Journal of Technology Development Management

Journal of Technology Development Management

the analysis of power relations and conflicts between actors in technological transition governance; Case study: renewable energies in Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
hasan karimian khouzani 1
Seyyed Habibollah Tabatabaeian 2
SeyedMoslem Mousavidorcheh 3
Mohammad Hosain Shojaei 4
1 Faculty of management and accounting, allame tabatbae'i university
2 Faculty of Management and Accounting – Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran
3 assistant professor at IROST
4 TSI
10.22104/jtdm.2025.7199.3369
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to answer the question that "what is the lock-in in the process of renewable energy transition in Iran from the perspective of power relations and conflicts between actors?". To answer this question, a socio-political framework for the analysis of the transition was extracted. Then, by conducting interviews, the process of transition towards renewable energies has been extracted and the lock-in of this transition have been explained.
The results show that different sources of power have been allocated to the market sector during different periods, and the government has been able to help this sector by strengthening the renewable energy market sector but these activities is not sufficient for this technological transition. By analyzing the conflicts between the actors of renewable energy and fossil fuels regime, it has been determined that despite the policies of market formation and strengthening of the market sector of renewables, there are still conflicts between the Actors of the market sector in the regime of fossil and renewable energies. These conflicts have been intensified due to the economic challenges caused by Iran's international relations and the restrictive structures of renewables (subsidized gas and electricity prices).
Keywords
Transition lock-in
renewable energy
power relations
actor’s conflicts
Subjects
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  • Receive Date 01 November 2024
  • Revise Date 11 October 2025
  • Accept Date 11 October 2025