Investigating the Role of Research and Technology Organizations in National Innovation System; Case Study of Research Institute of Petroleum Industry

Research centers are one of the fundamental elements of every country’s national innovation system (NIS) and play a significant role in innovative activities. However, there are few researches about the effect of such institutes on innovation systems. The present study firstly investigates the role of knowledge in Knowledge Based Economy and secondly the role of research centers in NIS and organizing innovation ecosystem. Finally a framework for existing and desirable status of such institutes has been presented. The study focus is on Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) as one of the most fundamental Research and technology organizations in Petroleum Industry of Iran. Two valid and reliable questionnaires were designed for this purpose. Answers from 109 experts in the field, were collected and then analyzed. The normality was tested using Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Then, the p-value of indexes was observed using one-sample T Test. Moreover, the independent t-test indicated the p-value difference between the existing and desirable status of research institute effectiveness. Furthermore, the results show that RIPI requires focusing on three functions for achieving the favorite status: distribution of knowledge and technology, financing and innovation facilitating and policy making. In the related literature these functions are known as the main functions for innovation ecosystem formation. In this regard, planning the activities in Research Institute of Petroleum Industry in future should be performed in a way that it becomes a dynamic Innovation Ecosystem Builder in petroleum, gas and petrochemical industries.