Success Factors in the Tissue Engineering Industry, an Analysis of the Market in Iran

Tissue engineering is a field with enormous potential to revolutionize human treatment and medical practices. Despite this potential, the penetration of tissue-engineered products has not met expectations. Identifying the critical success factors is a good starting point to address this issue and find effective solutions. This study attempts to identify and quantify the critical success factors for the tissue engineering industry, and to determine which of these factors have the most significant impact on creating value for customers. The results of the current study were obtained using mixed methods to collect data from customers and experts, mapping data into a network structure, conducting pairwise comparison surveys, and using the Analytic Network Process (ANP) to prioritize identified factors. Finally, the critical success factors were extracted based on their relative significance. We found out that manufacturing and R&D as well as management are the most critical activities whose high performance is essential for conquering the market. The results also suggest that expert feedback, cost management, overall product quality, brand, as well as credit and reimbursement plans are the critical success factors of the tissue engineering industry. The outcome of this study suggests that in order to succeed in the tissue engineering industry, organizations must closely focus on expert feedback, overall product quality, brand image, and the availability of credit or reimbursement plans. They should also adjust their costs and, consequently, their prices in comparison to alternative products.