Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities

Abstract Investigating and solving the problem of innovative research at universities can help improve the role of these institutions in developing technology and knowledge exchange among different social and economic audiences as well as contribute to more effective interactions between universities and society. The purpose of this article is to identify and report innovation in the field of research, technology, and knowledge exchange in major universities located in Tehran. This research has been carried out quantitatively based on institutional registration data in two steps. First, the components of the model or conceptual framework were identified through an unsystematic review of the documents. The components include innovation in inputs, processes, and outputs. Inputs encompass human and financial resources aw well as infrastructure; processes involve structures, organizations, mechanisms, and procedures; and outputs comprise of creation and application of knowledge and technology, demand-oriented research projects, the quantity and quality of published scientific articles, books, journals, faculty members' scientific ranks, honors they possess, the expansion of postgraduate education, technological units, start-ups, knowledge-based companies and accelerators, international scientific mobility, and income in the field of research, technology, and knowledge exchange. Second, the state of innovation in eight universities under study has been analyzed in the context of research, technology, and knowledge exchange. In these universities, innovation was found to exist in both concept and perspective: innovation in the research and technology system and its elements and components, and the support of universities and the university research and technology system for transformation and innovation to address stagnation, stasis, and recession. Universities have undergone significant transformation and innovation in research inputs, processes, and outputs, technology, and knowledge exchange, hence, they actively support and promote innovation.

Abstract Architecture, as a knowledge that provides a suitable space for human life, is so intertwined with the various dimensions of human existence that any creativity in it due to its vastness and complexity, inevitably pay attention to a wide range of disciplines and fields of knowledge. Thus, creativity in architecture is inherently an interdisciplinary category, and any analysis and evaluation will be inefficient and ineffective without considering this feature. This descriptive-analytical research aims to provide an interdisciplinary model for measuring the architectural creativity using the logical reasoning process. According to its findings, measuring the creativity of architecture with an interdisciplinary approach is the application of different sciences to achieve an integrated knowledge in order to evaluate the novelty of solutions offered by architecture to meet different human needs to live in that space. Accordingly, creativity has two basic dimensions of innovation and usefulness. According to the model proposed in this article, in order to measure architectural creativity, first the human needs and desires of an architecture with a specific use should be determined, then the level of satisfaction with its responses should be measured according to the needs. In the next stage, architectural innovation is evaluated to meet these needs in a 7-step range of materials used (minimum innovation) to create a new function (maximum innovation).

Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify innovation capacity in Information and communication technology-based firms. In this descriptive and analytical study, the research method was quantitative-qualitative, which was performed in two parts. The first part was done qualitatively through a literature review and interviews with nine policy makers, experts, and managers of companies in the field of information and communication technology. In the second part, the model obtained from the previous stage was surveyed by distributing a questionnaire among 275 companies active in this field to assess the validity of the proposed model. In this research, the most important organizational factors affecting innovation capacity were collaboration and communication, resources of the idea, individual factors, organizational culture, strategies and technology management, knowledge management and organizational learning, and allocation of resources to innovation. In addition, the environmental factors affecting the innovation capacity were respectively institutional support, macroeconomic factors, and the firm location. The innovation outcomes, market outcomes, financial outcomes, and human outcomes were also the most important indicators of innovation capacity measurement. Additionally, environmental factors in promoting the innovation capacity of ICT firms were more important than organizational factors. The reason for this significance seems to be the high impacts of economic growth, stability, competitiveness, and government support for innovation on ICT NTBFs.

Abstract A UN report has identified three ten-year development waves of science, technology and innovation policies in Iran since the beginning of the 1990s. The first wave focused on the development of higher education, the second on the development of research and technology, and the third on the knowledge and innovation–based economy. Thus, the ground and emergence of startups became fertile since the early 90s. A review of internal and external studies and articles on the success and failure of startups indicates a lack of sociological vision and approach and therefore this issue is the main reason for our study. A qualitative method was applied in the study in order to understand the biological world and social attitudes of actors of this ecosystem. Our most important tool was in-depth interviews with people with their narrative and firsthand experiences, then, they were categorized, sorted, and conceptualized (taking into account Clark and Brown's six-step inductive method). The statistical population included six managers and startup owners, two of accelerator managers and six associates. After summarizing and categorizing the findings, we obtained 5 groups of variables (themes) named PESTE where P is for Politics, E for Economy, S for Socio-cultural, T for Technology and E is the sign of Education. Since social ecology of startups in Iran and the world at large are very new and fledgling, but with their application to the modern world, they are certainly very complex and multifaceted, hence, it will definitely encounter failure if one of its five pillars are not fit and accompany each other.

Abstract Imam Sadiq University was established as a non-governmental academic institution in Iran in 1982 aiming at combining certain branches of Humanities with Islamic studies. In this article the author tries to evaluate the success and failure of declared aims of the ISU founders to make Islamic Studies not only relevant to the needs of contemporary societies but rather an integrated part of academic discipline. This paper is an attempt to introduce this innovation in combining Islamic studies with other academic subjects, namely, Political Sciences, Management, Economics, Law and Communications at ISU and tries to explore the challenges facing this endeavor.

Abstract Entrepreneurship is among the most important outcomes of university development and requires novel management approaches such as "organizational ambidexterity," which refers to the simultaneous pursuit of exploiting existing capacities and exploring knowledge for the future. This paper aims to design and validate a balanced ambidextrous university model for entrepreneurship development. The research method is mixed-methods with a sequential exploratory design. The target population in the qualitative phase consisted of higher education management experts, with whom 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted purposefully. Art is one of the most dynamic domains of human life, yet artistic innovations do not share the same destiny: some attract temporary attention and disappear, while others become embedded in collective memory. Understanding the mechanisms behind this difference is particularly important in creative industries. Drawing upon institutional theory, this study investigates how innovative musical styles become institutionalized in contemporary Iran and why some innovations gain permanence while others are forgotten. The research adopts an interpretive qualitative approach using grounded theory within a multiple-case study design. Data were collected through archival sources and semi-structured interviews with members of eight innovative Iranian music groups, selected through purposive sampling with a snowball strategy, and analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding until theoretical saturation was achieved. Five major themes were identified: the organic emergence of innovation through artists' internal creative interactions; the formation of an initial niche audience through shared taste and informal channels; stylistic stabilization through authenticity and audience loyalty; negotiations for institutional support after audience consolidation; and the acceptance or rejection of that support. The findings demonstrate that audience formation precedes institutional endorsement and serves as a critical condition for the long-term survival of innovative musical styles. The study concludes that institutionalization in creative industries emerges through ongoing interactions among artists, audiences, and institutional actors rather than through formal legitimacy alone. The proposed model contributes to institutional theory by highlighting cultural identity, audience engagement, and adaptive institutional arrangements, with practical implications for artists, cultural entrepreneurs, and policymakers.