New Technology Assessment: A Case Study of Iran’s Petrochemical Industry

Job creation, income generation, and natural resources conservation, all are pillars of sustainable development for industries using new technologies. Despite the importance of new technologies, developing countries face many limitations, such as economic and political problems, which make the development and transfer of technologies more difficult. In this study, we focus on development of new technologies in Iran’s petrochemical industry, including nanotechnologies, biotechnologies, and membranes. Solutions are proposed to improve the current unsatisfactory status. For that matter, taking into account experts’ viewpoints, a new technology tree is suggested for Iran’s petrochemical industry. The literature on technology assessment and prioritization is reviewed, and then primary indicators are proposed based on ability, attractiveness, and patent features. Forty industry experts are surveyed and the results are analyzed using face validity, reliability test, and factor analysis, by which the current status of new technologies is assessed.