Formal and Informal Institutional Barriers to Internationalization of the Iranian Banking System Based on the Institutional Theory of Ping (Case Study: Keshavarzi Bank)

Banks play a key role in driving international business into other arenas and non-economic activities. Based onthe institutional theory, the existing theories on the internationalization of banks are inhomogeneous and inefficient due to the lack of coordination of institutions of our country with other countries. Therefore, they require an exploratory study of the indigenous model of Iranian banking system with specific institutional features and universal political conditions.In this research, by asking the basic question of a suitable model for entering the Iranian banking system to the international arena, we attempted to present an entry model. The data were analyzed by the content analysis method and discovering the relation of concepts, categories and their transformation into causal, interventionist and contextual statements. In-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve banking and university experts.  The data analysis revealed 892textual terms, 94concepts and 8 basic categories and3main research structures. Extracted data indicate that in addition to official institutions in Iran, their inherent roles have a negative impact on the entry of banks into the international arena. Informal institutions also have strong and negative effects.