An Investigation on Iran Mobile communication Ecosystem Using Social Network Analysis Techniques

The business ecosystem represents the collaborative and co-existence role of an organization in a larger network, whose recognition requires understanding the relationships among the members of the ecosystem. The aim of this study is to investigate the ecosystem of mobile communication in Iran using social network analysis technique. After a survey of mobile communications experts in Iran the boundaries of the mobile ecosystem is defined. Then, using snowball method, key actors of Iran's mobile communications ecosystem have been identified. After conducting interviews with the managers of the organizations, the data on the relationships among these actors were collected and using social network analysis (SNA) technique the network of actors was drawn up. Presentation of visual model of mobile ecosystem of Iran is one of the results of this research. The findings show that two mobile network operators in Iran have the highest centrality in the network and are considered as mobile ecosystem leaders in Iran. Analysis of the betweenness indicator shows that Communications Regulatory Authority after two network operators mentioned above has a more prominent role of betweenness in the network. Besides, among the main parts of the ecosystem, controlling and monitoring institutions have the strongest connections across the entire network and hence they are considered as the most powerful part.