Providing a Model for Comme rcialization of Knowledge-Based Agricultural Ideas for Enhancement of Technological Capabilities (Case Study: Knowledge-Based Companies in Science and Technology Parks)

In the competitive world of today, agriculture has become knowledge-intensive and is rapidly changing. Therefore, new product development and scientific research commercialization in knowledge-based companies and successful delivery of products and services to the market can improve performance and increase production in agriculture and play an important role in development of the country.

This research is conducted based on the Grounded Theory and a systemic view with a qualitative approach. The target population includes the experts of science and technology parks and the CEOs of the knowledge-based agricultural companies located in these parks. Using theoretical purposive sampling, after conduction of 15 in-depth interviews theoretical saturation was reached.

Based on the analysis of the conducted interviews, 578 initial open codes were identified and these codes are subsequently reduced to 43 axial codes and 6 selected codes. The final theory is formed around the axial categories of innovation-orientation, customer-orientation, market-orientation, and profit-orientation. The generated theory was modified in terms of credibility through the strategy of members' revision. Further, to ensure the research reliability, the data analysis process, until formation of the theory, was described as much as possible. The results indicate that the axial categories are recognizable by relying on the factors of individual competence, team competence, innovation and technology nature, market readiness, the level of technology preparedness and maturity, support factors, founder's mental engagement, and internal productivity. In addition, these constructs, under the influence of environmental, political-administrative, socio-cultural, economic-financial, technological and legal interfering conditions and the contextual organizational conditions of knowledge-based companies, the role of technology parks and government support and the application of commercialization strategies, lead to sustainable entrepreneurship, improvement of product quality, sales and profit promotion, and better service delivery to community.

the managers of the knowledge-based agricultural companies should align their strategies in order to be able to successfully commercialize their products and should constantly look for new knowledge and its applications in different stages of new product production. In addition, senior public administrators and universities of agricultural sciences must always strive to use these strategies for commercialization of research of scholars and scientists and wealth generation.