Responsive Organizations”. Policy Design and Practice, 4(2), pp. 271-291.‏
Krogh, A. H. (2024). “Policy Labs on the Fringes: Boundary-Spanning Strategies for Enhancing Innovation Uptake”. Policy Design and Practice, 7(1), pp.17-32.‏
Leoni, F., Maffei, S., and Mortati, M. (2018). “Participation in Policy Making for Social Innovation: A Design Perspective”. Proceedings of 21st DMI: Academic Design Management Conference Next Wave, pp. 1240-1252.‏
Lewis, J. M. (2021). “The Limits of Policy Labs: Characteristics, Opportunities, and Constraints”. Policy Design and Practice, Taylor and Francis Group, 4(2), pp. 242-251.‏
Lewis, J. M. (2025). “Policy Design Labs and Uncertainty: Can They Innovate, and Retain and Circulate Learning?” Policy Design and Practice, pp. 1-13.‏
Mazzucato, M., Kattel, R., and Ryan-Collins, J. (2020). “Challenge-Driven Innovation Policy: Towards a New Policy Toolkit”. Journal of Industry, Competition, and Trade, 20(2), pp. 421-437.‏
McGann, M., Blomkamp, E., and Lewis, J. M. (2018). “The Rise of Public Sector Innovation Labs: Experiments in Design Thinking for Policy”. Policy Sciences, 51(3), pp. 249-267.‏
Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade. (2024). The Document of the Country's Industrial, Mining, and Commercial Investment Priorities in 1403. Tehran: Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade. Available at https://www.mimt.gov.ir/ [In Persian]
Nambisan, S. (2009). “Platforms for Collaboration”. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 7(3), pp. 44-49.‏
Namdarian, L. (2016). “A Review of the Role of Laboratories in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy-Making”. International Conference on Management and Economics in the 21st Century. SID. https://sid.ir /paper/833253/fa. [In Persian]
Naudé, W., and Szirmai, A. (2013). “Industrial Policy for Development”. United Nations University, pp.‏1-14.
Naudé, W. (2010). New Challenges for Industrial Policy (WIDER Working Paper No. 2010/107), Helsinki: UNU‑WIDER. pp.‏3-34.
OECD (2021). Innovation Policy Labs/ Platform.
Ondoa, P., Van Der Broek, A., Jansen, C., De Bruijn, H., and Schultsz, C. (2017). “National Laboratory Policies and Plans in Uub-Saharan African Countries: Gaps and Opportunities”. African Journal of Laboratory Medicine, 6(1), pp.1-20.‏
Pintsch, A. (2025). “Laboratories of Differentiation and the Nordic Region”. Differentiated Integration in a Nordic Perspective, pp. 1-20.‏
Pourezat, A. A. (2022). “Policy Making Laboratory: For Testing Public Policies”. Tehran: University of Tehran Press. pp.1-290. [In Persian]
Programme Document for the Islamic Republic of Iran (2023–2027). UNDP. Available at: https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2023-02/Iran%20CPD%20%282023-2027%29_0.pdf
Rami Ahmad A., and Aizuddin M.D. (2024). “Navigating Challenges in Policy Development: Addressing Political, Institutional, and Cultural Challenges”.2 (2), pp.56-69.
Ramizo, G. (2016). “Industrial Policy: A Survey of Institutional Challenges”. Journal of Australian Political Economy, (77), pp. 142-157.‏
Sandelowski, M., Barroso, J., and Voils, C. I. (2007). “Using Qualitative Meta Summary to Synthesize Qualitative and Quantitative Descriptive findings. Research in Nursing and Health, 30(1), pp. 99-111.‏ https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.20176
Schipke, A. (2025). “Navigating Challenges: Industrial Policy, Competitiveness, and Development (Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University). ‏
Siegel, D., Bogers, M. L., Jennings, P. D., and Xue, L. (2023). “Technology Transfer from National/Federal Labs and Public Research Institutes: Managerial and Policy Implications”. Research Policy, 52(1), pp.104646.‏
Sube, K., Belay, T., Hando, F., and Bayinesagn, A. (2025). “Regional Innovation System (RIS) as a Means for Development: Policies, Opportunities, and Challenges in Ethiopia”. F1000Research, 14, 34.‏
Tiesinga, H., and Berkhout, R. (Eds.). (2014). “Lab Craft: How Social Labs Cultivate Change through Innovation and Collaboration”. Labcraft Publishing.‏
Tõnurist, L., Kattel, R., and Lember, V. (2017). “Innovation Labs in the Public Sector: What They Are and What They Do?” Public Management Review, 19(10), pp.1455–1479.
Uzunalioǧlu, M. (2025). “Three Principles to Run a Policy Lab: Insights from the Resilience Experience”. Resilience Thinking about Resilience Series, University of Oxford, 4, pp.1-15.
Virkkunen, J. (2013). “The change Laboratory: A Tool for Collaborative Development of Work and Education”. Springer Science and Business Media.‏
Weiss, J. (2013). “Industrial Policy in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges for the Future”. Pathways to Industrialization in the Twenty-First Century: New Challenges and Emerging Paradigms, pp. 393-412.‏
Whicher, A. (2021). “Evolution of Policy Labs and Use of Design for Policy in UK Government”. Policy Design and Practice, Taylor and Francis Group, 4(2), pp.252-270.‏
Williamson, B. (2015). “Governing Methods: Policy Innovation Labs, Design and Data Science in the Digital Governance of Education”. Journal of Educational Administration and History, 47(3), pp. 251-271.‏
Yang, Y. (2024). Russian Federation: Country Report.‏
Zvoushe, H. (2024). “Some Reflections on the Contextual Preparedness for the Policy Innovation Labs”.
 
Science and Technology Policy Letters
Volume 15, Issue 4 - Serial Number 53
November 2025
Pages 80-100

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 25 April 2025
  • Revise Date: 30 June 2025
  • Accept Date: 19 July 2025

Share

How to cite

Statistics