In recent decades, various policies and executive programs have been proposed by governments to strengthen small businesses and create entrepreneurship opportunities for them. However, one of the main characteristics of all these policies and programs has been their uniformity across the geographical area of Iran and in different communities. In other words, it cannot be specifically stated that government policies in this area have been tailored to the geographical and socio-economic conditions of each province. Typically, most executive programs have focused on providing bank facilities or creating infrastructure in the form of industrial parks or zones, which have been implemented in all provinces of the country based on similar legal and regulatory conditions and in a uniform process. This is in contrast to global experiences in this field, which emphasize place-based policies for entrepreneurship and innovation in small and local businesses. For example, Stevenson and Lundstrom defined four main policy lines for the government in the field of entrepreneurship in small and local businesses in a research conducted in 2001. The depicted roadmap familiarizes the government with various scenarios of entrepreneurship growth in different parts of the country. These researchers have proposed a focus on strengthening and supporting specific groups for some regions in the government’s agenda, while introducing the establishment of new companies as a catalyst for other regions. These proposals have been presented with the assumption that social structures and economic conditions in different regions of a country will be different. Furthermore, the pattern of economic cooperation and development, published by the United Nations, has presented diverse proposals in the areas of financial supply, facilitation of entry and exit of local companies, and government support programs.
From this perspective, it can be said that the global approach to entrepreneurship and innovation in small and local businesses, in addition to emphasizing diversity in financial, supportive, legal, and regulatory policies and programs, is also focused on the geographical, spatial, economic, and social capacities and assets at the local level. This is in contrast to the government policies in Iran, which have mainly focused on banking facilities or creating a uniform physical infrastructure throughout the country, as stated in the problem definition. The ethnic and cultural diversity, prominent regional and geographical differences, and different economic capabilities and social structures at the national level signify the necessity and great importance of diversity in entrepreneurship policies and programs for small, local, and innovative businesses in different regions of the country. For example, the pattern of creating innovative values in small businesses and creating new jobs in this field in provinces with advantages such as Tehran and Khorasan Razavi, which have extensive industrial and service infrastructure and a highly skilled and educated workforce, cannot be defined in the same way as in deprived provinces like Sistan and Baluchestan. Furthermore, the social and population conditions and economic capabilities in a deprived province like Sistan and Baluchestan require innovative ideas that are appropriate for the financial and human resources constraints in this geographical area, which are different from the advantaged provinces. Therefore, in a development program, policies and operational programs related to the development of entrepreneurship in small businesses should be defined according to the local characteristics of each province or geographical area. Based on this approach, in some geographical areas, investment and focus should be on creating and developing social networks and economic exchanges among local businesses, relying on social capacities such as local activists, associations, and chambers of commerce, to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in these areas.
